I came across this article this morning and I had to laugh because I have, in our increasingly wide ranging travels, come across some of these horrendous tourist traps, as well as some that weren't listed.
Who could forget Bethlehem where the vendors followed me onto the bus with cries of "Miss, miss, you will like this! Because I like you I will give you a discount! One for $5 or two for $10!"
Or the fellow in Lima who wanted to sell me a rather mangy looking kitten. Or if not that then the guinea pig all dressed out for cooking. Yup, they eat them in Peru not keep them as pets. Very tasty I am told.
Or the fellow at the Taj Mahal who was not going to take no for an answer. We had been warned not to even make eye contact with the fellows and I didn't but he continued to follow me and if I stopped his wares would be waved in front of my face. No, I don't need a key chain replica of the Taj, thank you very much. I finally had to yell at him to get him to back off. That didn't mean that he left, he just hung back like a second string jackal waiting for dinner.
By the way, you may be wondering about the odd view of the Taj Mahal. It doesn't look like the traditional view does it. That is because we are actually viewing it from the back (the butt end if you will). This is a cautionary tale about doing your homework before you embark someplace. Now we did our homework (our kids will tell you that we always do our travel homework) but......we didn't take into account the fact of a missed flight and getting into Delhi a day late. We also didn't take into account the fact that the Taj Mahal is a MUSLIM site. That means that it is closed on Friday....and we were there on Friday.....but we didn't find this fact out until we were on the way to Acra when Dan read it in the guide book....and were already half way into the four hour drive from Delhi.....and the driver didn't tell us it was closed....but the guide said, "No problem, I will take you to place where it will be JUST LIKE you are there." Yeah right.
Well, it's a good thing that I wasn't there with you because if they had offered ME the kitten, I would have bought it. There are some things that I cannot resist. One is cheese bread, and the other is kittens :D
ReplyDeletePeruvian guinea pig. Will and Logan could tell you about Peruvian guinea pig. Let's just say, simply due to the, ahem, delicate nature of the subject, that the results of that experience still bring uproarious laughter. From me. Not from them.
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