Photo above: matiasjajaja / Feature photo: Zach Klein
Traveling can be frustrating at times.
When all is going tickety-boo, you don’t have a care in the world and you feel like nothing bad can happen to you. Until it does. There have been some interesting lists published lately covering relatively minor annoyances that can nevertheless turn travel into a frustrating experience.
Top 10 Worst Cities for Pickpockets
I’ve been to nine of these. I’ve never been pickpocketed (knock on wood). Either I’m extremely lucky or I take precautions. Probably both, but probably more of the latter.
Photo above: renaissancechambara
1. Barcelona, Spain
2. Rome, Italy
3. Prague, Czech Republic
4. Madrid, Spain
5. Paris, France
6. Florence, Italy
7. Buenos Aires, Argentina
8. Amsterdam, Netherlands
9. Athens, Greece
10. Hanoi, Vietnam
You always hear about scams when you travel. My personal favourite is one where a supposed mother will toss her baby at you.
Of course, by instinct, you’ll try to save baby Air Jordan, and if you do you’ll be minus a wallet.
But is this just an old traveler’s tale? If you’ve ever been baby-tossed, we’d love to hear about it.
Top Cities Where You Get Hassled
Ben Groundwater, travel blogger for The Age newspaper, posted these cities that are the worst for being hassled in.
Siem Riep, Cambodia
…the boat has barely even come to a stop before the huge crowd of yelling touts starts running on board trying to talk you into staying at their hostel. Rest assured, if you’ve already booked one, it will have mysteriously “closed.”
Hoi An, Vietnam
There are just as many touts on patrol [at the beach, compared to the cloth shops], mostly gnarled old women prowling the sand selling, “mango, baaanana, peeeeeanut!”
Cairo, Egypt
…they’re all hanging out at the pyramids, at once a true wonder of the world, and home to the most annoying people in the entire world.
Jaipur, India
Hands down, the grand champion of hassle.
San Francisco, USA
I was young and naive when I went to San Fran (I’m old and naive now), so that could explain it, but [it] just seemed like there were far more beggars and touts there than anywhere else in the States.
Nairobi, Kenya
No one really wants to sell you anything in Nairobi, except maybe the odd trinket – most have more sinister things in mind.
I would like to toss in Las Vegas and Santorini, as in right when you get off the ferry. Matador’s Sarah Menkedick also delves into the topic, posing the question: is getting hassled in the top travel spots preventable or inevitable?
The World’s Worst Taxi Rides
Forbes Traveler first profiled the World’s 10 Best Taxi Rides. Then they wrote about the worst. Here’s who they picked:
Photo above: Zemzina
Lagos, Nigeria
Naples, Italy
Caracus, Venezuela
Moscow, Russia
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mexico City, Mexico
Baghdad, Iraq
Bangkok, Thailand
Manila, Philippines
New York City, USA
The complaints were frequent roadblocks, aggressive driving, unregulated taxis, super-mad congestion, unfriendliness, and even getting robbed.
In Ulan Bator, Mongolia, everyone is a taxi; just stick out your hand and whoever stops is your cab.
We once hailed one, agreed on a price, got in, then five minutes down the road he realized he had to be somewhere else. He apologized then promptly kicked us out.
At least he gave us our money back. Here are some tips on How Not to Get Ripped Off by a Cabbie.
Have these lists given you a headache? Take two Aspirins and call me in the morning.
COMMUNITY CONNECTION
What annoys you the most? Where have you most been annoyed?
Surely you have a story (or five) to tell. Feel free to get it off your chest below.
About the Author
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35 Comments... join the discussion!
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I would add — Shanghai and Chicago for annoying beggars and touts and San Jose in Costa Rica and Panama City for taxi drivers that enjoy ripping you off.
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I would completely agree with Siem Reap! I was just floored by how intense everyone hassled me and the children clung onto my arms. I would add Thamel, in Kathmandu to the list somewhere for getting bombarded by sales people; you can’t walk down the street without the shops on the tiny narrow roads trying to pull you in!
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I actually had some of my best taxi experiences in Mexico City – the streets were certainly congested, but though I spoke very little of the language, the cabbies were friendly and the fares extremely reasonable.
Though it may just be me, I’d add Poznan, Poland to the worst taxi list – 3 times in a 4 day trip, I was dropped off within a block or two of the address I’d indicated, and sent walking in the wrong direction.
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I had a few interesting experiences in Manila. The small children blocking your path across the street while another is lurking behind you. I had to get Walter Payton on a few of these little guys just to keep my pesos.
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Surprised Cairo didn’t make the list of worst taxi experiences! The first one I ever got in, the wheel came off. Overcharging and terrifying driving are mandatory, though you won’t get robbed. It may take you 3 hours to do a 10 minute journey, though.
