OznAsia

A couple of weeks ago I was in Kuala Lumpur and wanted to go to Melaka. I was staying in the Chinatown-Petaling Street area and the bus station was just around the corner. Or so I thought. When I got there with my far too many bags I could see that the entrance I usually used was closed. I asked a passerby how to get inside. 'Oh, it's closed. They're rebuilding it.'

I asked where I needed to go to get a bus to Melaka. Fortunately I was more or less outside a railway station on the line that would take me to the temporary bus station. I didn't have a deadline and it was still early in the day so not a big deal. When I got off the train I had to walk perhaps 200 metres to the bus station. The bus fare to Melaka was about RM12 (about A$4).

The Melaka bus station is no longer in the centre of Melaka. Unfortunately these days, it seems, bus stations are not being built in the centre of cities, or downtown as the Americans say, they are built out in the suburbs. When I first went to Melaka the bus station was in the Hung Tuah area which was not all that far from Chinatown. If that was where you were heading you could walk assuming you knew the way. It's still walkable from the new bus station but only to a long-distance trekker with a boy to carry his luggage. Now there are taxis to take the rest of us there. There are also buses if you know which one to get and I do but this time I was carrying way too many bags and felt I really needed a taxi.

But I needed something else even more when the bus pulled into the bus station. I needed to eat. So when the taxi tout approached this skinny guy with far too may bags I was able to say 'No, I'm going to eat first.' That was only postponing the inevitable. So I returned a while later and tried to negotiate a fare. It didn't matter who I asked. The fare was RM30. I pointed out that I'd travelled all the way from KL for only RM12 and that paying RM30 to go the last two or three kilometres was absolutely crazy. But they wouldn't budge. I didn't like either of the other options, ie bussing or walking so I shut up and paid up. BTW, taxis in Melaka don't have meters.

I had a delightful two weeks in Melaka. I had forgotten how much I love this place. Eventually it was time to return to KL and the guesthouse rang a taxi to get me to the bus station. When he turned up, I asked how much.

'Fifteen ringgit'.

I'd already put my far-too-many bags in his boot. He could have asked for 30 or maybe more. But this time it seemed I'd got one of the honest taxi drivers. I trust there are a few more of them.

When the bus reached the bus station in suburban KL there were half a dozen taxi touts waiting at the door. I was the last to get off. There was only one tout left. 'Where you go? You want taxi?'

'No, thank you. I'm getting the train.'

'Train? No train here. You have to walk six kilometres.'

'Bullshit,' I said, grabbed my far too many bags from the hold of the bus and walked past him. Ten minutes later I was on a train on the way to Chinatown.

Labels: "Kuala Lumpur" KL, Asia, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Malaysia, Melaka, ripoff, travel, trust

Here’s a story of yet another internet scam. Not so long ago I received a similar letter from a facebook friend—someone who is a friend of a friend and who I have never actually met in person. It never occurred to me at the time that it might be fake. I thought to myself ‘he’s got a hide’ and sent an email saying I couldn’t help out at the moment. In this particular case the person was asking for US $2,500 because he’d lost his wallet in London.

I look at it this way, assuming the request was genuine, if someone is asking for something from me that I would not consider asking from them then I have no reason to feel bad about rejecting the request. When I travel, I do it on the cheap. If I lost my wallet, even in London, I doubt that I would have been carrying $2,500 in it. I can live for a long time on $2,500. I doubt that I would ever need to ask anyone to transfer $2,500 to me and if I did I have a relative who handles my finances in Australia. If that relative got such a request I think they would know if I’d written it. If the writing style was different they should be suspicious. There is no one else I would ask. And certainly not someone I’ve never met.

If you follow the link above to the article I’m referring to, read the comments. There are many suggestions of ways to avoid this sort of thing happening. Most importantly, don’t trust your information to facebook. I’ve written before about not giving sites access to files on your computer. Facebook and many of its subsidiary applications request access to your files. Don’t allow it. Get a life. Find some other way to communicate with people.

Labels: facebook, ripoff, scam

My visit to India is over. India is indeed incredible as the campaign claims. There are so many aspects to India, in one month I was barely able to scrape the surface. Perhaps one day I'll return but for now I'd like to revisit my preliminary blog Anticipating India.

Voluptuous and sexy women? Perhaps they exist but the India I saw was quite conservative. Indian women generally dress quite modestly. Saris and variations of them are designed to cover not reveal. However women wear them with style. I enjoyed the bright colours of Indian traditional dress. And a beautiful woman is still a beautiful woman without revealing all.

Enlightened beings? I have never in my life met someone who I could say 100% is an enlightened being, not in Australia, nor Thailand and not in my one month in India. Do they exist or are they the subject of legends? I don't really know. If they do, perhaps they are there in Australia in the same proportion as they are in India but having a much greater population, India may have a greater number just as they would have a greater number of charlatans. As for finding enlightened ones and separating them from the charlatans, let me know if you are successful.

Lofty principles? I'm sure they exist among some of the population. What stood out more for me was the poverty. Perhaps for a vast number of the Indian population their principles are based on the need to find enough food to survive the day. Perhaps it is up to those who have the luxury of lofty principles to address the issue of the great disparity between rich and poor in this country.

Shit in the street? I have been to another extremely poor country where I've seen more evidence of people using the streets as their toilet. However, in India, with the large number of holy cows that wander freely one still needs to be careful when walking in the street.

Bag stealing on trains? I didn't do a lot of train travel. I encountered no problems. Hey, I still have my passport : ). Perhaps we need to be careful wherever and however we travel.

Honesty in business dealings? I've already written about one hotel where they charged over the quoted price. I encountered one travel agent who charged an exorbitant booking fee and had all sorts of reasons to justify it. I didn't believe them. Quoted prices in India often do not reflect the final price. Considerable taxes may be added and people are not always upfront about this. Apart from this, I found the vast majority of Indians I had dealings with to be open, honest and helpful. I believe it is time that more emphasis was placed on these people. Instead of promoting Incredible India perhaps the government tourist authority should be promoting Credible India. How about a campaign to ask travellers to dob in someone who was honest and helpful? I'm sure there are many of them in this incredible country.

Labels: Asia, India, poverty, ripoff, scam, travel

No one I spoke to had anything good to say about Delhi but somehow circumstances are such that I've just spent a week there.

