THE HASSLE FACTOR

After a nightmare 12 hour bus trip starting at 5am on top of 5 hours sleep I finally arrived in Phuket town. I had marked my pre booked accommodation on the map beforehand and it was only about 5 minutes walk from the bus terminal, no problems there.

I was the only westerner on the bus which I thought nothing of at the time. When I got off I was suddenly mobbed by at least 15 motorcycle taxi drivers. The only time I had ever seen behaviour like that before was on TV when celebrity's were being hounded by the paparazzi. Now there was no way on this earth that I would go on the back of a mororbike with no helmet and carrying a backpack even if it was a 30 minute walk instead of 5.

No amount of "no thank you" would make them leave me alone. I had the additional problem of not knowing which direction I had left the bus station and was trying to find a road sign. I was constantly being pelted with cries of "taxi taxi" and "where are you going". They wouldn't show me where I was on the map and tried to tell me my hostel was "an hour's walk" which was a lie. One of them was pulling at my arm that I found very annoying

I finally spotted another westerner who pointed me in the right direction and I was on my way and finally rid of them. This was my first taste of what I call the hassle factor...........

Now some people will attempt to defend the above actions of these people with "they are only trying to make a living". I will never ever accept this argument for 2 reasons. Firstly if I had required a taxi then I would have simply asked for one. Secondly taxi drivers across the border in Malaysia (and I would later discover in Laos) seem to make a living just fine without acting like this.

The hassle factor is a term I use to describe a number of things you encounter when traveling that are pointless, annoying and in many cases do far more harm than good. For me its my number one hate. Far more than the humidity, mosquitos, bad transport and dirty accommodation.

The following are further example of the hassle factor.........

PEOPLE WHO TRY AND SELL YOU A PRODUCT OR SERVICE YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T NEED1) The taxi driver who screams "taxi" in your face having just watched you make it obvious to a dozen others you are not interested.
2) The vendor who trys to sell watches and sunglasses to someone who is already wearing a watch and a pair of sunglasses.
3) The Indian tailor who trys to sell a suit to barefooted, dreadlocked hippy who looks and smells like he has not had a wash for several days.

PEOPLE WHO ARE PUSHY, PERSISTANT, AGGRESSIVE AND REFUSE TO TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWERThe above story of when I got off the bus is the most common example. However this is not limited to the shady people who hang around outside points of entry. Several times I have been hassled a lot by accommodation owners trying to sell a tour.

PEOPLE WHO LIE IN ORDER TO SELL A PRODUCT OR SERVICE"Your hotel is closed but I know an alternative"

A LONG LIST OF SCAMS

PEOPLE WHO DEMAND PAYMENT FOR A PRODUCT OR SERVICE YOU DIDN'T ASK FOR OR DO NOT MAKE IT CLEAR BEFOREHAND THAT PAYMENT IS REQUIRED1) The friendly stranger who "helps" you with your backpack onto a ferry then demands money after.
2) Baksheesh

OVERCHARGINGI make it clear here that unlike some travelers I am not obsessed with getting a "local price" and do not mind paying a little extra. However I draw the line when people make up a price on the spot and ask for 5 times the usual amount or more. Again taxi drivers are top of this list. It should be noted that in all the time I have spent in Thailand not a single noodle vendor has ever tried to charge me any more than the clearly displayed amount. If they can do it why can't the taxi drivers!!!!!!!

COUNTLESS PEOPLE ALL TRYING TO SELL YOU THE SAME THING
Some places (listed below) are so bad you are almost constantly having to fight them off from the moment you step out your accommodation.

MY TOP 10 LIST OF WORST PLACES FOR THE HASSLE FACTOR(At the time of writing)

1) Hanoi - Vietnam
2) Kuta beach/Bali - Indonesia
3) Patong beach/Phuket - Thailand
4) Aswan - Egypt
5) Ko Samui - Thailand
6) Luxor - Egypt
7) Kathmandu - Nepal
8) Bangkok - Thailand
9) Sapa - Vietnam
10) Siem reap - Cambodia

Finally on a good note Laos gets credit for being a fairly hassle free country to travel in despite being poor and in need of the tourist money.

