Does your Country charge Foreigner more than Local?

[Nikita2Charles 32]

I never complained much due to the currency advantage when I am in India, but for the sake of fairness,

Is it fair I have to pay 30-40% extra for the same domestic airfare, book at the same time, siting right next to each other.

PAY 10X more than the local to go to a Museum, Went to visit this Palace, my wife got to experience it 1st hand, been to several parts of india so it's kinda normal since I got used to it, but charging 20 Rupees for local and a WHOPPING 200 Rs. for the same ticket doesn't seem reasonable, maybe a small percentage difference but 10 times more is crazy.

Just don't feel it's too tourist friendly to keep overcharging foreigners.

What if we would start charging extra for everybody that's here on H1, B1/B2 to visit our museums, for their airfare ticket?

Edited December 29, 2008 by Nikita2Charles

[Imua 0]

This really bothers me in Nepal, too. There is the excuse 'well, locals pay taxes' but then why do foreigners not have to pay to go to the Smithsonian since they do not pay US taxes? When I was in the UK 13 years ago anyone could enter museums without paying whether you were local or not, and they are tax-supported. Like not allowing foreigners to enter Hindu temples, claiming a 'bideshi' can never be Hindu(despite a certificate from Arya Samaj saying otherwise), the thing that bothers me most coming from an America post-civil rights perspective is it all boils down to race - I can be wearing a Punjabi suit, speak Nepali, married to a Nepali, even live in Nepal for 10 years yet because of my European ancestry will always be a 'tourist'(which is used synonymously with 'foreigner') in some people's eyes. It is a really hard concept to deal with since as Americans we are not supposed to notice race or make any assumptions based on it - it is law, in fact. That said, sometimes when Govi showed our marriage certificate and I spoke Nepali to the ticket clerk I was able to pay local price so a lot of times it depends on the individual in question.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Pattu Rani

[JelloShotGirl 0]

When ever my husb and I are in Philippines and we go to a resort I let him go and get the room , when we are at the market its hard for him to make a deal when I am standing next to him , cuz they think he's american too now , I stay in the car w a pair of glasses on lolforget it , they think I am some rich chick , which I am not heehe !

[bhajishah 4]

well that is about common practice in all markets, here comes the foreigner. I paid one dollar for 4 eggs in korea what a dummy

[CJ Vasani 0]

Here is a shocker people of non-South Asian heritage. When I am in India, somehow, they have a way of knowing without me even opening my mouth that I am a 'foreigner.' My wife says it's the way I dress and walk, but having grown up in my early years in India, I purposely dress very much like a local resident when traveling locally. It cannot be the way I look, because India has too many 'fair' skinned folks.

In the most recent trip to India, I was traveling to Bombay from my hometown in India via the local train in a regular 'second' class car. The food vendor boy comes along with that delicious tea and I asked 'Kitnaa hua?' (How much? - in a slang version of Hindi), he goes (actually jokes), 'Doosro ke liya paanch rupaiya, lekin aap liye paach daallar.' (For others, it's five rupees, but for you it is five dollars). Of course, he smiled after saying that letting me know that he was only kidding around. I gave him ten rupees, but was left bewildered as to how he figured out that I was from the 'United States.' Many similar incidents (mostly humorous) have occured to me every time visiting India and I have yet to find out how to blend-in so that I don't get ripped off...Imagine the irony. I am Indian by heritage, raised in India, speak and write two Indian languages fluently (including slang), look very much Indian and YET, they figure out that I am from the US. I guess this in a weird sort of way of finding out that parts of me have become so American that they are picked immediately by non-Americans. I had similar incident in Switzerland as well. I look Indian, but before I even spoke the restaurant manager knew I was American...

Any explanations?

[maya62 7]

The last time we visited Swoyambhu (we've gone every visit at least once), my husband told them I was his wife and they did not charge me. Same with the soldiers on the road to Kakani, who originally did not want to let me pass.

But my husband says that, if/when we go to buy property in Kathmandu or near my husband's village, I can't show my face or they will really up the price. I will most certainly have to pre-approve it though!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

...

Is it fair I have to pay 30-40% extra for the same domestic airfare, book at the same time, siting right next to each other

....

There actually is a subtle difference. With $$-paid (or £-paid) airfare, the baggage allowance for that domestic portion is 2 pieces of up to 23 kg each--while the TOTAL for the Rs-paid fare is 20 kg (if you habitually travel with more than that, the airlines will clobber you royally for the excess-baggage--if you're travelling with 46 kg, that charge will exceed the airfare difference)

[JSVP08 3]

am not sure if its really being practice everywhere.....but here in uae (dxb) if you go to ph disco pubs,locals (and i mean ph) are free whereas foreigners (all other nationalities-arabs, indians, brits, etc) are charged with entrance fee. Pub to pub case thou'.