I asked my friends with India experience where I should stay in Delhi. It seems they all say Pahar Ganj. No one could actually recommend a place they'd stayed. There was no enthusiasm but no one knew any other options. And online reviews aren't enthusiastic either.

I decided to check local knowledge. I asked Nazia what she thought about Pahar Ganj. 'Don't go there,' she said. 'It's full of touts. It's not a nice place.'

'So, where do I go?'

'I'll find somewhere for you.'

Nazia lives in suburban Delhi but the reality is that locals don't know where you should stay. They never have to look for accommodation in their own town.

Online I tracked down a guesthouse not far from her place. She checked it out and said it didn't look too bad but she had reservations.

I emailled and asked what was their full all-inclusive room rate. They wrote back and said 'refer to our website'. The website quoted 1,000 rupees for a single room and made no mention of seasonal rates. That's not cheap for India. We aren't talking about starred accommodation. Still, I emailled back and asked them to book me in for two nights.

The place wasn't all that bad. It was clean, had air-con, hot running water if you could figure out how it worked and most importantly - the bed was comfortable. They served breakfast and the food was OK. When I checked out two days later, I was presented with a bill for 3,000 rupees. When I questioned them, they said the rate in the website was the off-peak rate and this was the peak period (for one more week). Nazia came along to pick me up and joined in the conversation - in Hindi - which meant I was out of it. The clerk referred her to his boss by telephone. The boss said he couldn't do anything but quoted his boss. I stupidly paid up.

I am not mentioning the guesthouse name because I understand this type of practice is not uncommon in India. I present this anecdote here as a warning to all travellers to India. Don't do what I did. I recommend that you do not accept vague references to a website - ask for a firm price. Don't book unless you get it. If they try to change the price, refuse to pay.

So, where to next? I was prepared to try Pahar Ganj but I wasn't going there if Nazia could help it. I had jotted down a few notes off the internet. Top of my list, because of price, was the International Youth Hostel at Chanakyapuri. Nazia was quite enthusiastic about this because Chanakyapuri is a good area. We took a taxi there and yes, this area is very pleasant - lots of trees, little traffic and quiet. This is the area where you'll find all the foreign embassies.

And the hostel? Well, it's certainly not luxurious but it's clean with basic comforts. There are several options ranging from private rooms with air-con to dorms. But if you turn up on short notice, as I did, you might not get what you are looking for. (Check their website and book ahead.)

For my first three nights, I got a room to myself but had to share the bathroom.
For the rest of my stay, I was in a dorm.

I usually avoid dorms, mainly for security reasons but security here was good. You get a locker to which you can add your own lock. It was big enough to hold my main backpack. If you're fussy, check them out first as you're allocated a specific one. Some are in better condition than others. They also offer secure storage on another floor which looks pretty good. I put my computer bag in there as I wasn't going to be using the computer anyway. As an added precaution, I put a lock on the bag.

Weighing up the differences between a private room and a dorm, there are pluses and minuses to each. If you want quiet, the private room is definitely the way to go as people come and go in the dorms at all times of day and night. Some are considerate of others. Some definitely are not. I've also discovered that Indian men are even worse than Chinese men with the noises they make to clear the phlegm from their throats early in the morning.

What I liked most about the dorm was the opportunity to meet others. I shared my dorm with an interesting range of people, none of whom were Westerners. Among the Indians were a couple of guys who were part of a team working on a new political journal. There was also an (almost) retired professor of political science and an historian working on the period before and after independence from a Muslim perspective. Foreigners included two Afghan students. I also met a young accountant (really nice guy) from Argentina.

There were some superficial renovations taking place during my stay but some major work is also needed. The hostel is advertised as being 'eco-friendly'. The main feature of this is the solar hot water system which only operates in the winter months. At the moment it is stuffed so there's no hot water at all which, of course, is still eco-friendly : )

Both of the bathrooms I used were pretty bad in general. The plumbing challenged my understanding of the laws of physics.

The hostel has a kitchen which serves reasonable (mostly Indian) food. Breakfast is included in the room price. Sometimes the kitchen is open for lunch, sometimes not. You have to book and pay ahead for lunch and dinner. There is a deadline for this which may or may not be enforced depending on the staff member on duty. If you miss out, there is a local 'market' where food is available but the range is limited unless you are looking to dine in a fancy restaurant. (The one I tried is quite good.)

Chanakyapuri is not in the centre of Delhi but it's only ten minutes away from Connaught Place by auto rickshaw (similar to a Thai tuk-tuk). There's usually one or two waiting outside the hostel. They will ask you for a fare of 60 - 100 rupees for this. Offer them 40 and walk away if they mention a figure over 50. There is also a bus for much less than this. The nearest stop is a pleasant ten minute walk from the hostel. They can at times be way overcrowded but pick the right time (as I did) and you'll get a comfortable and maybe interesting ride.

If you want to check out Pahar Ganj (as I also did), it's a walkable distance from Connaught Place or take the metro. It certainly is an interesting place to visit. Vibrant is the word that comes to mind. I'm told there are good restaurants there but I didn't try them. Yes, the touts are there but after six years in Asia I know most of the tricks. Inexperienced travellers should be cautious with people they don't know. Don't be paranoid or you'll miss out on the fun. Just don't believe too much of what he says. (So far I haven't met a female tout in India but I'm open.)

Back to the New Delhi International Youth Hostel, if I haven't turned you off (not my intention), I suggest you check out their website and remember to book ahead.

Labels: Asia, hawker, holiday, India, ripoff, travel

On one of my visits to Australia I stopped off in Kyabram on the Murray River to visit my niece. She took me to the local market—very quiet compared to the ones here in Asia. Someone was selling mangosteen juice and from memory I think they were asking about $A70 a bottle.

Perhaps you are asking: what's a mangosteen and why are they so special?

The picture shows fresh mangosteens that I bought here in Bangkok recently for about 50 cents Australian per kilo. Doesn't that seem a bit different from the price being charged in Kyabram?

The vendor at Kyabram told that mangosteens have amazing antioxidant qualities and said research suggests they can cure many illnesses. I usually find claims like these are a little extravagant. You can find a balanced report on the goodness of mangosteens here. If you do a search for 'mangosteen juice' you'll find many other pages promoting the healing qualities of this fruit. Make up your own mind.

