Kayak Hustlers
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The Caribbean is known for its “hustlers”–people who are trying to make a living in economically deprived countries by tricking tourists into buying their wares and drugs. Montego Bay, Jamaica, is no exception. The most infamous spot for these hustlers is a street called Gloucester Ave or the “Hip Strip.” We had decided to stay far away from this place and rented a room in a villa in a residential neighborhood called Whitehouse.
The house is right on the sea. And I don’t mean beach. You go out on the deck and walk down the steps and start swimming in the turqouise waters. Fabulous! What I was surprised by last night was the appearance of the Kayak hustlers. They come by in their small kayaks filled with crafts, and other wares trying to get you to buy them amidst offers of ganja and other drugs. They are a bit wary so they start with pleasantries such as “welcome to Jamaica, mon.” I wasn’t in the mood and refused all offers. . . so far.
[...] might actually make contact with the urinal. The “Hip Strip” mentioned in the previous post, is way too touristy, more or less like the Vegas strip without the neon an [...]
I was telling a friend Tom about your experience with the kayak hustlers and he had a similar experience years ago in Jamaica. He was snorkeling along and when surfaced, lo and behold, there was this Jamaican guy also with snorkels right next to him and this guy goes something like “Hello, how are you? They call me Smoky Joe. Smoky Joe can get you any-ting you want maan and deliver it straight to your hotel room. Any-ting maan. Just give me your room number”. Needless to say, Tom declined Smoky Joe’s offer.
I met many more since I wrote this post. There are all sorts of hustlers. One time, we were sitting outside a local dive bar on plastic chairs facing the sea and this guy comes up and starts calling me “king” and my wife “queen” and how we should respect and love each other, how he sees a great future for us and similar crap. There was nothing we could do but nod and smile. At the end of his lecture, he asked for a tip. The Kayak hustlers often returned and they were daily features and we could see them go to the nearby Sandals resort often. Maybe people actually do buy stuff from them.
I have dealt with hustlers and other annoyances in many places and the only way I have found to be effective is to let them know from the very beginning where you stand. Most of the time, a friendly but firm “no” works but sometimes there is just no way but to be rude to get rid of them.
A super confident air about you when walking these streets also helps even if you are shit scared inside
Here’s a photo of our kayak hustler:
http://snipurl.com/lnwp