What happened to us was absolutely textbook I realise now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.
We got to New Delhi Railway Station early this morning to catch a train to Agra. The biggest mistake we had made was not booking in advance. We had meant to, mind, but our big day in Old Delhi got the better of us yesterday and we didn't. I feel like a complete idiot writing this but I guess in terms of steet smart in Delhi I am.
So we're at the station and realise this isn't going to work. A railway official directed us to the Indian Government Office and we caught a taxi there. Or rather, we didn't. The taxi driver took us somewhere else and tired and early-morning as we were we just didn't notice.
Inside we met the answer to all our problems with such a smooth manner and such impeccable English that, fools as we were, we trusted him at once. I now understand hiw a good con artist operates. You look back at all the pleasant chit-chat and realise that everything he said was designed to put you at ease. Oh, he recognised we were Kiwis because of how we said seven, just like a friend of his from when he lived in London. And then with careful solicitude to the monitor: 'The trains are booked out days in advance!' etc etc. So we ended up hiring a driver as far as Jaipur and then booked trains from there. It seemed expensive, but then it also seemed the solution to all our problems and goodness knows we were worried by then.
The realisation that we'd been scammed dawned on us as we left Delhi with our driver in our car. The driver has been great so far and got us where we needed to go, but I still feel used knowing that we fell for one of the most publicised scams in Delhi.
If it's not the tourist office in your guide book, don't go there. Actually. We thought we were there. Watch your taxi drivers like a hawk and watch for signs that things aren't legit. Asking for some of the fee to be paid in cash would be one of them.
I honestly can't write very much about this now. I simply feel too foolish. Platitudes like 'you live and learn' are cold comfort and I simply am crushed by how trusting and accepting and nice we were. I've been in this sort of situation in Thailand and been fine, but this was different. It was a very well run tout.
But don't worry Mum and Dad. We are alive and well. And heading in the right direction. And of coure, we are in India now.
We managed to see some of Agra around the Taj today. It looks magnificent from afar, but shrouded in smog. I say shrouded because pollution will probably be the death of it.
The Taj nature walk is simply lovley. It's wonderful to be surrounded by nature.
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