Whatever you decide about the value of mangosteen I have to ask how the price can be justified. The juice being sold in Kyabram included (from memory) raspberry juice. The ones I found being promoted online include other juices. They usually sell for a little less than the Kyabram vendor was asking—say $US35 for the most popular brand but this brand includes many other ingredients in the bottle, such as: apple juice, pear juice, grape juice, pear purée, blueberry juice, raspberry juice, strawberry juice, cranberry juice, cherry juice, citric acid, natural flavor, pectin, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate. I'm sure most of these are healthy too but I have to ask, just what proportion of the drink is actually mangosteen juice? Most of those other juices can be bought for a much lower price. And considering the price I'm paying for mangosteens here in Thailand the word that comes into my mind to describe these products is 'ripoff'.

Labels: Asia, Australia, fruit, health, mangosteen, ripoff, thailand

Where do you get your news? I don't have a TV set in my room and I don't buy newspapers these days as I get my news on the internet. I've been exploring and comparing many of the news sites on the web and hope to make a few comments in future blogs. Right now I want to point out something about information you may or may not be getting about Burma/Myanmar.

Yes, on Western news sites there is some coverage of the plight of the Burmese people since Cyclone Nargis. Today I discovered, on a site created by exiled Burmese journalists, allegations of the constitutional referendum being rigged. Some Western news sites are saying that the referendum has received a 92% yes vote. But so far I haven't noticed anywhere, other than Asian sites, claims of blatant vote rigging.

Assuming the allegations are true, government officials stayed up all night before the election, under orders, voting 'yes' on most of the voting papers. When citizens arrived to vote the next day they were simply told to sign to say they'd voted and were sent home.

It seems the generals may have simplified democracy. What a wonderful idea—don't bother to vote, we'll do it for you.

Labels: Asia, Burma, censorship, Myanmar, news, politics, ripoff, scam

Today I got my new passport. Some time back I mentioned in an email to a Thai friend who works in the Australian Embassy in Bangkok that getting a new passport was not easy. Got an email back from my friend who had talked to colleagues in the consular section. They had told her to tell me it was quite easy. Here's what I've been through. Judge for yourself.

I rang the Embassy after I discovered my passport was missing. If you check the dfat website it says you should do this as the passport must be cancelled to prevent it being used illegally. At the consulate they weren't so concerned. They said the first step was to contact the Bangkok Tourist Police and get a police report. But that I shouldn't put my report into the Embassy until I was 100% sure the passport was not going to turn up. Once they'd started the process to replace it, it couldn't be stopped and the costs would still apply.

I did a search on the internet for tourist police in Bangkok and got conflicting information from different sites. There was supposed to be one in Sumkumvit Road near my school. I asked another Australian student who lives in the area. He gave some vague directions. One of us must be mistaken because I did a lot of walking and didn't find it. Rang the tourist police from home later. The woman I spoke to had no patience with my inability to understand her directions and said I should go to the local police station. They could call the tourist police and ask for help with translation.

Went to the police station near my home. Two officers there spoke a little English so between that and my Thai we communicated fairly well. They didn't ask much, filled out a form, took a few baht from me and handed me the form. I couldn't believe that was all there was to it. I suggested they ring the tourist police. They did and put me on after a minute. The officer I spoke to said the form I had was the report.

After I'd turned my room upside-down three times I headed off to the embassy. It's not exactly convenient to where I live. It takes me an hour and a quarter on a good day by public transport to get to my school. The embassy is a little further on from there. The first visit I went in a roundabout way but now I know the shortest route. I always appreciate opportunities to improve my geography of the place where I'm currently living.

I guess since 9-11 the Australian government has become a little paranoid about it's overseas embassies. I've visited Australian embassies in other countries but security here seems a little over the top. There are high bars right along the street front. At the gate you have to state your business and they let you in the gate. You can't take a bag in past this first gate and no mobile phone. I hope they pay those security people well or at least cover them with good insurance because if anyone had a bomb in their bag they're the ones who'd get it. I had to take out all the bits and pieces I needed at the consulate and carry them in my hands. I then walked through an electronic security gate and on the other side I'm scanned by a hand held device and felt up a little. They check everything in my pockets. Then they let me through the next locked gate. All this is done in a polite and friendly manner. No complaints there.

On the other side of the two gates I walk alongside an artificial waterway stocked with fish. I remind myself to be extra careful. The safe way to carry these documents would be in a bag. But they won't allow me a bag. I have lots of bits and pieces. I wonder if anyone's ever dropped their passport in the water. After about 50 metres I enter the building and have to empty everything I'm carrying and everything in my pockets into a box while I walk through another electronic security gate and am scanned and felt up a little again. I have to go through two more locked doors controlled by another security person. And then I'm in. I'm on Australian territory.

I go upstairs to the consulate section and have to take a number. No one else is waiting and there is no one on duty. Guess it's the end of their lunch break. When someone arrived I explained what I was there for and they gave me a form to take home and fill out. The form includes a section to be signed by a guarantor. They also gave me a list of suitable people who I could use as a guarantor and an extra form to fill out to explain how I could be so stupid as to lose my passport.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog I have had my passport stolen on two occasions before. A major difficulty at that time was getting the photo right. Australia has very specific instructions about size and other characteristics of the photo for a passport. I guess in Australia most photographers know the rules and it's no longer a big deal. At the time I got my first set of photos taken in Melaka. I then had to take these into the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, a few hours away on the bus. The first ones were rejected. I was told where to find the nearest photographer. I figured being so close they might have some idea of what was required. But these too were rejected. Back to the same photographer and this time they got them right. Talking to a consulate official in another country some time later I was told that the rules had changed again and were now even more strict.

At the Bangkok consulate I asked if there was a photographer nearby who knew how to take photographs to fit the requirements. They gave me a business card for one down the road.

At one stage the officer I was talking to went away to get some information. While I was standing at the counter waiting (Did I mention it is a high-security counter like a bank?) a few more people came in. An old guy (well, older than me) said 'G'day mate,' and started a conversation. After I'd finished at the counter we had a bit of a chat. He was there with his Thai wife and I discovered he lived in the same general area that I do. He suggested that we could go back together in a cab. I explained that I had to go and get some photos taken. He said they'd wait for me out the front if they got out first or if I got back first I could wait for them.

