No bargaining, please

By Kylin Zhang Source:Global Times Published: 2015-12-7 12:23:01

I grabbed a taxi at Yangon International Airport and gave the driver the hotel address. He looked at me, and held up five fingers.

Mistaking it for a gesture of friendliness, I smiled at him and sat back to start texting.

But the taxi driver didn't move. He turned around in his driver's seat, looked at me and continued holding up five fingers under my nose.

Then it occurred to me: He wasn't saying hi, he was suggesting a price of 5,000 kyats, which is about 4 dollars.

The cab didn't have a meter, nor did the driver have any receipts.

As we drove, I started to grow nervous, thinking I'd taken a black cab.

But later, I realized that negotiating prices is simply the culture in Myanmar. It reminded me of China more than 20 years ago.

In all, I spent a week in Myanmar on business last month.

In addition to the humid weather and spicy food, the thing I couldn't get used to was the country's culture of bargaining.

Bargaining ended up being a daily part of my stay, and as I didn't have much experience with it in the past, I needed to start practicing right away.

I remember one bad bargaining experience I had in Beijing at the famous Silk Street Market, where savvy vendors sell all kinds of knockoff-brand clothing. I once bought a pair of shoes there, and after bargaining for half the original price, I still ended up paying more than I would have at the mall.

My skills were put to better use in Myanmar. In China, I had to go to markets to bargain; in Myanmar, it was a required technique for survival.

I bargained while taking cabs, buying an apple, taking a photo with a horse at a tourist spot. I was turned down by several taxis because the price they offered was higher than the price locals told me to ask for.

In the end, I did not enjoy bargaining. It didn't save me much money, and it couldn't provide me with security.

Of course, the necessity for bargaining all comes down to how much governmental regulation there is.

When I checked in at hotels, they had set prices and didn't dare negotiate for higher.

To be honest, I'd rather have set prices, no matter how high they are, than fight my way through bargaining.

This article was published on the Global Times Metropolitan section Two Cents page, a space for reader submissions, including opinion, humor and satire. The ideas expressed are those of the author alone, and do not represent the position of the Global Times.



Posted in: Twocents-Opinion

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