Money Perceptions & How they Change with Travel

Sharonov

We're not rich but not poor, middle aged and middle class. To give you an idea of our lifestyle, I pay $60 every six weeks for a haircut and color; my husband goes to supercuts and pays $13.95. He is pretty bald so all they do is run the clippers around his head and it takes about 2 minutes.

In Varanasi he needed a shave, and our washbasin was so tiny and the hot water so erratic, he decided to have a shave and trim done by one of the barbers sitting on a rock by the ghats. Our hotel guy said it should cost about 10 rupees. The barber must have spent 20-30 minutes on him, shaving around the beard, trimming beard and mustache, shaving around the back of his head, even shaving the bald spot to get rid of the random tuft.
Well, we had made the colossal mistake of not setting the price first, and when the guy was done he gave the price as 200 rupees. Aghast, we managed to get him down to 100, but for a long time afterwards were outraged at how we had been fleeced. Then we started thinking about it------------100 rupees is about $2.31!!! We were all hot and bothered about TWO DOLLARS AND THIRTY ONE CENTS!!!

Another day we were in a hurry so accepted a ride from a cycle-rickshaw guy who was badgering us. He looked to be about 70 (and was probably 50), weighed about 115 pounds, had maybe two teeth in his mouth and was in rags. He only took us about three blocks to our hotel, and when we looked all we had was a fifty rupee note. My husband gave it to him and waved away the change. When I looked back a minute later, he was still looking at that 50 rupees with the most gorgeous unbelieving smile you've ever seen. It made me so sorry I hadn't given those 50 rupee notes ($1.25??) out more often to those guys. But no, we'd haggle and feel taken if we paid 25 when the going rate should have been 10.

Now we're home and a taxi ride from our place in the city to less than a mile away costs $7 - $10. Does anyone else feel such a shift in attitudes toward money when they go away??

machadinha

No wonder I had a hard time getting a 10 Rs. ride the next day.

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edwardseco

I am an unabashed supporter of the pedicabs. I use them to view the architecture in the inner lanes of the old city. I squander a big payout at the end and never had a regret..

Avnish

I can tell you one thing, I may not be "too" generous when in India, but I am a lot less generous now that I'm back home. People over here take things for granted and have no idea of what the people in India are willing to do for a few extra rupees.

Perhaps when I return to India, I may be a bit more generous...

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AlainB

Hi,

Once, in Vietnam, there was this guy at the hotel that was very mad because he has been over charged of 1000 Dongs on his bill. Was he mad, shouting louder and louder to the poor girl at the counter.

What is the point, 1000 Dongs is just $0,07; seven cents!

Was this guy really crazy? Well maybe a little bit but he was mostly lost. Lost in his head that is.

You see, he was dealing with ONE THOUSAND DONGS, ONE THOUSAND DONGS, not 7 cents.

We are so used in dealing with small numbers, one, five, twenty dollars that when we hear One thousand or two hundreds or five hundreds, the very first thought is that it is big, it is a lot.

We need to think twice before seing the light, at least in the beginning.

I have been there and I am sure almost everybody has been there. The important thing is to realise it and ajust properly.

Alain

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SHIMLA

Agree with Sharonov. Its necessary to see things in the right perspective.

Most of the time we haggle for things which really cost a pittance, this becomes apparent after the haggling!!

When we dine at a restaurant, do we argue over the menu rates??? After the bill is presented, do we ask for a reduction in the price of a dish which we have not liked? On the contrary, we leave behind a handsome tip for the bearer, irrespective of the level of service or the quality of food ! Why ? These are considered etiquettes, manners, customs, etc. etc., that's why!!

Why should we then haggle with the poor rickshawllah or the barber or the shoe-shine boy for the few extra rupees they charge us????

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vlad

i just think it's pretty much the way you were brought up. my uncle had it pretty bad when he was a kid, now he's rich, but VERY stingy. i can't really blame him. he may look like a cheapskate to others but he just sees money differently.

i don't actually blame the guy getting pissed over his 7 cents - who knows what he had to go through; to you it may be worth 7 cents, something you find on the street but i'm guessing to him it's a whole lot more.

some people just can't escape their previous conceptions. no matter rich they become, they'll still shop at some second hand clothes store.

machadinha

You could also change the whole thing around and say it's not 1 euro we're talking about, it's 50 ff'ing rupees! That is not a call for stingyness but a call for realism; throwing your money around may go a long way towards assuaging your conscience but it won't help the locals or travellers on a tighter budget to get a fair price (I'm not chiming in with the "oh you'll spoil the local economy" choir here, but there's a limit to the thing.) It's also an easy way of not having to deal with the local circumstances while you can afford it I feel, I mean if you don't know the difference between 10 and 100 rupees you've got a serious problem if you ask me, think about it. If you want to be a hero then find a local social organization to fund I'd say, they shouldn't be hard to find. Maybe give them a lifetime pledge while you're at it, that's something else than a few handouts while you are on your way.

phantom

I think that's a nice suggestion .. (if you take out the sarcasm in that) !!
Why not sponsor one child from an orphanage... won't take more than $100 per child per month.. will it ??

AlainB

I would be quite mad if I was charged 20 times the normal price. At that point, the real amount in Canadian dollars even if it was pennies would be irrelevant.

I can't stand attempts of rip off or cheating.

But 10 dollars and seven cents instead of ten dollars flat is not a rip off or cheating. It is probably just a charge that was not clearly explain at the beginning.

The only time I got really mad about money is when I was in China with my chinese girlfriend. We negociated a price of 10 RMB (2$ CAD) for a ride in cyclo. The negociation has been made in chinese. After the ride, I paid the guy with a 20 RMB bill. He did not want to give me back the 10 RMB stating that the price was 10 RMB each.

I almost got to fight with him. After a while of arguing, I saw a policeman not very far. I tried to catch his attention and that settle the different. I got back my 10 RMB in half a second.

Now I know better, when I negociate a price I try to include every aspect of the service. "This price is for the two of us, Right?"

But it is not easy and I am sure I will get mad again someday.

Alain

machadinha

I wasn't being half as sarcastic as I might have been. It's a viable option and like you say it wouldn't cost you much. So do I personally sponsor an orphanage? Nope, but I sponsor other causes if the bills don't bounce. I'm sure one day I'll be a big boy with a healthier bank account and we'll see. Anyway these are our personal decisions.

AlainB, I totally agree about the often-noted ridiculousness of haggling over a couple of cents, it's just the totally not haggling over it that also strikes me as rather silly. Sorry if I put it a little strongly. Besides about all the bargaining, as long as it's done in good spirits it's just expected, I imagine not doing it would be rather disappointing to the salesman (although receiving a handsome bill instead might soften their pain admittedly).