What are your biggest budget travelling annoyances/problems?

Biggest 'annoyance' for me these days is having to get visas in advance for places...I like to go where I want,when I want and not have to plan too much ahead ;-)

Second one is going back to places I've been to before and seeing how much they have changed (nearly always for the worst).....

The first week when you still think in your home currency.

'So this is 130'000 eh? So just divide that by 28'000 and errrr....4ish?'

For me, its being told something only to find reality is the total opposite.
Took a bus from Phnom Penh to Bangkok once. Told it was going to be a straightforward trip with no hassles changing buses at the border. Hah!! After a lot of trips to SEA by this stage, should have known better.

VAT not included! Annoys the hell out of me. If something is going to cost me $5.45 then put that on the price tag. I don't care if $0.73 is tax, I'm still having to pay it regardless. And for those big ticket items in places where you can get the VAT back when you leave the country, then have the breakdown on the receipt (or do what they do in Iceland where they have the price and then a sign saying, remember you'll get %XX back so the cost will be.... ) .
Big, big pet-peeve of mine.

I can't think of any particular annoyances. What is, is.

Being overcharged because you are recognized as being an American, or other wealthy tourist. There are two ways to avoid this:

1) Don't look or act like an American tourist. Don't carry cameras and electronic devices where they are obvious and visible. Keep them in a small backpack. Don't wear clothing that the locals don't wear - American baseball caps, t-shirts with American logos, short pants, designer travel clothing, etc. Don't speak English loudly with your travel companion. My wife and I are sometimes mistaken for Germans, who often have a reputation for being thrifty.

2) Use common sense when spending money. Don't order a meal and trust that the prices will be the same as that charged to locals. Buy food at stands and restaurants where the prices are clearly posted from outside. Also, add up in your head what the total price should be, including when buying items at any type of shop. It's surprising how often the price inflates when the items are added up. When getting a room, check your travel book, or the local tourist office, to get an idea of what the prices should be. Also, prices are often listed in the room, on the back of the door. Check the exchange rates in a newspaper before traveling. When changing money, check to see if the rates seem reasonable, and if there are any speciall fees.

We've been caught out in Singapore where there was an advertised price but when we went to pay, the bill was much higher. The price was per piece of meat (was a curry).

My favourite scam is practiced by one particular restaurant in Rhodes (Greece) Old Town. The tourist sits down and asks for a beer. The waiter asks if he wants a small or large beer. As it is hot, the wife has been dragging him around to all the shops looking at fake little silk carpets and statues of the Collosus of Rhodes, etc. the guy asks for a large beer.

What arrives is a beer in a glass shaped like a tall boot. It holds about a quart/litre ! The price of course is in line with the size. When the tourist says (if they have the nerve to complain) that it is too big, the waiter shrugs and says, 'it's what you ordered'. LOL

This restaurant got these glasses many years ago from a German beer manufacturer. They were a promotional item intended as a bit of a gimmick similar to the English 'Yard of ale' glassses. The idea was to give bars one or two to sit on a shelf as decorations but this place talked the rep into giving them a couple of cases of the 'boots' and have taken care not to break them ever since. ;-)

mine would be buying your flight tickets a fair bit in advance because its cheap and then deciding that you want to stay longer or leave sooner and then either forking out for another flight or paying to change it, next trip I have decided I am only buying flights that I am certain I will use and I am only buying single flight tickets as well.

b) taking travellers cheques and finding hardly anyone accepts them

c) the cost of visa charges