71–80 of 246 posts
Great read. I've never been in a situation where a bribe might have helped and so it's good to get some idea of "how bribes work" for possible future reference. I have noticed that it seems valuable to project being "poorer" rather than "richer" when traveling. Naively it might seem like throwing money around would grease all sorts of wheels but the opposite has been my experience (although probably I just don't have…
Cute story, but wonder if the outcome would be the same if the author hadn't originally been Russian and didn't speak Russian.
While speaking a common language usually (but not always) helps, being a US citizen is the way more important part of the story. Police in the United States are used to generally treating everyone (including foreigners) with impunity, while cops in other countries dealing with US citizens are more wary of causing a diplomatic incident. There's also the novelty factor: people from high status countries are seen as int…
My in-laws were in Iran during the revolution. He's American and she's Thai. They have a long story whose climactic confrontation with guards is suddenly resolved when they decide that the Thai lady with the fuzzy hooded coat must obviously be an American Eskimo and that this is the most amazing thing he's ever seen.
So the two of them have a story about the time they got out of a terrifying situation, and there's an Iranian somewhere who has a story about that one time, for reasons he will never understand, an American Eskimo wandered through his guard post.
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Serious question: given how ... unstable ... McAfee seems to be, how reliable is this guide?
I mean, this is advice about doing something crazy. We aren't asking him for tax advice ;)
This dude just grassed on all the people who bent the rules to be nice to him. With pictures. For a moment of blog fame. Very uncool.
Is that picture going to get Irlan in trouble ?
Reading this and then going back and reading his SF arrest story (linked in the article) is a real contrast.
can you like take this down?
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I hope not, but it seems to me that not taking photos if explicitly asked not to is the least you can do for a guy who, upon arresting you treats you like a best friend, helps you to get refund for unused ticket and buys you bear and coffee. Hell, it's actually only human to restrain from taking photos of somebody who doesn't want to, but doing so to that Irlan guy? The most repulsive thing is author doesn't do that…
I personally don't find it morally wrong to take pictures of someone who was pressuring you for bribes. My "best friends" don't try to extort me for money. Irlan was only nice when he realized the author could provide entertainment and had very little assets...
It would be extortion if Irlan had (say) planted a kilo of heroin in his bags and then demanded money.
* A cop takes a bribe, is surprised the tourist is in some computer and then returns the bribe? I've never ever encountered a cop who takes bribes but does not know how the system works. They are not this stupid. This, by the way, is the best way to avoid bribing: Point out you accept punishment and let them work out the consequences for them - paperwork, getting you to jail etc. All this for a visa that expired a few hours ago? I'm sure they'll find a less work-intensive way to let you go.
* Cops being happy to have some "criminal" around for getting drunk and they even pay? No, they rather take your money and get drunk with their friends.
* The girl's story did not make much sense (abortion, breaking up, being raped, leaving school, being arrested, being dug on by a male guard while making out with a female guard and all of this within 24h? wait, what, I am missing some connections here).
I'm not saying that the base of the story ain't true, but there is, IMHO, a lot of storytelling in there, too.
Reading this and then going back and reading his SF arrest story (linked in the article) is a real contrast.