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the colour of money

it’s fascinating how one’s perception of money changes when travelling. it’s quite different to being on holiday, when you are continually making comparisons between the price of things where you are, and the price of things back home, thinking of value in terms of purchasing power for what you earn. so when a souvenir is only a pound or two, or a meal is much less than what you’re used to paying, it’s easy to classify it as “cheap, and to justify spending money on it.

when you’re travelling, however, you have no income. a little money has to go a long way, and your trip succeeds or fails by how well you manage your budget. things become “expensive” or “inexpensive” only in comparison with other relative costs. for example, one of the benchmarks which quickly emerges is the average cost of a meal. the other evening, we ate at a somewhat touristy restaurant, and had a middlin’ meal for 57 yuan, or about 4 pounds. for londoners, that seems unbelievably cheap when the same amount would usually buy you a sandwich and a bottle of water. but when you consider that our accommodation for that same night only cost us 60 yuan, suddenly that same meal looks like a huge splurge. you just can’t think of your budget in terms of your home currency, or you’d never get very far. and so taking the diy approach to see the terracotta warriors only saved us less than ten pounds, but that 100 yuan was a whole night’s accommodation, or a whole day’s food or entertainment. suddenly throwing away an extra 100 yuan just because we’re too lazy to find the local bus seems frivolously wasteful.

which is why i get so incredibly angry at people or places who try to rip us off just because we’re westerners. that somehow our money is less valuable to us, because they assume we have a lot more of it. that it’s okay to steal from us because we’re “rich” by comparison. taxis try to drive us to the end of the street. beggars attach themselves to you assuming you’ll feel too guilty to pass them by. people “help” you without asking, then expect money for “services rendered”. there are to0 many ways to mention.

and when i think about all the hard work and sacrifice i put into making this trip happen, i get furious about the scam artists, hawkers, beggars, touts that zero in on us like heat seeking missiles because we have white faces. i don’t owe them anything just because they think it’s open season on the tourist. that may sound cheap and heartless, but i refuse to subscribe to the notion that i should expect to get ripped off just because that’s what happens. it infuriates me that people think it’s okay to take advantage of those who don’t know the language. i will not be embarrassed or guilted into paying for things i didn’t ask for and don’t want. I will not just “chalk it up to experience” when someone tries to fleece us. and i will not be ashamed of taking the economical route even if i can afford the nicer option. because in the end that 100 yuan puts dumplings in my belly too, and the only colour that matters is the colour of money. call me stubborn and callous, cheap and naive, blind and bullheaded – but i refuse to believe any different.

2 Responses to “the colour of money”

  1. Stacey
    May 3rd, 2006 11:32
    1

    Yeah, I get you. It’s annoying being seen as money on feet all the time.

  2. Jen
    May 3rd, 2006 12:45
    2

    It’s annoying being seen as money on feet all the time

    well said.

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