On being scammed

I'm out of India now, and in Sri Lanka. I've done ruined cities and I'm preparing to watch a day or so of cricket (though I did see some monks playing earlier today) before I head home. I'm also travelling independently now, having put my grandmother on a plane 5 days ago, and this means I get to be scammed. Yet, as I think the scamming that I have fallen victim to, and could do, it is hard to think of a greater rip off than the ones you fall prey to before you even leave home. As an example, I hired a driver for $135 for two solid days of driving (Anuradhapura - Mihintale - Pollonaruwa - Sigiriya - Dambulla - Matale - Kandy, map here) and a night of accomdation. The accomodation was a bit rubbish (the website is better than the rooms), though perfectly servicable once I had been told how to make the hot water work, but I spent the night sulking about it. I'd spent the previous night at a lovely place in Anuradhapura and I had been promised by said driver that this would be similar - it wasn't (& I'm not the only one whose had this complaint).

However, with the perspctive of hindsight, it's hard to see why I cared so much. Actually the real scam wasn't the driver who chose a cheap hotel, but the first hotel who charged $94 for a room in an almost empty rest house. Similarly, I am now in possesion of some moonstone necklaces for my 8 and 11 year old cousins (I'm assuming they're not going to read this before Christmas), which I doubtless overpaid for, though given I got them for 30% of the asking price, I dread the original mark up. However, the bigger scam is surely the vast price of my Indian leg (most of which I didn't pay for), based on pure fear. And this applies across the board. Anna & I have spent substantial sums on pleasant accomodation and food withour batting an eyelid (Morocco most recently: here - beautiful, yet worth it in absolute terms? I doubt it), yet we really hate being hassled into donations and overcharged for cheap things. We refused to be guided in Morocco and made sure we didn't tip even children too much. My parents don't care and cheerfully pay what they are asked - doubtless making some people very happy at relatively little cost to themselves. Whereas we agonise over scams by natives, yet accept it if they speak excellent english - which seems wrong somehow.

So, I resolve not to care too much, to consider it alms giving, and am off to buy some wooden elephants before being scammed out of water for over a pound (over a pound? in a third world country!) by my hotel (who I might add charged me 6 times the price of this connection to check my email last night). Bastards, with nice rooms and a pool.