American tourist Rhett arrived with his friends in Delhi on November 8 to "experience India" but instead he was left with a wad of obsolete domestic currency notes that disrupted his travel plans in the country.
"We arrived here last Tuesday and got our dollars converted to Indian currency but later we realised that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were not being accepted. Our hotel did not accept the big notes, and neither did currency exchangers. We were left a harried lot," he told PTI.
Rhett, who is leaving India in few days, says, "We had so many plans, but all got thwarted." "However, we gave away the big Indian notes at an Indian wedding that we attended," he said with a smile.
Taking the nation by surprise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the night of November 8 announced demonetisation of high-value notes with effect from midnight, in what he said was a major assault on black money, fake currency and corruption.
Scores of foreign tourists, who are in India, shared the problems they are facing in the wake of the major economic move that has left the country grappling with a cash crisis.
Patricia Hames from Bristol, the UK, who is visiting Delhi for the first time along with her two sisters-in-law, is running short of cash, and finding it hard to get taxis or make purchases at shops.
"We are making do with credit cards as much as we can. But, getting a small thing like a cup of coffee or buying a small decorative or handicraft item from a local market is becoming a hassle.
"I know we can pay through cards at Starbucks and other jazzy shops, but we didn't come her to experience what we already have in England. We wanted to experience the raw India and plastic money is not the way to that," she rued.
"Last time, I had come to Goa, and we had such a fabulous experience. We came this year to experience India, but this India has changed a lot," she said.
Besides, accessing short-distance transport services, foreign tourists are also finding it hard to visit monuments, or withdraw money from the ATMs with the long queues becoming a major deterrent for them.
Brazilian Octavio Franco who is travelling to India with his mother, says, "The 'cambistas' (money exchangers) are out of cash and queues at ATMs are very long. In our country, it is very easy to withdraw money but after this demonetisation move, it has caused a lot of problem for us."
"We were in Agra recently, and we could not get proper currency to pay for the ticket fee for seeing Taj Mahal. So, after trying in vain with regular routes, we got our foreign notes exchanged through touts in the streets, suffering a bit of financial loss," Franco said.
Several foreigners said though it was causing a lot of inconvenience to them, so many Indians, especially the poor citizens were suffering as well.
"We see people everyday braving long queue at ATMs for hours and we are reading about the situation in banks, hospitals and railway stations," said Gwen Clark from London.
She was visiting with her son John this afternoon to see the Rashtrapati Bhawan but had to be content seeing it from a distance at Raisina Hill as she was caught in the middle of a political protest march against the demonetisation move.
Built as the Viceroy House, the Raj-era landmark attracts both domestic and foreign tourists in large numbers and is one of the most photographed heritage buildings in the city.
Aziz Karim, an economist from Uzbekistan who had come to Delhi to attend a workshop, was left to fend for himself, as he ran from one currency exchanger to another to get his notes converted into viable domestic currency.
"I came to India a few day ago for a workshop. Now, I am left with foreign currency and unacceptable Indian currency, it is getting very difficult to manage," he said.
Even at airports, foreigners are finding it hard to get the currency converted to valid Indian rupees with many of them left stranded there.
Several Afghan nationals who come to India seeking medical treatment are facing the heat of the cash crisis too.
The Afghan Embassy has said it is trying to facilitate Afghan nationals to deal with problems arising out of the demonetisation.
However, many foreign tourists praised their guides for helping them out and cooperating in the hour of crisis.
"I came along with my girlfriend to India for the first time. It is getting very difficult but I am glad our guide is helping us cope with it," said Joe, who hails from London.
A French couple, who came to India via Bhutan, also praised their guide, for helping them come to terms with the crisis.
As per government guidelines, old defunct Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes are to be accepted as ticket fee for entry to ASI monuments till November 24.
For 32 World Heritage Monuments, the ticket price for foreign nationals is Rs 500, while for other sites, the entry fee for them is Rs 200.
For Taj Mahal, however, at present, a foreigner pays Rs 1,000 as entry fee with ASI and ADA (Agra Development Authority) bagging Rs 500 each.
