Shopping in Singapore

Shopping in Singapore

Although it is probably a sin to find the misfortunes of others a source of amusement, I could not contain my smile as I read Mrs. Fauzia's letter on Aug. 26 complaining at the way she was cheated during her shopping spree in Singapore.

I too had reason to visit Singapore recently and found the experience refreshingly different from Jakarta. I was not harassed by vendors attempting to sell me all kinds of things at grossly inflated prices, nor was I insulted by disreputable youths as I window shopped along Orchard Road. Cars did not attempt to mow me down as I crossed over zebra crossings and the streets were spotlessly clean and free of rodents and rubbish. Prices were clearly marked, shop assistants were informed, attentive and friendly.

As a foreigner living in Jakarta, the Singapore experience was sublime. I, like many other foreigners living here, am used to being overcharged on an almost daily basis because vendors, mistakenly believing that I am a tourist, will universally attempt to relieve me of my money by doubling the cost of their merchandise. Usually a gentle rebuke is enough to inform the offending opportunist that he or she is dealing with someone who is aware of the real price and a more appropriate figure is agreed upon.

I have to admit that when I first arrived in Jakarta, my outrage at being continually cheated was greater than that expressed by Mrs. Fauzia but, as time went on, I became used to this petty larceny and I no longer feel that my intelligence is being insulted. It is too stressful an emotion and in any case I have a higher regard for my own intellect than those who seek to cheat me. I have therefore adjusted my way of thinking so that now I only find it irritatingly amusing when dealing with them.

Unfortunately, tourists visiting Indonesia rarely have enough time to adopt any attitude other than that of outrage at being systematically overcharged and return to their own countries with tales of the dishonesty they have encountered here. Lamentably, in the retelling of their stories of mistreatment, all Indonesians are tarred with the same brush, perhaps unfairly so. This is causing untold damage to Indonesia's attempt at developing its tourist industry and is partly responsible for Indonesia's poor image abroad.

Indonesians traveling abroad should arm themselves with information about the countries they are about to visit. Duty free shops will almost always have lower prices for luxury items than those found on high streets. Duty free, as the name suggest, means you don't pay tax, hence the lower price for perfume quoted by your aggrieved contributor.

As a final note to Mrs. Fauzia, by way of apology for my unwarranted mirth, it might be some consolation for you to know that you have been avenged a thousandfold for your misfortune by your own people who have undoubtedly relieved untold numbers of unsuspecting tourists of their hard earned money in the time that it has taken me to pen this letter.

Should this fail to mollify you, I suggest that you look upon your experience more philosophically. It is impossible to change human nature. Look upon your losses as a sort of wealth tax. I do.

R. GULLIVER

Jakarta