oh wow.. that sounds pretty full on!! ouch!! yeah its no fun living like that... sounds like its worth going around with a local, at least until you learnt the ropes!!

I have to say , Portugal was pretty terrible for me.. whats most shocking is that is was the big companies who seemed to enjoy ripping me off left right and center.. and even the government were professional scammers! The last straw for me was receiving a 600 euro fine for not paying a highway toll of 32 euro... The kicker is that i didnt even own the car when it happened, it had nothing to do with me.. but since i never received the letter about it they just kept raising the price.. i tried in vein for MONTHS to resolve it showing them multiple times i did not even own the car.. but they didnt care.. horrible experience! so glad to be out of that...

fortunately taxis in India are now metered and they are required to use em! I just keep an eye on my google maps to make sure were not taking the scenic route.. so far so good!