It is unfortunate that people continue to be scammed and scammed big in India

with this same scam year after year. It goes something like this: a French Canadian girl in her

twenties hangs around Pushkar for months with her local 'friends.'   She in with them, maybe

cooking meals, staying at their house cheap for along time. She goes back home to work, still

in contact with her great friends, after months of working decides to sent them about 3000 $USD

by money transfer, in return they are going ups a package of GEM. She would then sell them for

a big profit then come back to India and like with them and live happier every after. After a

week she send Rajuj a email, " I haven't received the sapphires? the ruby's? the silver ring

you made for me?"  She already put a down payment ot the local market for a small stall she

work out of. Rajuj explains "We have such nice quality gems and stones for you, the man we have

dealt with says for just $1000 more we can get a much bigger order. Could you send just $1000

more and we will get nicer quality for you." Or perhaps there was an accident in his family and

they had to use the money for an emergency medical operation." The scam continues until the

poor girl realizes the truth: she never going to get any gems or her money back. Of course

she's heart broken and can't believe it, that people could be so cruel.  Usually starts with

some greed of the victim side too. In India there is a culture of lying and cheating that seems

to blind side an number of foreigners every year weather wearing business suits or tie-dye

parachute pants. When your dealing people with nothing to lose you just might lose everything.

Over the last few years the myth that you need join a tour group has grown. They offer many times of tours, for students, seniors, etc. What ever people want to spend money on a tour will be created In my opinion these tours are not good value or even a good way of seeing India. It is particularly sad to see younger travelers get sucked into trekking or tour groups, robbing them of the experience of solo traveling. The problem is that they want to please the customer; they give him/her what they ‘think’ they want. The newbie tourist wants to see ‘everything’ in a short period of time. So the tour operator schedules a fast pace itinerary to cover many destinations every day. What happens is you are rushed through many places and end up not seeing much except the back of a bus. You sign up for the tour because of the ‘perceived value’ This is marketing not tourism. The average tourist is likely to become sick and very tired from the grueling schedule. India takes time, and there are plenty of things to see in one state or one location for a few weeks.

The tour groups offers tours any time or season, they don’t tell you it’s too hot, they know
you want to see the Taj so they take you there, even though you'd are better off in a nice hill

station such as Darjeeling or Kullu.The other big summer tour scam is up to Leh, Ladak. Leh is

rightfully known as an exotic and fascinating place. But there is reason for this, it is "at

the end of the earth." That is at 3500m you are likely to get altitude sickness flying up

there. But this is how a tour works, fitting too much (what you think you want) into a short

time, hence a tour. They don't care if you get sick. They don't care that it will take 2-3 days

of doing nothing to maybe acclimatize.  So there is no magic carpet in a tour group, only misery, in every case you are better off on your

own. If you want to go to Ladak, go via Jammu, Shrinagar and rest up first. Actually Ladak is

just not a good idea for a short trip. If you want to go to Rajastan by all means go, nothing

challenging about going to a bunch of tourist spots that millions of tourist visit every year.

DIY travel is a concept develop by this website. It means the joy of traveling is the joy of

facing the challenge of traveling on your own. The travel challenge is small challenge to what

a person must face in life. It is real life. So enjoy it, it's fun.

So

unfortunately named, the golden triangle (is actually Loa/Burma/Thailand highlands.) It has

become a myth that these are the ‘must sees’ of India. Not true. In fact there are many equally

impressive edifices, forts a ruins to be seen all over India. In stead of Rajasthan try

MadhyaPradesh, instead of the Taj try Mandu, instead of Varansi try Omkershwar, instead of

Jodhpur try Singee Fort, and instead of Kerela try Tamil Nadu. Follow this advice – do not fall

for the hype. You'll have a much more authentic time in India. And may actually come back

again.

The car a driver myth has grown in popularity, probably an off shoot of

the tour group myth. There is no need for a car and driver in India unless you have to go to

remote villages for some reason (such as work.) In which case you would need a Sumo jeep most

likely. Trains are much fast and safer. Yes safer is an important concern. Road accidents are

very common in India. Cars provided to tourist are often very cheap variety, with thin metal

build, these cars or vans cost below 2k and are not built to western standards.  Most cars do

not even have seat belts! If look out the window of the bus every 50km you will see a smash and

mangled pile of metal that was one a small car. The driver will take you to various commission

guest house and restaurants along they way. This is great for the driver, he gets paid for

driving, paid for every meal or hopefully you will take a liking to some of the mass product

tourist trinkets they sell all over India, that look so pretty. So they will be sapping money

out of you every chance they get. Do you really want to spend you holiday with a 24 hour tout?

