How to visit India without being duped by locales

An article about how tourists going to a different country like India can play safe and make their trip a pleasant one without unnecessary harassment by locales.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• pen and pad

1. Visit a tourism office to get more information on the place you are visiting.
2. Ask whether there are any official guides available who take a fixed fee and know the place through and through.
3. Carry a guide book or a map of the place you are visitng.
4. What will also come in handy is to learn a few words of the local dialect e.g. hindi in India. Like if you are buying something:
   Yeh kitne mein diya – How much does this cost?
5. If buying something, be sure the shop owner or stall owner will ask for triple the price and so if not reducing to that much atleast make him half the price.
6. If you are not sure whether the taxi driver is taking you to the right place, just pull over and ask any passer by or a nearby shop owner the direction of a particular place and how far it is from where you are right now. More often than not you will find that you probably could have walked to that place!
7. Actually this is a general rule. If you are in any doubt, just ask a local who may be in his car or two-wheeler, or a pedestrian. Maybe people with shopping bags, school children. They will most probably know English and will in no way try to misguide you.

Tips & Warnings

• You will find that it is just a few who think any foreigner will help them earn some quick extra bucks. Most people will be extremely helpful if you ask.