baksheesh or not to baksheesh
i've yet to get my head round baksheesh in egypt. in india it's something you only dole out when you need something tricky done, but here it is expected for everything. and i mean everything, from getting directions from a stranger, to opening a door, to showing someone a hotel room, even if it's a grotty hole that you would never stay in. and it doesn't even appear to be a tourist trap, but rather something that is naturally expected, and cheekily demanded, from everyone.needless to say such demands really get my hackles up, and i am losing all patience with caleche drivers, cabbies and touts in egypt, who are in general a much more objectionable and greedy bunch then in the rest of the world, even india. after a few attempts to guilt trip me out of more cash by pointing out how quiet the tourist trade is, i got to thinking and realised this: times being quiet would only entitle them to a greater baksheesh if they diminished their prices for tourists when luxor was packed. as there is a rat's chance in hell of this being the case, i will happily keep antagonising them as much as i can. bastards.
posted by bicrom @ 11:17 am
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