Buses are also safer. If you need to go somewhere, where no train goes, simply hire a TAXI when

you get there. Taxis will be far cheaper in the end. An example is the train Delhi to Agra

takes less than two hours while a car will take three to four hours because of traffic.

Traveling by train or bus is also an excellent way to interact with the real India, so don’t

miss it. Don’t fall for the tour agency hype; it will cost you more and even your health in the

end. Don't be scared to travel locally on your own, you'll miss the whole deal.

In India when a place becomes becomes 'popular' on the

internet or other places it usually goes down hill and fast. The internet is filled with FAKE

and SCAM reviews.  Indian owners are great capitalists with too few laws or regulations they

often succeed. "Every day we must turn people away, last night some drunkin foreigner throw up

all over the mattress, why should I buy another one? I told my staff to clean it of, flip it

over and apply some incense. If someone complains let them go somewhere else.... We're always

full."This is simple economics of supply and demand. If everyday they are turning people away,

then why not raise the prices? Why do any maintenance? Why change the sheets? Why not hire a

cheaply paid worker to take care of things? Many listing and reviews of restaurants, guest

house hotel etc. maybe shilled on the internet. Newbie travelers may mean well when the

recommend somewhere but another consideration is that they just didn't know that it was poor

value. There is a tendency for travelers to romanticize their vacations.& The popular place

that takes internet booking is most likely the worst value but you'll be surround by other like

yourself. Gullible.

“Yes sir only 100 Rs” BUT, when you get there he’s asking for 150, 200

or more rupees! Now it “took longer” price of fuel etc. They are not afraid to cause a scene

and say “oh yes you owe me more money!” Don’t be afraid to stand up to them either. Don’t get

scammed. In India, the customer is always right. If the rickshaw driver tries to over charge

you just don’t pay, there is nothing he can do, the police would always side with the

foreigners (they know what rickshaw driver are like!) Just walk away, shove the money into his

pocket first.With pre-paid taxis, you pay first and they five you a receipt with a taxi number

on it. You go outside and find the number of the taxi, make sure you hold onto the receipt

until you arrive, the driver gets this only after he has taken you to the correct destination.

Often it is easier to drop you off at the nears intersection rather than right at the guest

house door, don’t agree! It might be the wrong place all together.Take me to the bus stand…”

Often there is more than one bus stand in a give town or city, make sure it is the right one

that has you bus or you might have to go across town to again.
In fact guest house owner will do this as well. The might try to charge you for extra tax,

phone calls or late checkout fees; they might change the room rate. Sometimes it can be

legitimate (always look for the check out time or ask about extra taxes) but they always seem

to try. What do they have to lose? You are leaving anyways and probably never to return. Don't

get pushed around by Rickshaw driver or guest house managers.

As a foreigner you will be a magnet for scams, particularly in the “golden

triangle” or other popular tourist spots.Remember that in India there is always a ‘baksheesh’

system. Anyone guiding you to a guest house, shop or tour will take a commission after your

gone, often for everyday you stay there. Make sure you avoid any touts, like a contagious

disease. This included private car drivers.A good way to et rid of them is to say “Ja, Ja, Ja”

this means “go go go” as in go away. Also wave your hand in front of their face is a good way

to communicate that you want nothing to do with them. Many of the tout are junks addicted to

opiates, these people can be dangerous.

Another myth is that someone should book in advance.  This ties in with

Hotel recommendations scam. First your told that you must book in advance then your told where

you should book. Perfect! While it maybe pertinent to book in advance if your on a short trip

you should be aware what can happen as a result.The room you book many not be available, this

is because the guest house has not received payment from the traveler, and has no credit card

processing facilities. So the guest house takes a risk that you won’t show up and thus losing

money. So the end result is that you have a reservation (as long as no one else comes

first!)The other problem is that they are likely to provide you with the worst room in the

building, Indian managers have way of doing this, they always try to give you the worst room

first, so they can rent the better ones latter for a better price.Also the price you get will

always be high, to help compensate for the travelers who made reservation and didn’t show up.

In conclusion, I recommend that you only book in advance when it is absolutely necessary, such

as when there are very few accommodation in a particular town or village or there is big

festival going on such Divali. Other wise we suggest that you go on your own and follow common

sense when picking accommodations.

Some charity organizations do very good work, while others it is

debatable. Out of $100 received as a donation more than $50 goes to advertise and running cost.

People involved my mean well, other who gave may think that since they gave you should too.

