Opinions about Foreigner prices
Continuing on ...
Often times I try to circumvent paying foreigner prices, trying to find
the "real" price. One way I have found that "theoretically" could
work is to ask people who just bought what you are buying how much
they paid. This does not work in Laos, because the common people,
the very ones you hope would treat you with respect, would rather show
allegiance to their Asian bretheren. What happens is that if you
ask them what the price is, they simply won't tell you. Instead
they will refer you to the vendor, or will ask the vendor "How much are you gonna charge this giant
nosed round eyed animal" or something similar to this.
When this happens, and it does every time, how can even the most
hardened traveler not feel like a COMPLETE outsider. It really
sucks.
or, from another angle ...
I sometimes argue and try to get to the bottom of the logic behind
charging one hundred people in a row one price, then seeing a guest in
your country and immediately lying and swindeling them out of
money. So I would talk about it with the actual swindlers.
I would find people who are noticably giving double prices and I wouild
ask them "What if you, the big city Laotian from Luang Prabang (or
Vientaine) went to a more poor country than Laos, or a poorer section
of Laos, and wanted to buy a kilogram of oranges? Would you think
it is fair that they charge you a different price than everyone else?"
Every time I posed this question, the very swindlers were mortified at
the idea of the being treated in the way they are treating me.