Hello All,

Got back from Tunisia just over a week ago now and thought I'd share a bit of info regarding a few petty, cheeky money-making tricks you might fall prey to if you go into towns etc:

1) Person approaches you and says "Hello, I work in the kitchen at your hotel and just wanted to say hello"

Of course, you drop your guard, shake their hand and this usually precurses a quick "where are you from, what part, are you enjoying your stay etc etc" and then the conversation will be engineered towards the perpetrator trying to sell you some sort or trinket that will get you entry to somewhere or the like.

Really easy to avoid this one. Just ignore them or have a bit of fun "Oh yeah, which hotel is that then?" They will of course have no idea which hotel you're in and then the game's up. You could also try "Your cooking is terrible" ha ha.

2) The blatant trinket/flower sellers who push something into your hand.... you take pity on them and give them one or two, 1 TD coins....then basically, a few seconds later they come after you, grab your arm and show you a obviously fake or counterfeit coin, implying that you gave it to them and trying to embarrass you into handing over another one.

Again, really easy to avoid. Either don't take anything off them in the first place or if you do, make an exaggerated point of showing them the 1 TD coin or whatever so that you kill off the possibility of not being sure what coin(s) you gave them.

OK, these are only petty little tricks and not exactly grand larceny (and to be honest, you have to marvel at the inventiveness and ingenuity of them and may feel that this alone deserves a few bob) but forewarned is forearmed as they say I think it's fair to say that if a Tunisian comes up to you and begins an unsolicited conversation , he either wants or is trying to sell something. As unpleasant and impolite as it may seem, unfortunately the only way to avoid being sucked in is to either blank them or just fire off several firm but polite "no thank yous". They soon get the message