A man called out to me as I walked through Little India in Singapore.
“Where are you from?” he called out. Usually I ignored such questions, but I muttered as I walked by, “The U.S.”
I heard him talking in my direction, but I kept walking. Suddenly from behind he violently grabbed my arm.
“Don’t walk away from me when I am talking to you,” he said with a thick Indian accent. His grip on my arm was tight. His fingers were digging in.
I felt fear. This man seemed desperate for me to buy something. I had come face-to-face with the stereotype that as a westerner I must have money to spend.
During my travels in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia for the past month-and-a-half I have become aware of a phenomenon I like to call the “western price.”
I have come face to face with the belief on several occasions that being a westerner means I am wealthy. What some people do not realize is that while I am an American, I am also a student traveling for six months on a tight budget.
“Where are you from?” he called out. Usually I ignored such questions, but I muttered as I walked by, “The U.S.”
I heard him talking in my direction, but I kept walking. Suddenly from behind he violently grabbed my arm.
“Don’t walk away from me when I am talking to you,” he said with a thick Indian accent. His grip on my arm was tight. His fingers were digging in.
I felt fear. This man seemed desperate for me to buy something. I had come face-to-face with the stereotype that as a westerner I must have money to spend.
During my travels in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia for the past month-and-a-half I have become aware of a phenomenon I like to call the “western price.”
I have come face to face with the belief on several occasions that being a westerner means I am wealthy. What some people do not realize is that while I am an American, I am also a student traveling for six months on a tight budget.
The price for westerners is often a significant amount higher than what the locals pay.
The average price of a taxi ride in Melaka, Malaysia is around $10 RM. Adelaide and I were always charged $15 RM. Another time in Hong Kong, my friends I hired a boat to travel around Cheung Chau Island. The group of us were charged $40 HK (around U.S. $6). An old woman also got on with us and only paid $0.50 HK.
I often feel guilt when bargaining down prices that have been raised because I am a foreigner. Many of the countries I have visited or will be visiting rely on tourism as the main part of their economies.
Back in the market, I looked at this man in the face. He dropped his tight grip on my arm and continued to talk to me. For the first time in my travels, I felt afraid this man was going to hurt me if I tried to leave.
He grabbed my upper arm again and dragged me over to his booth. He was selling scarves made of casmir (so he said). I could not argue that they were very beautiful, but I was not in the market for buying anything that afternoon.
He would not take no as an answer. I realized later that I was being too nice because I was afraid.
He kept saying, I won’t be angry if you don’t buy, but his eyes said otherwise. Twice I tried to leave and each time he grabbed my arm.
I picked out two scarves because I find it is easier to bargain if I buy more. I asked the price. He wanted S$45, too much. That was around U.S. $30.
“I’m a poor student,” I told him. He agreed and brought the price down to S$40. Still too much.
He argued with me that business was bad and he had to eat. I felt guilty. The truth was I could probably afford the scarves even if they were U.S. $30. This man could obviously use the money, but I refused to be coerced into buying something out of fear.
I tried to leave again but his voice rose higher. I still felt afraid. I could not leave unless I bought from him. After several minutes we agreed on S$35. Not a great deal, but I just wanted to leave.
I reached into my wallet and did not have the full $35. He accepted S$33 and I left with my scarves in hand.
I often feel guilt when bargaining down prices that have been raised because I am a foreigner. Many of the countries I have visited or will be visiting rely on tourism as the main part of their economies.
Back in the market, I looked at this man in the face. He dropped his tight grip on my arm and continued to talk to me. For the first time in my travels, I felt afraid this man was going to hurt me if I tried to leave.
He grabbed my upper arm again and dragged me over to his booth. He was selling scarves made of casmir (so he said). I could not argue that they were very beautiful, but I was not in the market for buying anything that afternoon.
He would not take no as an answer. I realized later that I was being too nice because I was afraid.
He kept saying, I won’t be angry if you don’t buy, but his eyes said otherwise. Twice I tried to leave and each time he grabbed my arm.
I picked out two scarves because I find it is easier to bargain if I buy more. I asked the price. He wanted S$45, too much. That was around U.S. $30.
“I’m a poor student,” I told him. He agreed and brought the price down to S$40. Still too much.
He argued with me that business was bad and he had to eat. I felt guilty. The truth was I could probably afford the scarves even if they were U.S. $30. This man could obviously use the money, but I refused to be coerced into buying something out of fear.
I tried to leave again but his voice rose higher. I still felt afraid. I could not leave unless I bought from him. After several minutes we agreed on S$35. Not a great deal, but I just wanted to leave.
I reached into my wallet and did not have the full $35. He accepted S$33 and I left with my scarves in hand.
*One of the scarves I bought in Little India.
3 comments:
Yikes. I must admit I've never had a vendor make physical contact with me like that, and it would probably throw me off quite a bit and put me on the defensive. Good job getting out of it, though.
Oh, and if you make it up into the mainland, bargain really intensely. I watched my dad and sister both bargain things down to about 20% the starting price = ridiculous. I've never seen bargaining like that except in China.
Not a good situation. Will you ever wear the scarves? And if you do how can you not think of him? Are you carrying mace or anything else to protect yourself with?
Just remember the technique you learned in self defense class in jr. high...straight for the soft spots!
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