There's lots to do outside cities, come on, man. I know that feel 110%, and you have my sympathy, but there's an obvious solution, just gtfo of the cities.
Or go to another country, hell.

>>1068079
Or find a travel buddy; it's nice when somebody has your back while you're trying to haggle.

>>1067902
It completely depends where you travel to. I would say about half the places I've visited are as you described, and they are all places with a significantly lower cost of living/travel and are often considered "third world." Travel to more developed places, and you see less of this shit. It's usually more expensive but not always.

>>1067902
OP, it really depends on where you go. For example in Havana I felt pestered for money or to buy cigars or to go to their shitty bar all the time. It really ruined my experience of visiting the city. It wasn't anywhere near as bad in other parts of Cuba where resort tourists and cruise ship tourists don't visit.

When I went over to Mexico, I only experienced it once in Chichen Itza. Everywhere else I went I don't think I was pestered once (other than when going to food markets but it looked like they were yelling after everyone).

From what I've seen it's the places where rich tourists go that have this the worst. If you're a budget traveler just avoid places where a lot of tourists and not travelers go. There are also places where these sort of things are common and you should read up about them before going as to be prepared. Beijing is famous for that tea cafe scam. Bangkok for their pushy taxis and tuk tuk drivers and people dressing up as officials to take tourists to wrong ticket booths that charge a lot more.

On top of that it's all about growing a thick skin. I just don't acknowledge them. If you end up in a city with a lot of people bothering you then plan your subsequent days so you can avoid the areas where they congregate.

>>1067902
>I just end up walking past most of them without acknowledging them

I lived in Bangkok for a while and started doing this after about two weeks. Honestly once you know how much things are meant to cost you hardly notice it. You basically just ignore everyone who approaches you in tourist areas and use metered taxies for everything. If the guy wont concede on price, you go to the next guy down the street.

Get on couch surfing OP, even if you don't actually surf you can just meet up with locals. You'll experience cities in an entirely different way.

>>1067902

I'm white and stay in Delhi. I'm in between flats right now and putting up in Paharganj. I can very easily imagine why a person who has only stayed in the tourist ghetto here would hate the city. The touts and beggars can make you nearly homicidal on occasion.

On the flip side of the equation, nobody bothered me in South Delhi save for the errant auto-wala. There were plenty of places where I could go without being harassed, primarily because most cities tend to have well-defined tourist districts. Most of the foreigners in South Delhi are expats or students, which means there's no reason for touts to stake out the area excerpt around places like Qutb Minar. Where I stayed, I would routinely have storekeepers and paan-walas chase me down with hundreds of rupees in cash I had forgotten to collect, even if that amount may have been more than they earn in a day.

Do I expect any of that here in Paharganj? Fuck no. I ignore people who come up to me with their bullshit lines about what country I'm from and where I bought my shoes. It's typical touting and I've seen it a million times before.

If you stay just a few miles outside of these ghettos you won't have these problems. If I need an auto at night, I know I'll have to walk at least fifteen minutes to find a driver who isn't just waiting for fare-ignorant foreigners.

I do get where you're coming from. I'm fucking sick of getting quoted ridiculous prices for shit and then seeing they're feigned shock when I start laughing. That's the price you pay for being in the developing world, and, quite honestly, you probably are in a better financial situation than them. Those guys might be dishonest, but I think we might be tempted if we were in the same position, too.

>>1067902

I'll also say that most people don't seem
to get pisses when I ignore them, which is what I almost always do. This is their job - a few people will bite and most won't. If anything, you're helping them by not wasting their time pretending to be interested in their bongo or pashmina or whatever.

9/10 that I ignore a tout and don't even acknowledge them they just turn around and leave, simple as that. Or today some annoying and persistent shit kept asking if I wanted an auto when I was on the phone, so I pointed at three other foreigners and told him good luck in Hindi. He had a laugh and I got my peace.