4 ms·

It is not OK to fleece anyone 'because they are tourists'. EDIT: Removed rant

nindalf 7y ago
Please show me the tourist who had a problem paying $10 for a ride across town. It’s a rounding error for people used to paying 2-3x that rate normally. I have probably taken rickshaws as much as you have but I don’t share your contempt for them. They’re doing a difficult job and they’re charging very little for it. You complain so much about their attitude but do you complain about the customer who refuses to pay more than what they paid 5 years ago, as if inflation didn’t exist.
- looping__lui 7y ago
  That is a pretty arrogant and very Indian thing to say. 1) It’s not tourists or foreigners taking advantage of other Indians - it is Indians. Indian people disrespect and mistreat each other to an extend I have never seen anywhere else in the world. 2) It is not tourists who set the prices for taxi meters - it’s the Indian cities or governments; yet it is Indian cab drivers who often believe they stand above the Law and can take advantage of tourists because “they can afford it” 3) Nobody argues about rickshaws not doing a difficult job and I NEVER heard a tourist complain about the prices of rickshaw dwellers - only fellow Indians 4) It’s not tourists but Indians that pretend inflation doesn’t exist; tourists generally overpay Yes, we “rich foreign tourists” can afford to pay 10USD for a ride across town; but it’s not the same deal as riding in an actually safe vehicle with seatbelts and a driver passing an actual driving license in Europe or the US; taking these aspects into account the 10 USD trips are a rip off Yes, countries can continue to take advantage of tourists, squeeze them as much as they can and justify that with the “they can afford it”. I will never travel to India again unless I HAVE to for business purposes - because I am just tired of it. There are a million cleaner places on earth - with people being more honest. Yes, in other Asian countries people also haggle - but at least they take care of their environment. You know, people that believe that “taking advantage of foreigners is ok because they have the money” aren’t exactly contributing to the reputation of a country. What’s left? Treat everybody with respect - and good stuff will happen.
  - yipbub 7y ago
    It's called the "I never bothered to learn the actual fare from a local friend" tax. I don't agree with it, but it's pretty trivial to get around. It's definitely not exclusive to Indians. “taking advantage of foreigners is ok because they have the money” is not something most people believe. There is a large population that lives below the poverty line and will overcharge anyone who can and will take it. Yes, we have a big cleanliness problem, but that's an extension of our poverty problem. We have a lot of people who's concern is providing for the family instead of fulfillment. It's not hard to see why that's not a priority for them. We are stuck here because British colonization, theft, and messy departure left us poorer, with broken politics, and a corrupt bureaucracy. Still, that's an obstacle, not an excuse. We're improving. I see no country without problems. We have quite a few pristine and beautiful places where the locals care about their surroundings. Did you visit anywhere beyond the city you had business in?
    - ignoramous 7y ago
      > Yes, we have a big cleanliness problem, but that's an extension of our poverty problem. Pls don't blame the poor. I have seen the educated, the rich have complete disregard for public property and cleanliness. > We are stuck here because British colonization. Also, don't blame the political incompetence and failing governance on the imperialists. They gave Indians the freedom to change the system in any which way they wanted, and this is what they ended up with, for better or for worse. If history is any indicator, the powerful and the corrpupt always find ways to game the system, as it were.
    - looping__lui 7y ago
      I studied at an IIT in India for quite some time (loved the institution and the student body). I’ve seen more than most people I guess (from Ladakh to Mumbai to Varanasi). In places without tourists people were generally honest. The street vendor living off a few rupees each day for bananas would not take a rupee too much. I wish I could believe the “the dumb tourist tax is helping the needy and poor” - but it only fills the pockets of the (relatively) wealthy. It’s their sense of “entitlement to the money of these wasteful Westerners”. India and China (lived there for > 1 yr) were pretty much the same 25 yrs ago in terms of GDP and population. That was long after any British influence - yet both developed very differently. If I had to make a guess, it would be: how people treat family and society. As a foreigner, it seemed to me that Indians never care about society or anybody except their own family. In China, people are very focused on society and less on family. In India, people were mainly interested in their own immediate gain - in China they had some “boundaries” at least. Cleanliness is not “we can’t afford better” it is “people genuinely don’t care when it’s outside their house”. The slums in Mumbai were among the best organized and cleanest places I found in India. People cared because they had to and wanted to - not because they could afford. In India whenever I asked an official (police) for help or advice, they would sell me off to some relative. In China I never experienced that. I can’t generalize a couple of years abroad in different countries, but I would kind a take the guess that if you worked on actually “trying go make society work beyond immediate personal gain” things might look different in India. I have a complex relationship with India - because of many positive and negative experiences. As you continue to rip us foreigners and tourists off - we will stop spending money in your country. I’m tired of being accused to “be too dumb to inform myself” when the police and society are just rigged to steal from me because I am white and “look rich”. I am tired of being accused that the entire world is just taking advantage of Indians when the trading balance tells otherwise and it’s Indian people that care so little about each other. It was really sad and heartbreaking to see how in China pollution gets less and less whereas India really became “totally unbearable” in the recent years.
- michaelt 7y ago
  > Please show me the tourist who had a problem paying $10 for a ride across town. If a potential visitor accurately hears that taxi drivers in Country X will double or triple their prices for foreigners, and they're used to paying $60 for a taxi to the airport, a portion of them will infer they might be charged $180. How many of those do you suppose will visit at all, and if they do how many do you think will take taxis?

