I’ve traveled the world… Asia, Europe, America, Africa, South America and,
until very recently, was very proud of the fact that I hadn’t fallen for any scams. Time consuming and sometimes costly schemes are abundant: fake guides conveniently get lost in winding medinas, bogus gems are plentiful in jewelery stores and tuk tuk drivers aggressively hassle travelers forcing them to make unplanned “shopping” stops not on the itinerary. Police impostors, pickpockets, moneychangers, ticket agents and “good Samaritans” can cause a lot of headaches and ruin a vacation. Many experienced travelers have caught on to the tourist traps and costly schemes. Unfortunately, despite my extensive travel around the world, I didn’t even see this one coming.A stop over in Shanghai gave me the opportunity to see as much of the city and its surroundings as possible in a few days. An avid traveler, I no longer go to a city to see the buildings, I go there to experience the culture: the people, the customs, the food, the lifestyle. I enjoy chatting with people, learning about their lives and sharing my experiences with them.
On my first day, jet lagged, yet energetic, I meandered through the downtown Shanghai streets, taking in the atmosphere around me. I was dressed comfortably, walked around unhurriedly, with my bearings firmly in place I knew where I was and didn’t even need to look at the map of the People’s Square Park in my shoulder bag.
“Hello, how are you?” I heard from behind. Normally I wouldn’t even think about acknowledging another annoying watch seller, but this was a friendly and inviting voice that caused me to turn around. Behind me were four young Chinese people; two young women (Zhangmei and Sophia) and two young men (Andy and Dong Ran), who reminded me very much of my own students. We pleasantly chatted for 15 minutes. I found out that they were university students visiting a friend in Shanghai while on their last week of summer vacation. They asked lots of educated questions about Canada and explained that they were on their way to a Chinese tea ceremony. If I had time, I was invited to join them.
Well, the opportunity to have a traditional tea ceremony with some locals sounded absolutely splendid to me, so we walked through the park while they checked their map for the way to the tea ceremony location. We made some turns, backtracked a little, and even stopped to ask for directions. We walked through a decaying mall, and up the stairs to the second storey teashop. Promptly greeted by uniformly dressed young women we were lead into a small and pleasant tearoom.Jars of jasmine, green, lychee, and mixed fruit tea lined the shelves. In front of us were a delicate serving tray, a lucky toad statue and five tea-tasting cups. I was shown the menu, in English and
Chinese, with about 20 different types of tea and I was told that there was a 30 RMB service charge. Since I was there with such pleasant and talkative students I didn’t look at the menu very carefully and agreed to let the students choose the sampling flavors.Our tea specialist carefully displayed 6 different jars of tea in front of us. In Chinese she explained each tea while she prepared small pots to sample. She taught us how to drink the tea in three sips. She demonstrated how men and women should hold the teacups. Then she showed us how to take advantage of the full flavour by inhaling air and holding it in your lungs after drinking the tea. The students, all very fluent in English, eagerly translated for me and I was fascinated by all the thought that goes into each cup of tea.
After an hour, we had sampled six flavours and were presented with the
opportunity to buy some tea as a souvenir (at highly inflated prices). “Girls first,” exclaimed Dong Ran. Both Sophia and Zhangmei chose flavors to bring home to their families. When the tea specialist looked at me I simply explained that there wasn’t possibly a way for me to carry any more souvenirs home as my backpack was already bursting at the seams. The boys decided not to buy anything either.When the tea specialist returned with the bill the boys looked it over and they discussed it together in Chinese. It was then suggested that since the girls didn’t have enough money that the boys and I share the bill 3-way. 1250 RMB divided by three equals 420 RMB each. I was astonished with the price and the fact that they would suggest I pay for the girls. I looked at the menu again and saw that each tea sample, the equivalent to drinking a thimble of infused water, was 38 RMB per person. So, taking the souvenirs off the total price I agreed to pay my fifth of the bill, exactly 258 RMB.
I took out 260 RMB after Dong Ran put 300 RMB on the table. Another discussion in Chinese resulted in Andy scooping up the money and leaving the room. Five minutes later he returned, claiming that the since the girls did not have enough money he decided to put the tea charge on his credit card, and that’s why he had left the room. He then signed the receipt and passed it along for me to sign beside the total I had paid.
We thanked the tea specialist and left the shop. Outside the students stopped chatting and told me that they had to go meet their friend and quickly departed, leaving me alone in the street. It was then that it all came together. I had been scammed.
Caught up in the “cultural” moment I didn’t take the time to realize what was happening. I paid 260 RMB, the equivalent of 4,000 yen, for a few sips of tea. This highly inflated price was outrageous: 260 RMB will by you 65 bowls of fresh gioza, 87 subway rides, or 7 one-hour full body oil massages. No students in China, unless very well-off, could possibly afford to exchange 87 subway rides for a few sips of tea.Although I must admit I did enjoy the tea ceremony, I felt ripped off and cheated. The shop had grossly over charged me and I’m convinced the “students” received a handsome payout for luring me there. Moreover, I felt lied to. Were these really students? Was there any truth in their stories? The whole afternoon was a stage and I was played for the fool. What a disappointing experience on my very first day in China.
I realize that I had made two key mistakes. Firstly, I should have clearly understood the currency conversion. Secondly, I should have carefully checked the menu and the pricing before commencing the ceremony. It was presented to me and I allowed distractions to keep me from fully understanding the service I was receiving for the price I was paying. Living in Japan has made me a very trusting person. However, traveling abroad has reminded me that us travellers really need to understand the situation around us and to never drop our guard when we find ourselves in a new environment. Of course I will keep traveling and meeting people around the world. I’ll just ensure that I pay attention to details to avoid falling for any scams… and there are lots of them out there.For more on common scams in Asia check out:
http://www.scamspotters.com/asia.html
