TRAVEL TROUBLES BLOG

Frank: I'm interested in hearing about experiences people have had with scams while

they were traveling. I was on vacation last summer with my brother and lost a brand

new camera. When I say "lost", I mean some jerk stole it. When I was in Rome with my

brother, I took a picture of my brother and he took a picture of me. Then this "nice

guy" who's standing there says. "Want me to take a picture of both of you?" I said sure

and handed him my camera. While we were posing, this guy backs up and backs up

and then he takes of running. We tried to catch him but we were unsuccessful. He got

away. His knowing the city made him impossible for us to find him. I felt like an idiot.

Now I'm getting married and this what I'm thinking: Either I learn something about

what's happening out there to tourist or I spend my honeymoon at home!

Karen: I'm sorry to hear about your camera theft. What a way to ruin a vacation! I have

handed my camera over many times, but only to people I asked, not people who

offered. Anyway, I also had something unpleasant on vacation. I got a cab at the

airport and told the driver what hotel I was going to. He told me it was closed!

According to him, It had just happened the week before, and that was why I didn't

know about its closing. I didn't know the city at all, and I had no idea where to find a

different hotel. I felt insecure and a little scared, completely out of my comfort zone.

But the taxi driver said he knew about a nice one and even called the hotel on his cell

to make sure they had a room. When I got to the hotel, it cost lot more than the one I

had planned on, but I didn't know what else to do. So I booked a room for three days.

The next day I happened to see my original hotel when I was out walking. Not only

was it open, it was much better than when I was last time. I went inside and talked to

the desk clerk, and he said the taxi driver had scammed me. That taxi driver got a nice

commission from the other hotel. His dishonest actions cost me a lot of money and

caused me a great deal of anxiety.