"Juliana L Holm" wrote in message
news:brv579$e47@portal.gmu.edu...
> Redlocks wrote:
>
> >> All one has to do it aquire the ways of one who has been there and >not
> > LOOK like a newbie.
>
> > This is so true. First time visitors to New York City often look up at
the
> > tall buildings in amazement while walking the streets. It is easy for
> > scam artists to recognize those who walk with a purpose as opposed to
those
> > who are on vacation.
>
> Real important tip here. You can get hit on/scammed/hassled anywhere. It
may
> be more intense in Jamaica (I have not yet been there) but it is just a
higher
> level of something that is just as true wherever. New York, Naples,
Berlin,
> anywhere. When I go to work here in Washington DC I daily have several
people
> ask me for money (I work fairly close to a major homeless shelter) and
there
> are always street vendors hawking their wares at me. (try walking around
> without an umbrella in a rainstorm in downtown DC).
>
> Being aware, saying no politely, are just important skills for travelers
> ANYWHERE.
While attention to surroundings and awareness of hazards is a give (or
should be), the level of diligence and caution one must exercise in Jamaica
just isn't worth it to me. Hiring a child as a guard? Dress and act like
a local? Saying "no" all day long? I don't have to do any of that in
Anguilla, St. Martin, Saba, Statia, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Nevis, Grenada,
etc. I can dress comfortable and walk the streets without being hassled,
endangered, or approached by dealers and vendors of legal wares or
otherwise. I go on vacation to relax, and spending time warding off
solicitors just isn't my idea of relaxation.
But lovers of Jamaica don't see that. Nor do they see murder rates in the
hundreds, squalor and poverty so bad you can see it from the air as you
approach MoBay, the overt pollution and corruption, or any problem at all.
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