Ha!! I knew when I read "hapless tourist" (yes, every single traveler who decides for the convenience of a tour is stupid, moronic, idiotic, and forced to SHOP!! and to SPEND TOO MUCH! because they are STUPID!)
that "chicken entrails" couldn't be far behind (really, someone is overly fond of that phrase, and thinks it veddy veddy clever). You wonder that some people choose to spend so much time in a country that is so very full of venial liars, thieves, and mountebanks, each and every one it seems bent on separating "hapless" stumbling tourists from their money.

(I'm figuring this lasts no more than an hour before Peter gets it removed, because it isn't in lockstep.)

READ opinions from ALL the sources you can, and if you decide an organized tour is for you (and perhaps your spouse actually likes the included shopping trips, and would rather pay $20 for a $5 silk wrap to avoid a shouting match with a vendor in a language they don't understand, or that you both like a bus ride vs. a hotel-called private taxi), go ahead and do it.

I don't see that anyone's been called a liar here. (Stupid, hapless, chicken-entrail-reading moron, maybe...)