"Some of you must be spectacular parents. Your kid has a bad experience, tells you about it and you spend all your energy yelling at them for not knowing better."

Sorry, but the problem isn't that the OP doesn't know better. The problem is that she is an awfully arrogant person who isn't willing to accept responsibility for her actions even after knowing that she did wrong.

She might not have known then, but now she knows that Budapest metro runs on a honour system. She knows that she needed to validate her ticket. She knows that she broke the law.

Nevertheless she acts as if the people who caught her did something wrong when doing so while she was right to walk away from them, hitting them and using expletives.

And of course the most incredible thing is that she doesn't even consider the idea that the people who demanded a fine were letting them go because her partner paid the fine but because it was a "bribe". You know, whenever you leave civilization, you have to deal with uppity natives, but fortunatley cou can bribe them.

This isn't a question of naivity but of character.

I can see how when she was approached by non-uniformed women she could think it was a scam. We had a frightening experience on the Prague metro one year.

Two large gruffy looking men were on the train. As soon as the doors closed, they started SHOUTING and everyone quickly started fumbling in their bags and pockets

Oh my Lord... I was convinced we were all being robbed, I think I even said so to my husband.. and told our younger son not to worry, everything would be ok.

I soon realized these "thugs" ( they were very rough looking overweight men) were actually ticket checkers as everyone got out their pass, and we luckily had our tickets to show.

Whew! What a fright. We still laugh about that one.

So, although it may seem odd to some, the situation could have been a bit unnerving when you think about it if these checkers didn't identify themselves.

PS. This poster doesn't sound American to me, either.

Hi

The ticket debacle is a classic sting! The 2 women were posing as officials in order to extort money out of travellers. Did the 2 women produce ID? Were you issued an infringement notice? Unfortunately you and your husband were the victims of an often tried method no doubt in several countries in the world. Thanks for posting to warn other future travellers. Do try and focus on the positives of your trip though and it will make your memories more pleasant

Budapest is arguably the most divided city (for tourists) that exists in Europe. You either love it or absolutely hate it. You're either recommending it to everyone you meet, or you're making a vain attempt to convince people to NEVER visit.

I've never been, however I'm happy to say from the Hungarians I've met, the "cold" people of Budapest are doing a disservice to the Hungarian people and nation.

Lincasanova, there are ticket checkers in Paris, too, in plain clothes and rough looking. It is always a big surprise when they suddenly board a bus or the metro and start checking tickets. It is very upsetting for the fraud specialists, who look very carefully for the official uniforms at all times.

Worldinabag, please give us some details about the stings you have experienced.

lincasanova: "I soon realized these "thugs" ( they were very rough looking overweight men) were actually ticket checkers"

These guys go into trams after midnight and check the tickets of groups of drunk men and fine them if they haven't got one. It helps a lot if you're a rough looking big guy to do the job

worldinabag, from my experience of several visits, there is a ticket control at Deak Ferenc Ter every few days. I ran into them at least a dozen times and none of the Hungarians seemed to be in anyway suspicious of them but they produced their tickets.

I actually once ran into them without having validated my ticket (I had been using weekly tickets before and simply forgot). I smiled at them and they waved me through. If I had gotten another guy, I'd have paid and I'd have cursed only myself.

By the way, if someone thinks it odd that such ticket checkers don't cut more slack for foreigners, I've met quite a few (normally young) tourists and ex-pats who happily boast how the cheat the honour system in public transport by pretending to be ignorant about the rules. It takes only a few rotten apples and the people just don't give the benefit of doubt anymore.

It was certainly an eye opener!

While it may make some feel superior to call the OP names, we've all been first time travelers. I didn't get the impression that the OP was "haughty" at all.

And I agree with lincasanova that it would be difficult to know that the people who approached her worked for the Metro, especially if they weren't in uniforms?

As much as we are warned about thiefs approaching tourists on public transportation, I probably would just keep walking too.

"As much as we are warned about thiefs approaching tourists on public transportation, I probably would just keep walking too."

