Rip-off Encounters in Traveling

One of the major setbacks experienced by most people when they go traveling is their encounter with a rip-off.

An encounter with a rip-off can drive some people into a mental frenzy for many reasons. They may be angry with the people who ripped them off but above all they are angry with themselves for letting (themselves) falling right into it.  It can be such a turn-off to some people especially those who are traveling for the first time.

A friend of mine has sworn never to go back to Medan in Indonesia EVER again after encountering a series of rip-offs when she went there last year. She told me how she was dragged into some kind of ‘charity spree’ in which people were literally siphoning money out of her pocket right from the moment she stepped out until she returned to the airport at the end of her vacation.

It was so bad that by the time she returned to KL, all that she had to tell about was the bad experiences of being ripped off and not quite the fun of traveling that she was supposed to have had.

Hurtful

Being ripped off without knowing it might not be a problem because WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW DOESN’T REALLY HURT YOU.

The problem is you know you are about or already being ripped off but you can’t do anything about it – or rather you don’t know what to do – OR by the time you have it all figured out, it has already been done and it’s too late to do anything.

It may be easy to say WHAT HAPPENED, HAPPENED but in reality it is not (easy). An experiences of a rip-off tends to really challenge your ego at times that you might be left in one of those not-so-fun situations where all the regretting thoughts that begin with ‘I SHOULD’ keep haunting in you for many many days – if not weeks or even months (depending on your ego. LOL).

A Travel Spoiler

Believe me again, if you’re not good at shrugging them off and moving on, the thoughts alone can kill the fun and the rest of your holiday MIGHT be spoiled. You’ll tend to think that everybody is trying to rip you off and you’re beginning to shy away from everything – and that’s when the disaster begins.

Traveling and rip-off encounters can’t really be separated and it might be even worse when you’re traveling into a country for the first time. While each country has its own way of siphoning money out of the pockets of its unsuspecting visitors, I’ve come to find out through my travel experiences in the past that there are some similarities in the techniques and strategies that they use although some of them can be amazingly ‘unique’ to a particular country or region.

You go to another country and you’ll find a new fleet of rip-off tactics and schemes that you have probably never encountered in any other country before. Whatever it is, LOGICAL THINKING is always your best and sometimes the only weapon that you’ve got to rely on. Other than that, you learn from your past experiences. You kena for the first time and you can take it as a lesson. You kena a second time and you call it stupidity. 😀

Knowledge is Power

People say ‘Knowledge is Power’ and that applies very much when it comes to traveling. The possibility of encountering a rip-off is ALWAYS there but the possibility of falling into it can be minimized if not avoided at all. Of course, there’s not a better way of avoiding them then TO SEE THEM COMING even before they get to you.

And of course again, you have to be knowledgeable in order to see them coming. Do a little bit of research before you go on a trip, read the reviews, forums, blogs (ehem!), personal experiences and all the tips shared on the net by other travelers and you might be safe.

Sharing is Caring

As a keen traveler, I feel the obligation of sharing what I have encountered in my travel trips – which is why I come up with this new segment here. I’ve been ripped off quite a number of times but of course as I traveled more, I had learned to be more cautious and try to avoid falling into the same net again. I used to be so devastated every time I got ripped off. They made me feel so stupid later and I’d spend too much time thinking over and over again on what I could have done to avoid it.

Of course as I traveled more, I was beginning to learn more and more on how to come to terms with the nature of traveling and encountering a rip-off is certainly one of them. I tried to look at it as something of a challenge and I’d celebrate (silently) whenever I managed to foil any attempt to rip me off. It might sound crazy but it actually works in one way or another  me make me feel better.

So as they say – sharing is caring. This new segment (up soon) is intended to share my own experiences of being ripped off in all my not-that-many travel trips so far. Of course I’d be more than happy to hear from other travelers as well because I believe, no matter how many times I get ripped off (or at least attempted to be ripped off har har har), there’s no such thing as ‘I’ve encountered them all’  – not in a world with 7 seven million inhabitants and 196 countries.