Back in 2002 I took a cruise with my mom and my sister on Carnival and one of the stops was in Cozumel, Mexico. I insisted on going to the Mayan Ruins at Tulum with my sister and I experienced my first bit of tourist scamming. I should mention that at the time I collected key chains from the places I went.
The excursion starts with a boat ride to Playa Del Carmen. It was about 30 minutes and the boat moved very fast and bumped on every single wave as it crossed the channel separating Cozumel and Playa Del Carmen. It was not a good crossing for those who get sea sick, I saw a couple white bags around the boat. Then we took an hour long bus ride through Mexico. While I certainly wouldn't describe the area as ghetto, it certainly didn't feature nice homes of the locals. More like small wooden houses a step above shacks. We had one stop about halfway there at a souvenir shop offering cheesy Mexico souvenirs.
Once we arrived at Tulum we were offered the choice of taking the tram (for a charge) or walking the mile or so to the ruins. Since it was, as an old friend used to say, "Africa Hot," we took the tram.
After we finished looking at the ruins we went to market/souvenir area to look around. I was looking at the key chains when I was approached by one of the workers. Apparently, the key chain was real silver and cost $80. The guy tried to get me to buy this key chain. When I practically laughed at $80 he asked how much I was willing to pay, it was real silver after all. I offered $8. I might have had a key chain collection at the time, but I doubt any of them cost more then $10. The conversation didn't last long, but it was a nice try by the guy.
After that we went to buy some snacks, this was a fairly long day with no lunch break. My sister and I decided on a small bag of Doritos and a bottle of Gatorade each. But we were in Mexico so the Doritos flavors were written in Spanish. We opted for the bags that looked like Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch flavor and in total paid about $7 for the Gatorade and Doritos, a bit of a rip off for the time. When we got on the bus back to the ship we opened up our Doritos and quickly found out that not all Doritos are created equal. The orange bag of Doritos was not Nacho Cheese and the blue bag was not Cool Ranch. I believe one ended up being a jalapeno pepper flavor and was not very good. I don't remember the other flavor, but it also was not very good.
I would have chalked it all up as a funny tourist mistake - except I was hungry at the time! But it was a good lesson that when you travel things are not always what that seems - sometimes it works out and other times it does not. And of course watch out for people trying to sell you overpriced crap. At least the $80 offer was so insane that I couldn't take it remotely seriously.
Showing posts with label Tourists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tourists. Show all posts
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
10 Things not to do in New York City
Having worked in NYC for the past 10 years, as well as being a tourist in the city on several occasions I've noticed some things that tourist do that you'll want to avoid when visiting. These are some tips to keep you from acting too much like a tourist, since I know most of you are trying to blend in at least a little bit.
1. Ask where Times Square is when you're in Times Square. I was standing on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenue and someone asked me where Times Square is. If all the bright flashing lights don't give away Times Square I don't know what to tell you.
2. Ask where a Broadway show is by the name of the theater. Believe it or not I have no idea where the Minskoff Theatre is, I wouldn't even know where it was if I was standing in front of it. But ask me where the Lion King is and I'll point you in the right direction. Even better, tell me the street address, that's the easiest way for a NYer to tell you where something is located.
3. Wait to cross the street until the the light changes. They seem to do this in other cities, but not in NYC. It's a sure sign that you're not a local. I don't suggest doing what a lot of locals do though, stick your baby carriage into a lane of traffic to see if it's safe to go.
4. Drive, this isn't just about looking like a tourist, but for your sanity and safety. Parking is expensive and while the driving isn't nearly as bad as in other cities I've visited, it's not for the feint of heart. If you do, watch out for the people sticking the baby carriage out into the street to see if you're there.
5. Leave valuables unattended.. Putting your bag on the back of your chair at an internet cafe or at a restaurant and then not pay attention to it. People do this all the time and have their stuff stolen. Anyone who has lost their passport can tell you that you want to be even more careful when your stuff is valuable, like a passport or a camera. People are always losing cameras, passports, drivers licenses and usually you will find that the person left it unattended or just wasn't paying attention.
6. Not know the name and address of the place you are staying. So you're out having some dinner, drinks and in general enjoying yourself and now it's time to find your way back to your hotel. But was the hotel on East 42nd Street or West 42nd Street, hmmmm. Know where your hotel is, maybe take a business card from the hotel. When you're too drunk to remember where it is you can hand the business card to a cabbie and they'll take you home. Otherwise, you'll be wandering around the city for a while...
