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Don't mess with Gibraltar
Apr. 9th, 2009 09:48 pmEgypt is filled with some of the most impressive and ancient of the world's impressive ancient monuments. However, over the couple of thousand years, Egypt has not had any ability to come anywhere close to the achievements of its forefathers. Instead, their economy seems content to milk every dollar from their faded ancient glory and the tourists who come to see it.
Seriously, this place has the most ridiculously obnoxious salespeople on the planet. The taxi drivers are particularly bad. Because they don't have meters, every ride is yet another negotiation. The most ridiculous thing they do is completely change the price after we negotiate an agreement. Given the power dynamic of a taxi ride, they can't really get away with it... I simply pay the amount we agreed on originally and get out. This has led to everything from tirades to a series of farting noises (?!) from the taxi drivers. I now just laugh at them, though the first time it happened I gave him quite a tirade back.
Salespeople here always start with the question “Where you from?” ... sometimes shouting it more or less indiscriminately at any passing tourist. It took me a little while to realize that this wasn't just fake chit-chat prior to the sales pitch. It's valuable research into how much they can overcharge you. Americans are the big whales whereas most European visitors earn less. For a similar reason, the second question is “How long you been in Egypt”? People who are fresh off the plane will happily shell out 5x the going rate for a taxi or water.
I've come up with a variety of techniques to prevent myself from being driven mad by these people. One fun approach is to make up a fake identity. I'm from Gibraltar. Hey, they do speak English there, and it's not so far away, so I must not be so rich, especially since I'm a grad student there studying psychology. Most of them have no clue about the place, so I can provide them with loads of fake data. I also leave them with the impression that Gibralteans don't take any shit.
I've discovered that another surprisingly effective method of dealing with annoying salespeople is to pretend to sell them things. I'll pull some random doohickey out of my pocket and then immediately push them to make me an offer. They usually get it and leave me alone.
However, I had still become depressed after a few days of having any conversation with an Egyptian local, however genuine-sounding, end in the inevitable sales pitch. Fortunately, I met a teacher and his school group from a small central Egyptian city this afternoon, and we had a delightful hour-long conversation about world politics, ancient Egypt, and other good things. I feel a lot better now that I have interacted with real Egyptians, not just tourist touts who see me as a walking wallet.
Seriously, this place has the most ridiculously obnoxious salespeople on the planet. The taxi drivers are particularly bad. Because they don't have meters, every ride is yet another negotiation. The most ridiculous thing they do is completely change the price after we negotiate an agreement. Given the power dynamic of a taxi ride, they can't really get away with it... I simply pay the amount we agreed on originally and get out. This has led to everything from tirades to a series of farting noises (?!) from the taxi drivers. I now just laugh at them, though the first time it happened I gave him quite a tirade back.
Salespeople here always start with the question “Where you from?” ... sometimes shouting it more or less indiscriminately at any passing tourist. It took me a little while to realize that this wasn't just fake chit-chat prior to the sales pitch. It's valuable research into how much they can overcharge you. Americans are the big whales whereas most European visitors earn less. For a similar reason, the second question is “How long you been in Egypt”? People who are fresh off the plane will happily shell out 5x the going rate for a taxi or water.
I've come up with a variety of techniques to prevent myself from being driven mad by these people. One fun approach is to make up a fake identity. I'm from Gibraltar. Hey, they do speak English there, and it's not so far away, so I must not be so rich, especially since I'm a grad student there studying psychology. Most of them have no clue about the place, so I can provide them with loads of fake data. I also leave them with the impression that Gibralteans don't take any shit.
I've discovered that another surprisingly effective method of dealing with annoying salespeople is to pretend to sell them things. I'll pull some random doohickey out of my pocket and then immediately push them to make me an offer. They usually get it and leave me alone.
However, I had still become depressed after a few days of having any conversation with an Egyptian local, however genuine-sounding, end in the inevitable sales pitch. Fortunately, I met a teacher and his school group from a small central Egyptian city this afternoon, and we had a delightful hour-long conversation about world politics, ancient Egypt, and other good things. I feel a lot better now that I have interacted with real Egyptians, not just tourist touts who see me as a walking wallet.
