I like to think of myself as a reasonably intelligent individual, but then I look back at my life and realize it’s been my secret goal to get taken in every country on earth. I’ve totally handled Asia, and made great strides in Europe and South America. Just this Christmas I bought a Nintendo Switch charging dock for my daughter from what looked to be a legit American website, and was entirely mystified by the arrival of a bizarre toy from China which didn’t belong in the same ballpark as any of my holiday purchases. It took me a bit, but eventually I worked out that this was supposed to be Abby’s charger. Oddly enough I required them to fix their mistake.

“We are sorry. We will give you $30 as compensation.”

This was less than half the cost, and part of a somewhat convoluted message, so at first I thought they were very sorry and wished to give me some sort of credit on top of refunding my money. Nope. $30 too bad so sad. They wanted me to pay the shipping plus profit on the stupid little toy they’d sent in what I now have reason to believe was a deliberate bait and switch.

Many emails later I gave up, and contacted the Visa gift card company I had used to make my purchase, wanting the card credited back. “We’re happy to help, but it will take several weeks.” I gave them everything they asked for, plus any other documentation I had, and soon I received an email saying they needed more information, but neglected to mention what. Emails asking for said information went unanswered, and this week I received notice that I had not complied with their request, therefore my case was closed. Be happy with your $30. I’m counting this as getting taken in both the U.S. and China, and in the future, I’ll think twice about a Visa gift card.

I had a ring stolen too, right out of my jewelry box. It had been a gift, a pretty little ruby of the most beautiful design. It wasn’t big or impressive, selling it would certainly not pay my mortgage or buy our groceries, but I’ve never seen another like it, and wouldn’t spend the money even if I did. It was just gone without any possibility of replacement. I had a pretty solid idea what had happened, but by the time I discovered the theft, it was too late to prove it, so the thief got away clean, or dirty, depending on how you look at it.

I could recount plenty of other incidents, some funny, some not so much, but today I’m thinking of a day in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the little tourist town just outside the Angkor Wat Archeological Park, which is one of the must-see places on the planet. The park is all very Indiana Jones. You buy your park pass, and they let you loose on miles and miles of countryside containing numerous ancient temple complexes in various styles and states of repair, one being the famous jungle temple where massive trees grow through intricate stone ruins. It served as a site in the filming of Tomb Raider, but even if you didn’t see the movie, you’ve likely seen a photo or two, perhaps without knowing what you were looking at. We spent almost a week crawling through the various ruins, and from that time to this, my kids look at exotic amusement park attractions and scoff, “We’ve done that for real.” Read More