This is my first blog ever and I decided to begin this with scams as I myself am a traveller and I dont want travellers to face this sort of bad experience in my country. So I hope i'd be able to pass this information and save atleast one person from being scammed.
Tuk-Tuk Scam
Tuk Tuks are a very popular travel method within the country. Not to mention that most of these people are from low educational levels and living standards. They carry drugs, involve in prostitution and many other illegal business. Hence one should be very lucky to find a honest and a good tuk tuk driver. So my advice is to get in to a meter taxi whenever possible, make sure to ask them if the meter is working before you get in, and to reset it to 0 before you start the journey. If not there are many other cab services, Nano Taxi Service, budget taxi services etc, which will be a bit costly than a tuk tuk, but safety assured.
Tea Export Scam
This is commonly discussed in many forums. Where a so called tea plantation owner comes up and suggests to send you some tea and ask you for export charges. My advice is, no. If you want to buy tea, go ahead buy yourself tea from Mlesna or some other tea factory which will be straightforward.
Credit Card Scam
Rule number one, Never let your credit card out of your sight. Rule number two, use cash as much as possible. Keep change and coins for beggers and charity people.
Spice Garden Scams
Spice gardens are a big tourist attraction and my advice is go visit them but do not purchase anything. You can buy all the herbal stuff from Ayurvedic shops in city. And spices are also available in shops for a cheaper rate. So get the information from the spice garden, do the shopping elsewhere.
The Teacher/Student/Professional/
People may approach you, with a genuine smile, genuine talk, and genuinely interested on offering you a visit to some occasion, event, etc and most of them will mention 'they do not need money'.. you can always use Google to search for information. Most important events in sri lanka are listed there with dates. So do not believe these people and do not accept their offers to travel with them for any reason.
Currency/Trasure Items/Items with historical value
All these are fake. Do not even consider these offers.
Beach Boys
They do all the guiding and stuff in beach areas. They have a huge network and connections among tuk tuk drivers, cheap hotels, drug dealers, prostitutes. So beware. Know what their approach is. if you want sex or drugs, they can find it. But there is a price for everything.
There are good people out there. Use your instincts and common sense. Use google to find information. If you are staying at a hotel, get their support for transportation and other information.
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