So, back downstairs, through the two security doors, outside, walk along the waterway, collect my bag and back into the street. Took me a little while but I found the photographer. Said I needed photos for an Australian passport. He took the photos and I waited while he processed them on his computer. When they were finished he gave me six photos (I needed two) in two different sizes. Just to check, I asked if these were correct for an Australian passport. He gave me a piece of tracing paper printed with the size guidelines. One size seemed to fit. All this took quite a while.

Went back to the consulate to wait for my new friend. As soon as I stopped dead outside the embassy I was approached by one of the two security guards cruising the footpath outside. I explained that I was waiting for my friend. He told me he'd already gone. I got the impression he wanted to move me on whatever. What if the old fellow had not already gone? Would he have allowed me to stay there? Does he have any authority to stop me waiting in a public place? Did he discourage the old fellow from waiting for me? How paranoid are they?

Went home and took a look at the form. To be honest, most of the information required on the form is not all that difficult but they do a good job of making it look that way. There are five pages of instructions as well as guidelines on the actual form which takes another five pages. If it's easy why are so many instructions needed? I consider it to be overkill and would find it less off-putting if they made it a little more brief. The actual form, like so many Australian government forms these days, has little boxes and you are required to write one letter per box. I don't know what others think of this kind of design. But to me it sends a message like 'Don't make a mess or you're in deep shit.' What if you make a mistake? What happens if the information doesn't fit in the boxes? I shortened my address so it would fit.

I filled it all in and then came the challenging bit. Who could I use as my guarantor? It has to be someone who has known me for more than 12 months. There is a long list of professions of people who are considered respectable enough to do this important job. Surely I would know someone belonging to one of them. In the past this list has included teachers but they are missing on this one. What have they done to fall from grace? I know many teachers both in Australia and Thailand. On previous passports, in Australia, I'd got teachers to guarantee me. If I was in Australia it would be easy because anyone who has been on the electoral roll for 12 months is acceptable. An Australian living in Thailand could do it for me but generally, I don't mix with Australians, I mix with Thais.

One of the categories listed is 'public servants—current full-time employees of Commonwealth, State, Territory or Local Governments...who have been employed continuously for five years'. I have a Thai friend who works in a section of the Australian Embassy (remember?) and who has worked continuously for more than five years. I sent her an email and asked if she would be qualified. It turns out she is employed on contracts that get renewed every so often. So while she has in fact been there for over five years full-time she is not considered a permanent employee. I rang the consulate to check on this and they said that was the case. I explained my situation to the person on the phone. 'Don't you have a doctor in Thailand?' she asked.

No. How about pharmacist? I know a pharmacist (a few actually) but they are not practising. They teach at universities.

'Well, teachers are OK.'

Not on this list they're not. If you can accept a teacher I'm out of trouble. I also know a qualified accountant but I'm not sure that they're practising or a member of one of the groups listed (Australian groups).

'Wait, I'll check.' She found another list that included teachers and emailled me a copy. So looks like I'm out of trouble. I rang a friend who works at a nearby university and he agreed to sign it for me.

On my next school day I put the forms in my bag and went off to the school where I'm studying Thai. After school I went the stall where I usually eat my lunch. While I was eating a storm hit. A heavy storm. There was no way I was leaving until it finished. I didn't have an umbrella. My bag was sitting on the ground between my feet—safe there I trust. No, it wasn't. After a while I noticed that the water was running through the stall and my bag was sitting in it. The form had got wet through and was unusable. Fortunately the photos were OK.

On the way home I dropped into the university, visited my friend and showed him the form that there was no point in him trying to fill in. I said I'd return after I'd gone back to the embassy for another form.

Back to the embassy a couple of days later, after my next Thai lesson. Go through the same process of the security checks and all the gates and doors, take a number and once again I'm first in line. While I'm waiting a young guy comes in and I'm able to give him some tips on where to go in Thailand. He has another month here. Hope he hasn't lost his passport. I have a different officer this time. She almost reluctantly gives me a second form. Do they have to account for them our something? As she gives it to me she gives me lots of advice about my application like 'Make sure you use black ink. Do you have this? Do you have that?'

Yeah, I'd read all that stuff and I knew what I had to do but the fact that she felt she needed to explain it to me makes me wonder just how many people come in who have done it wrong. If it is so easy, would she feel the need to give this advice?

Amongst all the instructions I had noticed that it says that supporting documents, if in a foreign language, must be accompanied by a translation. I asked about my police report. It's in Thai. Do I need a translation?

Yes, she was helpful and pointed me to a translation service in the next street. Back through all the security, outside, around the corner and wait while they decipher the cop's writing. I'd tried to read it myself and have to admit my Thai wasn't good enough. But they didn't find it all that much easier. The police officer is in the wrong profession. Should have been a doctor.

A few days later I go back to the university and my friend fills in the guarantor's page. For occupation he writes 'professor' which is correct but I wonder if they can cope with this.

On my next school day I put all the papers and supporting documents into a plastic envelope inside my bag. Yes, I've learned a lesson. And the plastic envelope is also a good idea when I reach the embassy because it holds all the bits together once I leave my bag behind at security. Back upstairs to the consular section and take my number.

I get the same woman as last time—the one with the helpful advice. I had wondered about the photos. When I had measured them neither of the two sizes seemed exactly correct. I'd got my professor friend to sign on two to be safe. But they are OK. She checks through the form asking a few questions. She comes to the guarantee section. 'What's a professor?'

In Thai there are two words for teacher. A teacher at a school is known as 'kroo', at a university 'aa-jaan'. 'Aa-jaan,' I answer. She accepts that but writes 'teacher' in the spaces following. There doesn't seem to be a problem that it is a teacher. I assume that means the information I was given on my first visit was incorrect.

In my previous passport blog I mentioned that I had to pay a $200 'fine' for losing my passport once again. This was wrong. They count how many times in total you've lost a passport in the past five years. I was almost there, almost out of the danger zone. It was 2004 when I had passports stolen twice. But three times in five years means a $400 'fine'. That's on top of the $200 fee for the passport.

How can they justify this? Not the fine, I'll come to that later, but $200 for a passport is over the top. Sure it's embedded with electronic information but that doesn't cost $200. I don't believe so. I expect more for that much money. For $200 I want something I can't lose. I want my passport tattooed on my chest or surely they can plant a chip under my skin somehow. They blame me for losing the passport but are they doing their bit? For $200, I expect something better. But what do I get—an easily-lost glorified 32 page piece of stationery.

