Rip-offs and other risks

By BEN ROSS


Ben Ross has some tips for negotiating the holiday minefield.

Get one thing straight from the outset: holidays are in almost every respect A Good Thing. After all, most of us slave away at our workstations all year just to go on one.


A holiday is a precious break, so setting off convinced that you're about to be fleeced by unscrupulous vagabonds and cartographically challenged taxi drivers will take the fun out of the whole thing.


And rip-offs are often a question of perspective: the two cans of Pepsi you bought after your climb up to Montmartre's Sacre-Coeur may seem on the costly side of extravagant, but didn't it do your parched throat good? Having said that, it pays to be careful.


So what might happen to me while I'm away?


The main hazard is your own greed. Many people who are ripped off on holiday are willing participants, almost always because the villain appeals to our natural lust for cash.


Convince yourself that you really have won a free holiday in a free draw that is "nothing to do with timeshare", or that the "spot the lady" game being conducted in the Ramblas of Barcelona is fairly run, or that the gems you are being asked to buy in Sri Lanka really are going to sell for four times the price when you get home, and you will be happy to hand over your cash to the rogues. Just don't expect to see it again.


If I can suppress my greed, what are the other worries?


First, not knowing what a policeman looks like. Tourists tend to be law-abiding and compliant towards police officers. So plenty of crooks have devised scams where they pretend to be law enforcement officers, demand to see your passport and cash - often on the imaginary pretext of an alleged crime - and then relieve you of it. But don't make the mistake one travel editor made when accosted by three disreputable types in a back street of Havana. He refused to accept their assertion that they were police until they escorted him, at gunpoint, to the local nick for some heavy-duty questioning.


Secondly, not knowing what a bureau de change looks like can cost you dear. A common rip-off in countries with less reliable currencies than our own involves plausible-looking gentlemen offering fantastic rates of exchange at local travel hubs.


A chunky roll of banknotes, with a perfectly legitimate high-denomination bill on the outside, will change hands. You can use this note to buy yourself a consolation beer when you discover that the bills inside the roll, although they look similar to the bona fide one, ceased to be legal tender in that part of the world two years ago.


The "folded note" con, when currency is counted twice as the wad is handed over, is another favourite. Do try to work out how the local cash works before you hand over all your funds, and never change money anywhere you can't return to and make a fuss.


What seems to be the problem, officer?


"Tail-light, comrade. And you were doing 50km/h in a 30km/h zone. And, ooh, your international driver's licence hasn't been signed in triplicate. Looks like you'll have to follow me down to the station."


Moscow's traffic police take a particular delight in flagging down local traffic at night in sub-zero temperatures. In these conditions no one wants to go down to the station, especially when they know their tail-light is working fine. Everyone wonders whether there might be a way they could, you know, cut through the red tape a bit quicker. Of course, the traffic cop says he doesn't know what you mean, but US$50 might see you safely through this little misunderstanding.


In many parts of the globe, wheel-oiling and palm-greasing are facts of life. Tourists often escape the worst of it as officials will be under instructions not to mess with the lucrative travel trade. But often the taxi driver with a Westerner in the back, or the moped operator you're clinging to, will be the one facing the "fine", and you will be obliged to cough up.


Patience is the key. Your tormentor will have already sized up what he thinks you can afford, and agreeing a price will be made lots easier if you smile a lot and offer round any cigarettes you happen to be carrying.


What else should I guard against?


If you're travelling independently, the first few days in any country are bound to involve some acclimatisation. If bargaining is part of the culture of your destination, you'd do well to get a feel for prices and customs before you launch yourself into the maelstrom.


A fair price will almost always mean more than the locals pay (to the extent that officially sanctioned two-tier systems operate in countries such as Vietnam), but in developing countries that seems only fair. Haggling in markets is part of the joys of travel.


On a more serious note, backpackers should always be wary of accepting drinks from strangers, however friendly they may seem. Being drugged into a stupor in order to be relieved of your cash is one of the nastiest holiday rip-offs and is a particular risk for lone travellers.


Pickpockets and petty criminals are common to every country, but tend to operate in crowded urban areas, particularly where travellers with bags are likely to converge.


A suddenly light back-pack means that it's been slashed and your valuables stolen. Money-belts and photocopied travel documents will help to lessen the pain if this happens to you.


One rip-off that preys on travellers' sense of guilt and isolation is the "commission merchant", who will offer to take you to see local points of interest for a price. Whether or not you eventually see the sights, on the way you will be introduced by your guide to various vendors anxious to sell you their wares at inflated prices.


Your friendly guide is, of course, receiving a commission from these attentive brothers-in-law and cousins, and you will be insulting him and them should you refuse. It may be worth buying something, then making your own way round the town.


And then there are "legitimate" rip-offs in hotels: making phone-calls from your room, and using mini-bars. Think before you drink; reflect before you connect. Otherwise you will join the many thousands each year who find themselves arguing with an unsympathetic hotel concierge at check-out time.


How bad can rip-offs get?


One of the nastiest scams doing the rounds in Mexico is perpetrated by individuals pretending to be market researchers for guidebook publishers. They ask your name, then a series of innocuous questions, then say they would like a contact number at home in case they need to get in touch with you for more information.


Later the interviewers call your nearest and dearest and explain that you are in hospital, or in trouble with the law. Your relations or friends must send cash instantly to help rescue you. Of course, they comply, but you find out what has been going on only when you log in at the internet cafe in Panajachel.


When is a rip-off not a rip-off?


A couple of years ago I found myself in the Turkish seaside resort of Kusadasi. Attracted by the boat-trips on offer, I soon negotiated a fair price, and the next day my chosen craft and I slipped away together into the azure mystery of the Aegean Sea.


Sadly, things did not go quite to plan. I was soon participating in the most miserable cruise of my life: a day of grey, diesel-scented tedium, with only a soggy lunch on a waterlogged spit of sand to break the monotony. The boat was dirty, the captain rude, the weather inclement, and the promised itinerary of hot springs and Roman remains did not materialise. I felt cheated, thoroughly ripped off, until I glanced at the card I'd been given when I booked my excursion. "Kusadasi Paradise Trip," it read. "Where sun, sand and excitement is the exception!" I couldn't say I hadn't been warned.


- INDEPENDENT