Experiences of Travel Scams

Gangtok , Sikkim

On our trip to Gangtok, we had planned to visit the Nathula pass. On enquiring about this trip at our hotel, we were informed that they would arrange for the trip. We were five adults and we asked for a vehicle which would take us to the Nathula pass and drop us back to our hotel. We submitted photocopies of our identity cards and paid the required charges for the booking. Early next day, we started our journey on a eight seater vehicle. After a brief stopover at the Tsomgo lake, we moved up on the mountains further. At one point on the road, the driver stopped the vehicle and asked us to get down. We were confused. He surprised us with a new piece of information that the vehicle did not have necessary permits after this point. He told us that another vehicle would come and pick us up. On trying to contact our hotel regarding this, we realized that there was no network on any of our mobile phones. We had to wait. We waited for two hours. A vehicle arrived and our driver told us to get a seat on it. That vehicle already had a eight membered group and even they were not informed about us. They fought with us bitterly and blamed that we were trying to travel to at their expense. They were not ready to listen and denied to let us enter. After a lot of heated argument they somehow agreed and we had to adjust somehow. This was really terrible. Once we reached our hotel and demanded an explanation regarding the arrangements, they pretended innocence and also denied any compensation.

Remember: This can happen on your trip to the Nathula pass. So, when you plan to visit, get thoroughly ensured regarding the arrangements.

Shimla, Himachal Pradesh

This is a tale where, luckily, we did not fall for the scam. We visited Shimla in the month of December hoping to experience lots and lots of snow and snowfall. I had never experienced snow before and I was really excited. I kept looking out of the window as the bus from Delhi approached Shimla. There was no snow. We enquired at the hotel and they said you can experience snow at Kufri. We reached Kufri. On the way, we did have glimpses of melting snow on the slopes. On reaching Kufri , we were approached by the horse owners for the journey up on the top. Guides and shop owners tried their best to convince us to hire snow suits and boots and packages for snow activities. My husband was not convinced. He decided to hire horses up to Kufri top but denied hiring any packages and clothes. We had a memorable horse ride up the narrow path where we could not stop praying for our life for a single moment. At Kufri top, however, we found no snow. Only traces of snow here and there and no snowfield where one could have snow activities. We found confused tourists with snowsuits and boots enquiring their guides about the snowfields. The guides pointed to them the snow patches here and there.

Remember: Sometimes you may be lucky with your decisions and sometimes you may not be. If you are lucky, be happy. If you are unlucky, be happy as well. You have contributed to the earnings of a poor local whose livelihood depends on tourism.

Dalhousie , Himachal Pradesh

My trip to Dalhousie was with my friends and colleagues. We were a group of ten. We had booked an entire house with three bedrooms and three washrooms from a popular online website. We asked the owner to share photographs of the property and we were satisfied with the arrangements. We booked the property and we reached Dalhousie. There was a huge traffic jam on the way and we reached the property late in the afternoon. We were travelling on a tempo traveler that we had arranged from Delhi. To our surprise, the owner had given directions to an entirely different property and when we enquired he apologized saying that the promised property is undergoing some urgent renovation at this moment. This house also had three Bedrooms and washrooms. But to our dismay, we found that two of the washrooms were unusable!!! Ten of us had to manage to in one washroom!! We had a heated argument with the owner who apologized profusely. We decided to stop any further argument as were moving out next morning. However, the trip turned out to be memorable and we also tried paragliding and Zip lining.

Remember: You may face troubles when you are visiting a new place but never let that stop you from enjoying your trip.

Darjeeling , West Bengal

This scam brought about a change on our trip plan and we landed up in an offbeat place in the lap of the Himalayas. For our North Bengal trip in the summers of 2019,I had booked hotel/homestay from a well known website. We were supposed to visit Mirik and then move on to Darjeeling. For both the stays, I had scheduled a payment at the hotel. I checked up with the hotel and they confirmed my booking. Remember! Summer is the peak tourist season in Darjeeling. Mirik is still a virgin spot and not yet very popular among tourists. Just two days before our journey I received a call from the Darjeeling homestay stating that I need to make payments right now or else the booking would be cancelled as there is huge demand of booking. I argued that the same is not mentioned at the website. He said that had it not been the peak season, payment at the hotel was acceptable. I tried finding another stay but since I was trying to book at the very last moment, the prices were either exorbitant or rooms were not available. So, I decided to pay. Since , the phone number was from the website itself, I made the payments. Our Mirik trip was an excellent one- beautiful and hassle free. On the night before our transit to Darjeeling from Mirik , I received a message that my hotel booking at Darjeeling has been cancelled. I tried to contact the homestay and to my dismay I found that my number is blocked. I tried from other numbers. The moment he realised that it was me calling from other numbers he blocked those too after an initial response. I was very upset. I felt cheated and also I was not sure about where to stay in Darjeeling. We reached Darjeeling and enquired at about five to six hotels and none of them had a spare room. Then, while checking at another website I found a reasonably priced cottage available at Sittong. We booked the stay and moved on to Sittong. It took us another two hours to reach Sittong and the beauty of Sittong soothed our aching hearts. We thanked god for the scam! On taking up the issue with the customer care I did get the money back from the cancelled stay at Darjeeling. Also, I was informed that an FIR has been lodged against that owner who had done similar acts with other tourists.

Remember : Never be disheartened at your momentary bad luck. You never know what God has planned for you.

Jaipur, Rajasthan

This beautiful pink city, Jaipur, has loads to offer. Magnificent forts and palaces, beautiful handicrafts and mouth watering cuisines attract tourists from far and wide. Whenever you are in the pink city, do lose yourself in the wonders that this place has to offer but also remember to be cautious. If you look even a little confused , you may be scammed. On my recent trip to Jaipur, we were in a confused situation as the internets were jammed because of an ongoing examination. We reached the entrance of Hawa Mahal on our pre-booked cab (from Delhi) and just to confirm if we have reached the correct location (google maps were not working) we asked an electric rickshaw driver on the roadside. He and his group immediately approached us and informed that parking charges were Rs200.Alternatively, suggested us if we hire their rickshaw for Rs. 200,they would arrange for parking of our vehicle and also take us to Hawa Mahal, City palace and the Jantar Mantar. Initially we denied. However, then we decided to hire the rickshaw as we were having difficulty in navigating with no internet facility. They guided us to a place and asked the driver to park the cab and took us back to the place from where we came (about 100m) and informed us that that was indeed the entry to the Hawa Mahal. After our visit to the Hawa Mahal, he brought us back to our parked car. On demanding him about our visit to the city palace he showed us a carved gateway and told us that was the entrance to the city palace and that the Jantar Mantar was located inside the premises. We already felt cheated for having to pay Rs.200 for a 2 minutes walking distance. However, a bigger surprise awaited us. On reaching the Gateway we found that there were only shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs. On asking about the city palace, we got to know that city palace is further away from that spot and we needed a vehicle to reach there!!! We were thoroughly scammed!!

Remember: Whenever you are travelling to Jaipur be a little cautious as there are chances of scams. Also, be sure to have offline maps loaded in your mobile phones and If you need any help regarding directions , it is best to ask the Jaipur police.