Tourist : Well I swear I ain't cheap!
Paul : I totally believe you.
Tourist : But over here, it's like everything's helluva overpriced. Swear it must be the most expensive city in Europe.
Paul : And you've got the almighty dollar on your side.
Even the Americans are waving their flags in surrender. Now imagine if you've only got the heartbreakingly miserable ringgit on your side.
Frequently you hear rabid raves and rhapsodies written about the unequaled splendours of La Serenissima yet you rarely get wind of the very, very few who cry a simpering rebuttal. That's because like with any reigning debutante of the season, most of the swooning devotees caught under the mesmerizing spell of Venice are frequently in possession of a handsome fortune themselves.
For the poor and hungry would find themselves quite sadly dispossessed on these shores. Not for nothing is Venice dubbed the rich man's playground. With the ever-increasing rents on the pitifully small acreage of sandbanks and shoals, is it any wonder that everything here costs a pretty penny?
Or at least several pennies more in comparison with dry land.
Not very friendly for the budget travelers for sure.
Even when it comes to a place to rest. Setting aside the obviously sky-high prices for the minuscule bedsits, there are also the canteens and the cafes that not only charge exorbitantly for their food and drinks but also impose a heavy levy on dining in. Perhaps one of the few places in the world that extorts an excessive price for service and a seat, again several pennies more than the usual.
Which explains why most locals would be found standing around the streets with takeaway snacks in hand.
Something that evidently frustrates our somnolent Charming Calvin who immediately loathed the entire archipelago at length. Fortunately for his rapidly depleting humour, we came to realize the Chinese restaurants charge the same flat rates regardless of table service - bless the ever-ubiquitous Chinese! Mollified by the familiar fried rice on offer, he started thinking the place quite tolerable in fact.
Until several hours later when we found something that made him cast up his hands in horror - as needless to say the public toilets cost a bomb as well.
Paul : I totally believe you.
Tourist : But over here, it's like everything's helluva overpriced. Swear it must be the most expensive city in Europe.
Paul : And you've got the almighty dollar on your side.
Even the Americans are waving their flags in surrender. Now imagine if you've only got the heartbreakingly miserable ringgit on your side.
Frequently you hear rabid raves and rhapsodies written about the unequaled splendours of La Serenissima yet you rarely get wind of the very, very few who cry a simpering rebuttal. That's because like with any reigning debutante of the season, most of the swooning devotees caught under the mesmerizing spell of Venice are frequently in possession of a handsome fortune themselves.
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| The poor don't last long in Venice. |
Or at least several pennies more in comparison with dry land.
Not very friendly for the budget travelers for sure.
Even when it comes to a place to rest. Setting aside the obviously sky-high prices for the minuscule bedsits, there are also the canteens and the cafes that not only charge exorbitantly for their food and drinks but also impose a heavy levy on dining in. Perhaps one of the few places in the world that extorts an excessive price for service and a seat, again several pennies more than the usual.
Which explains why most locals would be found standing around the streets with takeaway snacks in hand.
Something that evidently frustrates our somnolent Charming Calvin who immediately loathed the entire archipelago at length. Fortunately for his rapidly depleting humour, we came to realize the Chinese restaurants charge the same flat rates regardless of table service - bless the ever-ubiquitous Chinese! Mollified by the familiar fried rice on offer, he started thinking the place quite tolerable in fact.
Until several hours later when we found something that made him cast up his hands in horror - as needless to say the public toilets cost a bomb as well.
1 comment:
How expensive is the public toilet? Can buy a meal? Ice-cream?
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