Jeff's Travel Stories
I have been involved with quite a few bribes while traveling. I remember always having bribe money tucked in my sock for the year I lived in Turkey. The money was for emergencies to avoid trouble when it “popped up”. Not including my experiences in Turkey, most of my bribes seem to involve entries and exits of countries.
Generally I would like to cross borders on untravelled, more obscure border crossings, sometimes bus, sometimes foot, sometimes boat and even canoe.
These obscure borders would lend themselves to instant, creative border entry and exit “taxes”. This typically happened in almost every country in Central America and some in Africa. In Central American it wasn’t too much, typically $10 US.The most expensive bribe was upon entry to Indonesia one time. My traveling companion from the UK, neglected to get a new passport, and only had two months on her passport (I should have checked this for her). Although we were only there for a week, you need 3 months on your passport for most third world countries. At immigration, she checked in before me. The officer said “Probleme”, held it up and I instantly realized what was up and what would happen. We were hauled into a private room, and threatened with instant expulsion and all kinds of things which highlighted “the serious consequences” of this infraction. My companion cried and cried. They left the room after a while and I told her to stop crying, as all they wanted, was a bribe. She momentarily stopped crying, thought about what I said, and then started crying again - now about the bribe to be, I guess. When they came back, I asked if there was a “fine” for this sort of thing. After some negotiations that seem to start and end at $100 US cash, I offered them 60 UK pounds. Accepted ... and 30 minutes later we were in the country.
Sign in Lesotho
Another funny one was entering Lesotho via car. They had a large hand written chart on the wall with all countries and corresponding visa charges. Poor Tuire, they didn’t have Finland on the wall. The immigration officer said it was not allowed if it wasn't on the wall. I could see every other European country I could think up on the wall, except Finland. They just forgot to write it on the wall. When asked, they didn’t seem to have a written list anywhere. They obviously do not get too many Finnish travellers. She was refused admission. I asked to talk to the officer in private. The “fine” this time was $20. Tuire was pretty pissed about this corruption, being Finnish. Finland, beyond being probably the safest placein the world, is also the least corrupt. Generally that rule of thumb of safety/corruption applies throughout the world.
/groups/jeffstravelstories/search/index.rss?sort=modifiedDate&sortDirection=reverse&tag=crimelist/groups/jeffstravelstories/search/?sort=modifiedDate&sortDirection=reverse&tag=crimeBe careful out there!CustomTagSidebarCustomTagSidebar?sort=modifiedDate&sortDirection=reverse&tag=crime0/groups/jeffstravelstories/sidebar/CustomTagSidebarmodifiedDate5CustomTagSidebarreversecrimeBe careful out there!custom/groups/jeffstravelstories/search/index.rss?tag=hotlist/groups/jeffstravelstories/search/?tag=hotWhat’s HotHotListHot!?tag=hot5/groups/jeffstravelstories/sidebar/HotListjeffjeff2011-01-25 20:57:02+00:002011-01-25 20:57:02updated4Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-12 20:49:16+00:002011-01-12 20:49:16addTag3jeffjeff2011-01-12 20:48:44+00:002011-01-12 20:48:44updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-12 20:48:29+00:002011-01-12 20:48:29created1weblog2011-01-25T20:57:02+00:00groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/6ec66FalseSome Favorite Travel Photos/groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/6ec66/Some_Favorite_Travel_Photos.htmljeff4 updatesSome Favorite Travel Photos
Falsejeff2011-01-25T20:57:02+00:00jeffjeff2011-01-09 18:13:44+00:002011-01-09 18:13:44updated9jeffjeff2011-01-07 15:33:10+00:002011-01-07 15:33:10updated8Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-07 15:33:08+00:002011-01-07 15:33:08addTag7Added tag - turkeyjeffjeff2011-01-05 21:44:26+00:002011-01-05 21:44:26addTag6jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:48:03+00:002011-01-01 16:48:03updated5jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:47:48+00:002011-01-01 16:47:48updated4jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:46:03+00:002011-01-01 16:46:03updated3jeffjeff2011-01-01 15:58:42+00:002011-01-01 15:58:42updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-01 15:57:33+00:002011-01-01 15:57:33created1weblog2011-01-09T18:13:44+00:00groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/a5bc0FalseTurkish Drunk Driving Test/groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/a5bc0/Turkish_Drunk_Driving_Test.htmljeff9 updatesTurkish Drunk Driving Test
