Originally Posted by
veggie_lover
I don't understand all the sympathetic replies to the OP.
Perhaps because many of us have been in situations where we've been subjected to the 'tourist tax'? You may be a much more savvy, suspicious and lucky traveller than the rest of us who will never fall victim to a scam of any type ever in his life, but many of us do try to go the slight extra bit and meet new people on the road to alleviate some of the drudgery of travel.