Last Saturday, we were having coffee at the Aristocrat Restaurant on Roxas Boulevard when I saw this puppet peddler through the glass window. Sam loves those puppets. When she and Alex were still little girls, every time we went to Baguio, she always brought home at least one of these puppets on a string.
I knew just how much Sam would love a new one so, via hand language, we managed to ask the peddler how much the puppet cost. P250 pesos, he said. My, that’s really overpriced. I shook my head, he lowered the price to P200 but that was still too steep. These puppets sell for about P70 pesos in Baguio.
When we left the restaurant, the peddler was waiting for us outside. P150, he said, because they were unique as he made them himself and we wouldn’t find anything like them in the malls. I smiled and said thank you but I stood my ground. No, thanks.
That’s the problem when you buy anything in a tourist area — and Roxas Boulevard and the surrounding districts constitute one huge tourist area. Peddlers and business owners think everything should be priced according to the paying capacity of rich tourists. In the case of the puppet peddler, dollar-paying tourists would probably consider a five-dollar toy very inexpensive and, perhaps, it would be if it were really one of a kind. But, like I said, it wasn’t. It just so happened that this particular peddler was the only one selling them in the area at that moment.
Tip for tourists and even for locals: If a peddler tells you that his stuff are all handmade by himself and they’re one of a kind, don’t take his word for it. Look around some more. Chances are, you’ll meet others like him who will tell you the same thing.
Those are really annoying. When I was touring some Canadian friends around Manila, we had taxi drivers charging us P500 for a 5-minute drive. One even had the gall to kick us out of his cab after we pointed out that he left his meter running while he stopped for gas and cigarettes.
Some would argue that they probably had families to feed and they wouldn’t miss that extra $10. But bottom line is people are still being cheated out of their money. You have to wonder if these peddlers, poor as they may be, really deserve to be helped.
My worst taxi experience was at the old domestic airport. That was back in the 90s and we were being charged P100 for every 100 meters. I told the driver he must be kidding — that’s P1000 for every kilometer.