Bullet trip to Delhi, India on 2023-08-12

• Notes on what I want to write:

  • @blu3mo: Arrived at the hotel after picking up two scam rickshaws and visiting two self-proclaimed tourist information centers.

  • I’m tired.

  • It was unrealistic to avoid scams in this getup with two backpacks.

  • @blu3mo: While I don’t want to be a “superficial tourist,” it feels like I haven’t seen anything no matter where I walk for a whole day.

  • Feeling a little sad(?)

  • @blu3mo: I even feel like I haven’t seen anything in New York, where I lived for a year.

  • @blu3mo: If I don’t even know the language, maybe it’s more humble to embrace being a “tourist” openly.

    • @blu3mo: @ricknakazawa Indeed, being an “outsider” and having a “uniform way of spending time” are not the same.

    • ”Philosophy of Tourists” (tkgshn)

  • Rin’s delicious food list

    • It was really good.
    • It’s fun when you have a desire to eat something during your travels.
      • It’s even more enjoyable when you can share it with others.
    • The recommended food list for Hiroshima Trip Summer 2022 had the same appeal.

  • It was a very challenging tourist destination.

  • I’m starting to understand how to deal with the broad category of scammers in tourist areas (people who approach you on the street, rickshaw drivers, etc.).

    • Just jotting down my thoughts for now, might organize them later.
    • For now, forget concepts like goodwill, trust, and emotions.
      • “Trust” requires a continuous relationship, so it can’t be based on a one-time encounter.
    • Consider what incentives the other person is acting on.
      • Aim to minimize what they can gain from you.
        • i.e. Make yourself less appealing.
        • For example, if you declare that you’re leaving India and going to America today, the rickshaw driver won’t benefit from taking you to a tourist information center.
        • If you only have 100 rupees in your wallet, there’s a limit to how much the rickshaw driver can overcharge you.
          • Taking a detour to an ATM is possible, but you still have a chance to refuse.
    • Consider what cards you can play against the other person.
      • Show a hint that you can get off the rickshaw at any time.
    • Consider the upside and downside of your actions.
    • Suspicious signals
      • While riding in a rickshaw, they tell you not to look at your phone because it’s dangerous.
        • They have a reason not to be seen checking the map.
      • They ask to take a selfie together and get rejected.
        • They once said it was due to religious reasons, but it’s definitely a lie.
    • Say no and ignore.
    • Be stubborn.
    • Even if you pay less than the requested amount, if it exceeds the other person’s minimum threshold, they won’t chase after you?
      • I did it twice, paying about half of the requested amount and then running away, but I wasn’t chased.
    • No matter how hard I try to avoid it, as a tourist, I can’t avoid being overcharged by rickshaw drivers in the end.
      • If I can use Uber Auto, I should.
      • If I can’t, I should be prepared to be stubborn when they overcharge me.
    • There is asymmetry due to differences in prices.
      • After having an old man show me around the city, he asked for a fee, and in the end, I paid 200 rupees, but I think I got more value than that (blu3mo).
        • He introduced me to various things, like places to eat.
      • I was taken on a roundabout route by a scam rickshaw and charged a higher amount than initially agreed, but I had fun seeing various sights that I couldn’t have seen on the shortest route.

        • @blu3mo: If you think of it as driving around Delhi for 200 yen, it was actually fun(?).- By being aware of these points and navigating skillfully, it seems possible to establish a win-win relationship.

• However, there may be cases where you could lose tens of thousands of yen, so caution and careful consideration are important.
• Think about “how that person makes a living.”
• College students who wear nice clothes tend to be less assertive compared to others.