My Beijinger Journey: An Ugly Stain
It is not my intention to write about this because it was not a pleasant memory, yet i found myself the need to share my encounter here so that if you visit Beijing, or anywhere for that matter, to be extra alert and careful. I thought that i was careful enough, alert enough, but i was not and fallen victim to a scam. The traumatic experience led me to being forever fearful of riding rickshaw. I could only say i was lucky and am grateful to escape unharmed. This is the story of what happened.
When something like this happens, it is human nature to pinpoint the missteps that ultimately led to it. In my case, there were many factors that actually developed to the point of incident, not one to blame but self and the situation. As i've said, i thought i was careful enough, but sometimes the odds may not be in your favour and being there at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Scam, or rob- whatever the term may be, in broad daylight. There were six of us, two girls; three of them.
We were queuing up for bus from the exit, North Gate of the Forbidden City to Wangfujing Street, bus number 2, after a quick tour around the Forbidden City. It was almost 5 pm, and it was crowded at the exit as the Forbidden City closes around 5.30pm. I made reservations for Beijing opera (we agreed to go as it was one of the recommended things to do in Beijing) and i needed to collect the tickets at 7pm, giving us a time window of 2 hours between then and ticket collection, and 2 hours for shopping since we wanted to get some souvenirs back home. We waited for a long time and no bus number 2 came. Then we weighed in other options to get to Wangfujing Street.
Taxi, but it was expensive and budget was a concern. Then we negotiated with a rickshaw driver; my friend agreed at a fee of 3 RMB. I was at the end of the line and did not hear their deal. We were split into three rickshaws, two each, and they fiercely asked us to get on. Of course at that time, we did not know they were going to scam us, and since some of the transportation services are illegal, we thought it was normal for them to ask us to quickly get on to avoid being fined or caught by the police. We hopped on, excitedly being blown by wind in the moving rickshaw.
My friend wanted to take photo of another friend on the rickshaw but the driver told him not to take photographs. Again, of course, we thought it was normal and it never crossed our minds of a scam. But it was fishy. Then we moved from the busy main road to the alleyways. Not having a map, i could not tell where it was heading but believed we were on the right route. I continued on talking with my friend on the rickshaw, through the quiet alleyways. We were at the middle, between the other two rickshaws. A car came in the opposite direction, the rickshaw gave way, and then we continued moving on.
Suddenly, it stopped and the driver told us that Wangfujing Street is just at the corner of the road. It was quiet, only us and the rickshaw drivers. Two of the three at first. I got down and asked him 'It is 3 RMB' and i was searching my wallet for the fee. Then i heard him said '300' in Mandarin. My Mandarin is not perfect but i could differentiate hundred from the ones, and after i repeated 3 RMB, he repeated 300 RMB! I turned to my friend and told him the driver wanted 300 RMB. Then i shouted to my friends at the first rickshaw and they mentioned 3 RMB, but the driver started demanding 300 RMB. I could feel fear rushing down my bones. They started taking out a piece of paper and on it written 'Go to market' and the 300 RMB. I did not know what to say and waited for the third rickshaw to come, the driver my friend negotiated with. We decided not to pay at first. Then we saw the third rickshaw pulling over. I quickly went to my friend and checked with him if it was 3 or 300 RMB. My friend said 3, the driver said 300.
There were six of us, two girls; and three of them. They started to get agitated and fierce when we almost did not pay. They looked like they wanted to fight. My friend tried to calm the situation down, fearing it would get out of control. Being in a foreign country at a quiet alley, not knowing whether we were at the right place, not knowing if there were any back-up guys waiting for us, and not knowing if they held any weapons, the best option was to pay them the demanded 300 RMB. We started digging our wallets for the cash and paid them. Happy with their steal, they quickly got off, reminding us again that Wangfujing Street was at the corner of the road. My mind was too stunned to think of any other things but the incident.
We moved quickly and out from the quiet alley, and slowly walked to better, crowded place. At its worst, we just got robbed 300 RMB. All of us were not harmed; none of our belongings were taken. If they were to search our bags, and take some of those things like camera, handphones and laptops, their day's steal would be a catch. We were thankful to get out of that ugly situation alive and healthy. With the loss, we decided to cancel the Beijing opera show and instead spend more time at the Wangfujing Street, lifting the time constraint off.
My friend and i were back at the waiting spot where the rickshaw was a few days later, and we saw one of the drivers there, waiting for target. What could we do? Call the police? What proof do we have. Disgusted but again, we were unharmed.
Even until today, this memory of incident remained fresh like a stain, that i could still feel the fear. It was my first experience of a scam on a rickshaw. Throughout my visit in Cambodia, using tuk tuk frequently, i was grateful to never suffer such same fate there. Never hop on a rickshaw unless you know it is really really safe- but how can you tell? Another common scam that i heard of frequently in Beijing or China is that people might approach you, befriend you or bring you around, then later extort your money or bring you to expensive places to pay when they flee. Having said these, don't let these petty scams deter you from traveling because this is just a part of something bigger, something better to experience. Just remember to always stay alert, stay safe and best avoid and never ignore when gut feeling tells you something fishy.
If you have encountered similar situations before, share with us and help us together prepare ourselves to never be scammed in such during our travels. Things like this can disrupt the otherwise, happy travel.
In the days that follow, we stuck to only bus and subway.
