Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Scams in India that you should know about.

I spent two amazing weeks in India early this month and I can't seem to get over it. I feel that two weeks is NEVER ENOUGH! Now I'm sitting in my office, back in Kuala Lumpur, reminiscing the wondrous time I've spent there and thinking, "wow, I have actually been to India?" I am still dumbfounded until this day. =)

So India.. what do Malaysians expect when they travel there?

A view from Naharghah Fort in Jaipur, Rajasthan India.
1, Overcharged taxis. 

Be charged more than the usual price when you use the local road transportation vehicles there such as the Autos, Tuk-tuks, and taxis. Usually it costs only 5 rupees on an Auto to get from one part to another but for a foreigner they can charge you up to 30 rupees. Haha. The best bet is using a tourist bus provided by the local tourism center or via Metro (if you're in Delhi of course). Else be happy to spend more money!

2. Car Rental Scams 

Bought a train ticket? Was told that your train has left, delayed or canceled? These are all SCAMS! You'll be approached by men in the train stations and you'll think that they are working there. They'll help check your ticket, reads the train number and says your train has been canceled due to some track problems. If you go along with this scam, they'll ask you to go to a ticketing center to refund your ticket or find another way into the city you're heading to. And when you ask for other train tickets, they'll say the tickets are sold out and the only way is renting a CAR. 

Yes... they are actually car rental operators. Trying to scam you into renting a car into the places you want to go. Sadly though, these SCAMS are legit. The only thing you'll lose is your money and an AMAZING train ride experience. (Thank god, I didn't fall for this. hehe)

The Indian Gate at Delhi, India
3. Tour guides at major tourist attractions. 

They'll tell you that you can't buy a ticket using the local fare (which is way cheaper than foreign tourist fare).  For example, a local ticket into Qutub Minar in Delhi costs 10 rupees and for foreigners it will cost 200 rupees. Actually you can by having a local buying it for you. The officers at the gate hardly checks your tickets!!! The tour guides will ask for some payment to just bring you into the tourist attraction, explain some things, bring you to some local shops (which in the end will get some commission for bringing you there if you buy) and then out. Huhhh... really a waste of time and money. It is always better to explore yourself (for me at least). And you could always depend on the hearing aids the counters provide for a small fee. =)

4. Photographers. 

I dislike these people the most!!! They help take pictures of you in the places you visit with their cameras. Prints it out and asks you to pay for the pictures when you actually have no intention in buying! Worst still is when you requested a smaller, cheaper photo prints and they come to you with larger prints and expecting you to pay for them! Pffftt!!

Taj Mahal, Agra India. 
5. Overpriced Souvenirs. 

Postcards in particularly actually costs 15 rupees per set that has 12 postcards. They can cheat you in selling 150 rupees each though. And that applies to all the other touristy stuff they sell such as the fridge magnets (cheapest - 50 rupees each), colorful pens and key-chains (can get 5 rupees each!) . Be prepared to bargain. And bargain HARD!

6. Sold out train tickets.

Train tickets are always sold out if you buy at the counters of the train stations??? SO NOT TRUE! This is maybe the biggest WRONG information they feed to unknowing travelers like us. There are ALWAYS train tickets at the counters. You just have to fill up a form after knowing which train and class you want and queue at the counter. Buying tickets online and at other operator's counters are OK but there'll be EXTRA charges and the seat availability are always inaccurate. =)

OK.. that's all I can think of for now. Hope this info helps future travelers when they visit India. Hehehe...

Best regards,

Jard the cheapskate. =)


16 comments:

HEMY said... [Reply]

dem memang abih duit gitu2 je la kalu tak ati2

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@hemy... hehehe. and so you have been forewarned. =)

Matjoe said... [Reply]

tq for sharing this valuable info. keji suit. but taxi kt malaysia pun overcharge tourist

Zara AB said... [Reply]

Read a lots of the rental scams from other blogger. Ramai je yang dah kena. A well written tips and tricks if you're in India.

k.e.r.i. said... [Reply]

ko memang takde baju lain nak pakai eh bila travel?


HAHA

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@matjoe.... hahaha.. taxi kat Malaysia mmg teruk dowhh.. aku dah lama tak pakai taxi kat sini..

@zara AB.. yahh.. and so I've heard. Pandai betul diorg nk scam org kan? huhu..

Wkeri... hahahaha.. baju aku jugakkk ko komennnnnn.. oklah.. nnt aku beli baju baru. pffft!

=P

Alid Abdul said... [Reply]

will reading over and over again before visiting my dreamland :)

Alid Abdul said... [Reply]

will reading over and over again before visiting my dreamland :)

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@alid... komen sampai dua kali! excited much eh? hehehe. Will pray for you to reach India soon enuf. =)

ilyani said... [Reply]

okay, so no.2 did happen to us (who would have thought? they were like so convincing! *muka innocent*) cet, rugi rm100 jugak for that burned ticket =.=

for autos you can bargain actually (although will still be overcharged than locals) but sometimes it works to reduce the fares.

did you actually manage to buy tickets at counter, literally?? the crowds and queues are unbelievable! we ended up giving up and find internet to book online in the end, at least to us it's always efficient.

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@ilyani...

hehe.. how much did you pay for the car rental?

Yes.. you can bargain for the autos but still wont get local prcie. that's why I suggest using metro.. hahaha..

and YES I sure did buy from the counters. there's actually a counter specifically for FOREIGN TOURISTS. There's hardly a line behind that one!!! You can actually buy a ticket there without much hassle. =)

just don't forget to fill in the form and check for seats/train nos before u do. =)

ilyani said... [Reply]

it was bus that we fell to, but not long before we got told (read: enlightened) by our CS host that we had been scammed. so we quickly went to refund the bus tickets (although not getting all the money) and purchase new train tickets to Agra. wasted a whole day.

ya Metro is the best way to roam around Delhi. and walk :)

daddydee said... [Reply]

thanks for the info. Memang kena hati-hati. Rasanya kalau bab teksi kat memana pun sama.

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@ilyani... I was almost scammed too but because I really didn't have any money to pay for the car rental.. they pitied me and let me go. hahaha. Only then did i realize I got scammed.

Jard The Great said... [Reply]

@daddydee... ahh.. teksi sama di mana jua.. klu boleh aku nk avoid amik teksi.. tp mcm mustahil je kan? hehe

Unknown said... [Reply]

Aku aritu beli tiket train online je, adalah service charge sket, tp takde la mahai sgt..so kira ok lah :)