Trip to India - Day 4 (April 23, 2006)
Leaving the Hotel
We had another early day. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:30 or so, but neither of us had any idea of how long it might take to get through Emigration. It was also likely that any flights into Colombo would require additional security measures.
We went into the lobby to finalize our bill. At check-in, Fay had bargained with the front desk staff, and we had thought we had prepaid in full (Rs 1000/night), but they started telling us that we had only paid a deposit, and that the balance of the tariff, a further Rs 1218.90, was due. We might have accepted this, except that nowhere on the initial receipt we received did it state that we were making only a pre-payment. Having been told we needed to prepay, we thought we had prepaid in full. This sounded like a typical scam – knowing we are likely to be in a rush to get to the airport, they delay us over would be a nominal mount to Westerners, in this case, around $Cdn 30.00. Fay is, as you may know, from the East herself, and would have none of it. She demanded to speak to the manager; the clerk at the front desk called *somebody* who spoke to Fay, who was quite indignant, and then he apparently wanted to speak to me. It had not taken him long to figure out that I was the “good cop.”
We spoke for some time. He said we had to pay the full tariff, whereas my point was that this was an unexpected surcharge to us, since the original receipt we were issued said nothing about a prepayment. I asked if he could waive the additional fee in its entirety (not likely, in retrospect, now that I have calculated the exchange). He asked if we enjoyed the room; I said we were seldom in it except to sleep, and enjoyment was perhaps too strong a word. I had to admit, of course, that we had indeed slept there even if we spent almost no other time in his hotel. I explained, in my most reasonable voice, that I understood people can make mistakes, and I did not think they should be unduly penalized, but nor should we have to cope with an unbudgetted expense. Then Fay took back over. I heard her complaining about the towel situation, and the fact that there was no shower curtain when we first arrived.
“He wants to speak with you again.”
I took the phone once more, and he offered a fifteen percent discount. I thought that sounded reasonable; it cut the amount we owed down to Rs 657.00 (they seem to round these things upwards – no wonder nobody ever has small change!) He said, “let me speak to my boy again,” and I handed the phone back to the clerk. Unfortunately, we were running low on cash (and would rather not leave our credit card information with a place which might not be completely on the up-and-up), and I had to take back our key and raid the tip we had left in our room.
We settled up, jumped in the waiting cab (after tipping the bell captain who had flagged down auto-rickshaws for us), and headed out to the airport.
At the Airport
While waiting to submit our embarkation documents, I noticed an un-staffed desk labelled as being for “Invalids and Diplomats.” I would have taken a photograph, but airports are notoriously touchy about that sort of thing, and I had no desire to spend any time dealing with Third-World police (little did I know what lay in my future…).
The additional security measures for the flight to Colombo involved a confirmation that all checked luggage had accompanying passengers; as we had no checked luggage, we got through quickly.
Before going through the last security check, we had one last cup of Indian tea each. Then through the final gate into the last waiting area; soon enough we were on the plane enjoying another SriLankan meal. We were both starved for animal protein; fortunately, there was a curried chicken dish on offer.
We had another early day. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:30 or so, but neither of us had any idea of how long it might take to get through Emigration. It was also likely that any flights into Colombo would require additional security measures.
We went into the lobby to finalize our bill. At check-in, Fay had bargained with the front desk staff, and we had thought we had prepaid in full (Rs 1000/night), but they started telling us that we had only paid a deposit, and that the balance of the tariff, a further Rs 1218.90, was due. We might have accepted this, except that nowhere on the initial receipt we received did it state that we were making only a pre-payment. Having been told we needed to prepay, we thought we had prepaid in full. This sounded like a typical scam – knowing we are likely to be in a rush to get to the airport, they delay us over would be a nominal mount to Westerners, in this case, around $Cdn 30.00. Fay is, as you may know, from the East herself, and would have none of it. She demanded to speak to the manager; the clerk at the front desk called *somebody* who spoke to Fay, who was quite indignant, and then he apparently wanted to speak to me. It had not taken him long to figure out that I was the “good cop.”
We spoke for some time. He said we had to pay the full tariff, whereas my point was that this was an unexpected surcharge to us, since the original receipt we were issued said nothing about a prepayment. I asked if he could waive the additional fee in its entirety (not likely, in retrospect, now that I have calculated the exchange). He asked if we enjoyed the room; I said we were seldom in it except to sleep, and enjoyment was perhaps too strong a word. I had to admit, of course, that we had indeed slept there even if we spent almost no other time in his hotel. I explained, in my most reasonable voice, that I understood people can make mistakes, and I did not think they should be unduly penalized, but nor should we have to cope with an unbudgetted expense. Then Fay took back over. I heard her complaining about the towel situation, and the fact that there was no shower curtain when we first arrived.
“He wants to speak with you again.”
I took the phone once more, and he offered a fifteen percent discount. I thought that sounded reasonable; it cut the amount we owed down to Rs 657.00 (they seem to round these things upwards – no wonder nobody ever has small change!) He said, “let me speak to my boy again,” and I handed the phone back to the clerk. Unfortunately, we were running low on cash (and would rather not leave our credit card information with a place which might not be completely on the up-and-up), and I had to take back our key and raid the tip we had left in our room.
We settled up, jumped in the waiting cab (after tipping the bell captain who had flagged down auto-rickshaws for us), and headed out to the airport.
At the Airport
While waiting to submit our embarkation documents, I noticed an un-staffed desk labelled as being for “Invalids and Diplomats.” I would have taken a photograph, but airports are notoriously touchy about that sort of thing, and I had no desire to spend any time dealing with Third-World police (little did I know what lay in my future…).
The additional security measures for the flight to Colombo involved a confirmation that all checked luggage had accompanying passengers; as we had no checked luggage, we got through quickly.
Before going through the last security check, we had one last cup of Indian tea each. Then through the final gate into the last waiting area; soon enough we were on the plane enjoying another SriLankan meal. We were both starved for animal protein; fortunately, there was a curried chicken dish on offer.
posted by James McLeod at
12:45 PM
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