BTW, last time I opted for the 64 page passport. As a frequent traveller even that wasn't going to see me out for the full ten years, at four years it was already way past half full. But why pay extra for a big one? If it gets stolen it's so much more to lose.

She can't find anything wrong with my application, accepts my money and gives me a receipt. I'm to come back in a few weeks to pick up my new passport.

A few days later my phone rings. It's the helpful lady from the consulate. My application for a standard ten year passport has been rejected. It seems they're not going to trust me with a full ten year passport but will give me a five year one. I need to come into the embassy once again to sign a document to say I accept this. What can I do? Are they giving me any choice?

From what she said, it seems this is a decision made by someone in Canberra. If it was a standard procedure, I expect she would have known about it beforehand. So this is some public servant in Canberra making a high-and-mighty decision that $400, plus the $200 for the passport is not enough punishment for me.

While the attitude pisses me off, this will really make little difference to me. Assuming that I continue to travel as I have in the past, this passport is unlikely to last me for five years anyway. I'll fill it well before that. Big deal.

What can I learn from this? Is there a lesson for me? Should I become as paranoid as they appear to be at the Australian Embassy? Do you think I'm going to go back to Australia and never travel again? No way! I will make my own choices about how I live my life. If I stop travelling it will be for my own personal reasons and have nothing to do with the passport issue.

Can I do something to ensure my passport isn't stolen again? I would suggest that I've already done that. I've gone four years without having a passport stolen. I must have been doing something right? But realistically, what can one do? Several people have suggested to me that I am foolish to carry my passport with me. Well, please tell me where it is safer. I could leave it in my room but rooms do get burgled. Security where I'm staying is pretty good. I need a keycard to get into the building and they have video surveillance. Despite this, it has its weaknesses, I'm sure an experienced burglar could get in. I could ask the office to put it in a safe for me. But that is passing responsibility to someone else. Somehow, despite my poor record, I'd prefer to trust me. On the day the passport disappeared I was wearing shorts with a side pocket held by two velcro tabs. The passport was in that pocket. I didn't think that would be easy for a pickpocket to get into without me noticing. I guess I was wrong because I can't think how else it would have disappeared. Someone suggested it might have fallen out of the pocket. No way. Those velcro tabs don't come undone like that. I have a range of pouches that can be worn under clothing to hold valuables. I chose to not use them because in near 40℃ heat, it's just a tad uncomfortable. I also heard a story on a travellers' forum of someone who was hugged and felt up by a woman (probably a prostitute) in Ho Chi Minh City. When she felt him up she got a handful of his wallet that he had tucked into his underpants. Fortunately she was honest and warned him not to leave his wallet there as someone else would lift it. Let's face it, if they are keen enough and skilled enough, they are going to get it no matter where you put it.

I was aware that the bulge in the pocket of my shorts looked like a wallet, probably more attractive to a thief than a passport. Assuming my passport was stolen, which is what I believe happened, what would the thief get for it? S/he was probably disappointed that it wasn't a wallet with a few hundred dollars in it. That would go a long way to buying a deal of whatever drug is motivating their actions. Assuming they know someone who buys stolen passports, what would they give? I have no way of knowing but I guess the thief might get $10. Not a big deal to them really. It's a much bigger deal for me to lose it. So, when I get my next passport, wherever I decided to hide it, I will put a sticky note in it offering a reward for its return and give my contact details. $100 from me is better than $10 on the black market. But it's better for me to spend $100 in this way than to pay the Australian government another $600. Whoever stole my wallet is small time. The big rip-off merchants are the Australian government.

What is the potential outcome of the government's loser-pays policy? I think in time it could lead to more stolen passports. If more people like me realise they're better off paying a thief $100 to get a passport returned than to be ripped off for a much larger amount by the Australian government, thieves will see there is money to be made by returning passports to the owner. They have a greater incentive to steal them.

How desperate are the thieves? It seems they don't mind if you die so they can steal your property. Bag snatching is quite common in some parts of Asia, usually by thieves in pairs on motorcycles. This was what happened to me on one occasion in Melaka. At the time there was a spate of such robberies in Malaysia. On one occasion a young woman was walking along a busy street in Kuala Lumpur, perhaps a little too close to the curb. A motorcycle came alongside her and the pillion rider grabbed her bag. She didn't want to let go and was pulled to the ground. She died from the injuries she sustained. When I was in Cambodia there was an incident in Phnom Penh. A young Frenchwoman was riding pillion on a motorcycle taxi. A pillion rider on another bike grabbed her bag and she was pulled off the motorcycle. Apparently she was run over and died. Witnesses were in short supply as no one sticks around after an accident in Cambodia. One is warned to always give a thief what they want rather than risk your life but isn't fining the victim encouraging them to do anything they can to hold onto their belongings? This policy could lead to more innocent people being killed.

If the government thinks fining the victim is a good way to prevent theft, why don't they fine people who get their house broken into? And why stop with theft? Why not fine rape victims? Is it possible that could cut down on the number of rapes? Imagine the outcry if the government did this. No democratic government would be brave enough to introduce such a law. But travellers are a small proportion of the population. They can introduce ridiculous laws like this and most people are blissfully unaware. There are no votes to be lost. This iniquitous law is unlikely to be changed no matter who is in power.

This story is not quite over yet. I have my passport but I still have to get my visa from Thai immigration. Not sure how much is involved there. I'll let you know.

Footnotes:

I have just reread my account of replacing my passport four years ago. At that time I posted my photos to Australia for verification. Not sure why they didn't suggest that this time. There is nothing on the form that says you can't do that. But if you were in a hurry to move on, it might be an issue.

If you'd like to read about my earlier missing passports, I wrote about the first theft in my March 2004 blog. The links from that page to the months following lead to more of the story.

And if you think I'm careless to lose three passports in less than five years, read this story.

Labels: Australia, passport, ripoff, travel

I go to daily Khmer lessons with a young woman who is capable and intelligent. While chatting, Esther mentioned a particular organization that for the sake of this blog we shall call XYZ. Esther said she would love to work for XYZ but she didn't know if she had the right qualifications and if she did she couldn't afford to pay the bribe that would be required by the interviewer.

