Today we were scammed, Shanghaied in Shanghai,
taken for a ride, our generosity used against us. And I feel sick to my stomach.
It begins with John and I finally finding People’s Square
and walking around. We found a huge
amount of Chinese people standing around talking in little tents set up with
pictures of people and Chinese writing.
Both John and I were intrigued with what this could be, there was
nothing written in English so we just walked and looked, we both looked at each
other at about the same time and said what is this??
Just as we did a young Chinese couple said, ‘You understand
what is going on here?’ and so the scam
begins.
This young couple explained to us how these people were for
what of a better word, advertising their children in the hope for a love
match. She explained that it was not
like old China where the match meant the you must be married, this was see if
you like and if you get along good otherwise no pressure.
It was quiet confronting at first to see the many hundreds
of posters put up explaining the person’s age, their height, their education
and what they are looking for in a match.
However it was also strangely sweet that the parents sit all day and
explain to potential matches about their children. Basking in this we continue to walk around
the square with our new found friends, at some point they mention they are
heading to a Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony, a ceremony that only happens for
1 month each year. Jing (I can’t
remember her name although I would like to punch the fuck out of her) explains
that she is excited and would like us to come with her.
John and I are not stupid people, John is wary of people and
I tend to believe most people have good inside.
We pride ourselves that we can judge people and know when they are good
or not.
Not so much today.
However this in turn lets you know how good these young people are.
We walked with them to the tea ceremony place, which was in
a small building just off a main road, on the third floor, we are taken into a
room which has four chairs and a Chinese lady who will conduct the
ceremony. She explains all in Chinese which
our ‘friends’ interpret for us that we will be sampling 6 teas today, we are
shown a price list but we are not explained it.
So the ceremony begins, it is nothing to write home about, she produces
what looks like a small frog with coins on its back and washes him tea to begin
with and then goes through the motion of the teas. There is Jasmine tea, Lychee Tea, Fruit Tea,
Green Tea and it finishes with a tea that is the size of a small golf ball but
when immersed in warm water it opens out to a flower which then produces
another flower from within. All the teas
are nice, the fruit tea is particularly nice and we taste them all and finish
the tea ceremony.
Then they bring out the teas to purchase, and we notice how
expensive the teas are and as they buy two bags each we purchase 1 small
bag. Then the bill comes and its over
$2,000 RMB. This is when bile rises in
my throat and John looks at me with eyes larger than sauces.
They work on splitting the bill as that is what friends do
in China, we do
not have that much RMB on us and we eventually have to give over our credit
card as the other couple have handed over cash.
Once we are back outside and our ‘friends’ leave, John turns
to me and says have we just been scammed?
I honestly cannot speak, I am trying to comprehend that we just paid
$180 for six cups of tea each.
It was all done extremely professionally, reading above
those who say I would never have been done, you are wrong, you are wrong. Trust me you are wrong.
We came back to our hotel and googled, Shanghai Tea Ceremony
and got page after page after page of hits on scams.
We had been done, our first call was to the credit card
company to cancel our card as we didn’t want any more money taken and they are
going to dispute the payment (which of course) had already been put through on
our card.
I hope with all inside me we can get that money back, not
because we need the $180 but because I do not want those arseholes to have our
money.
Today I lost all my love for China
in a 30 minute Tea Ceremony. Today I
hate the Chinese, yes hate. Everyone
says that word should not be used, fuck them, that word is my friend today.
I am a person who try’s to see the best in everyone, who
looks for the best in everyone and who is willing to practice English with a
lovely couple we meet at The People’s Square in Shanghai. I had a small fleeting feeling at one point
walking to the ceremony what if these people are not what they say they
are. But the man was all of about 20 and
slight framed I could have knocked him over with a good push so I was not in
physical harm. I was just the target of
a scam.
Crime in China is low they say, and yes you don’t feel
worried walking around the city or like you are in danger, but that is where
they get you, its not the man lurking in the ally way you need to be worried
about. Its every single person in China,
it may sound hypocritical but it is true.
The waitress at the café we eat at everyday does not chase away the man
selling Prada or Rolex, but she chases away the Beggar. Why because she doesn’t get her cut. The policeman who sat on his arse in the bar
smoking cigarettes, doesn’t chase away the man selling the knock off iphones he
again chases away the beggar. Why? Because he cannot get a cut from a beggar.
Crime is rife, it is everywhere and we are their biggest
target. The dumb stupid western who they
can sell their $5 Prada handbags to for $80 and we think we are getting a
bargain, or take you to a tea ceremony and make you feel dumb. Today they got their own back on us
Westerner’s we come here looking to purchase the products we sell our resources
to them for them to make into huge ticket items and sell back to us. We think we are being clever to come and buy
the knock offs that look real at the cheap prices, while they laugh at us
knowing once again they are winning.
I feel sick in my stomach, I feel a distain towards them and
their scams and their knock offs and their ways.
I guess I put it on par with when someone breaks your trust,
and I put this to you, trust is like a Ming Vase, once broken it can be put
back together, but it will NEVER be the same.
China
will never be the same to me. I now long
for Tuesday when I head back to my country and remember why I love it so
much. China
you broke my heart today.