Please show me the tourist who had a problem paying $10 for a ride across town. It’s a rounding error for people used to paying 2-3x that rate normally. I have probably taken rickshaws as much as you have but I don’t share your contempt for them. They’re doing a difficult job and they’re charging very little for it. You complain so much about their attitude but do you complain about the customer who refuses to pay more than what they paid 5 years ago, as if inflation didn’t exist.

looping__lui 7y ago
That is a pretty arrogant and very Indian thing to say. 1) It’s not tourists or foreigners taking advantage of other Indians - it is Indians. Indian people disrespect and mistreat each other to an extend I have never seen anywhere else in the world. 2) It is not tourists who set the prices for taxi meters - it’s the Indian cities or governments; yet it is Indian cab drivers who often believe they stand above the Law and can take advantage of tourists because “they can afford it” 3) Nobody argues about rickshaws not doing a difficult job and I NEVER heard a tourist complain about the prices of rickshaw dwellers - only fellow Indians 4) It’s not tourists but Indians that pretend inflation doesn’t exist; tourists generally overpay Yes, we “rich foreign tourists” can afford to pay 10USD for a ride across town; but it’s not the same deal as riding in an actually safe vehicle with seatbelts and a driver passing an actual driving license in Europe or the US; taking these aspects into account the 10 USD trips are a rip off Yes, countries can continue to take advantage of tourists, squeeze them as much as they can and justify that with the “they can afford it”. I will never travel to India again unless I HAVE to for business purposes - because I am just tired of it. There are a million cleaner places on earth - with people being more honest. Yes, in other Asian countries people also haggle - but at least they take care of their environment. You know, people that believe that “taking advantage of foreigners is ok because they have the money” aren’t exactly contributing to the reputation of a country. What’s left? Treat everybody with respect - and good stuff will happen.
- yipbub 7y ago
  It's called the "I never bothered to learn the actual fare from a local friend" tax. I don't agree with it, but it's pretty trivial to get around. It's definitely not exclusive to Indians. “taking advantage of foreigners is ok because they have the money” is not something most people believe. There is a large population that lives below the poverty line and will overcharge anyone who can and will take it. Yes, we have a big cleanliness problem, but that's an extension of our poverty problem. We have a lot of people who's concern is providing for the family instead of fulfillment. It's not hard to see why that's not a priority for them. We are stuck here because British colonization, theft, and messy departure left us poorer, with broken politics, and a corrupt bureaucracy. Still, that's an obstacle, not an excuse. We're improving. I see no country without problems. We have quite a few pristine and beautiful places where the locals care about their surroundings. Did you visit anywhere beyond the city you had business in?
  - ignoramous 7y ago
    > Yes, we have a big cleanliness problem, but that's an extension of our poverty problem. Pls don't blame the poor. I have seen the educated, the rich have complete disregard for public property and cleanliness. > We are stuck here because British colonization. Also, don't blame the political incompetence and failing governance on the imperialists. They gave Indians the freedom to change the system in any which way they wanted, and this is what they ended up with, for better or for worse. If history is any indicator, the powerful and the corrpupt always find ways to game the system, as it were.
  - looping__lui 7y ago
    I studied at an IIT in India for quite some time (loved the institution and the student body). I’ve seen more than most people I guess (from Ladakh to Mumbai to Varanasi). In places without tourists people were generally honest. The street vendor living off a few rupees each day for bananas would not take a rupee too much. I wish I could believe the “the dumb tourist tax is helping the needy and poor” - but it only fills the pockets of the (relatively) wealthy. It’s their sense of “entitlement to the money of these wasteful Westerners”. India and China (lived there for > 1 yr) were pretty much the same 25 yrs ago in terms of GDP and population. That was long after any British influence - yet both developed very differently. If I had to make a guess, it would be: how people treat family and society. As a foreigner, it seemed to me that Indians never care about society or anybody except their own family. In China, people are very focused on society and less on family. In India, people were mainly interested in their own immediate gain - in China they had some “boundaries” at least. Cleanliness is not “we can’t afford better” it is “people genuinely don’t care when it’s outside their house”. The slums in Mumbai were among the best organized and cleanest places I found in India. People cared because they had to and wanted to - not because they could afford. In India whenever I asked an official (police) for help or advice, they would sell me off to some relative. In China I never experienced that. I can’t generalize a couple of years abroad in different countries, but I would kind a take the guess that if you worked on actually “trying go make society work beyond immediate personal gain” things might look different in India. I have a complex relationship with India - because of many positive and negative experiences. As you continue to rip us foreigners and tourists off - we will stop spending money in your country. I’m tired of being accused to “be too dumb to inform myself” when the police and society are just rigged to steal from me because I am white and “look rich”. I am tired of being accused that the entire world is just taking advantage of Indians when the trading balance tells otherwise and it’s Indian people that care so little about each other. It was really sad and heartbreaking to see how in China pollution gets less and less whereas India really became “totally unbearable” in the recent years.
michaelt 7y ago
> Please show me the tourist who had a problem paying $10 for a ride across town. If a potential visitor accurately hears that taxi drivers in Country X will double or triple their prices for foreigners, and they're used to paying $60 for a taxi to the airport, a portion of them will infer they might be charged $180. How many of those do you suppose will visit at all, and if they do how many do you think will take taxis?