One of the most frustrating things about travelling abroad is that flash in a vendor's eyes when you ask how much that bit of bread or that bottle of water costs. Simply for being white and handsome they quote you something much higher than the real price.
In some countries the difference is small, but when you're in a developing country with a steady flow of tourists, the figure they demand can be several times the actual price of the item.
If you travel a couple of weeks a year maybe you don't care — and some people find it acceptable: a way of rebalancing the economic scales with people who have less. But for those of us who travel continuously and spend as little as possible, it drives us up the wall. We're not an NGO, and in many cases we're living on as tight a budget as the local working class.
When you're counting every coin to figure out whether you can afford a sandwich at the market tonight, or whether you'll be able to splash out on a smoothie for dessert, having to argue, haggle, or walk away empty-handed because of a vendor's greed is genuinely maddening.
In the first countries I visited, I was always alert, compared prices, and managed to avoid paying too much of a premium — but I still never had any real certainty about the gap between what I paid and what things actually cost.
It was the Vietnamese who finally pushed me over the edge. After refusing to pay the extortionate prices demanded by drivers, after walking away without paying what was asked, after walking kilometres hoping to find a bus inspector who wouldn't insist on fleecing me — it was there, in Vietnam, where I discovered and perfected the perfect method for paying the local price and avoiding arguments most of the time.
The trick is based on watching, picking, and paying without asking.
If you approach a vendor and ask the price in a foreign language, you're handing them a blank cheque to charge whatever they like. Forget it. If there are no prices displayed, watch and wait — when a local buys something, watch how much they pay, what notes they hand over. There's your answer.
Then ask for the item — no questions — and the moment they hand it to you, give them the exact amount right away, like a hostage exchange. Then say thank you in the local language, smile, and walk on.
How to pay the local price — step by step
- Find a stall or place selling what you want.
- Hang around and watch a local make a purchase — pay close attention to how much they pay.
- Get the exact change ready in your pocket.
- Go back and ask for what you want.
- Wait until it's ready and they're about to hand it over.
- Hand over the prepared amount as you pick up your order, and say thank you.
- Enjoy your purchase at the local price.