It’s simply not possible….not possible that a wine that is freely available on most supermarket shelves for around R25 can be the cheapest wine on a restaurants wine list at R100.00.

What happened to the wine since is was bought from the supermarket, did the restaurateur decant it, lie it on new French Oak for two years and convert it in some way into a Wine magazine five star or a Cape wine masters Choice……I don’t think so.

The real story is it was probably bought that morning, stuck away in a box behind an overworked fridge compressor, at the wrong temperature prior to being dunked in some iced water in time to be served cuddled in a starched white linen cloth to be served as the vintners choice for the evening. Good grief….but what do we do as the typical South Africa guest, we smile sympathetically at the poor and innocent under trained waiter who has not been informed of the difference between bourgeois or burgundy. Do we call for management….no we don’t want to make a scene, do we call the wine over valued crap and send it back, no we are too scared our taste will be challenged or that we might embarrass ourselves.

How often have you bought a product, perhaps at your local hardware store, to find it broken after a few uses, you toss it aside, a little angry or disappointed at being conned into another wasted purchases….the cash slip, of course absolutely essential if you hope to get reimbursed or to send the R25.00 spanner away to China for a repair or replacement. A trip to the store; a scratch for the slip; a queue at the customer counter if there is one; two or three calls to a call centre to explain your story….what the…it’s simply not worth it is it….toss it and walk away….a lot easier.

One large supermarket chain is always on our side, looking after our best interests….the other is just up the street, or is it a creek, the local fruit and vegetable store has great bargains as long as you eat that pocket of pineapples on the day you bought it otherwise forget the fresh bit…..ripped off by pharmacies for years, how much real meat is in that hamburger you bought the children, is the pork sausage really pork, how much pork MEAT does it have to have to qualify….we are apathetic consumers, we “grin and bear it” in stoic tradition.

Here are a few travel tips that might help you to prevent a rip off when you are in unusual places:

• When booking a hotel room of a walk-in basis, ask to see the room before committing, they’ll hardly send you to their worst room will they.
• As soon as you arrive in a new country, determine a few items that you can use to compare pricing, as a benchmark when checking a window menu as an example. A beer perhaps or other tinned beverage, a hamburger; the lowest price wine….if a cold drink on a menu is twice the price of that in another menu, be warned, the rest will be as well.
• Restaurants and shops around the corner from the main streets and/or main attraction often offer far more value than those on the front. Look for smallish restaurants, preferably with locals evident, they would have sought out good food and good value long ago.
• It is far cheaper and often more fun to grab a few food odds and ends plus a drink or two from the supermarket, find a quite place and have a little picnic. Remember to take along a small pocket knife and a few suitable sized plastic bags for storage. A bottle of wine from a supermarket is a quarter of the price, there’s nothing better than to share it with someone special at a romantic spot.
• No…is an answer, even once seated at a restaurant or café, if you don’t like what you see, stand up and walk out.

Travel wise, street wise, call it what you like but you’ve worked hard for your money…like the old adage says “a fool and his money are soon parted”

YOUR INPUT IS CRITICAL…….. Please send any travel tip or travel idea to travelbug@staysa.co.za and help fellow travellers to enjoy safe and happy travelling