for the last several days, i haven’t really posted anything in this blog… that’s pretty much cause i havent really done anything. i could write about the many times i’ve gone to the mall (i think i’ve gone every day for the last 10 days). i could write about how for some strange reason i’ve gotten into this weird schedule of going to sleep at 3am and getting up at noon. i could write about going to the movies *yet again*. i could write about countless hours spent on the computer researching airfares and how Cathay Pacific screwed us over. but all of these things aren’t exciting and i couldnt see anyone caring much. for some reason, whenever i pretty much decide on leaving a country and moving on to the next, i always just spend my remaining time counting down the days. i could be making the most of my time here in bangkok, but instead i’m just lazying about. i guess it’s just anticipation of moving on. well, as of tomorrow, things’ll pick up again. we’re taking off to beautiful indonesia… land of volcanoes, tribal villages, and excellent diving. it’ll be exciting to see what’s in store for us!
******
oh, here’s a random story that popped into my head. we arrived in bangkok the other day at 7am. exhausted and half awake, we took a cab to look for a place to stay. we went inside one hotel and after asking about the price, asked to see one of the rooms. this is something we do *every time* we check into a place. abroad, you never know what you’ll find in a hotel room. could be smelly, could have roaches, could be filthy… you never know, so you should always check before you pay. well, when we asked to see a room, he said the rooms dont get cleaned till 8:30am so we cant see a room, but he can show us photos, which he proceeds to do. we say that we’ll wait till 8:30 and then take a look at the room. to our complete surprise, he says no. he absolutely refuses us to look at a room unless we pay him first. he insists that if we want to know what the room is like that we can look at the photos. we tell him that the room might look different than the photos, and we’d prefer to actually see the room. waiting till 8:30 or whenever is fine. but he says no. he wont let us see the room.
now, this is really bizarre. we’ve been on the road for almost 8 months now. we’ve probably stayed at around 60 or more hotels during this time… hotels spanning over 15 countries, and not once have we ever not been allowed to look at a room. WTF?! we ask him why he wont allow us to see the room, and he gets pissed off. “fine! the hotel is full then. go find another hotel”. what?! i couldnt believe how rude this guy was being. we tell him that we’re not trying to be difficult, we just feel like we should be able to see a room before paying. he tells us the hotel is full once again. we point out that just 2 minutes ago he said it wasn’t. “well now it’s full. go find another hotel”. ugh!!! in america, this would be the point when you ask to speak to his manager etc. but abroad, there’s no managers to complain to. there’s never any reprocussions to employees for being totally rude to us, ripping us off, etc. in some ways, this is the most frustrating thing about traveling. that someone can just utterly treat you like shit, and there’s really nothing you can do about it. or, a company can totally rip you off, and once again, there’s nothing you can do about it. lots of businesses totally thrive on the fact that they can rip off a customer, and then, since the cutomer is a traveler, the business will never see them again.
oh well… can’t win ’em all i guess…. onwards to Indonesia!!!
*v
No Vlad, there is a reward. Like yourself, many of us “tourists” get ripped off. I stayed at an out of the way motel in (bf) West Virginia, back in February, during a snowstorm and got ripped off by a couple from India. The next day, when I realized I’d been overcharged and tried to do something about it, my complaints fell on deaf ears. I was going to call Management(it’s part of a chain), but then decided that my vengence(?)/reward was the following –
I will continue to get to travel all over the World(as will you) and this couple is chained to this motel in West Virginia. Your “friend” is chained to his place there in Bangkok. Your life moves on, his stays there in Bangkok – FOREVER! Enjoy Indonesia.
Heh. Remember that loud American guy on the boat to Laos? The one who threatened to complain to travel guides about the way we were being [mis]treated? That shit just doesn’t work abroad, unfortunately. Believe me; I’ve tried. When I had my laundry done in Thailand – for the millionth time, mind you – the person who washed my clothes decided to forego the usual way of identifying garments (i.e., inserting different colored thread) and literally wrote on my garments. In pink. In PINK! And did it occur to the stupid twat to write only on the labels? Nooooooooooo, she actually wrote in the middle of one of my white shirts – the MIDDLE! What the hell is wrong with people? And when I refused to pay for the destruction of my clothes, the manager looked at me blankly. She wasn’t even apologetic. *Sigh* It’s so frustrating.
Heh. I just remembered something else. Remember on that same boat ride to Laos when we got charged twice? And do you remember my reaction when that jackass tried to get us to pay a third time? I seem to recall my screaming a bunch of profanities at him. That’s me – so composed, so tactful. 😉
Heh… you want composed and tactful? in the last two weeks I have cursed two people to Buddhist hell realms, and spit (I can hardly believe it myself) on the front doorstep of the hotel Vlad mentioned above. Time to get my self-righteous anger under control again, especially as spitting is illegal here in Singpore! 😉
Dayum, Caryn! You naughty girl, you. Heh. I feel your pain. 😀
yeah, that’s definitely true. i do try to look at it that way, but when you’re super pissed it’s hard to.. you want immediate results!!
she wrote in the *middle* of your shirt?!?! sheez, that’s just fucking tidiculous. i know laundry people around here dont usually give a crap about the clothes, but that’s just crazy! yeah, it just really bothers me that they just couldnt care less. i mean, even a “sorry” would be nice, but no… even that’s too much.
heh, yeah, i remember that boat ride. i seem to remember you yelling very loudly about how laos sucks and that you’re never gonna come back to that country ever again. heh.
Holy crap! I said that?!? OMG. Sometimes I don’t think before I speak, especially when I’m pissed off. Hrm. 🙁