Sri Lanka: the con

I have 30 pictures to post from Sri Lanka but they'll have to wait one more day.  In the meantime, getting conned is a concern in traveling anywhere and more so in a third-world country.  While walking by a grocery store a beggar had a very specific request:  "Please, sir, buy baby formula for my new baby."  I was pretty sure it was a scam but I agreed and he went to pick out this can:

 I took it checkout and paid the $9.  He took the can and darted off.  I kept the receipt.  I'm still pretty sure it was a scam, but I'm willing to err on the side of good karma.

Another common feature is offering to do anything to help in the hopes of getting a tip.  The picture at the top of the blog is an example.  A guy said, "I'll take a picture for you," when I went to feed the elephant bananas.   As he handed the camera back he held out his other hand for money.  I gave him a buck or two.  If I had known how good that picture was I'd have paid more.

In a park (where I'll post many pictures tomorrow) a guy came up and said, "Would you like to see a scorpion?"

"Sure," I replied.  He ran over to a tree and picked up this leaf:

Now I wonder:   Is this scorpion real?  Is it alive?  If it was alive, how did he know exactly where it was?  Does the scorpion get a cut of the tips?