DAY # 3 – Namaste New Delhi (part 3)

Late in the morning we checked out from the hostel and adventurous ourselves in the big city of more then 15 million people, 35 thousand cows and 600 thousand rickshaws.
The last night desert street of the market was now full of people and animals, intense colors and smells.


We could see numerous ruined buildings with people living in; it looked like remains of a war zone trying to arise again.

We were heading to Connaught Place were according to our guide was a good place to find a nice hostel. After crossing the market we just stopped for a second to check which street to take and lots of rickshaws approach us.
Our backpacks really work like magnet to them!

While two tuktuk guys were bargain with my brother and my husband another was bargain with me “Ma'am just 5 to Connaught place” – “5 hundred? No, when we came from the airport by taxi was only 3 hundred; you have to do it cheaper for us” (what have I said!) – “Not 5 hundred (he laugh) 5 rupees!”
Seemed too cheap (5 rupees = 0, 08 €!!) but not used to the rates yet, we´ve decided to go with him.
After the same old questions, where are you from my friend? How long are you going to stay in India? What are you looking for? An hotel? There is a tourism office that can help you - and he took us there.
So far so good, we needed a hotel and this guy was helping us out.

In the supposed “official” tourism bureau, very neat and really looking a trustable government bureau, we were directed to a desk to speak with one of the tourism agents. We said to him that we were looking for a hotel for that night, and he repeated the same questions that we were going to hear all along the journey, sometimes by friendly people sometimes by someone that wanted just to sell something specially tours.

He was already planning our entire trip and calling hotels to book and buses and car taxis... the all package tour for our 3 weeks in India. We said we just wanted a hotel; we already have our train tickets and hostels in all the cities we are going to visit. He insist, saying that was not safe to travel by train and the buses are better, etc, etc , really starting to be annoying. At the end we didn’t book any tour with him and he just said if you don’t book with us I don’t get you a hotel – have a good holiday.

That was it, no wonder it was just 5 rupees, the tuktuk was going to get his part from the supposed “official” tourism bureau for catching fresh tourists at the beginning of the travel.
We later that day, after passing trough many “official” tourist agencies, could really understand the scam organization that goes in Delhi behind the tourism. Rickshaws, taxis, even some people (not all) in the street that looks that are going to help you, just want to lead you for buying tours in these agencies. The best you can do to avoid this hassle when walking in the streets of Delhi is to leave your backpack in your hostel/hotel, ´cause backpackers are meat for these sharks.

At least a good thing we experienced, although all this hassle these guys are just trying to put food on their family plates by selling, and sometimes conning tourists too, but in any circumstance we felt insecure of assault or aggression against us.
In overall Indians especially the Hindus are very affable and pacific people, which can be very comforting and could let us relax during the trip when we got used to their way.