Quoting JetlagWarriors
Have been in India almost a month now. Great place to travel, worst part is all the dishonest and shady people. Just wanted to share a list of potential scams we've run into, and hopefully can hear of your stories to help us through the next month.
1. In Delhi, plenty of people will try and get you to a government building. They will ask you where you're going, and no matter where you say -- you should head to the government building first. You need a map, there's a better spice market near the government building anyway, those train tickets are no good, etc. Once you get to the government building it's just a travel agency trying to sell you train and bus tickets at an inflated price. Fairly easy to see through but a big waste of time. Almost every traveler we've seen that has been through Delhi has been approached and told they must go to the government building. We even talked to one couple who bought all the inflated tickets. Over 100 Euros down the tubes.
2. Buying train or bus tickets is always an adventure. Learn to know where the important information on the ticket is -- including price of ticket, class of the train, time it leaves, where it's leaving from etc. They will try to divert your eyes by highlighting certain areas or folding the ticket a certain way as the ticket is a printed piece of paper. We had one bus ride that instead of having two seats we had one bed. We paid for two seats (more expensive) and he sold us one bed to share and kept the rest of the money. We also ran into another couple that paid more than twice what they should've -- and when we showed them the price on the ticket we noticed all the important areas were highlighted -- except the price. He even went over it with them and pointed to departure time, bus terminal, seat number, etc. Almost every time we've asked when the train/bus is leaving -- the answer is 'what time do you want to go?'. One guy tried to sell us tickets at 7 am when we wanted to go for 7 pm. Luckily we had already been tricked once so we knew the check the ticket for every detail.
3. When waiting for a train, the train will not be cancelled. EVER! We had one honest guy who sold us train tickets explain this scam to us. He said the train will most likely be late, even up to 2 or 3 hours late, but it will not be cancelled. He kept repeating: it will NOT be cancelled. A man may approach you and ask to see you ticket, and tell you the train has been cancelled, but for a little money he can get you on another train. At this point he might even put you on the same train you would've gotten on anyway, or one going in the wrong direction. This has never happened to us but a German couple we met had it happen to them. Luckily they didn't fall for it.
4. Anywhere there is a temple or holy place, people will tell you in order to enter you need to pay, or need to be blessed, which costs money. Make sure to look around and see if the man is approaching all foreigners, or all people, and if he is the only one collecting money. Look for signs and clearly labelled information. Question him and be firm. Some temples you have to pay, no doubt. But if a man doesn't seem to be properly hired by the temple make sure he is not being dishonest. Ask locals to help you! People walking by will shake their head and motion you to walk past him.
5. An unwanted service that is done without you asking. Example: Got my head shaved (single blade razor) by a barber in Pushkar. After he was done he put moisturizer on my head, which is typical after a shave. Then he wiped his hands off and massaged my neck a little (less than 2 minutes). He went to massage my arms and I told him that was ok, I just wanted the hair cut. He told me to pay him 500 rupees and pointed to a sign that said 'full service - 500 rupees'. I said what?! We agreed on 200 rupees. He said he massaged me and that's full service. This type of thing is very common. If you are walking through a fort (400+ year old walled city) someone will walk up beside you tell you 'this room was the queens makeup room' or something. You must tell him right away you don't want a tour guide! If you say 'oh wow' he will tell you more and more and then you owe him money.
6. The price of the hostel changes. You book two nights for 400 rupees a night. You decide to stay a third. The owner says the cost will be the same as for the third night. When you check out -- he charges you 800 rupees for the third night. Double the price! You ask him and he says the first two nights were paid as a one night + one night free deal. So per night is 800 rupees. This happened to a Czech couple we met. Evidently there was a yelling match and the hostel owner wouldn't budge.
Ivana and I have been to 10+ countries now, and we have never seen anything like the incessant dishonesty that is in India. That being said, we like travelling India! We have liked every country we have been to. I don't want this post to turn into simply bashing India. I have met a lot of backpackers here and most of them enjoy travelling India, and we immediately help each other with scams we might run into. It's like a routine when we meet other backpackers -- giving them a heads up on how to not get tricked and asking for advice. That's what gave me the idea for the post. We like to travel India, and want to be able to do it safely. So let's help each other!
Thanks.
This is interesting and loved it. I am looking forward more to this.