Now that I am in Rajastan I am meeting far more tourists then before.
What follows is the tale of a 19 year old Canadians first week in
India. It is surpringly simular to many first time travelers storys.
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Happy to be in India our intrepid traveler got off the plane and found
himself a place to stay in Delhi. For $20 a night he found himself in
a not very friendly but rundown and dirty hotel. (It was explained
that Delhi is expensive and this was the best deal in town). He didn't
emerge from his hotel for a few days due to the shock of his
surroundings.
When he finally came out he decided to buy himself a new pair of pants
and a few shirts. He met some very nice Indians who brought him to a
cousins shop and sold him top quality clothing for $50 a piece.
(Although the shirt and pants looked like they were for royalty they
needed to be restitched daily due to the quality of workmanship.)
Happy he went back to his hotel.
The next day he found a ring he liked at another nice Indian's store.
He was told it was silver with precious stones and he got it for the
bargain price of $400. The ring was later appraised at a real store as
being worth $40 the sparkley gem in the middle a common stone.
The Canadian was excited to continue his travels so he went to a
travel agency for a train ticket to Rajastan. He was told India is
totally flooded so all buses and trains have been cancelled for the
next week. A travel agent phoned his friend to confirm the situation
and the oh so kind friend offered to arrange a car and driver to
Jaipur.
At this point he was too embarrassed to tell me what else happened to him.
Lets recap - (the second prices are what he should have paid)
Hotel $20 -> $5
Pants $50 X 4 -> $3 X 4
Ring $400 -> $40
Car and Driver $200 -> $4 (train)
This is certainly not an isolated case. Dozens of unseasoned travelers
tell me the same. Very friendly helpful Indians with very tricky logic
that rob them blind.
In fact late one night full of despair as I had missed my train (it
had decided to reroute to another station (legit because of the
flooding)) I followed a tout that swore he could get me a refund on my
train ticket from a government agency. He brought me to a well lit
shop and sat me down. I could indeed get a refund ($3) but only if I
bought an onward bus ticket from them. A quick phone call by the
travel agent (10 seconds long even though everything was closed)
confirmed that due to the flooding and festivities all the trains were
full and their was only one seat left on a bus for Jaipur. It could be
mine for $18. Let me tell you the tongue lashing they received from me
made the tout shrink into the corner and the agent visibly cringe in
his seat. I caught an almost empty bus the next morning for $4 just by
going to the regular bus station.
PS Why is it that the cows with five legs get dressed up in clothing
and treated like kings?
Less then 1% of Indians are unscrupulous thieves but they make it
their business to always be in contact with tourists. These are the
ones who seem to be everywhere. They demand your attention on the
streets and use psychology to trick you and make you feel guilty. It
is not unheard of to have tourists arrive in Delhi and book a flight
home the next day.
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