Comments on: Iraq and Eastern Europe Extravaganza Part 4: Part 4: Arrival in Skopje, and Day 1 in Skopje

By: Beau

Beau — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:35:09 +0000

Just read this installment, enthralling! You do great work Gray

By: S/Ro

S/Ro — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:22:03 +0000

Hahaha someone’s never-home lawyer father’s top drawer liquor

By: Ballogie

Ballogie — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:33:37 +0000

Great stuff G.Ro I’m enjoying this immensely. Shame that the kid from the big city got hustled for $40.

You should have entered the hotel and asked for help before paying the fare. He would have backed down in the presence of a countryman if the fare was out of order.

By: Wolf-Christian

Wolf-Christian — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:10:28 +0000

@Gray – no surprises there, I find it quite common that you pay much less to the airport and then from the airport, in particulary if you are obviously a foreigner and don’t speak the language.

I’m currently in the Horn of Africa region and last week the same was true in Addis Abeba – much haggling from the airport and a more reasonable price back.

By the way, I think I also stayed at the Hotel Ani in Skopje in the past and I share your assessment, it is a nice place.

By: G.Ro

G.Ro — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:01:33 +0000

@Wolf-Christian – Thanks for the info. No, I know that Wikitravel is not truly a valid travel source – and, I only really include my reliance on it as a device for self-effacement at my lack of planning and organization upon arrival. Mostly, the experience with the driver was downright overwhelming, and contributed to my overall rancor and angst.

I did find a company, however, that charged about 800 Dinar on the return, a much more reasonable 20 bucks.

By: Wolf-Christian

Wolf-Christian — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 15:56:02 +0000

@Gray:

I enjoy your trip report a lot, but I find myself agreeing with some of the others here regarding the taxi driver. I have been to Skopje quite a few times and 1.500 dinars does sound about right for the trip from the airport to the city. This does not excuse the rest of the sales pitch (which you have to admit is quite common in many countries), but quoting a taxi price from Wikitravel is not very convincing. Most price info from that source is seriously outdated, so I would never use that in an argument with a local.

By: G.Ro

G.Ro — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 02:54:56 +0000

@Will – I would not disagree with you at all – Disney is perhaps our biggest sleazebag organization we have! :-p

By: Will

Will — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:26:59 +0000

Very interesting. I too would agree with others that you were overly harsh about the taxi driver.

How is the taxi driver charging a different rate for tourists any different to Disney charging one rate for Florida residents and another rate for everyone else? It happens everywhere in the world, even the United States. Try arriving at JFK as a foreign tourist and attempt to get a taxi. Its not a pleasant experience and yes I have been offered hookers by a taxi driver in New York.

At the end of the day, the young guy, is trying to make a living and when you are not a local these things happen. It happens everywhere in the world.

Perhaps if you had been a tiny bit more organised, your hotel could have arranged transport for you?

By: Richard Matthew

Richard Matthew — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:15:35 +0000

Thanks for the clarification.

You know I am a prescribing physician, I sometimes hook people up on dates and often buy sports, entertainment and travel tickets on behalf of others. I hazard that you probably have too. So I guess I definitely am and you might be too a sleazebag. Everything is contextual and that is the joy of traveling; discovering and experiencing environs where things aren’t the same as back home.

By: G.Ro

G.Ro — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:27:46 +0000

@Richard – Regardless of the idea of “trying to make a living in a difficult economy,” I have little tolerance for overly-aggressive hustlers trying to overcharge visitors to their country, or people who treat visitors as solely a source of cash, rather than someone there to enjoy and experience their country. His tactics were quite sleazy. I can’t believe the gall of someone trying to make me forego my original hotel plans to stay at his friend’s place for a higher price. I forgot to put this next bit in the report (and, perhaps I will add it later), but when he could see that I wasn’t amenable to any of his truly generous offers, he offered to find me hookers, women, and even a wife – in complete seriousness. The man was, simply, a sleazebag.

Drug dealers, pimps, and scalpers are just simple people trying to make livings in a difficult economy, too.