I was shocked. I am aware that paying a bribe to get a job is commonplace here in Cambodia and also Vietnam. In fact, while I was in Vietnam I watched a movie that told of the challenges a young woman faced when she was refused a job that she had qualified for because she either couldn't or wouldn't pay a bribe to the interviewer. In this didactic movie the young woman set up her own business, faced the challenges—yes the interviewer comes back later in the story and attempts to sabotage her efforts—and eventually succeeds. The fact that such a movie was made, perhaps by a government film studio, shows that this practice is endemic in Vietnam. This is also the case in Cambodia.

But XYZ is a huge international NGO. If I mentioned its name, you would more than likely be quite familiar with it. I expressed to Esther my shock that such an organization would allow such practices to take place. I went on to say, that if she applied for a job with that organization and was refused a job that she would otherwise have got because she couldn't or wouldn't pay a bribe then I would be prepared to take the matter to the head of the organization in Cambodia and if that didn't result in the interviewer being sacked that I would take it to the international media and that it would be very embarrassing for XYZ.

Esther then backed down and said she had to admit she had no knowledge of this practice within XYZ. This was simply her expectation. I assured her that the international reputation of XYZ was far too important for them to allow such practices to take place and that if they advertised a job she was interested in and qualified for she should apply in confidence that she would be able to win the job without having to pay a bribe.

The point I want to make is that it is the expectation of this practice that makes potential job applicants give up before they even start. Why apply if you are not going to get the job anyway?

How it works, so I'm told, is that the usual interview process takes place and the best person for the job is selected. They are offered the job on condition of payment of the bribe which is an amount equal to one or two months salary. If the best applicant can't or won't pay the bribe, the offer is made to the second best and so on down the line. Perhaps it is the sixth best applicant who finally comes up with the money. Can you imagine what this does to the efficiency and effectiveness of government and other agencies where this is practised?

I go back to my point that many potential applicants give up before they even start. Why apply if you can't afford to buy the job? There is a similar belief when it comes to applying for a scholarship. 'Why bother?' said a very intelligent student of mine. 'All the scholarships will go to students who have family working in the education department.' This may or may not be true. The point is that it is believed and young people who have much potential give up and waste their lives doing something way below their ability.

Until countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam rid themselves of such practices they will never reach their full potential.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, money, poverty, ripoff, scam, Vietnam

I like to read the online travellers' forums for information that might be useful, particularly when I'm going somewhere that's new to me. There is an interesting thread at the moment about a hotel in Hanoi that made a deal with a customer to cut their price. The following day they kicked them out because they were able to get someone else to take the room at a better price. The customer posted the information not to whinge but to warn others so they didn't fall into the same trap.

Last time I checked, this thread had 47 postings. Many were suggesting that the hotel's behaviour was not bad and that it was OK for business people in poor countries to behave in such ways and that rich westerners have no right to complain. I find this attitude is not uncommon here in Vietnam. It seems some think 'I am poor, you are rich, therefore it's OK for me to rip you off.'

I believe that this attitude will help to keep people poor.

What happens when you go on a holiday? You get home you talk about it, perhaps you blog it or write in travellers' forums. If your experience was a positive one then those who hear what you have to say may be inspired to go to the same destination. If your experience was a negative one others will be less inclined to follow in your footsteps. Sometimes most of the experience might be good and there are one or two negative ones. Unfortunately it is often the negative ones that stick in the memory.

Every time someone in a developing country rips off a traveller they are adding to the negative attitudes that 'rich westerners' have of their country. In such countries tourism is often one of the major export earners. Negative behaviour towards travellers hurts the whole economy of the country. If we hear lots of bad stuff about a country we choose to go somewhere else.

If Vietnam, Cambodia or any other country wants to improve its export income through tourism and thus help the people out of their poverty there needs to be an education campaign to teach those who deal with travellers, from the street vendors and taxi drivers to hotel managers, that treating people badly only hurts themselves in the long run.

I might add that I am staying in a very cheap hotel in Hanoi. Despite this, I am always treated well by staff. They behave with complete integrity. I would like to think this is the way the majority of Vietnamese hotels treat their customers.

Labels: Asia, Cambodia, Hanoi, holiday, money, poverty, ripoff, travel, Vietnam

I recently received an email from a friend in Australia which said '...you need to be very cautious as the population obviously thrives on fleecing tourists'. Please friends, don't lose any sleep over my challenges in Vietnam.

I wonder if my recent blog 'Hanoi hawkers' might have been an overreaction. Did I bring my friend to this belief? If so, I need to revisit the subject and put it in a different perspective.

When one arrives in Hanoi everything is new. Even though I've spent much of the past four years in Asia, this is different, so I walk the streets with eyes wide open. I see the hawkers in the street and stare. Naturally enough, they zoom right in on me. I am unfamiliar with Vietnamese prices, or at least that is what they expect, so some see it as an opportunity to milk as much money as possible from me.

However, this is not all hawkers and lets face it, only a small proportion of the 3.5 million people living in Hanoi are hawkers. Most of the people I've spoken to here are friendly and helpful. Some of the hawkers have even got to know me and say things like 'Oh, we are friends now and still you won't buy anything to help me.' Guilt manipulation? Perhaps, but with the tongue wedged in the cheek.

What is a fair price? We in the west are conditioned by the concept of the 'recommended retail price'. We think there is a correct fair price for everything. If we pay less it's a bargain. If we pay more we've been ripped off. This is our culture. Please excuse the people of Asia if this is not theirs. They have a right to their own culture.

So, when you visit an Asian country the first thing to remember is: There is no such thing as a fair price. The second thing to remember is: The correct price is whatever the customer is prepared to pay and the vendor sell for.

When a vendor sells their goods to a local there is no point in asking a highly inflated price. The local either can't afford it or simply won't pay it. So they ask a reasonable price, perhaps a little higher than they expect to get. The buyer makes a counter offer, a little bargaining takes place and a price is agreed on. Correct? Fair? Who knows? It is simply the price that both buyer and seller have agreed on. Both had the option to decline at any time.

When a vendor sees a foreigner they know either from experience or hearsay that foreigners are crazy and will pay anything. Think of a number and multiply it by ten. Is that the correct price? It is if the foreigner is stupid enough to pay it. You have choices. You can make a counter offer or you can walk away. You don't have to pay it. If you choose to do so, don't blame the vendor. You have a choice.

