"one rasta man who was carrying a bundle of cane took the time to kick my car as i was waiting in traffick and pulled a piece of cane and whacked the car before i had a chance to move . . . the whole time he was doing this, he was yelling "bumba this and that, them white ppl taking our country" and whatever else he had to say . . . . "
And "they" wonder why people are scared shitless to leave the A/I's. If that was my car he hit ,the next thing you would see is a guy on a bike that "appeared" to have a tailpipe attached to it....if you know what I mean.
It only takes one accident to kill you,it only takes one robber to rob you,it only takes one bad thing to f*** up a vacation...That folks is what (in the minds of tourists) doesn't happen on A/I properties !!!!!

OT, I have to agree about tourists becoming fearful. It is sad because there is so much to see on the island that people miss out on because of a few individuals.

many are getting robbed IN their a/i's. Rui's and Palladium seem to be the worst.

...and I thought this was gonna be another island sex and love thread.

There are nuts all over the place. Did this happen to you OT or someone else?

I've been pretty lucky I guess - I've never had hostility aimed at me. Aggresiveness - yes, sometimes but I'm very able to nip that in the bud. And in traveling outside of Negril the most hostile anyone has ever been to me and my friends were a group of seriously drunk white folks from Chicago in Treasure Beach five years ago!

But when riding on the motorcycle through Sav or small south coast towns at least one kid will point and yell "Whitey!"

At which point I look at my arm with a look of puzzlement, which often makes them laugh

I'm not sure why you are getting on OT for asking for clarification. I'll be honest, when I read the line "it seem to irritate some jamacains to see white women tooling around town in a rental" my mind first went to the "other" kind of rental as well. I actually had to go back and read it 3 or 4 times to try and figure out what you meant to say. If you had added the word car at the end of that line, it would have been much more clear. So, the fact that OT asked for clarification seems like a perfectly reasonable post. Sorry if I offend you to, but leaving out one simple word can completely change the meaning you are trying to convey. I'm sure it was clear in your mind but to the reader, it may not have been. It wasn't for me. And it wasn't accusatory either, the way you worded your post didn't necessarily mean it was YOUR rental - be it car or dread. Just remember, sometimes what's in our head doesn't always translate in what we write.

Jitters...don't worry yourself. Do your ting! You know your situation. Unless someone is paying your way through life...no need to answer to anyone else right? I sure as shyte don't anymore. People think whatever they want all the time. Prove them wrong!

"after 28 years of travel i understand pretty much all the patwa spoken . . ."

I'm pretty darn good at it myself. And as much as we hate their driving I guess they hate ours, lol.

Sigh. Yet one more reason not to spend the money, time or aggravation renting a car in Jamaica. Hub rides the motorcycle with me sometimes but mostly I use trusted drivers and route taxis and good ol' Fred and Ethel. (feet)

I think road rage is unavoidable in congested areas the world over. The majority of us turn into complete psychos behind a wheel. Then the first thing we yell is the obvious and in this case "whitey". If anyone said "Honky" I think I would pee my pants laughing. Havent heard that one in years!!

Im guilty of it too on our sleepy island. Come August there are so many cars on the road. Im in a hurry and Mr Rental CAR is crawling along in front of me. Mrs Rental CAR has got the map out. As soon as I get a chance I pass and yell something along the lines of "BLOODY TOURISTS". Again the obvious. How very Irie of me. New Years Resolution:~ Do not yell at tourists. Be Irie! x x

Jitters, I didn't mean you don't drive well - I'm sure you do! I get it that they get hostile with white drivers - something I've not experienced since I don't drive in Jamaica OR the US, I hate driving. Road rage sucks no matter what.

But still - hub drives all the time. We tossed around the idea of renting a car for a week or so this year and he shot it right down. He's more comfortable on the bike. No matter.

As an aside, I read a "trip report" about a couple who decided to rent a car this year and were all excited about it. They were staying at Citronella and drove to places like Out of Town Pastry. That's too bad, that walk is nice. Hey, if it wasn't for walking most places my ass would grow to be even a larger side of a barn.