 The first and most obvious negative effect of the hassle factor is that it generates a mistrust of local people in a country by tourists. When being constantly bombarded by sales people and scammers during my first week in Thailand I quickly blocked out the local people as much as I could. If I wanted advice or directions I would ask other travelers because I knew they were not trying to sell me something. Anyone who walked up to me on the street had some sort of negative intention so I would ignore them as if they didn't exist.

Doing this however I also blocked out the people who not out to scam or sell me something like those who just wanted to practice their English or point me in the right direction. This is the price I have to pay for my zero tolerance attitude.

The hassle factor ultimately hurts everyone in the long run including the scammers/touts/dishonest people themselves. The following is my answer to those people that will continue to defend the actions outlined in part 1 with "they are only trying to make a living"
I call it "the hassle factor theory"
Take several businesses involved in the tourist industry in a popular tourist area. They could be anything from hotels to jet ski hire company's. For this example I will use Taxi companies called A,B and C.

Now company A provides a good honest service while company B and C engage in a number of dishonest practices from simple overcharging to diverting customers to commission paying businesses.

In the short term B and C will make more money than company A from their dishonesty. It won't be long however until travelers pick up on this and start posting this information on the large number of travel sites on the internet. A growing number of travelers to this destination avoid company B and C because of what they have read on the internet.

When Lonely planet get hold of this information and publish it in their next guidebook it's game over for company B and C as Lonely planet has the power and influence to close businesses down. The guidebook is more likely to recommend company A than write negative things about company B and C.

Even if company B and C clean up their act and start to provide an honest service the book will still be in circulation for years to come. Another side effect of the hassle factor is that it has created vast numbers of "guide book huggers" that is people who only use businesses (like accommodation) that are in the book.

Any business that does not get in the book obviously suffers as result. If in the example above a 4th company was set up and provided as good a service as company A it suffers thanks to the actions of B and C.

I could write a lengthy list of real life examples but the above is enough to make a point.

Within a week of arriving in Thailand I developed what can only be described as a Siege mentality from the constant hassle factor. Some travelers just let it go over their head but I'm not one of them. After a while I started to come up with ways of dealing with it. The following list is an outline of how I travel and advise for people who plan to visit a non first world country.

1) RESEARCH......Internet,books or people who have been there before. Learn about the scams and who to avoid before even setting foot in a new country.

2) PRE BOOKING.....Have accommodation booked on the internet before arriving in a new town. Learn how to get there from the point of entry by local transport. Never take advise from someone hanging round a point of entry (airport/train station/bus or ferry terminal)

3) TAXIS.......In 22 months of backpacking I have used them less than 10 times. At the least they are highly annoying, at their worst they are the most greedy,dishonest people I have ever met. I rate them lower than pickpockets and would rather flush my money down the toilet than put in their hands. I always use local transport and it theres none I walk. Walking 8 miles with my backpack in the midday heat and humidity of south east asia is an example of the lengths I will go to avoid lining their pockets!!!

4) ANY HASSLE = NO BUSINESS.....Anyone who is aggressive, pushy, persistant, lies, or attempts to overcharge gets nothing from me even if they are selling a product or service I want.
If I walk into a shop and the owner jumps instantly into my personal space then I instantly walk straight out. Taxi drivers chasing me down the street offering a quarter of the original price it's too late i'm walking.

5) REPORT THE GOOD AND THE BAD....There are countless travel sites on the internet, I believe it's every travelers duty to give credit to the good and to name and shame the bad.

Several travelers have described me as being hard but fair. The way I look at it is that the money I have saved by avoiding the scammers, touts etc has enabled me to travel longer and end up in the pockets of more deserving people.

The other way I look at it is that if every traveler took my stand the people who provide the hassle factor would have have to clean up their act or go out of business!!!!!!!