7. Travel in packs with matching outfits/backpacks/hats. This is a dead giveaway that you're a tourist and you're generally considered on the more naive end of the tourist scale making you a good candidate for pickpockets and scams. The good thing is you're in a big group and hopefully looking out for each other.
8. Go to see the Christmas Tree lighting in Rockefeller Plaza. I plan to do a post on this when the event is closer. But this is a made for TV event and if you're lucky you'll get to see the actual tree, but don't expect to see anything else.
9. Take a Livery Cab. ALWAYS, ALWAYS take a yellow Taxi. Unless of course you previously booked with a livery service. This is particularly important when arriving at the airport, you will find men trying to entice you to hire them. They will typically overcharge you, may not drop you off where they are supposed to and may try to scam you along the way. If they do try to scam you, call the police. The threat might get them to do things right, if not the police will help sort things out. Taxi's either use the meter or if picking up from an airport use a flat rate depending on where you are going. I will cover this topic in another post in more depth.
10. Stay at the Marriott Marquis. I know this sounds crazy, but I stayed here once and unless I got a really good price, I wouldn't do it again. It's a nice hotel with some great amenities, but the elevators are AWFUL! Possibly the worst I've ever dealt with and we have bad ones at work. Any time I am there and need to visit any of the pre-lobby floors (the lobby is on the 8th floor) I take the escalators. There are other nice hotels in Times Square consider some of them first.
1. Ask where Times Square is when you're in Times Square. I was standing on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenue and someone asked me where Times Square is. If all the bright flashing lights don't give away Times Square I don't know what to tell you.
2. Ask where a Broadway show is by the name of the theater. Believe it or not I have no idea where the Minskoff Theatre is, I wouldn't even know where it was if I was standing in front of it. But ask me where the Lion King is and I'll point you in the right direction. Even better, tell me the street address, that's the easiest way for a NYer to tell you where something is located.
3. Wait to cross the street until the the light changes. They seem to do this in other cities, but not in NYC. It's a sure sign that you're not a local. I don't suggest doing what a lot of locals do though, stick your baby carriage into a lane of traffic to see if it's safe to go.
4. Drive, this isn't just about looking like a tourist, but for your sanity and safety. Parking is expensive and while the driving isn't nearly as bad as in other cities I've visited, it's not for the feint of heart. If you do, watch out for the people sticking the baby carriage out into the street to see if you're there.
5. Leave valuables unattended.. Putting your bag on the back of your chair at an internet cafe or at a restaurant and then not pay attention to it. People do this all the time and have their stuff stolen. Anyone who has lost their passport can tell you that you want to be even more careful when your stuff is valuable, like a passport or a camera. People are always losing cameras, passports, drivers licenses and usually you will find that the person left it unattended or just wasn't paying attention.
6. Not know the name and address of the place you are staying. So you're out having some dinner, drinks and in general enjoying yourself and now it's time to find your way back to your hotel. But was the hotel on East 42nd Street or West 42nd Street, hmmmm. Know where your hotel is, maybe take a business card from the hotel. When you're too drunk to remember where it is you can hand the business card to a cabbie and they'll take you home. Otherwise, you'll be wandering around the city for a while...
7. Travel in packs with matching outfits/backpacks/hats. This is a dead giveaway that you're a tourist and you're generally considered on the more naive end of the tourist scale making you a good candidate for pickpockets and scams. The good thing is you're in a big group and hopefully looking out for each other.
8. Go to see the Christmas Tree lighting in Rockefeller Plaza. I plan to do a post on this when the event is closer. But this is a made for TV event and if you're lucky you'll get to see the actual tree, but don't expect to see anything else.
9. Take a Livery Cab. ALWAYS, ALWAYS take a yellow Taxi. Unless of course you previously booked with a livery service. This is particularly important when arriving at the airport, you will find men trying to entice you to hire them. They will typically overcharge you, may not drop you off where they are supposed to and may try to scam you along the way. If they do try to scam you, call the police. The threat might get them to do things right, if not the police will help sort things out. Taxi's either use the meter or if picking up from an airport use a flat rate depending on where you are going. I will cover this topic in another post in more depth.
10. Stay at the Marriott Marquis. I know this sounds crazy, but I stayed here once and unless I got a really good price, I wouldn't do it again. It's a nice hotel with some great amenities, but the elevators are AWFUL! Possibly the worst I've ever dealt with and we have bad ones at work. Any time I am there and need to visit any of the pre-lobby floors (the lobby is on the 8th floor) I take the escalators. There are other nice hotels in Times Square consider some of them first.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)