Getting Scammed in Delhi

Monday, Sept 23, 2008: Delhi

Three is an unlucky number

I’m superstitious. I believe the second day after your arrival sets the tone of the trip.  Today is that second day. I feel an uncomfortable energy.

I’d barely met Regina but she had left early to go off Agra. Now our balanced foursome collapses into an unequal threesome. In travel
relationships, three is an unlucky number.

 Where do hotel workers sleep?

It’s a bit of a shocker but I awoke early and went down to our hotel lobby to make some inquiries. Apparently some of the workers were just getting up too.

Indian beds inside my Hotel Grand Godwin lobby

The rooftop of another hotel. Good thing it's not monsoon season.

Taken to scam tour agency and signing up for an overpriced tour

We started off wanting to take a Delhi walking tour given by a children’s community center.  En route to finding the community center, Margaret and Dan got distracted by a cabbie wanting to take us to the India Tourist Center. Not sure why they wanted to follow him.  But when two go, the third wheel has no choice but follow. 

We were whisked off to a tourist center hidden in the shabby surroundings of an alley in Connaught Place. There, we we were sold another version (the very same, mind you) of our trip’s itinerary. The main differences? That we’d have a driver and our own car vs. having to take public transportation and we’d be using their ‘recommended hotels’ vs. the ones we researched and booked. 

Why budget travelers should never travel with non-budget travelers

I don’t want to be on a tour.

But Dan prefers the safety of a white-washed India tour to “roughing it”. Dan isn’t really a budget kind of guy and having him on our trip initially worried me. He’s a nice guy and I like his personality. But Margaret, Regina and myself were all hoping to be budget travelers on this trip. Pre-trip,  Margaret and I quarreled about how having someone with higher expectations join our group, might force us all to spend more. We’ve been doing all the research work; Dan wants to stay at mid-level hotels. Since then,  Margaret and my friendship was on probation, so I didn’t want to be the bad guy . 

Rather than fight this tour idea- I stupidly agreed.

The tour cost $518.

It’s a hell lot more than I expected to be spending for India for a two-week tour.  It’s about $35/day on this tour. We only visit two more cities than originally planned and the main selling point was that we’d have a driver to take us around vs using public trains and buses.

I wanted to take the trains and buses. Still, when you’re three, you agree for group harmony.

What is traveler etiquette?

This brings me to Margaret’s friend, Regina.

How will she react when Margaret tells her we’re now on a tour?  Regina is on a budget also and it’s unfair for her not to have a say in the matter. It leaves her with any options. Either … 1) to pay money to join us or 2) be left on her own to fend for herself.

Margaret & Dan want to wait before springing the news on her. Their plan is to tell her when she meets up with us tomorrow in Jaipur! If we tell her tonight, she’s got a small window of time to scramble on the internet or prepare backups. But M&D think they’re being smart in “avoiding conflict”.  And Dan whom we’ve not heard from all these months when Margaret and I were researching and planning our itinerary, has suddenly developed a voice to how we should deal with things on this trip.

I’m too exhausted and upset to fight. This is a red flag. An omen. This is only my second day in Delhi.

Tomorrow we drive off to Jaipur. Our driver, Kul will be meeting us at 6A so tonight I should get some rest.

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