They think we're Thai... and other adventures
It's funny... everyone thinks that Kat is Thai so they start speaking to us in Thai first and then switch to English and apologize when we don't respond. It's nice since we don't get bothered as much by people trying to push services, etc. for tourists. Actually when I travel abroad, no one thinks I American either, so I don't get any of the American backlash.
Today we packed up and hired a taxi to take us to Wat Po, one of the large Bhuddist temples in Bangkok. The reclining bhudda statue was really, really big! And the architecture of the temple was pretty interesting too. The taxi drive took us all over the city so we got to see more sights.
It happened to us in Bangkok today, it happened to me in Beijing in 2002, and it happened to me in Florida in 1984. Whenever you hire a driver for a tour or join a tour group, they inevitably take you to some store selling cheap jewelry and a bad restaurant only for tourists. And of course the drivers get commissions for bringing in more people to particular spots. It's amusing to me to see how tourists get manipulated in touristy cities like Bangkok, Barcelona, etc. It's peoples' jobs to steer tourists to particular places or get more money out of them. At the jewelry store today Kat and I resisted buying anything. But the same sales lady was stalking us the whole time. When we were about to leave without having bought anything she said things like, "You're already here so you should buy something." Or, "People come here from all over the world to buy our jewelry." Sorry, no dice. I wonder how much they paid our taxi driver to take us there. At least we got to see more of the city that way.
Today we packed up and hired a taxi to take us to Wat Po, one of the large Bhuddist temples in Bangkok. The reclining bhudda statue was really, really big! And the architecture of the temple was pretty interesting too. The taxi drive took us all over the city so we got to see more sights.
It happened to us in Bangkok today, it happened to me in Beijing in 2002, and it happened to me in Florida in 1984. Whenever you hire a driver for a tour or join a tour group, they inevitably take you to some store selling cheap jewelry and a bad restaurant only for tourists. And of course the drivers get commissions for bringing in more people to particular spots. It's amusing to me to see how tourists get manipulated in touristy cities like Bangkok, Barcelona, etc. It's peoples' jobs to steer tourists to particular places or get more money out of them. At the jewelry store today Kat and I resisted buying anything. But the same sales lady was stalking us the whole time. When we were about to leave without having bought anything she said things like, "You're already here so you should buy something." Or, "People come here from all over the world to buy our jewelry." Sorry, no dice. I wonder how much they paid our taxi driver to take us there. At least we got to see more of the city that way.
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