A Tourist Steam Engine in Turkey
[image]
[image]While living in Istanbul, I need...Falsejeff2011-01-09T18:13:44+00:00jeffjeff2011-01-06 23:02:06+00:002011-01-06 23:02:06updated17Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-06 01:05:34+00:002011-01-06 01:05:34addTag16Removed tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-06 01:04:45+00:002011-01-06 01:04:45removeTag15jeffjeff2011-01-06 01:04:45+00:002011-01-06 01:04:45updated14Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-06 01:04:44+00:002011-01-06 01:04:44addTag13Added tag - indiajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:44:09+00:002011-01-05 21:44:09addTag12Added tag - south americajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:44:05+00:002011-01-05 21:44:05addTag11Added tag - illnessjeffjeff2011-01-05 21:43:46+00:002011-01-05 21:43:46addTag10Added tag - sarsjeffjeff2011-01-05 21:43:35+00:002011-01-05 21:43:35addTag9Added tag - asiajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:43:32+00:002011-01-05 21:43:32addTag8Added tag - africajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:43:28+00:002011-01-05 21:43:28addTag7jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:44:28+00:002011-01-01 16:44:28updated6jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:26:37+00:002011-01-01 16:26:37updated5jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:26:01+00:002011-01-01 16:26:01updated4jeffjeff2011-01-01 16:24:41+00:002011-01-01 16:24:41updated3jeffjeff2011-01-01 15:58:18+00:002011-01-01 15:58:18updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-01 15:57:45+00:002011-01-01 15:57:45created1weblog2011-01-06T23:02:06+00:00groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/678d9FalseOf Lice and Flem (Phlegm)/groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/678d9/Of_Lice_and_Flem_Phlegm.htmljeff17 updatesOf Lice and Flem (Phlegm)
[shapeimage_1.png]Travel can be tough, different food, different bugs, different diseases. To me this is what makes travel interesting.
...Falsejeff2011-01-06T23:02:06+00:00jeffjeff2011-01-06 22:22:29+00:002011-01-06 22:22:29updated10Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-06 22:22:28+00:002011-01-06 22:22:28addTag9jeffjeff2011-01-05 21:25:05+00:002011-01-05 21:25:05updated8Added tag - indonesiajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:25:02+00:002011-01-05 21:25:02addTag7Added tag - lesothojeffjeff2011-01-05 21:24:58+00:002011-01-05 21:24:58addTag6Added tag - visajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:24:54+00:002011-01-05 21:24:54addTag5Added tag - bribejeffjeff2011-01-05 21:24:50+00:002011-01-05 21:24:50addTag4Added tag - central americajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:24:46+00:002011-01-05 21:24:46addTag3jeffjeff2011-01-05 21:24:26+00:002011-01-05 21:24:26updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-05 21:17:23+00:002011-01-05 21:17:23created1weblog2011-01-06T22:22:29+00:00groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/01cf1FalseEntries, Exits & Bribes/groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/01cf1/Entries_Exits__Bribes.htmljeff10 updatesEntries, Exits & Bribes
I have been involved with quite a few bribes while traveling. I remember always having bribe money tucked in my sock for the year I lived in Turk...Falsejeff2011-01-06T22:22:29+00:00Added tag - hotjeffjeff2011-01-06 01:04:56+00:002011-01-06 01:04:56addTag7jeffjeff2011-01-05 21:36:41+00:002011-01-05 21:36:41updated6Added tag - zimbabwejeffjeff2011-01-05 21:36:40+00:002011-01-05 21:36:40addTag5Added tag - coincidencejeffjeff2011-01-05 21:36:21+00:002011-01-05 21:36:21addTag4Added tag - australiajeffjeff2011-01-05 21:36:14+00:002011-01-05 21:36:14addTag3jeffjeff2011-01-05 21:34:09+00:002011-01-05 21:34:09updated2First createdjeffjeff2011-01-05 21:31:02+00:002011-01-05 21:31:02created1weblog2011-01-05T21:36:41+00:00groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/3cc1eFalseTravel Coincidences/groups/jeffstravelstories/weblog/3cc1e/Travel_Coincidences.htmljeff7 updatesTravel Coincidences
Everyone has their travel coincidence stories. It was quite common to meet someone on one side of a continent and then not knowing anything abou...Falsejeff2011-01-05T21:36:41+00:00hot/groups/jeffstravelstories/search/index.rss?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcomelist/groups/jeffstravelstories/search/?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcomeRecent ChangesRecentChangesListUpdates?sort=modifiedDate&kind=all&sortDirection=reverse&excludePages=wiki/welcome0/groups/jeffstravelstories/sidebar/RecentChangesListmodifiedDateallRecent ChangesRecentChangesListUpdateswiki/welcomeNo recent changes.reverse5search
Comments