I'm a Master in India

Emerging from Victoria Train Station, the sweltering heat and glaring sun caused Henry and his wife to instinctively raise their hands to shield their eyes.

“God, Bombay is even hotter than I imagined.”

“We need to hurry and get to that hotel we booked.”

The damp, stifling heat made Anna very uncomfortable, and she urgently needed to take a hot bath and give her sticky skin a spa treatment.

“According to the map, the hotel is about 5 kilometers from here.”

“Then let’s go quickly, I can’t wait any longer.”

The two of them, pulling their luggage, prepared to take a taxi, but as soon as they left the train station gate, whoosh! A large group of people surrounded them.

They didn't care whether Henry and Anna wanted them to or not, and immediately started pulling at their luggage with a flurry of hands.

The two of them kept refusing, while trying their best to get rid of their entanglement.

But there were too many people, directly forming a slowly moving wall of people around them.

Some were taxi drivers soliciting customers, and some were holding a handful of rupees wanting to exchange foreign currency with them.

Without exception, they all spoke broken English, which was like listening to a heavenly book for the Henrys from France.

With great difficulty, someone spoke English relatively coherently, but unfortunately, he was a hotel tout.

“NO, NO, we don’t need it, thank you!”

Henry pulled Anna, struggling to squeeze out of the crowd. He knew that places like train stations were always a mixed bag, with the most swindlers and thieves.

Before coming, they had read the 《Lonely Planet》攻略 (guide), and knew that in this situation, they just needed to put on a zombie face and hurry on their way.

However, the two of them underestimated the determination of the Indian guys to fleece the fat sheep. Even if they walked hundreds of meters away, there were still a few people following behind them.

“Money! Dollar, Rupee, 1:19!”

They understood this sentence, it was a vendor exchanging foreign currency.

“This seems to be a little higher than the official exchange rate.”

“I heard other backpackers say that this kind of private exchange is more cost-effective than the official one.”

“Then shall we exchange a little?”

Tempted by the high exchange rate, Henry and Anna exchanged 2000 rupees in change from a dark-skinned Indian guy.

Counting the banknotes, according to past experience, this transaction saved them about $6.

“The extra money, I think, is just enough for us to take a taxi to the hotel.”

“Good idea!”

No sooner said than done, the two hailed a yellow-top, black-sided taxi and began to haggle with the driver.

“How much to the Khajuraho Hotel?”

“200 rupees!”

“40!”

“OK!” The driver waved his hand, signaling them to get in the car.

After putting down their luggage, Henry and Anna had just sat down in the back row when suddenly someone appeared out of nowhere and swaggered into the passenger seat.

“Who is he?” Henry asked uneasily.

“My brother, he’s going back to the city on the way.”

Henry didn't know whether it was true or not, and the driver didn't give them time to think. With a slam on the accelerator, the taxi sped away.

On the crowded streets of Mumbai, the driver spent most of his time honking the horn. If pedestrians or cows suddenly appeared in front of him, he would not only not brake, but honk the horn even more fiercely.

According to them, "If we step on the brakes and wait for them to pass, we won't be able to get to the hotel before dark."

The driver's "brother" sitting in the front row kept actively trying to find something to talk about.

“Which hotel are you going to?”

“Khajuraho.”

“Oh! That hotel has burned down!”

“When did that happen?!” Henry was taken aback.

“It’s been a long time, it seems like last year. I know a hotel that’s even better than that one, do you want me to take you there?”

Henry and Anna looked at each other and cautiously shook their heads, “No, we’re going to go to the original hotel to take a look first.”

The car was quiet for a while after that, but when they were almost there, the driver confirmed with an ambiguous expression.

“The price we just talked about was 200 rupees, right?”

“No, 40 rupees!” Henry took out a note with the price written on it and handed it over.

He had been prepared for this. Countless predecessors who had been fooled told him that after agreeing on a price with an Indian driver, you must write it down on paper so that they won't go back on their word.

Sure enough, the driver didn't speak, and his "brother" didn't get involved either.

When they arrived, the taxi stopped, and Henry looked up and saw that the hotel was right there, perfectly fine.

Hmph! Cunning Indians.