After spending a little time in a country a few things happen. First I stop staring, second I start to get a feel for the usual (I almost wrote 'correct') price for the goods. I hate bargaining. Therefore I probably pay more than the locals. Occasionally I get ripped of badly but usually we are talking about a few cents. In Australian money I am still getting a bargain.

I walked up and down the market this morning comparing prices of mangosteen. I love this fruit and it is said to be very healthy. The first vendor asked for 20,000 dong per kilo. I immediately compared this to what I had paid for lichees, 5,000 dong, and was shocked. I tried other vendors. The best price I could get was 25,000 so I went back to the first vendor and bought my kilo. I was disappointed when I got home. Half of them were off and I had to throw them out. But it's not a big deal. The whole kilo cost me a total of $A1.50. Mangosteen are rarely available in Australian supermarkets and when they are there is no way I can buy half a kilo for $1.50.

Is our culture more moral than theirs? What did you pay the last time you bought a t-shirt? I've seen t-shirts in Australia 'on sale' at $79. On the other hand I've paid as little as $A2 for t-shirts in Cambodia and Malaysia. Who is making the big profit? Certainly not the vendor in an Asian country. When Billabong buy there t-shirts in bulk from an Asian factory what is the price they pay? I don't know, but my guess is that it is less than $A1 a piece. What price do you pay for that same shirt in Sydney or Brisbane?

Mr Billabong sleeps in his extravagant beachfront mansion on the New South Wales north coast. The Asian hawker probably sleeps on a rattan mat on a concrete floor. I wonder who sleeps more soundly.

Labels: Asia, Hanoi, hawker, market, millionaire, money, ripoff

Never before have I been bombarded with so many hawkers. And never before have I met hawkers so persistent and who ask so much more than the real price. In the old quarter of Hanoi there are hawkers everywhere. When they see a westerner they smile because the sight of a westerner means an opportunity to make a lot of money.

I have experienced this latter aspect in Cambodia. But the Cambodian hawkers are not so greedy nor so persistent. They usually accept 'no'. Of course this phenomenon is created by tourists. Ask yourself, if you were an extremely poor vendor and every foreigner who bought from you gave you a tip, how long would it take before you put the price up to include the tip?

However, some vendors have another tactic they use on top of overcharging. They try to make you feel guilty if you refuse to pay their price. They argue, 'You very rich. I poor. You can afford to pay.' Among others, I heard this argument from a guy hawking pirate copies of books such as Lonely Planet guidebooks. He was asking only a dollar or two less than the recommended price of the authentic book. The quality was nowhere near that of the real thing.

I go out walking each day. The streets of Hanoi fascinate me and I take lots of photos. This morning I was walking through a market when a guy pushed past me in the crowd and told me he would fix my sandal for me. I bought these sandals soon after I arrived in KL three months ago. They may be cheap but they are still good. He put his stool down on the footpath ahead of me and got out his needle and thread. He's was pointing to my sandal and saying he would sew them up for only one dollar.

'You're kidding!'

'OK, 15,000 dong.' One US dollar is about 16,000 dong.

'No thank you.' I continued to walk on down the street.

'12,000...10,000' He continued to follow carrying his stool.

'If you do them for free I don't want you to sew my sandals.'

He turned, said nothing and walked away as if to snub me.

One morning I was walking along the lake shore. It was hot. I was a little tired so I sat on a bench to rest in the shade of a tree. An easy target.








A book vendor was the first to approach me. I'd been there long enough to know their prices and their quality. I got rid of him quickly.

A pretty young girl came and sat beside me with a basket of souvenir gift items. She sat with me for about ten minutes going through all her items one by one. 'You have daughter? She like purse?' The purses were very nice and she only wanted 30,000 dong for one. But I wasn't biting. She took out a fan and showed me the beautiful craftsmanship and began fanning my face.

'How much do I have to pay you to sit here and fan me like this all day?'

'100 dollars.' She smiled.

I told her that I really didn't want to buy anything but if she wanted to sit I was enjoying chatting with her. She stayed. Occasionally she showed me something else which I politely rejected.

While all this was going on I noticed there were other westerners walking along the lakefront. A vendor would approach and they would not engage with them in any way. They wouldn't even say 'no'. They would make no eye contact, just walk briskly past.

I think this is unfortunate. To me, the most enjoyable part of being in a different country is to be able to engage in some way with the local people and to try to see the world from their perspective. Tourists such as these might see the sights. They might go to a cultural show but surely the real culture is to be found in the people themselves.

After the delightful young lady had decided I was a lost cause and moved on, another came and sat beside me. She looked very young. 'I have to sell to make money to go to school,' she told me. Yes, I'd encountered this phenomenon many times at Angkor Wat.

'I'm sorry, I don't want to buy anything,' I told her. 'But if you want to sit and chat that's OK.'

She did but every now and then would hopefully show me an item. Unfortunately this didn't last long. A security guard came along, gave her a talking to and sent her away. When I got up to continue my walk she was on the other side of the road. She beckoned to me but I didn't bother.

So, am I totally as hard as nails? Four years in Asia has made me immune to even the most pathetic beggar but occasionally I do get caught.

In Vietnam many women carry their goods in a couple of baskets hanging from a piece of wood across their shoulders. One tried to sell me some pineapple or bananas. I declined. She followed. Then she offered, 'Take picture.' She smiled as she pointed to herself. She was quite photogenic. I was tempted but I figured that would have a price too.

Eventually she gave up. But it wasn't long before another started following me with similar goods and the same patter. When it got to 'Take picture', I said, 'I'd love to take your picture but you will want me to pay you.'

'No money,' she said.

'No money?'

'No money,' she was already posing.








'OK.' I took a few shots of her.

When I'd finished she put down her baskets and said, 'Now you buy bananas.'

I could have walked away but I didn't. 'How much?'

'30,000 dong.' I knew the price was over the top (for Vietnam) but I figured I'd been done, so I paid up gracefully. It would have been cheaper to just give her a dollar to take her picture. But then the bananas were quite nice.

No sooner had I completed the transaction when the previous vendor turned up. 'You buy from her. You not buy from me.'

'Tomorrow,' I said and walked off. She followed me for a few blocks but eventually gave up.

