As I left the ship and went down the road between the warehouses, I was approached by a driver of a bicycle taxi (there’s probably a more accurate word for it but I can’t think of it right now). He offered me a ride to where ever I needed to go but since the craft store was on the other side of the city I didn’t think the bicycle was the way to go and wanted a rickshaw. I told him that and he assured me that he had a rickshaw ready to be used on the other side of the port security checkpoint which was a ¼ mile away. We negotiated a price and I hopped into the bicycle ready to be taken to the rickshaw. I felt rather ridiculous in the back of the bike because there was a cover over it and I was too tall to be able to sit up straight. It’s tough to act dignified when you are hunched forward. As we were about to leave, another taxi driver with a minivan started to negotiate with my driver in Tamil so I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. The upshot of the conversation is that they struck a deal, both of them would take me shopping all over the city to various shops (including the one I wanted) all afternoon for one set fee of $10. It was probably more than I really needed to pay but as I have mentioned previously, I don’t like to do hard core haggling so I made a counteroffer (which was still too high, I’m sure) and they agreed. I hopped into to the back of the minivan and the two men got into the front. After the checkpoint, we zoomed off to the first shop.
This is where I need to explain the system that has been set up between the shop owners and the taxi drivers in Chennai. The shop keepers know that every six months the MV Explorer pulls into port with hundreds of people eager to go shopping so they set up a deal with the taxi drivers who wait at the port for us. If the drivers bring the Americans to their shops, then they get a commission. So, even if you aren’t interested in going shopping, the drivers will take you to these stores anyways because they are rewarded for it by the shop owners. If you don’t want to go shopping, it is incredibly frustrating but if you do want to go shopping then you just need to be patient that you’ll eventually get to the place you really want to get to. In the meantime, you see some beautiful items.
At the first shop I was taken to, there were already several Semester at Sea students in the store so I was allowed to walk around in relative peace for a few minutes before a clerk approached me. The other thing you need to know about shopping in Chennai is that the moment you go into a shop or even look interested about going into a shop, you have a clerk stuck by your side the entire time. If you so much as look at something for longer than two seconds they are trying to sell it to you. It’s definitely not the way I like to shop!
This particular store had some beautiful items that I was interested in so I bought a few things and went back to the van and my two drivers. They looked pleased that I had bought something so I took this to mean that they get an extra commission if something is purchased by their prey. On to the next shop which had beautiful textiles, wood carvings and jewelry. I made the fatal error of wandering into the jewelry section first! Before I knew it, I was sitting at a counter with a drink in hand being shown some beautiful rings. I am a very weak person and need an intervention quite desperately. The salesman poured on the charm and flattery and I spent way more time there than I should have. Again, I bought something in the store and when I went back out to my drivers their eyes lit up and they asked me how much I had spent. Say what?! They needed to know how much I had spent in the store in order to get their proper cut of the commission and, if I would be so kind, would I let them photocopy the receipt. I didn’t know whether to be outraged or amused so I went with amused and decided to comply since there was no information on the receipt other than the price. This was an experience that I had never expected!
On to the next store where I was met by a clerk at the door. He immediately oozed around me with flattery and compliments that were so outrageous that it was difficult not to laugh in his face. When he wanted to drape a shawl around my shoulders I protested that I was too hot for that. He responded that I was indeed hot (meaning sexy) and the shawl was a perfect compliment to that. Oh, Gag! I left that store as quickly as possible. My drivers took me to a couple of other stores before we finally got to the craft store that I had originally wanted to go to.
At the end of the afternoon, I was all shopped out with lots of presents for people back home and ready to return to the ship. As we started back to the port, one of the drivers hopped into the back with me. He had done this a couple of times so I didn’t think much of it until he started to ask me for more money. He said that they had taken me to more shops than I had negotiated for and used more gas then they had originally thought they would so I should give them an extra 500 rupees for gas. This started about 10 minutes of argument/haggling as we drove back to the ship. When I didn’t agree to the gas money, they wanted to triple their price. I laughed in their faces at that one and reminded them that they had agreed to take me to many shops and that they were getting a commission out of this too and that I would pay them their original fee. I have to admit that about this time I was wondering if Pete and Jeanne’s youngest daughter really was a flaming idiot for getting into a taxi by herself. But I am relieved to report a happy ending. They ceased with their negotiating during the trip and delivered me to the ship as agreed. They made one last plea for extra money for the few additional shops that we had stopped in (at my request, not theirs). I was so relieved to be safe and free to leave, that I relented (I tell you that I am weak!) and gave them a few extra rupees. They were happy with the outcome which probably means that I paid them too much. As I walked away, they were already approaching other victims who needed a ride into the city. I probably should have warned the students but the best teacher is experience, right?
The rest of the evening was totally anticlimactic after my afternoon experiences. Dinner and getting caught up with my blog (even though the internet was down all day). We pulled out of port at 11:30 pm and that was the end of India.
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