thanks for the heads up Rob!
thanks for the heads up Rob!
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Sometimes it's better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.
Irine. Nice !! You were Lucky..
Last edited by Highlander; 05-07-2019 at 05:58 PM.
Yes !! Rob.. Keep us all posted if that security tour Helps ..
Last edited by Highlander; 05-07-2019 at 05:56 PM.
In the past, I have been one of the people who complain about the higglers on the beach. Have had trips in years past where it seemed like every time we started to walk, it was an almost non-stop barrage of people trying to get our attention, sometimes even standing in our way, not taking "no thank you" for an answer, and getting aggressive when we tried to move on... so much so that I had a group of guys ask me if I was scared - and when I said no, they said "you should be" and continued to follow me until I stopped at a bar. At times it was so bad, it would make my wife so upset she would stay at the hotel and not want to leave the hotel grounds, and then not want to return - it's the main reason we hadn't been back in 3 years.
This trip, the first day or two we got a lot of attention from the higglers, and for the most part a "no, thank you" was enough to move on... one or two talked **** as we walked away, but that was it. The "Remember me" guy (who I had not met and didn't remember) didn't react kindly to me telling him that no, we hadn't met... but after the first day, we were able to walk just about anywhere on the beach and while we were approached multiple times, it was no hassle to just say no thanks and keep moving. It was much improved over years past. I even had a couple interesting conversations, and ended up spending a good bit of time with Dokta Kush talking about the state of Ganja in JA and the USA. I didn't buy anything, and wasn't pressured to. (I did check out his wares and was somewhat impressed - but I'm not gonna pay $10 US a gram in JA, no way).
I didn't see any police presence to cause this, but our trip was a lot more relaxing than the last one. Already looking to return later this year - hopefully there's been a change and it wasn't a fluke!
I have just got back to a wet and cold England this morning after spending what has to have been one of the best weeks of my life but more of that to follow. This was our third trip to Negril, our first trip we had a run in with a local who was begging money for food who got obnoxious when I went to the food seller and told him to give the man whatever he wanted to eat and I would pay for it.
Our second visit passed smoothly.
I did say that I would post when we got back so here goes.
We arrived late last Tuesday so I didn't get on the beach till Wednesday morning, I had the beach to myself until a guy turned up offering me weed or a boat trip, I explained to him that I didn't need weed or a boat trip, he accepted a hand rolled cigarette and we chatted for a few minutes before he left to go about his business and I went back to enjoying the solitude.
My next encounter was when a guy called me down to the waterline which upset my wife a little that I made the effort to walk down to him, we exchanged greetings and he said that he recognised me from a previous trip so I apologised that without my glasses I was pretty much useless at recognising faces however if we had met before then I would certainly remember his name, he told me his name to which again I apologised that we had never met. He then asked me if I wanted to buy some ganja to which I said No thanks Mon, I have plenty and with that we went our seperate ways.
We were on the beach every day for a week and not once did we ever feel hassled by anyone.
All right...the Kawasaki Police are back!Originally Posted by Rob
We saw several police cruisers on the beach last week. Lots of vendors, all pleasant. Few higglers, just the bracelet ankle guys. The lobster guy was still out trying to sell lobster on the beach, he really didn't like it when I said it was out of season and illegal. Probably the least hassled trip in 10 years.
Great Beach Patrol ! Never saw that.. Hope it Help's .
That's actually pretty funny about the "I know you" scam. We live part time at the Point Village and a few years back, prior to catching on to what the foot in the door scam was all about from the higgler's, we would always be asked, where do you stay, the higgler's would always respond, OH!!! the Point Village, I used to be a life guard there. Well, back in the hay day, Point Village must have had 30 life guards working at one time or another because everyone we ran into was a pool boy there. It wasn't until after we caught on that we discovered the first rule about Negril, is never, never say where you stay.
I'm not trying to be critical but just giving some friendly advice. Harrison, I think you might be your own worst enemy. Buying food for the beggar is the last thing you should do just to get rid of him. First, he will remember that for ever and never leave you alone again, and secondly, it makes it hard for all that come by after you. The message is....just bug people enough and you get what you want. I have yet to see a thin emaciated Jamaican beggar that really really needed the food. Secondly, if they wave you over or stand in front to talk to you, you should never never walk over to engage in conversation. Once you have stopped and say the first word, the hook is in. They may not be able to reel you in but it puts you on the defensive. No..I don't want to buy ganja, no...I don't want to go on a tour, no...I don't want to go parasailing, that kind of defensive. Just a friendly wave, maybe a no thank you, maybe a look on your face like you don't speak English, anything, but don't engage in conversation unless YOU want to. If the higgler's start walking beside you, just stop short and when they are one step in front of you, make a turn to walk behind them and walk to the closest bar. My wife and I have found many a good bar with a good vibe by doing just that.
I've been going for 20 years and Negril has always been a hassle in that regard.
Everyone claims to have a magic formula for dealing with it, but they're lying. If you're a long-time visitor, the long-time hasslers will recognize you and not hassle you. But there are always some annoying newly-minted hustlers to deal with. Nothing works against the really aggressive ones. Once I got into a fist-fight with one before the hotel security guard broke it up. Another time I made it back to my rental car after being really aggressively followed/hassled/threatened, then came really close to running the guy down (he had to dive into the bushes to get out of my way). I was really mad, obviously. That was satisfying but not a good idea really. Winding up in prison would not have been a good way to spend my vacation.
These days I always stay in Airbnb's outside of Negril (e.g. Lucea, Sav) & just go into Negril when I want to be hassled, kidding!, really I just go to Negril when I want to partake of its beaches or restaurants or clubs. Then I go back to the regular Jamaica. The hassling only exists in the tourist towns. In regular Jamaican towns like Sav or Lucea I can just walk around calmly like a regular person, same as I would in any US city.
Richard
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