While I wrote this post in Myanmar, the internet was too slow to post, so sorry for the delay!
I am more than half -way through my South East Asia trip and having an absolute blast. So far, it has been a month in Thailand, two weeks in Cambodia, and am two weeks into the Myanmar leg of the trip as I write. A common ‘obstacle’ or reality is that in these countries, no matter what, foreigners can expect to pay more (sometimes considerably so) than a local would to do the same things. One particular tourist I met, upon finding out the he had grossly overpaid for food in Vietnam brushed it off by saying: “Well, I expect to pay the foreigner price anyways, so that’s okay.”
To be honest, I like that guy’s attitude. In many ways, I try not to let it bother me by thinking that is “just the way things are.” Lately though, I have been wondering: Is it fair? As tourists (local and foreign), should we not pay the same price for the same goods and services? As easy as it would be to make a stand one way or the other, I think the question is a lot harder to answer if you really think about it. Read more