I got pickpocketed in Warsaw. Classic scam trying to get off the airport bus. Ended up getting a free skiing trip out of it though courtesy of my damsen in shining white armour, who helped save the day.
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Nick! Your wheel-less taxi story deserves some elaboration!
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I’d been whisked to Cairo as a trainee tour leader. It was mid summer. I ventured out alone, green-as, to find Downtown. Flagged down the first taxi I saw. It was a typical wheezing bone-shudderer, with clapped out driver.
Less than five minutes into the journey, half way over al-Galaa Bridge, the taxi lurched to the left and sort of sagged to the ground with a shriek. My driver painstakingly got out and crouched down. I stayed in the car, thinking this must be normal.
After a few minutes I joined him, found him tinkering with a wheel that seemed hell-bent on shearing away from the car. I know nothing about cars…perhaps the wheel nuts had snapped or something. It didn’t look as mundane as a flat tyre.
I had no idea what to do, so I gave him some money and walked away.
Years later, with a memory dulled by traffic jams and car fumes, I don’t actually remember what really happened. Perhaps in another few years, I’ll have convinced myself the wheel came off completely, and bounced away down the road. The culture-shocked state I was in at the time, it might as well have done!
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Santiago’s pickpockets are fierce, but maybe they learned in Spain. Liked this piece very much, and now really want to go to Ulan Bator to check it out. Or maybe pick up a car there and see where life takes me! Oh, except I don’t like to drive.
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Carlo, I’ve been to most of those cities on the pickpocketing list, and have luckily avoided any bad run-ins too. Lived in NYC for 7 years, though, and got pickpocketed twice, and burglarized once.
All out scams do make me a bit sick, but to label all of these people— from tax drivers in istanbul to beggars in San Fran to children in Vietnam — makes me a little sick to my stomach too. I grew up in San Fran, and I was stunned upon leaving how few homeless people there were elsewhere. They really do cover the streets in some parts. But, while most of them do panhandle, most aren’t trying to scam anyone. Or sell you a tearjerking story.
And, as people with the privilege to travel, I think we should expect things like scams, begging, children holding onto our arms (who are often forced, not by their families, to go out into the street) when we travel to developing nations. Most of this stuff is born of desperation. It’s not just for kicks.
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**Opps — label all these people as annoying, I meant.
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**Opps — label all these people as annoying, I meant. And, of course, that message was mostly a response to Ben Groundwater.
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Portland, OR to me had more beggars and homeless than anywhere else in America, and I live in New York. I can handle NY and SF homeless, because they seem legitimately crazy, so you can’t really fault them for being homeless, but the Portland homeless were just lazy hipsters begging for change until their band takes off.
If you like crappy poetry and evangelical vegan hipper-than-thou douches, Portland is the city for you. It is hands down the worst city on the west coast, I’ll just buy their exported beer at my local Whole Foods and enjoy the only good part of that city from afar.
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Thanks for all the comments. And thanks Simone for clarifying! I couldn’t agree more. I’m from Vancouver originally, where there is a HUGE homeless situation and I certainly don’t condemn them for begging or squeegie-ing windows at intersections. It is a bit self-centered to be annoyed in these situations (well, maybe not pickpocketing so much…that’s pretty justified), especially without trying to understand why they behave the way they do. Of course, on the other, when you’ve been on the road for a while, it’s very easy for the minor annoyances to build up until it becomes intolerable.
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I don’t necessarily agree with San Fran – I have had a couple homeless people ask for money, but not much and certainly not enough to add it to the list… has anyone here had a problem in SF?
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Oh my gosh! Panama City is terrible with Taxis! I thought I was seriously going to die on my taxi rides. One taxi driver was going upwards of 60kmh down a one way road that had nearly 90 degree turns in it, all the while changing the radio and trying to understand my broken Spanish. My return taxi trip was worse, he took pedestrian paths, went through alleys, ignored one way only signs and was all out crazy. I stopped him halfway through and walked the rest of the way. He insisted I pay for the entire trip, and, rather then argue, I did.
London, I personally didn’t have any problems, but my friends did. In Borough Market, one of the vendors told me of a scam that local pickpockets do. The first guy will walk up to you and pretend to pick you, in reality he is just bumping in to you. Another guy watches the exchange. Most people then pat down the spot where they are keeping their wallet, to make sure it’s still there. Then the guy picks the wallet. Devilish little scheme.
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It’s not surprising that San Francisco made the list somewhere ! It’s gorgeous, but it does have a seedy side.
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I’m kinda surprised about Amsterdam, I heard it was one of the safer cities in Europe. Maybe I got facts mixed up or maybe it was in regards to other crimes.
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I’m so sad Mexico City made the list.
