Another Horror Story

[sanpedrogringo]

I dont see why its crazy to drive from Punta Cana to POP during the night.
Adventurous ? Yes.
Would I let my elder parents do it ? No.
Would I do it ? Yes.

Its not Beirut during the war. No green line here. No shelling.
Its not Bagdad either. No IED's, no insurgents..... that I have heard of.

In fairness, I am pretty sure the car hire place told them not to. They either didnt heed the warning,or didnt understand it. Dominicans are like that.... helpful but overfearful, especially when it concerns tourists.

You don't see why it's crazy, but you wouldn't let your parents do it, and the car rental companies frown upon it. Why? Because you love your parents, and the car rental companies want to see their car returned, and don't want to be linked to any tourists that get robbed or worse. That's being responsible. If you choose to do it yourself, that's your choice, but even though I don't know you, I would attempt to talk you out of it. Dominicans are helpful, but not overfearful as you state, it's their country and they know the dangers and risks of some types of activities.

 

[RV429]

They flew into PUnta Cana to stay in Puerto Plata, they then need the car to get back to PUJ (Punta Cana). All of which is stupid is as stupid does.

So they get to POP and pay the daily rental just to park the vehicle while they are operating on a shoestring budget. Come on, all this added expense and time they couldn't find an inexpensive hotel in PUJ?

Also if you comprehend my post my question was what did they plan (or need) a car at an AI?

 

[bigbird]

They flew into PUnta Cana to stay in Puerto Plata, they then need the car to get back to PUJ (Punta Cana). All of which is stupid is as stupid does.

OK, gotcha. I thought you were implying i didn't understand the need for a car while i thought you didn't understand i was asking what were they going to do with the car once at a POP AI.

So yes, stupid is as stupid does............... story still fishy to me.........

 

[sanpedrogringo]

The article quotes the wife as saying they were about an hour into the trip, I'm thinking they were probably just past Macoris, maybe near Guayacanes???  

Don't blame us. LOL. It was closer to either the entry or exit of La Romana, if they took the highway. If it was the local road, not the bypass, they would have been further east, which may have been near La Otra Banda or Higuey. If it was within the confines or close to San Pedro, I would have been informed.

 

[SKY]

For anyone that believes this fantasy I have a Bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.

 

[sanpedrogringo]

There is an older Merengue song, some of the Dominican members or long-termers may be able to provide the title and artist (it slips my mind), but the lyrics speak of a person who was driving cross country at night, and passed through La Vega. Everything was fine, until La Vega, and as he left all he had remaining was his underwear. No vehicle. No clothes. No shoes. No money. Dominicans know what they are talking about. Foreigners should listen.

 

[sddr]

So they get to POP and pay the daily rental just to park the vehicle while they are operating on a shoestring budget. Come on, all this added expense and time they couldn't find an inexpensive hotel in PUJ?

Also if you comprehend my post my question was what did they plan (or need) a car at an AI?

One way car rental from PUJ to POP is cheaper than the taxi. Some of my friends did that several times, just rented the car in PUJ and dropped it off the same day in POP. I don't remember which rental company was that, but it was not expensive.

 

[cobraboy]

Words to the wise:

Never dive into a body of water without knowing how deep it is.

 

[sanpedrogringo]

you asked the best question, bird. what need did they have to rent a car for an all inclusive stay. i mean, they are operating on such a shoestring budget that they looked to save money by landing 5 hours from their destination. yet they have money to rent a car. horsefeathers, if you ask me.

There are some people, that do not travel much, that believe they need to have a rental car while they are on vacation. I've known some. Doesn't make it right, but to each their own.

 

[sanpedrogringo]

So they get to POP and pay the daily rental just to park the vehicle while they are operating on a shoestring budget. Come on, all this added expense and time they couldn't find an inexpensive hotel in PUJ?

Also if you comprehend my post my question was what did they plan (or need) a car at an AI?

See post #52.