Fair enough, but would you complain about the control afterwards when you knew better?

<i>however I'm happy to say from the Hungarians I've met, the "cold" people of Budapest are doing a disservice to the Hungarian people and nation</i>

Perhaps true. After going around Hungary, city people are less inclined to chat than small town and country people. But in what country is that not true? Paris, London, New York, Bangkok, Buenas Aires... as a generality, city people are always less chatty and more hurried than their country counterparts. Most any non-big city dweller in those example countries would likely agree.

I'm, inclined to agree with colduphere. I'm thinking this poster and this thread is all a wind-up. Just the screen name alone is an invite. Then to announce in the OP that while blaming a whole city for your mistakes, you've already gone down in flames on another internet forum... and never really discuss your topic, just egg it on and do lots of eye rolling at the world. Yeah, that smells a bit of troll droppings. How interacting with someone up to things like that (on a fun hobby site discussing supposed post-trip impressions) compares to raising your children escapes me.

If ticket checkers are always in uniform, one would be very sure to validate their ticket if the officer were standing there on the platform with you, waiting to board.

"Sorry, but the problem isn't that the OP doesn't know better. The problem is that she is an awfully arrogant person who isn't willing to accept responsibility for her actions even after knowing that she did wrong."

Absolute load of utter bollocks.

Troll droppings. Great phrase Clifton. I close my eyes and see them.

verynaiveirishgirl

I've had similar experiences.

For example, in 2003 we arrived at the hotel after a harrowing trip with a very grumpy cab-driver, got ripped off on the fare, then waited half an hour at reception up a flight of stairs with no lift only to be told they had overbooked. Their solution was to dump us in a passing cab to their sister hotel a couple of miles away, but they underpaid the driver's pre-payment and he dropped us 200 yards from the new hotel despite our protests and offers to pay more. So I struggled up a cobbled street with the bags to discover that the room in the new hotel was at least a star lower in rating than the other one.

Actually, from that day on the trip to Dublin improved and I've been back to the lovely emerald isle a couple of times since.

I've also visited Budapest and spent hours enjoying wandering around on the overlapping public transport system. After, of course, having a long chat with the staff in my hotel (the Charles) about how the system worked and what the rules were.

I've been to lots of countries and there is only one so bad I'll never go again. It certainly isn't Hungary.

Cheers, Alan
http://loraltravel.blogspot.com/

Don't close your eyes around dropping, cold. I come from farming country and can tell you that's never a good idea.


By the way, if one types "Budapest public transport" in Google, the very first link in English (the 2nd result) explains how buying tickets and the validators work. If this isn't a put on, I can't make sense how someone can find multiple travel forums, sign up and login, type lengthy paragraphs to complain and proceed to interact with what they already knew the responses would be... yet couldn't type three words in the most known search/website and read what was on the first link.

And even if you forgot to read up before you came AND you didn't bother to bring a guide book AND you didn't use the internet at your <b>5*</b> hotel AND you didn't ask anyone at the lovely hotel AND you didn't read your ticket AND you didn't ask at the station... shouldn't you still have some manners when traveling? You're an adult that wants manners, you show you value manners.

These are my favorite parts, in addition to mentioning the "5 star hotel" a bunch of times. Yes we get it, you stayed in a 5 star hotel, big deal.

<you are on your own and it is dog eat dog out there>

<I could honestly see the glint of corrupted greed in her eyes>

<screamed to me that we really don't want to go to jail in a country in eastern europe>

<am just a very naive person and had no idea what was going on>

Try coming to India, you'll love it

This young lady is just a bad traveler. Not knowing the laws and customs of a country was her downfall.

Read, Read and then read some more.

I think it is a troll. It's Paris Hilton in disguise - trying to get more points towards her stupid, offensive, rich b***h of the year award. Too bad the ticket checkers didn;t look in her purse for the drugs she was carrying.

Of, if this post is for real - the OP should stick to guided tours so there is someone to keep her out of trouble, apologize when she has cursing fits, and bail her out of jail when she assaults the local law officers.