[Dakine 26]

When ever my husb and I are in Philippines and we go to a resort I let him go and get the room , when we are at the market its hard for him to make a deal when I am standing next to him , cuz they think he's american too now , I stay in the car w a pair of glasses on lolforget it , they think I am some rich chick , which I am not heehe !

Same trip with me in RP. I have to hide if we want to keep from being ripped off. My wife does all the haggling and shopping. They see a puti [white boy] and the prices double.

[Imua 0]

The last time we visited Swoyambhu (we've gone every visit at least once), my husband told them I was his wife and they did not charge me. Same with the soldiers on the road to Kakani, who originally did not want to let me pass.

But my husband says that, if/when we go to buy property in Kathmandu or near my husband's village, I can't show my face or they will really up the price. I will most certainly have to pre-approve it though!

Whaaaat, alchhi, you mean you don't climb up to the top of the hill? We have gone at least once every time too (usually at Saka Dawa) and if you climb up they don't charge anything. Swayambhu is my favorite place, our first meeting was at Buddha Park so it's very special to us.

When ever my husb and I are in Philippines and we go to a resort I let him go and get the room , when we are at the market its hard for him to make a deal when I am standing next to him , cuz they think he's american too now , I stay in the car w a pair of glasses on lolforget it , they think I am some rich chick , which I am not heehe !

Same trip with me in RP. I have to hide if we want to keep from being ripped off. My wife does all the haggling and shopping. They see a puti [white boy] and the prices double.

You do NOT want to know what that means in Nepali......

Let me put it this way: I have one but you don't.

[Robina 0]

you know body language is 95% of what people notice. You can't keep from showing that..........

Here is a shocker people of non-South Asian heritage. When I am in India, somehow, they have a way of knowing without me even opening my mouth that I am a 'foreigner.' My wife says it's the way I dress and walk, but having grown up in my early years in India, I purposely dress very much like a local resident when traveling locally. It cannot be the way I look, because India has too many 'fair' skinned folks.

In the most recent trip to India, I was traveling to Bombay from my hometown in India via the local train in a regular 'second' class car. The food vendor boy comes along with that delicious tea and I asked 'Kitnaa hua?' (How much? - in a slang version of Hindi), he goes (actually jokes), 'Doosro ke liya paanch rupaiya, lekin aap liye paach daallar.' (For others, it's five rupees, but for you it is five dollars). Of course, he smiled after saying that letting me know that he was only kidding around. I gave him ten rupees, but was left bewildered as to how he figured out that I was from the 'United States.' Many similar incidents (mostly humorous) have occured to me every time visiting India and I have yet to find out how to blend-in so that I don't get ripped off...Imagine the irony. I am Indian by heritage, raised in India, speak and write two Indian languages fluently (including slang), look very much Indian and YET, they figure out that I am from the US. I guess this in a weird sort of way of finding out that parts of me have become so American that they are picked immediately by non-Americans. I had similar incident in Switzerland as well. I look Indian, but before I even spoke the restaurant manager knew I was American...

Any explanations?

[Robina 0]

At one museum in Pakistan they were trying to charge me 20X what they charged locals. My fiance negotiated the price down some. We found that it worked better for him to work out the price of most things without me present. There is deffinitely the idea that all Americans are rich. I deffinitely like to go in stores and have the prices marked on items-I missed that alot!

I never complained much due to the currency advantage when I am in India, but for the sake of fairness,

Is it fair I have to pay 30-40% extra for the same domestic airfare, book at the same time, siting right next to each other.

PAY 10X more than the local to go to a Museum, Went to visit this Palace, my wife got to experience it 1st hand, been to several parts of india so it's kinda normal since I got used to it, but charging 20 Rupees for local and a WHOPPING 200 Rs. for the same ticket doesn't seem reasonable, maybe a small percentage difference but 10 times more is crazy.

Just don't feel it's too tourist friendly to keep overcharging foreigners.

What if we would start charging extra for everybody that's here on H1, B1/B2 to visit our museums, for their airfare ticket?

[SankuNiku 0]

CJ,

I have the same experience when I go to India, people tend to know I'm a foreigner though I do my best to blend in, where similar clothing.

I would agree that it's body language, and the way we carry ourselves. We can dress like Indians, talk like Indians and even be born as Indians but foreign lands do change us, the way we react to things, the way we walk, the way we look at things. It's hard for us to notice these things because in the US or in the Western world we're used to seeing a vast variety of people in one day. It's not like that in India, they see the same kind of people every day, so when a person like us comes in their eyes, they instantly see the minute differences and know we're foreigners.