 

[dulce]

There is an older Merengue song, some of the Dominican members or long-termers may be able to provide the title and artist (it slips my mind), but the lyrics speak of a person who was driving cross country at night, and passed through La Vega. Everything was fine, until La Vega, and as he left all he had remaining was his underwear. No vehicle. No clothes. No shoes. No money. Dominicans know what they are talking about. Foreigners should listen.

Considering where they live,What are the chances of this family knowing any Dominicans?

 

[the gorgon]

Here we go again. DR1 members blaming the victims. Not everyone on earth is RD or DR1 educated. Quite a few people book a vacation the same way these people did. They book the cheapest they can find with no thought of how much sense it makes. It only makes sense to their pocketbook. Many people in the US choose to drive at night for their long trips. Lots on good sensible reasons for this.( I don't think these travelers realized how long the trip would be) Also many travelers do not check out anything about their destination. In this family's mind they thought they chose a great beach destination for their son. You can bet your a** they are sorry they didn't do their homework. The bottom line is the responsibility and shame is on the Dominican people who had a part in ripping them off!

these are not victims. a victim is a woman who goes on a date with a guy, only to have him spike her drink, and rape her. a family that chooses to drive five hours at night, in a third world country, to save a few bucks, are called nitwits.

 

[sanpedrogringo]

Considering where they live,What are the chances of this family knowing any Dominicans?

Correct you are, but there are long-termers in the DR that don't heed the advice.

 

[bigbird]

One way car rental from PUJ to POP is cheaper than the taxi. Some of my friends did that several times, just rented the car in PUJ and dropped it off the same day in POP. I don't remember which rental company was that, but it was not expensive.

There are some people, that do not travel much, that believe they need to have a rental car while they are on vacation. I've known some. Doesn't make it right, but to each their own.

OK, you sold me on a possibility of the car rental but i still ain't buying this crock and bull story. I will go buy that bridge SKY is selling first before i believe this tale.

 

[dulce]

Correct you are, but there are long-termers in the DR that don't heed the advice.

Correct you are.....

 

[sddr]

a family that chooses to drive five hours at night, in a third world country, to save a few bucks, are called nitwits.

There's nothing wrong to do that in SOME third world countries, like Costa Rica or Panama, maybe Colombia (depends on the region)...doing that in DR was very stupid, of course.

 

[DRob]

There is an older Merengue song, some of the Dominican members or long-termers may be able to provide the title and artist (it slips my mind), but the lyrics speak of a person who was driving cross country at night, and passed through La Vega. Everything was fine, until La Vega, and as he left all he had remaining was his underwear. No vehicle. No clothes. No shoes. No money. Dominicans know what they are talking about. Foreigners should listen.

Oh, there are many stories of what happens when you go driving while tired and stop in strange places:

[video=vimeo;152270117]https://vimeo.com/152270117[/video]

 

[the gorgon]

There's nothing wrong to do that in SOME third world countries, like Costa Rica or Panama, maybe Colombia (depends on the region)...doing that in DR was very stupid, of course.

if i was going from a third world country to the USA, i would not be getting into a car and driving 5 hours into the unknown. but that is just me.

 

[sanpedrogringo]

There's nothing wrong to do that in SOME third world countries, like Costa Rica or Panama, maybe Colombia (depends on the region)...doing that in DR was very stupid, of course.

Case in point. Need I say more.

 

[GringoRubio]

I can't count the number of people that come to me for advice because they were planning a trip to [insert Latin American Country] and just plan to rent a car and drive around staying at whatever motel pops up on their GPS. I do my best to talk them out of it (you're like fresh meat to a starving tiger) and do some very strategic planning or land in a resort first before exploring. Even that is dangerous as the areas outside of a resort are the most dangerous. Most of these people have Spanish limited to "Cerveza por favor".

This isn't just once or twice, but count on my fingers and then take of my socks to count my toes. I have only one digit left, and that isn't enough to count the number of occurrences.