September 11, 2012
One thing we had to get used to with sightseeing was every stop had some sort of fee – everything is on property that belongs to someone (and these someones are generally lurking around). Generally these fees were reasonable. I don’t mind paying $5 US to drive down a long unpaved road that someone works to maintain. Paying $8 US each for the To Sua Ocean Trench was well worth it. Paying $5 US for the Sopo ‘Aga Falls was a bargain.
The only fee that we objected to was the first one we ran across. I wanted a picture and had Rich pull over to the side of the road so I could get one. Sure enough, a lady emerges from one of the nearby houses and heads our way. She seems nice, wanting to know where we’re from and all that kind of stuff, then she adds, “There is a 10 tala fee to park here.” We weren’t exactly parked – just momentarily stopped on the shoulder of the road. Rich said no thanks and we got back in the car and left. It was just not a 10 tala parking spot! -Cyndi
