Room Writer

It was a fine morning in New York City. I say fine because it was cloudy with no rain. Hence, the temperature was quite pleasant. Well, I digress here. So, we were planning to go to the Statue of Liberty. It is one of the most symbolic heritage sites in the USA. Gifted by France as a celebration of American Independence. We had to take a boat (or a cruise if you will) to go to the island where the statue stood. The boat departs from a park south of WTC, called Battery Park.

We arrived at the location & while we were looking for the ticket booth, some people surrounded us. They told us that we have to get the tickets from them as the park is “shut for construction.” I kind of believed them as they were standing outside & selling tickets, with no sign of secrecy. If they were scamming people, NYPD would be onto them by now, or so I thought. We asked them the rate & one of them told us that it will cost us 100 bucks if we were to take the boat around the island. Landing on the island would cost some more.

I was a little surprised at this point because the price online was around $22–25 only. The guy kept insisting that we should decide now “before it’s too late” as this might be our “last chance!” It was at this point that I realized that we were being scammed. I immediately kept my credit card back in my pocket & told him that we will come back after we explore other options. He kept insisting that this is the best deal & we are making a mistake. We walked away from the site as soon as possible.

The guy followed us for a while until we found the entrance to the park & entered. A few steps ahead, we saw the ticket counter. This time we got the real/authorized ticket, which was way cheaper. We also saw a lot of “Beware of Scams” boards displayed in the park. We were lucky, but I am sure not every other tourist was as lucky as us that day.

These scammers either steal your money & give you fake tickets, or sell you a bogus trip in an exorbitant price. Either way, you are at a loss.

I should have known, but it’s always better late than never. Eventually, we boarded the cruise and enjoyed our short trip to the island. It was a memorable day.

Let me know if you had similar experience/s in New York.