The tourists apparently started haggling after being charged 1.50 dollars for a cup of tea :michael-laugh:
(NSFW in case some folks find mild violence upsetting)
I think there is more to the story than a mere disagreement over price
been to Nepal, on treks you usually pass by tea shops and you can ask to stay. They’ll almost always let you stay for free, with the condition that you buy a dinner or breakfast or at least some drinks. They’re extremely welcoming and kind people, and this woman or her family has to carry every piece of food up the mountain on their back (unless they live in a rare village with sturdy roads). It can take hours of hiking straight up and down to bring supplies up to their tea shop, so then this lady basically steals hours of this woman’s back-breaking labor and a spot in her tea house that could’ve been filled with a paying customer. it’s especially stressful for this woman bc the tourist seasons in nepal are short (too cold, too rainy, too hot for hikes) so the nepalese up in the mountains need to make that cash to provide for their families for the entire year. I went alone so I rented my own guide and he was so sweet and went so far out of his way to make me happy, that I actually paid him double his rate (which i was already paying a “high tourist fee”) and after 4 days + my double bonus i only spent $35-40. To haggle over a $1 tea after you’ve taken one of the most expensive flights across the world with all your specialty designer gear is so rude. it’s especially rude when you factor in the fire wood, clean sheets, bed space, water for bathing and bathroom, and electricity that this tourist undoubtedly used for free when she could’ve just been left out to freeze on the mountain lol
Dude, get some perspective. It is not fucked to expect a rich person from the imperial core visiting your poor imperialized nation to pay a tiny amount of money (to the rich person) for a product.
Imagine spending thousands of dollars on hobby gear and a flight, rocking up to a struggling person’s home, who gives you free shelter and amenities, and then throwing a tantrum and making threats when you’re asked to pay an extremely reasonable price for the cup of tea you’re drinking. How is the struggling person at all in the wrong?