I know it has a bad rap, but having lived there, I never had a problem with taxis and I never felt unsafe.↵ -
My roommate & I almost got pickpocketed on a subway train in Rome by the least skilled pickpockets ever.
Three men stood around us while one of them started working on her purse, another was working on mine. Instead of opening the zipper on my bag, he poked me in the ribs while reaching for the zipper. Ouch! I turned around to yell, but the guy looked so pathetic with his jacket over his shoulder, trying to hide his stealing arm.
Instead, I gestured to my friend to look behind her, who then looked down to see one man’s hand IN her giant bag. I giggled while she started pulling items from her purse, one by one, and throwing them at the men while screaming cuss words at them in Italian. She definitely hit one of them in the head with a half-full water bottle and yelled, “is THIS what you’re looking for?” They kept insisting that she was mistaken, so she threw an Italian grammar book instead. Then an umbrella. Then a handful of candy.
By then, we’d reached the next metro stop, so I grabbed her arm and took off running out the door, nearly peeing myself with laughter.
We might not have reacted very maturely, but… these guys seriously SUCKED at stealing!
…Oh, yes, this was the same day we saw a man masturbating in the bushes as we walked by, then chased us while yelling compliments our way. Ew, we ran away from that, too.
All that aside, I’m surprised about Amsterdam, also!
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Sarah. Wow.
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I’m from San Fran as well, and while homelessness is generally a big problem here I’ve found that if you ignore the panhandlers, they’ll leave you alone. Pickpocketers, on the other hand, will often pursue you until they get your wallet.
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No one drives as quick as an Italian in a taxi, especially when you remind them the previous 2 Formula 1 champions are British
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Especially when they’re veering onto sidewalks in Naples.
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I’ve driven a campervan in Naples. Not fun.
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I was damn amused when I took a taxi in Rome. It reminded me so much of home (India) that I actually enjoyed the madness
Also I really believe these lists should be taken with a pinch of salt. These things could happen anywhere and everywhere. Just depends on the kind of day you are having …
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I live in Silicon Valley and I spend a lot of time in San Francisco as a touristy local. As you get farther from the classic tourist areas (Union Square, Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury), there are fewer panhandlers to deal with, especially if you get to Golden Gate Park and the ocean. And in terms of annoyance, I find those that I encounter rather tame. I’ve never been pursued by anyone and most just sit quietly with a cup and maybe a sign.
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I’m actually really shocked to hear that… I live two hours south of Portland and go up there all the time, and compared to where I live (Eugene which is much much smaller than Portland) it doesn’t seem bad at all. You see the occasional bums, panhandlers, and yes, douchey hipsters, but it’s never jumped out at me to be a bad place. Everyone is entitled to opinions but I’m Oregon grown and gotta defend it… Portland is an amazing place and anybody should visit if they have the chance!! One of my top 5 cities on the west coast.
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Keely, I went to Eugene and I absolutely loved it. It was such a cool little college town and though I only got to spend an afternoon there en route to Florence, OR I would definitely go back.
Portland just came off as obnoxious to me. It was dismal and grey, and sure they have bike trails galore, but meh. Portland is the Pittsburgh of the West Coast, post industrial and sad, but super affordable real estate.
Then again, I was there just a few days before Burning Man, so maybe all the cool people were gone.
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I never had the problem in San Francisco either. I live in Philadelphia and it is pretty bad with people begging so SF seemed tame. It is one of my favorite cities in the States. Philadelphia is a wonderful city to live in if you can accept that these are rudest people you will ever meet.
Rudeness should be a category in this article.
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I would definitely say Tehran, Iran has the most suicidal drivers and even more suicidal taxi drivers.
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I’ve taken close to 100 taxi cabs in Mexico city and find the drivers to be pleasant, the ride generally safe, fares reasonable, and overall a nice experience, taking into consideration the level of wealth in Mexico. And they were all repainted 6 months ago, no more ugly green!
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New York City one of the worst for cabs? Really? Maybe it is for people who have never taken a cab before in their lives, but after taking cabs in various cities both in the U.S. and overseas, I find myself longing for cab rides as good as the ones in NYC.
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Yellow Cabs are fine, but the unlicensed gypsy cabs can be horrendous, especially to tourists who are not savvy to the distinction. Especially if you’re coming in late at JFK, you’ll be hounded by them as they try to totally shepherd you away from the flat-rate yellow cabs to their rip-off-mobiles.
Oh, and I’bve had my share of terrible yellow cab rides, too. Still, on the whole they’re fine.
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I went to Nairobi this summer and was driven crazy by the vendors – I’d switch from English to French to confuse them and make an escape. I was 15 and naive though I knew their intentions were the furthest from pure. Once I’d spent all my shillings I’d just get the most out of them, simultaneously amused and stunned by how many lies would stumble from their lips for the smallest sale.
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