truffledog wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 3:47 am

Foreigner wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 3:34 am

truffledog wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 3:09 am I wonder what I would do if I were a Tuk Tuk driver and met a first time tourist or any rich looking barang. Probably trying to squeeze out as much as possible I guess. Would I have any remorse doing so? Probably not a second as I would do everything to feed and house my family and give my kids the best possible education I may afford.

By that logic you would happily steal from the tourist to feed your family as well. Even assault the tourist to take his or her money ???? Where's the line ?

Personally if I discuss price in advance with the driver (usually I don't), and I'm quoted a price that I think's much too high, I'll just walk off, and no matter how much the driver comes after me saying a reasonable price I'll not even give him the time of day once he's tried to rip me off. So for me the driver's already gone over where I see the line by even suggesting an exorbitant fee, and in the case of my custom he will have done a disservice to himself, and not necessarily to me.

Stealing (or even assaulting) and trying to get the best possible price out of a deal by fair means are 2 differenty things. Cant follow your logic.

Getting a tuk tuk without aksing for a price is like ordering a beer in a pub and when the bill comes you pay what you think is right???? And then you start arguing that the last beer you had in another place was cheaper? Cmon.

No tuk tuk driver has ever pointed a gun at me forcing me to take a ride at his price. Once you agree your deal is done. Whinging afterwards that you have been ripped off is a matter of beeing a pussy or not. Walk off and get another one or shut up and pay what you agreed on. With every product or service you buy every day you will be "ripped off" as someone else will offer that same product or service at a better price just around the corner. It feels bad knowing that someone else paid less for the same deal but thats the daily reality.

I'd already replied to this, but the comment's disappeared. Will give it one more try. Sigh.

My logic came from your words, "I would do everything to feed and house my family and give my kids the best possible education I may afford". I'm not suggesting that you would steal, I'm just pointing out that stealing would fit within this description.

I never mentioned walking off from a ride and not paying the agreed fare. As was clear, I was talking about refusing to take a ride with a driver who had attempted to rip me off. No idea where "whinging" or being a "pussy" comes into the conversation; nothing I described was being either.

I usually don't bother agreeing a price in advance as more often than not it's not worth the hassle of explaining exactly where I want to go. I've never had a problem of any significance and only once or twice ended up paying a dollar or so (maybe 2 late at night) more than the right fare. As for going into a bar and asking them how much a pint is before ordering, are you serious ??

Don't get all snowflake, Foreigner - it is not personal.
Listen to what i am saying. i have written these words many times in the hope a few of the newbies do not get automatically get pulled in to the tuk tuk cynicism that is so common on this forum.
Cambodia has provided many treasures to my life, and tuk tuk drivers have proved many of those, and steered me to many more.
Fine, you are quite free to ride in a rat cage any time you want, and to imply traditional tuk tuk drivers are thieves. But i promise you will miss out on a lot for your misplaced suspicions and spendthrift ways.

PS you may not want to ask how much a beer costs in a bar - but it would be a bit silly to not look at the price list before eating or drinking at somewhere you have never frequented before.
And that principle particularly applies to any kind of transportation anywhere in the world.

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 4:08 am Don't get all snowflake, Foreigner - it is not personal.
Listen to what i am saying. i have written these words many times in the hope a few of the newbies do not get automatically get pulled in to the tuk tuk cynicism that is so common on this forum.
Cambodia has provided many treasures to my life, and tuk tuk drivers have proved many of those, and steered me to many more.
Fine, you are quite free to ride in a rat cage any time you want, and to imply traditional tuk tuk drivers are thieves. But i promise you will miss out on a lot for your misplaced suspicions and spendthrift ways.

PS you may not want to ask how much a beer costs in a bar - but it would be a bit silly to not look at the price list before eating or drinking at somewhere you have never frequented before.
And that principle particularly applies to any kind of transportation anywhere in the world.

As I say, I regularly walk into bars and order a beer and regularly jump in a tuktuk and say "trong" or similar (alas, my khmer is pathetic), and have never have had a problem of any note. I got done with a "fake" $100 bill in a girlie bar once and learned my lesson from that (at least look like you've remembered the serial number before handing it over), but it wasn't to do with ordering a beer and not checking the price first. I agree with you that most drivers (although not all) are quite reasonable, and I'm quite happy to pay a reasonable fare - quite often more than I feel I need to - as was kind of my point when I got involved in this conversation.

