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Thread: Tell Others Your Travel Traps here!

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[quote=CANADAGUY,254603]*Warning* I tell interesting stories!  :)

I had a wonderful time in China this summer but 
I did fall into a 'travel trap' when I arrived 
at the Guangzhou airport.

Just after you pick up your luggage and enter the
public greeting area 'taxi drivers' begin to hound you.
I wasn't surprised by this and let one in particular
walk with me. He insisted on helping me with my luggage.
It's not very difficult to roll your luggage on wheels
these days but I let him anyhow.

I asked him where I could find the airplane ticket purchasing
counters. He told me they were upstairs but that they'd be closed 
at this time (it was around 9 p.m.).
I told him I'd still like to go upstairs and check.

After walking around for a few minutes and inquiring I did
find a counter that was open. It took about 10 minutes or so
of waiting, but I did finally purchase the airplane ticket I needed.
The reason for the wait was that the ticket seller wasn't sure my
U.S. dollars were genuine.

We start heading downstairs and I figure, I need a taxi now anyways,
why not go with this guy, as he has been so patient with me?

We walk outside and up to an unmarked vehicle. No taxi sign, the car
is quite beat up (aren't all taxis these days?) the windows are tinted.
Not quite what I was expecting, but hey, I'm a foreigner right?

I ask the fellow how much the fare will be to my hotel. He says 280 RMB.
I ask him how long the drive is. He says about 30 minutes.
I do some quick calculating in my head and come up with about $38 U.S.
I thought to myself this seemed fairly expensive for a distance like that
but it was late, I was really tired, and figured that I might be paying
perhaps 80 RMB more than I should be.

My luggage is loaded into the trunk and then the fellow who had been with 
me the whole time starts to talk to another guy and they stand in front of the vehicle.
a few seconds later I get into the car and this other guy gets into the driver's seat.

The original 'taxi driver' wishes us well and says goodbye!

We haven't driven more than ten minutes and the driver pulls over
to the side of the road in the dark and stops the car.
He asks me to pay for the trip, ...now...
[/quote]

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