How to handle touts in India

[midexer]

Hello

I am a first time traveler to India and will be there in a month now, my friends who already been to India have suggested me to beware of touts in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and in fact everywhere in India. All of them said that it’s not very easy to deflect and dismiss them and they are well skilled to fool and trap tourists. Is there any way by which I can keep them away from me or anyway by which I can tell them to back off?

Some of my friends were scammed by these touts in Agra and I am not truly happy after knowing their experience on that point. I really do not want to spoil the fun by falling in any argument with anyone so please help me to understand how I can make a fence around me to keep them away.

 

[DhongiBaba]

The best way is to ignore them if they do approach you. Police has been very active recently to make sure tourists are not hounded by those touts at stations and other tourist spots. I would strongly suggest not to deal with them for anything. Approach a proper counter for everything instead of trying to buy things off a tout which might at times sound tempting for they may give you good prices which may later turn out to be a lot more costly otherwise. If you are looking to buy a train ticket go to the ticket counter instead of talking to people who can be seen walking all over the place offering tickets for destinations that are not available at the counters. For taxis approach the government run taxi booths at all places which are clearly marked with big boards.

 

[Gori Bride]

Just ignore then and dont look back is the best way to deal with them. If you get into a conversation or worse an argument then it is just going to drag on and on.

 

[Rumikhan]

I prefer to ignore them and behave as I can't even hear or see them at all, usually they back off after 5-6 failed attempts.