India, is a place that fascinates many people, myself included. I love the architectural styles, the vast open spaces, the spices, the people, the colours and that it is touted to be one of the best places on earth for spiritual fulfillment.
I plan to go one day, my husband really wants us to do a trek in the himalayas. I would love to, but on the back of a horse so that I don’t have to walk very far! 
I have long been aware though that a traveler must be very careful where you go and what you do over there. You must have your wits about you so that you do not run into any trouble.
People often think that because they are in a new country that means that it is safe and they will often walk into areas and situations that not even the locals would go to.
This book, India -Culture and Travel Scams by Subodh Gupta is exactly what you need to read so that you are aware of exactly what can happen over there.
Subodh Gupta, is a celebrity guru who is Indian, but now lives in the UK.
He has written many wonderful books on various subjects – all are quite short books so won’t take long to read – I find you can read them in the bath in one sitting! The information is very straight forward.
I am very glad that I have found this book because I now know what to look out for and also can give this book to my husband which he can read on the plane over to India when he goes on his trip, sometime later this year.
I found this book very interesting as it details the Indian Culture in order of importance to them and low and behold, the most important motivator to Indian People is……….Money!
Now, truth be told, most people hold this so dear to them but money and wealth is deeply ingrained in the Indian Culture. They talk about it with their friends to see who has the most money and they will pray all day and night to attract more money. The country as a whole has millions of starving people who have to try and do whatever they can to survive.
India has about 70% of its population, living on less than one dollar a day!
Tourists are an easy target so you must be aware that if you are not Indian and going to the country, then YOU will be targeted by scammers.
There are many scams going on in India and if you know what they entail then you will be able to stop it from happening.
The book is divided up into three parts:
1) Understanding the Indian Culture – learn about what motivates them, how they negotiate, where they spend their money, the caste system, gender bias, indian marriages, religious belief system superstition, family support, drinking habits amongst women, entrepreneurial culture, ashrams and the scams they are involved in, beggers, food, festivals, driving in India, law of Karma, social customs, their curiosity & obsession with westerners, topics that you shouldn’t discuss
2) Travel Scams in India – by ‘government approved agency’, rickshaw drivers, scams targeted at single women and divorcees, gems and jewelery scams, food poisoning, ear cleaning scam, sponsor a child’s meal, request a mantra, invite swami ….. to your place, gurus and sex scams,
3) Travel tips – cash economy/travel/mosquitos/touts etc
Key facts about India.
This book is a must read for anyone not familiar with India. It would be quite silly to go there without having prior knowledge of these types of scams.
Wherever there are a huge amount of poor people, in a culture that holds wealth as great importance, scams are bound to happen and some of them are very serious. Some men and women have been kidnapped, blackmail, fraud and unsolved murders have happened.
I wanted to say though that I am not saying that India is a terrible country – every other country seems to have similar problems but we are talking about huge amounts of people which makes the chances that much higher happening in a place like India.
As soon as you get off the plane and people see that you are a foreigner you will be targeted at some stage.
When booking travel, make sure its through a very highly reputable agency, please look into places that you stay at, in great detail. Read reviews etc etc.
Its a sad fact that these days, we have to be really cautious in life, no matter where we go. We sometimes have to mistrust people first, rather than place all our trust in someone until they prove us otherwise.
The last thing you want is to be in a strange country and have something terrible happen to you.
Please avoid that by buying a copy of this wonderful book, taking it with you so that you will know everything you need to do to keep your trip safe and sound.