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third world countries suck, people steal from foreigners and are racist down there. you are to blinded by american inclusiveness.
People are, you know, like people 'n shit.
I've had this guy on ignore for a few months now. Trolls like him aren't really saying anything, just exposing how little knowledge they actually have about the subject at hand.
Nobody has yet threatened me with violence or any such thing, but I always expect that possibility and take appropriate measures. People do absolutely try to overcharge me for stuff. Normally I just pay it because the cost is still absurdly cheap by my standards. Normally they lose money because I would have given them a tip which is higher than to overcharge anyway. A vast majority of people do NOT try to cheat me or overcharge me.
The funniest thing is that when someone does some sort of a blatant over-charge or other attempt to get a little extra money they seem to feel so good about how clever they are for 'fooling the dumb foreigner' even when it is blatantly obvious and ham-handed. They seem to assume that I won't or don't notice. It's so pathetic that it's almost 'cute' in a funny way. My means and the scope of my life experiences is radically beyond what most of the people can really conceptualize that it's sort of feels like I'm in a different world.
I can only speak for myself and my own situation, but I find it fine down here.
Me too. My experience pretty much mirrors your own. When I get overcharged I also feel the need not to tip, so in some ways it also is a cost-saving mechanism. Pretty much what happens is whenever I'm out and about with the gf and we are going to a market, I wait elsewhere while she does the shopping. I don't do serious shopping at open-air markets; its best if I remain completely out of the picture so the vendors don't even know she's with a foreigner.
Having said that, in most local places where they don't have many foreigner customers, they won't attempt to overcharge you to begin with -- they aren't prepared - morally or otherwise - to do the overpricing gymnastics. Its only in the more touristy places. I've gotten really good at saying "no"... watch salesman, school project fundraisers, children beggars, you name it... I wave them off like a pro.
Living in Angeles City was the worst for that... The vendors there are very aggressive. As I was waiting outside for the gf to make a withdrawal from the Cebuana one time, this one guy came up to me, very sweaty and intense, deadset on selling me a watch, or something... After I just kept saying no, no, no.. He just looking at me like, well what is it you want, you must want something??! Finally he went away, but it took like 5 minutes. Pretty sure he was on the shabu.
What's funny (well not funny but humorous maybe) is when little kids see me and just come up to me with their hand out. Their sales pitch is, "Give me money?" Like, who told them that was a good line?? Also what's funny is that the word "please" doesn't seem to be in anybody's vocabulary. People do say "thank you" (or course "salamat") quite a bit though, so its not like people are entirely without manners.