My Beijinger Journey: Beijing Big
My Beijinger Journey: I Climbed the Great Wall of China
My Beijinger Journey: A City Forbidden
My Beijinger Journey: An Ugly Stain
My Beijinger Journey: Summer Palace's Vacation
My Beijinger Journey: Olympic Park Booms and Night Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Confucius Temple
My Beijinger Journey: Shopping and (Exotic) Food Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Panda Overload and the Next Stop
When something like this happens, it is human nature to pinpoint the missteps that ultimately led to it. In my case, there were many factors that actually developed to the point of incident, not one to blame but self and the situation. As i've said, i thought i was careful enough, but sometimes the odds may not be in your favour and being there at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Scam, or rob- whatever the term may be, in broad daylight. There were six of us, two girls; three of them.
We were queuing up for bus from the exit, North Gate of the Forbidden City to Wangfujing Street, bus number 2, after a quick tour around the Forbidden City. It was almost 5 pm, and it was crowded at the exit as the Forbidden City closes around 5.30pm. I made reservations for Beijing opera (we agreed to go as it was one of the recommended things to do in Beijing) and i needed to collect the tickets at 7pm, giving us a time window of 2 hours between then and ticket collection, and 2 hours for shopping since we wanted to get some souvenirs back home. We waited for a long time and no bus number 2 came. Then we weighed in other options to get to Wangfujing Street.
Taxi, but it was expensive and budget was a concern. Then we negotiated with a rickshaw driver; my friend agreed at a fee of 3 RMB. I was at the end of the line and did not hear their deal. We were split into three rickshaws, two each, and they fiercely asked us to get on. Of course at that time, we did not know they were going to scam us, and since some of the transportation services are illegal, we thought it was normal for them to ask us to quickly get on to avoid being fined or caught by the police. We hopped on, excitedly being blown by wind in the moving rickshaw.
My friend wanted to take photo of another friend on the rickshaw but the driver told him not to take photographs. Again, of course, we thought it was normal and it never crossed our minds of a scam. But it was fishy. Then we moved from the busy main road to the alleyways. Not having a map, i could not tell where it was heading but believed we were on the right route. I continued on talking with my friend on the rickshaw, through the quiet alleyways. We were at the middle, between the other two rickshaws. A car came in the opposite direction, the rickshaw gave way, and then we continued moving on.
The quiet alleyway just before where the incident happened.
Suddenly, it stopped and the driver told us that Wangfujing Street is just at the corner of the road. It was quiet, only us and the rickshaw drivers. Two of the three at first. I got down and asked him 'It is 3 RMB' and i was searching my wallet for the fee. Then i heard him said '300' in Mandarin. My Mandarin is not perfect but i could differentiate hundred from the ones, and after i repeated 3 RMB, he repeated 300 RMB! I turned to my friend and told him the driver wanted 300 RMB. Then i shouted to my friends at the first rickshaw and they mentioned 3 RMB, but the driver started demanding 300 RMB. I could feel fear rushing down my bones. They started taking out a piece of paper and on it written 'Go to market' and the 300 RMB. I did not know what to say and waited for the third rickshaw to come, the driver my friend negotiated with. We decided not to pay at first. Then we saw the third rickshaw pulling over. I quickly went to my friend and checked with him if it was 3 or 300 RMB. My friend said 3, the driver said 300.
There were six of us, two girls; and three of them. They started to get agitated and fierce when we almost did not pay. They looked like they wanted to fight. My friend tried to calm the situation down, fearing it would get out of control. Being in a foreign country at a quiet alley, not knowing whether we were at the right place, not knowing if there were any back-up guys waiting for us, and not knowing if they held any weapons, the best option was to pay them the demanded 300 RMB. We started digging our wallets for the cash and paid them. Happy with their steal, they quickly got off, reminding us again that Wangfujing Street was at the corner of the road. My mind was too stunned to think of any other things but the incident.
We moved quickly and out from the quiet alley, and slowly walked to better, crowded place. At its worst, we just got robbed 300 RMB. All of us were not harmed; none of our belongings were taken. If they were to search our bags, and take some of those things like camera, handphones and laptops, their day's steal would be a catch. We were thankful to get out of that ugly situation alive and healthy. With the loss, we decided to cancel the Beijing opera show and instead spend more time at the Wangfujing Street, lifting the time constraint off.
My friend and i were back at the waiting spot where the rickshaw was a few days later, and we saw one of the drivers there, waiting for target. What could we do? Call the police? What proof do we have. Disgusted but again, we were unharmed.
Even until today, this memory of incident remained fresh like a stain, that i could still feel the fear. It was my first experience of a scam on a rickshaw. Throughout my visit in Cambodia, using tuk tuk frequently, i was grateful to never suffer such same fate there. Never hop on a rickshaw unless you know it is really really safe- but how can you tell? Another common scam that i heard of frequently in Beijing or China is that people might approach you, befriend you or bring you around, then later extort your money or bring you to expensive places to pay when they flee. Having said these, don't let these petty scams deter you from traveling because this is just a part of something bigger, something better to experience. Just remember to always stay alert, stay safe and best avoid and never ignore when gut feeling tells you something fishy.
If you have encountered similar situations before, share with us and help us together prepare ourselves to never be scammed in such during our travels. Things like this can disrupt the otherwise, happy travel.
In the days that follow, we stuck to only bus and subway.
My Beijinger Journey: Beijing Big
My Beijinger Journey: I Climbed the Great Wall of China
My Beijinger Journey: A City Forbidden
My Beijinger Journey: An Ugly Stain
My Beijinger Journey: Summer Palace's Vacation
My Beijinger Journey: Olympic Park Booms and Night Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Confucius Temple
My Beijinger Journey: Shopping and (Exotic) Food Walk
My Beijinger Journey: Panda Overload and the Next Stop
China is full of scam. So anyone visiting China need to be extra careful. People can just pretend to take your things and assume as nothing happened. Its also normal for the people there to cut queue and they give you plenty of excuses. All lies...
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