Many people in the world think its ok to rip off a foreigner. Any foreigner... some Kenyans complained about constantly being ripped off in Tanzania & a Jordanian guy told me a horrible story about being charged $100 too much by a NY cabbie. No one's picky... everyone does it to everyone else. But yes, white Westerners are the favorite target & with, sorry folks, Americans being known as the absolute most gullible.

And we're the easiest target. It's not in our nature to question a price that's wrung up or quoted by someone official looking nor count our change. But everyone should.

So what can you do?

• Watch how much other people are paying. Then hand over the exact amount. And if the vendor tries to get you to pay more, have the locals around you get involved. There's usually at least one person in a group willing to help out a tourist.
• Ask someone else what the price is. Then immediately ask them how much they pay. Often they'll tell you the going foreigner price first then the real price.
• And while this may not be in your nature, it's not mine, if the price is marked & they ring it up, still do the math in your head. Just this morning bought $2 worth of stuff but they tried to charge me $3.
• And always, always, count your change! Not to mention do not accept ripped bills. Had one hotel give me my change back, to little, then I tried to pay their restaurant with the change & the waiter didn't want to take the ripped bill the desk clerk had just given me!