As far as being overcharged, it's hard to fight this, you may just have to play the system. I remember \at the Taj Mahal, foreigners areovercharged in this same way. My father and I are both US citizens. At that time he had his old Indian passport so he posed as an Indian and explained that I was his son who was studying abroad. The plan worked. I had a similar situation on our honeymoon so I just let my wife do most of the talking and it all worked out. Lucky for us we have an easier time blending in as we are of Indian descent.

Here is a shocker people of non-South Asian heritage. When I am in India, somehow, they have a way of knowing without me even opening my mouth that I am a 'foreigner.' My wife says it's the way I dress and walk, but having grown up in my early years in India, I purposely dress very much like a local resident when traveling locally. It cannot be the way I look, because India has too many 'fair' skinned folks.

In the most recent trip to India, I was traveling to Bombay from my hometown in India via the local train in a regular 'second' class car. The food vendor boy comes along with that delicious tea and I asked 'Kitnaa hua?' (How much? - in a slang version of Hindi), he goes (actually jokes), 'Doosro ke liya paanch rupaiya, lekin aap liye paach daallar.' (For others, it's five rupees, but for you it is five dollars). Of course, he smiled after saying that letting me know that he was only kidding around. I gave him ten rupees, but was left bewildered as to how he figured out that I was from the 'United States.' Many similar incidents (mostly humorous) have occured to me every time visiting India and I have yet to find out how to blend-in so that I don't get ripped off...Imagine the irony. I am Indian by heritage, raised in India, speak and write two Indian languages fluently (including slang), look very much Indian and YET, they figure out that I am from the US. I guess this in a weird sort of way of finding out that parts of me have become so American that they are picked immediately by non-Americans. I had similar incident in Switzerland as well. I look Indian, but before I even spoke the restaurant manager knew I was American...

Any explanations?

[CJ Vasani 0]

CJ,

I have the same experience when I go to India, people tend to know I'm a foreigner though I do my best to blend in, where similar clothing.

I would agree that it's body language, and the way we carry ourselves. We can dress like Indians, talk like Indians and even be born as Indians but foreign lands do change us, the way we react to things, the way we walk, the way we look at things. It's hard for us to notice these things because in the US or in the Western world we're used to seeing a vast variety of people in one day. It's not like that in India, they see the same kind of people every day, so when a person like us comes in their eyes, they instantly see the minute differences and know we're foreigners.

As far as being overcharged, it's hard to fight this, you may just have to play the system. I remember \at the Taj Mahal, foreigners areovercharged in this same way. My father and I are both US citizens. At that time he had his old Indian passport so he posed as an Indian and explained that I was his son who was studying abroad. The plan worked. I had a similar situation on our honeymoon so I just let my wife do most of the talking and it all worked out. Lucky for us we have an easier time blending in as we are of Indian descent.

Here is a shocker people of non-South Asian heritage. When I am in India, somehow, they have a way of knowing without me even opening my mouth that I am a 'foreigner.' My wife says it's the way I dress and walk, but having grown up in my early years in India, I purposely dress very much like a local resident when traveling locally. It cannot be the way I look, because India has too many 'fair' skinned folks.

In the most recent trip to India, I was traveling to Bombay from my hometown in India via the local train in a regular 'second' class car. The food vendor boy comes along with that delicious tea and I asked 'Kitnaa hua?' (How much? - in a slang version of Hindi), he goes (actually jokes), 'Doosro ke liya paanch rupaiya, lekin aap liye paach daallar.' (For others, it's five rupees, but for you it is five dollars). Of course, he smiled after saying that letting me know that he was only kidding around. I gave him ten rupees, but was left bewildered as to how he figured out that I was from the 'United States.' Many similar incidents (mostly humorous) have occured to me every time visiting India and I have yet to find out how to blend-in so that I don't get ripped off...Imagine the irony. I am Indian by heritage, raised in India, speak and write two Indian languages fluently (including slang), look very much Indian and YET, they figure out that I am from the US. I guess this in a weird sort of way of finding out that parts of me have become so American that they are picked immediately by non-Americans. I had similar incident in Switzerland as well. I look Indian, but before I even spoke the restaurant manager knew I was American...

Any explanations?

Well, I am visiting India for two weeks shortly. I'll let you know if I can manipulate my body language to blend in.

On a separate note, as I said earlier it's pretty much how people of different regions of the world where I have travelled pick up the fact that I am an American, but it's sad when fellow Americans fail to notice this, especially when living in metro areas of the US.

[Jasman0717 9]

I know in the Philippines there si the Filipino price and then the kano price. I saw pricing differences in Mexico also. Geeze, why is that