[bamboleo]

Wait till you hear about Egypt.

Prices in Italy are balanced and not even that bad. The ticket to the colosseum is 16€ and includes the entire park nearby. 16€ for the main attraction in one of the most visited countries in the world is pretty reasonable.

[npsomaratna]

I can remember visiting Egypt (many years ago) and being frustrated about how expensive the fees were for foreign tourists. Being from a third world country, and not having much personal wealth at that time, I was forced to skip the Tutankhamun exhibit in the Cairo museum—something that I regret even today.

Note: I was in Cairo as part of an official delegation (i.e., my country paid for my travel, and the sponsor organization in Egypt paid for my bed + board). At that time, I couldn't have afforded either.

[npsomaratna]

Addendum: unfortunately, this is something that my country, Sri Lanka, does as well. One price for locals, and another price for tourists. The latter is typically 10x as much as the local price, but does not confer much (if any at all) additional privileges or facilities.

Indonesia has a similar policy—higher prices for foreign tourists—but when I visited Borobudur and Prambanan I was pleasantly surprised to see that the higher price I paid did buy me extra amenities: a separate entrance point and some refreshments. Sure, the Indonesians came out better from that deal, but at least I didn't feel ripped off.

[bamboleo]

You got my point exactly, this is why I mentioned the colosseum entrance ticket.

The few friends who could afford an AirAsia ticket were annoyed by the high entrance fee that many South East Asian attractions charge to foreigners, regardless of whether you’re from Vietnam or Iceland.

When the price difference is preposterous I skip the attraction altogether as a matter of principle. The Yogyakarta attractions you mentioned are the perfect example with the 25 USD entrance fee for Prambanan vs 5 USD for locals.

[thih9]

> Wait till you hear about Egypt.

What about Egypt? Could you elaborate?

[bamboleo]

Pardon the jab at Egypt, I mentioned it because when I travelled across it it felt like history was the only thing it offered (except on the Red Sea) and everyone was keen on taking advantage of tourists. Wanna take a photo here? Tip please. You paid €60 for this tour? Tip please. You already paid to enter this museum? Pay more for this one special expo please.

One of the guides also mentioned how excavations and restorations always take forever so that they’re employed forever.

[Strom]

It's funny because Egypt has fallen even further from its peak glory than Italy.