At this time, the driver in front had already turned his head, and he stretched out his hand.

“Give me the money, 80 rupees.”

“But we just agreed on 40 rupees!” Henry angrily took out the piece of paper again.

“Yes, 40 rupees. 40 rupees per person, 80 rupees for two people.”

“What The Fa*k?!”

Henry was not prepared to compromise, he wanted to reason with this untrustworthy driver.

But Anna next to him stopped him, “Honey, let’s get out of the car quickly.”

Henry turned his eyes and saw that Anna's face was very wrong. Taking a closer look, the driver's "brother" in the front row was staring at them fiercely.

For a moment, Henry suspected that if they didn't agree to the price, the two people in front would violently attack.

The result was naturally obediently paying the money. In a foreign country, Henry didn't dare to mess around.

Getting out of the car, the two of them, pulling their luggage, were a little dejected.

Clearly, they had done their research and traveled to many other countries, and were even somewhat famous travel journalists.

But on their first day in Mumbai, they were scammed twice in this short 5 kilometers from the train station to the hotel.

It was outrageous, what happened to the peaceful Indians they had heard about!

“At least we arrived at the hotel safely.”

Henry shrugged, pretending to be optimistic, and then pulled Anna to the front desk to register.

However, their trip was destined not to be so smooth, and the hotel receptionist told them some unfortunate news.

“The room you booked has been reassigned.”

“What! We didn’t receive any notification?”

“I don’t know, but that’s what it says on the registration form.”

“I want to find your manager.”

“He’s not working today.”

“God, tell me, do you have any other plans!”

Plop, the receptionist put the information she had prepared long ago in front of them.

“Now we can transfer you to another deluxe suite, but you need to pay an additional 1000 rupee difference.”

The veins on Henry's forehead throbbed. The room they had originally booked was 1000 rupees, and now it had directly doubled.

He was very angry, but seeing Anna, who was exhausted by his side, he finally gritted his teeth and paid the money.

“Sorry sir, we don’t accept this rupee.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s not real.”

Henry's face turned pale, and he had a bad feeling.

Frantically taking out all the money he had just exchanged, he tentatively handed over another 500 rupee note.

The receptionist still shook her head expressionlessly.

Henry was desperate.

Shit! They were scammed!

Of the 2000 rupees they had just exchanged, 1000 were counterfeit!

“I knew it…” Even after entering the room, Henry was still brooding over this matter.

The only thing worth comforting was that they could finally take a hot bath.

However, this room was still a bit imperfect. It was missing a pair of slippers, the types of towels in the bathroom were incomplete, and there was a set of cups, toothbrushes, and toothpaste missing.

Forget it, whatever, the two of them, exhausted in body and mind, were too lazy to care about these things.

After taking a bath, they went out in the afternoon and ate something casually, and then prepared to take a nap.

But there were too many mosquitoes in the middle of the night. After being bitten countless times, Henry finally decided to seek help from the front desk.

There are many ways to repel mosquitoes, incense and insecticide are available at the hotel, but you have to pay extra.

Finally, after paying 100 rupees for various expenses, Henry finally got a plate of moldy incense.

“Damn it, we’re moving out tomorrow, everyone in this hotel is a liar!”

Anna deeply agreed, and then early the next morning, they packed their things and prepared to check out.

However, before leaving, the front desk said that they had to check the items in the room first.

So, the missing slippers, towels, cups, etc., were all counted on their heads.

“You are extorting us! These things were not there when we checked in!”

“Then why didn’t you say so? The hotel defaults that all items in each room are fully equipped before use.

Oh, that’s right, and the TV. We just checked, the TV in your room was broken, so you need to pay an additional 20,000 rupees for repairs.”

Henry: O.O

Anna: T_T

…

Henry and his wife finally completed the check-out, at the cost of 23,000 rupees being swept away.

When they dragged their luggage away, there was no longer any light in their eyes.

Damn it, India, this country is toxic!

“Honey, we have to change our plans, we need a reliable guide.”

“But I don’t think anyone in this country is reliable, it’s a country made up of scammers.”

“No, there’s still one!”

Anna and Henry looked at each other and thought of one person.