Other may volunteer and recommend to you the same agency. But what did they really know as to

what was really achieved? What is the hidden agenda? Watered down Christianity? Teaching

English and Western Capitalism 101?
It has become a business over the years to provide “volunteer tourism.” Beware of unscrupulous

agencies that offer little except a scam to take your money and do some busy work. A red flag

is time they ask you pay a large sum to volunteer in advance. My advice: visit India first with

your own money, learn about the country and culture, then think about volunteering.

A common beggar tactic is congregate around a popular tourist area,

such a Paharganj in Delhi, or Mcleod Ganj in Dharmasala or Shutter St in Calcutta, various

locations in Goa etc. More tourist more beggars.  Female beggars for female tourists. In India

many of the beggars are control by a mafia that may even maim a beggar so they can get high

donations. (Yes this was written before slum dogs came out) You often see women carrying a baby

asking tourists to buy them milk etc. Avoid giving to beggars that target tourist. If you want

to donate, give to a local temple instead. Temples in India, in my experience, do some of the

best and most effective community service work. Such as the Sikh Gurdwara, they supply million

of free vegetarian meals across India every day! Now that's a real charity.

Beware of fake tourist offices! This is old scam in Delhi, if you

arrive late a night and hire a pre-paid taxi, they will often try to take you “tourist office”

saying that all the guesthouse are closed and you must check in there and they will help you

find a room etc.  This is derilic tour operator office and he decided to put a sign with

"Tourist Office" in front.
In India, especially in a big city or town, guest houses always have a night manager on duty.

The Manager can always be awaken in the middle of the night to supply you with a room, this is

the normal practice in India. So don't worry about "prebooking your first night." What will you

do the second night?The “tourist office” is just an agency with the words “Tourist office”

painted on the outside. The scam ensues by you sitting there, while your taxi driver waits

outside (for his baksheesh) and the agent make a fake phone call to his friend and finds a

crappy, over prices guest house, often asking you to pay in advance there and then.Even if your

fist time in India, put your foot down with the driver. You may have to show some strength and

little anger, even a bit threatening. A good tactics is to say that you need to go to the New

Delhi railway station to catch a train, from there you can walk or take another cycle rickshaw

to where you want to go. New Delhi station is in Paharganj.Lastly the taxi driver will always

say your choice of guest house is full or closed etc. It not that hard to do on your own, you

don’t need to arrange an “airport pick-up” just know the tricks and you won’t get

burned.

Beware of Fake products in India. Always check the plastic wrap on bottled

water! Buy known brands with ISO certificate on the bottle. Pashmina shawls are often fake

synthetic. Tip: use a match to burn a thin strand of fiber, synthetic polyester will smell like

burning plastic! Scrutinize anything that comes in a package. Antiques from Tibet are usually

from China and made to look old but running over the dirty ground for a while first.

Chai (milk tea) can be of unknown quality, powder milk, old

tea, ground water. Avoid chai for less then 10Rs. Fried food such as samosa or puri can be

fried in old reused grease (known to be carcinogenic) They just keep on using it until it's

gone. Avoid fast food served by unknown sources such as around the train station. Avoid fried

foods. Be careful before asking for cheap, you just might get it!

You’d think people would know by now, but it still happens. “We will ship

you the order tomorrow” “Send us the money and we will ship you the rings or t-shirt (or

whatever) to your country”The shipment will never arrive! The foreigner is always at a lost,

often heart broken. But foreigners have lots of money, right? Keep in mind most of the cheap

junk you find in India, can be found at home or on ebay at a cheaper price. It never looks as

good when you get it home anyways.

  Most Indian are honest and genuine and will start quivering like a leaf when they tell a falsehood. However, some Indians are even known for their uncanny ability to fool a polygraph test. Be skeptical of people you have just meet, no matter who there are…remember “Don’t trust anyone further than you can throw them” and “A fool and his money is soon to part.” Understand that they maybe just wagging their heads in agreement, then later they will say otherwise. Be

thankful India is not a violent country so they lie and cheat instead

Ripped and torn notes are not accepted in India and can be difficult to change back into useable notes. They will give a foreigner a bunch of note
s and slip a few ripped ones in the middle. Be cautious when changing money or receiving

change. Examine each note for rips or holes

These scams are over 20 years old but people still keep falling

for it! Dal lake is now full of pollution, the fabled Shangri-La is now a dump! Well not all of

it anyways. Just don’t book a house boat in advance with a ‘direct bus’ to Shrinagar. The

direct bus is actually the local bus, and will take a long, long time. Beware of Kashmirs in

general, some are can very bad and very skilled at manipulating foreigners, probably from

decades of war in there home land. Never pay in advance.  Also be aware of current travel warning for the region