This happened the morning after I had arrived in Vietnam. I did a lot of walking that morning without any plan, in no particular direction. Some of the streets had sweeping curves and eventually I lost my sense of direction. I found a fairly major longish street and headed off in the direction I thought would take me back to my hotel. After a while a motorcycle-taxi driver offered me a ride. I took the opportunity not for a ride but to ask directions. I showed him the card I'd been given by my hotel. He pointed in the opposite direction to the one I was heading. I thanked him and headed off.

Five minutes later I had still not found any landmarks I knew. I stood for a while trying to make sense of the little map printed on the back of the hotel's card. I was approached by a little man with a bundle of stamp albums and sleeves of coin collections. He didn't try to speak English or even Vietnamese, just grunted as he shoved them at me. 'No thank you,' I said.

As he walked off I thought I could see that he had a map or two amongst the albums. But he'd gone. I was still standing there trying to get my bearings when he approached me again. Once again he tried me with the stamps and the coins, then he pulled out a map. It was a street map of Hanoi. 'How much?' I asked.

'Six dollar.' He could speak English. Well it was more of a grunt but I could understand.

Six dollars for a map printed on one single sheet. Does this guy think I'm crazy? 'No way! Forget it.' I would rather stay lost than be ripped off.

'Five dollar.'

'No.'

'Four.'

'No.'

'How much you pay?'

What is a fair price for such a map in Vietnam? Can't be much more than a dollar surely. I offered him 20,000 dong.

'25.'

I accepted, paid my money, got my map and found my way home.

A few days later I was in another part of town. I discovered a bookshop and went in for a browse. I was interested to see what they had in English and also if they sold that map. They did. Their price? 7,000 dong.

Labels: Asia, Hanoi, hawker, money, ripoff, travel, Vietnam

At my guest house I got talking to Sarnta who is from Lithuania. She has a friend, another traveller, who is Norwegian. As far as I can remember, this is the story that the Norwegian woman told to Sarnta.

She met some people in KL and was given the story of a daughter visiting Norway and could she come and reassure the mother that the daughter would be safe there. She went.

After she had reassured the mother, she was given a nice dinner and was introduced to the father. He works in a casino dealing cards. He asked the Norwegian if she would like him to teach her how to cheat at cards. She said she wasn't interested as she never played cards. 'No, it's OK. Just for fun.' he said. So she goes along with it. Next he says that there was a man coming who is from Brunei. He had had a big win at the casino and now they wanted to win the money back. 'Would you like to join in, just for fun. You don't have to put up any money.' Once again, she goes along with it. She's not putting up any money. She has nothing to lose.

The man from Brunei is apparently very rich, is very well dressed and wearing expensive jewellery. They start to play. He starts to loose and she starts to win. At one stage there is about $US50,000 sitting on the table. Most of it would be hers except she didn't put any money up in the first place. The man from Brunei needs to leave but he is returning in an hour. After he goes they put it to her -- if she can go to the ATM and draw out $7,000 and put it into the game, she can keep half the winnings from the next round. She stands to win quite a lot of money. She tells them that there is no way she has $7,000 in her bank account and asks to be excused. They take her back to where they picked her up and she is safe.

This scam is not particularly Malaysian. I know a man who had a similar experience in Bangkok. His drink was drugged. He lost a considerable sum of money.

After a friend read my earlier post he pointed to a story that his brother wrote after a visit to Bali. It's a good read -- maybe required reading for all travellers. You will find it at http://www.geocities.com/joekarnt/ . From that page click on the 'Joe in Bali' link and from the drop-down menu 'Death story'.

Labels: Asia, Malaysia, ripoff, scam, travel

This is my third visit to Malaysia. Altogether I've spent about seven months or so here. I've had ample time to observe the way Malaysians behave differently from people in other South-east Asian countries. One example is that Malaysian women do not initiate conversation with strange men.

In Thailand or Cambodia if I happen to find myself sitting on a bus next to a woman I've never met before, it is quite common for a conversation to ensue. In Malaysia, even men don't usually chat under these circumstances.

It is therefore memorable when one, two or three women initiate a conversation. This has now happened to me three times, always in KL. And three times, after some friendly chit-chat, a story was told of a sister visiting my country and of a mother worried about her safety and would I mind meeting the mother and reassuring her that the sister is safe.

I'm aware that this is a scam. It's documented in the Lonely Planet guidebook. I'm aware that, should I try to help, I'll probably be invited to join in a friendly card game, be given a spiked drink and end up losing a considerable sum of money. Obviously, I don't take up the offer.

The fact that this has now happened to me three times in a total of no more than two weeks in KL suggests a number of things: this practice must be happening fairly regularly and it must often be successful; otherwise why would it continue?

This can't be giving Malaysian tourism a very positive image.

The question I have to ask is: why haven't the police stamped out this scam? I assume it's illegal or believe it should be. And if I can find these women so easily (or they me) why can't the Malaysian police?

Labels: Malaysia, ripoff, scam, travel

It seems that the majority of travellers are on a short-term trip with definite plans. They know where they're going and when they'll return home. Their bookings are made before they leave their home country.

A small percentage of us are long-term travellers. We often have vague or indefinite plans. We like having the freedom to change our minds.

Those who make the rules make them for the majority. Rules are not always flexible enough to cope with free-spirited travellers. But the world is changing – slowly.

Most countries have rules that require travellers entering by plane to have either a return or onward ticket. This does not acccommodate the needs of those who arrive by air and leave by land. As I said, the world is changing, despite the rules, immigration officers can be flexible. In four years of travelling in South-east Asia, I do not remember being asked by an immigration officer to show my onward or return ticket. If only the airlines realized this...

Whenever I fly into a country on a one-way ticket, the airline invariably insists that I have a return or onward ticket. They are apparently concerned that I will be rejected by immigration and they'll have to return me to my home country at their cost. But the reality is that I am never rejected, which makes me wonder how often it happens.

I accept that the airlines need to cover themselves for the odd time it does happen. But why should I pay for ticket that I have no intention of using – which is my way of handling the problem? I'd be happy to pay a reasonable insurance premium that would cover me in the unlikely event that I am rejected. Unfortunately, the airlines have me over a barrel and I'm obliged to fork out for the cheapest air ticket I can find out of the country. And I keep asking why???

The immigration officials have changed. When are the airlines going to catch up?

Labels: ripoff, travel