I note your determination to defend the honour of tuktuk drivers, but feel that you might be aiming your defence of them in the wrong direction. I'm only going from my experience that the "chariot", as I think you called it offers less value, and in my experience the drivers of those vehicles are far more likely to try to charge a high price than a "rat cage" driver. If my experience offends you then I regret that but can not apologise for it. Tbh, I would be unlikely to get in a chariot without agreeing a price, if that makes anyone feel any better about anything. I've got no issue with being in a "rat cage" and have never felt like I was in a vehicle that merited such a description. I also feel like I can get better highs out of travelling than sitting in a big tuktuk, but whatever floats your boat.

LOL, fair enough, Foreigner.

and yeah, i do admit i am the fiercely pro-active PR hack for the United (real) Tuk Tuk Drivers of Cambodia Guild.
Noble nights of the free mans freemasonry. A Cambodia treasure.

And yeah also, i consider riding high in a traditional tuk tuk, and the unique perspectives you can see from up there, is one of the pleasures of my life. Not even to mention the fierce friendships i have with so many drivers.

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 4:08 am
Cambodia has provided many treasures to my life, and tuk tuk drivers have proved many of those, and steered me to many more.
Fine, you are quite free to ride in a rat cage any time you want, and to imply traditional tuk tuk drivers are thieves. But i promise you will miss out on a lot for your misplaced suspicions and spendthrift ways.

PS you may not want to ask how much a beer costs in a bar - but it would be a bit silly to not look at the price list before eating or drinking at somewhere you have never frequented before.
And that principle particularly applies to any kind of transportation anywhere in the world.

I have made the same positive experiences with tuk tuk drivers all over Cambodia with some of them even getting close friends, visiting their families in the countrside, beeing invited to weddings, and sharing their daily up's and downs while not beeing in Cambodia. I owe them many experiences I would not have made if i had not met them.

You dont know how much you miss and appreciate tuk-tuk drivers until you need one,,,, you look around and there are none in sight.

I know how to create 10,000 jobs overnight here in Australia.

Duncan wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 5:29 am You dont know how much you miss and appreciate tuk-tuk drivers until you need one,,,, you look around and there are none in sight.

I know how to create 10,000 jobs overnight here in Australia.

It's not by killing 10,000 employed people is it ???

Foreigner wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 5:39 am

Duncan wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 5:29 am You dont know how much you miss and appreciate tuk-tuk drivers until you need one,,,, you look around and there are none in sight.

I know how to create 10,000 jobs overnight here in Australia.

It's not by killing 10,000 employed people is it ???

If that was the case it would be 20,000 working for the government.

Foreigner wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:41 am

AndyKK wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:32 am

Foreigner wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:28 am

AndyKK wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 2:20 am

Foreigner wrote: ↑Mon May 04, 2020 1:35 am

Fair enough. If you say that fares are cheaper that way then I take that at face value, and appreciate the information.

I'd still be surprised if 1000 riel would cover a kilometre. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but a tuktuk no chance. Not even the newer little ones, which I'd suggest work out at minimum 2000 riel per k, and a traditional large tuktuk probably close to double that even daytime.

Tbh I think that even in south east asia that's good value, and whilst I understand people getting the best value, I don't think anyone can have any complaints at 2k for a dollar.

By tuc-tuc pass app there is a minimum charge of 3000reil the journey from Wat Phnom to the Royal Palace is 4200reil for the journey distance of 2km

Interesting. I reckon just grabbing one of the little white tuks would be about the same fare for that ride, and I think it's a fair price. If there was no meter and I was asked for 6000 for that journey I'd not argue.

Yes if you wave them down, I think they add another 3000reil.

but very often the metre's not on. more times than not i'd expect a driver of a little tuk to be quite happy with 6000 for that run.

although it never ceases to amaze me how almost none of the drivers of the little tuks have even a basic concept of how the city is laid out in a grid in numerical order, they are far more likely in my experience to accept a reasonable fare without any complaint and often even with gratitude than a driver of a big tuk, or even a freelance moto rider.

edit: btw, i'm not sure you're right about the 3000 extra. if the metre's on there's a minimum far but i'm not sure it's strictly additional ?

Foreigner you quote - but very often the metre's not on. But oh yes it is with pass app, firstly when you book the tuk-tuk by your smartphone you put in the pick up and your destination, they give you the price then, also being the app on your phone the meter is running on your phone, has well has on the drivers.

That trips about $2-3 by old TUK TUK