New Delhi: Arriving in New Delhi and Delhi Airport Scam

Our journey to New Delhi via Helsinki with Finnair proved to be a disappointing flight experience. As a first-time passenger with Finnair, I was thoroughly let down by the limited legroom and overall lack of space onboard. Adding to the discomfort was a box obstructing my seat, making it impossible to find even a bit of legroom (being 181 cm tall, this made the trip quite miserable). While I managed to switch seats momentarily and catch a brief 5-minute nap, I was abruptly awakened by a cabin crew member requesting that I give up my seat for someone whose entertainment system was not working. Needless to say, this journey was exhausting and far from what we had anticipated, considering our limited time in Delhi and our aspirations for sightseeing. However, it could have been worse, as smog had disrupted flights to Delhi for the past few days, and we were fortunate to have made it there at all.

Upon arrival at the airport and going through passport control, the experience was a far cry from my previous visit to India (when I visited Mumbai). The entire airport clearance process was drawn-out, with most passport counters closed, as it appeared that half of the officials responsible for passport control were actually sleeping! Those who were awake took frequent breaks, suddenly stretching their legs and arms or engaging in jovial conversations with their colleagues.

Exiting the airport, we hoped for smoother proceedings from that point onward. However, we encountered an unexpected turn of events. Since I did not have an Indian SIM card, and there was no available Wi-Fi for foreign nationals at the airport, we decided to take a regular pre-paid taxi.

Approaching the pre-paid taxi stand, someone quickly offered their assistance. I inquired if the taxi was pre-paid, and the person assured me it was. They then provided the price, which we knew was excessively high, but due to our exhaustion, we decided not to engage in an argument. Another person approached us during that time, but the individual we were already speaking to said something in Hindi to them, and they left. We followed our designated person to the car, and it was clear that something was amiss because we had yet to “prepay” them, and there was another person, a driver, already in the car. We provided the name of the hotel and the area it was located in, and then we set off. However, the car suddenly stopped, and the person expressed uncertainty about the hotel’s location. They asked for the hotel’s phone number, and I provided the number from the voucher. Supposedly, they called the hotel and mentioned our names. The person then informed me that there was a booking mistake and suggested they would be willing to take us to another hotel. They handed me their phone to speak to the “receptionist.” The so-called receptionist claimed that I had made a mistake and that the booking was actually for another date. Initially, I began to question if I had indeed made an error (unfortunately, I have made such mistakes numerous times in the past). However, I quickly checked my voucher, which clearly stated that my booking was indeed for that day. Looking at the person’s phone, I realized that the dialed number did not match the hotel’s number. In fact, it belonged to someone in the person’s contacts! I became extremely angry and demanded that the person drive us to the correct hotel. He claimed to have no idea where that hotel was since he only knew the locations of the most expensive 5-star hotels. As we were only staying in Delhi for one night, we had chosen a more affordable option near the airport, and I was aware that there were many hotels in that area. However, the person initially assured us that he knew the hotel and we had even provided him with the exact address. Fortunately, I had downloaded offline Google Maps of the entire New Delhi, so I informed him that I would guide him to the hotel. We drove for about 5 minutes, but it was a one-way road, and the person refused to turn around, claiming it would take too much time. Fortunately, I had guided us to a point where we were within a short walking distance of the hotel, and it took us approximately 5 minutes to reach it on foot. However, he dropped us off in the middle of the busy main road, on the side without a sidewalk or crosswalk, making the walk to the hotel quite challenging. We had to navigate through the chaotic Indian traffic, carrying our heavy bags and suitcases. Despite the challenges we encountered, we managed to safely reach our hotel, where we chose not to dwell on the less-than-ideal conditions, such as sticky surfaces and cleanliness issues. Instead, we focused on our relief and happiness of finally reaching our hotel.

It is important to be aware of Delhi airport scammers when visiting Delhi. In fact, I was fully conscious of this issue, but I suppose I was too tired to anticipate becoming a victim at that particular moment. If you decide to take a pre-paid taxi, ensure that you go directly to the counter and avoid engaging with anyone in front of it, as they are likely not affiliated with the prepaid taxi company. From that day onwards, we remained vigilant throughout our time in India.