Tourist Traps

The man drove us around a bit more…a beach that was hit by the tsunami, a Chinese Buddhist temple, a few more scenic areas, then he just mentioned there was a great little store he could take us to. Before we knew it, we were at a very large, jewelry store. He had been so nice we went in and looked around (whew – Very Expensive) and left. He just happened to know where there was another little shop…just around the corner (WOW – VERY Expensive). Well…we thought it was a little odd but ok…we went in. I must admit, some of it is gorgeous and I now know how pearls are grown and harvested. Well…down the street there just happened to be….this one was VERY EXPENSIVE. I was worried about even walking on their carpet.
We finally discovered that there’s a method to their madness. The taxi and tuk tuk drivers are paid to bring tourists to these jewelry markets. All we have to do is stay a certain length of time and then they get paid for bringing us – whether we buy anything or not. Knowing that we continued letting them take us to one place, but we said no after that. I don’t mind helping the local economy but after a while…..