Scammed in Varanasi… by the last people I expected

Earlier that day, I was told to visit the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi — a must-see, they said. Best of all, it was supposed to be free. The only warning? Watch out for scammers lurking around, waiting to spot a naive tourist. So off I went, confident I’d outsmart them. But it turns out, that confidence didn’t help much. From persistent touts to even a few policemen trying to make a quick buck, everyone seemed to want a slice. Maybe the people who told me it was free were setting me up… or maybe it was just another one of India’s infamous scams. Either way, I never made it into the temple — but this is the story of my quest to try.