Third stop of the evening discovering the clubs of Taksim Square. Door staff, coat check, bartenders were all friendly and welcoming, but I had a serious misunderstanding with the guy exchanging currency to tip the gogo boys. Having no idea what the appropriate exchange rate was, I managed to offend by daring to check the exchange rate on my phone when the guy handed me 800 TL for $20 USD. He was charging about 20%, but my Turkish friend confirmed that was not unreasonable for a club, so I was ok with it. However, the irate staffer had already handed back my $20, refused to exchange it, made some choice comments about wanting to f*ck my mother, and signaled security to escort me out of the club. Sad that my innocent tourist precaution cost the staff tips that night because of the sensitive ego of an irate staffer, probably the owner. Won't be going back. read more