General safety

keith21

My wife and I are about to visit the well travelled triangle of Delhi, Jaipur and Agra. It will be our first visit to India and she has some concerns regarding our safety. Can anyone assure us that things will be fine? Is there any problem in venturing out into the cities on our own? I do have the sightseeing trips and transfers already arranged. Thankyou for any assistance.

Rob_The_Pom

I wouldn't panic or worry too much. Indian cities are pretty safe compared to ours.
Just watch out for scam artists, and confidence tricksters.
Avoid anything to do with gems, gem factories and precious stones - there's a few fairly elaborate scams in operation. If someone off the street mentions the word, 'gems' or anything similar, a polite 'no, thank you' is a good response.
If you've already got everything arranged you have even less to concern yourselves with.
The chances are the worst you'll encounter is just somebody who wants to overcharge you for that 20rps rickshaw ride or postcard of the Taj.
The biggest rip-off you can't do anything about - and that's the Agra Developments Committees tariff on entry to the monuments.

Have a great trip, keep wits about you (like you would anywhere new), but don't worry. India is a fab place.

Cheers

Rob

PS In Agra you'll see the most beautiful building in the world, complimented by so many other architectural gems, but is just about the biggest snot-pit of a city I've ever visited.
PPS Delhi rocks, as long you don't let it overwhelm you.

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iwanttogoback

RTP - how poetic, and how true!

steven_ber

Hello Keith and welcome to Indiamike.com

You will notice 2 big differences between the streets of Delhi/Agra/Jaipur and the streets of Liverpool city centre. (well, 202, but I'll only mention 2)

1, You are unlikely to ever feel threatened or in danger when walking through the streets of India, you're unlikely to see a group of youths drinking on the streets or generally harassing anyone who walks past them, and you are very, very unlikely to be mugged, all of the above are problems associated with most big cities in the UK, and I always feel like the pressures of living in London are taken off my shoulders when I arrive in India.

2, In Liverpool you are a 'nobody', no one notices you as you walk down the road, this will change when you get to India, especially Delhi/Agra/Jaipur, you will be seen as a walking ATM and you can get a lot of hassle from touts trying to sell you any & everything, it can be a real hassle (but still better than someone putting a knife to your throat to get your money).

You will still have to use common sense in India and take precautions, but the streets of any big British city will have sharpened your wits enough to deal with anything India can throw at you.

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