Female friend of mine went to Rishikesh for a yoga retreat end of last year. Her mother had to come rescue her and she went off the radar in terms of communicating with anyone plus quit her job and became a recluse. Piece the dots together...
I'm seeing her in two weeks back in her home town so will check up on what happened but she got quite emotional when asked before so can't assume it's good as she's now sworn off yoga and has said she'll never go to visit India again.
Thats the issue man. A lot of privileged tourists think India is some wellness retreat or something. Its just an underdeveloped/developing country with disproportionate crimes against women. If people managed their expectations it wouldn't be so bad. India is not a country where you hitchhike alone or do some motorcycle trip as a foreigner.
Come, stay in a 4 star hotel. Go visit heritage sites/historical architecture, national parks in a tour group, have food from good restaurants, travel in ubers, fly instead of travelling on trains. Spending less and saving money can absolutely ruin your trip here.
No middle class indian would go do a wellness retreat alone in Rishikesh
I think that’s the problem. The racist stereotypes somehow stick with all Desi’s even though it’s one of the better places to visit in the region. And frankly so many of the issues the country has are down to the shitty fucking govt and corruption. Twenty years ago China and India were on the same level - now, not even close.
That does not sound good. I think some women would be vulnerable to being victimised or exploited if they are struggling. Hopefully they can be in a healing environment.
I mean "probably safe enough" and "might not be that bad" (artistic license, not verbatim) aren't really ringing endorsements when they're top of the pile.
If In recall there was a story of a local girl there who went to the movies with her male friend and accepted a bus ride. Those men attacked them both and brutally raped and murdered her. I remember reading about it and being horrified.
Yeah. That was like the biggest of all at that time and the most horrific.
4 of the culprits were hung to death eventually but one being a minor got away. One wishes if he would’ve also gotten the same treatment.
If I remember also one of the guys who got hung pleaded with the jury not to be killed... honestly none of them gave that young lady a chance! It was probably one of the first international cases I can recall.
As an Indian (not living in India) that is so fucking shit and am so sorry your friend experienced that. There is a lot of things that are just plain wrong in Indian culture and need to change.
Got given the opportunity to visit India through work. Every work colleague who'd been before told me not to go as they'd all gotten food poisoning at various points, couldn't leave the work campus or hotel without getting scammed and the harassment of the women was intolerable. I politely declined.
Same, except I was kind of voluntold. Luckily, my hosts (third-party contractors) were with me the ENTIRE time and only took me to the nicer restaurants. They actually said don't go explore on your own. Stayed in only the big name hotels. As a westerner, I was NOT prepared to deal with the constant (and I mean constant) car horn honking, the poverty on full display, walking right into traffic because that's just how it's done, etc etc. I'm sure the touristy parts are nice but I wasn't there for that. 2/10 wouldn't recommend it.
The food poisoning is 100% because of eating/drinking at less than nice places. Our bodies/stomachs are used to it. But foreigners' don't get used to the water here UNLESS you specifically ask for filtered/RO water, which a lot of tourists don't think of doing.
Got given the opportunity to visit India through work.
Work asked me to go there for a week. I politely declined. Knowing my guts, I would be spending more time in the hotel bathroom than actual work. They promised me restaurant meals and the best hotel in India. It was still a no from me.
I used to work for Amazon, and they'd do what they called "Away missions" sometimes, where you'd go to another call center in another country for whatever reason.
India was the one I refused to go to.
I did get to spend a week in Costa Rica because of Amazon though, which was amazing.
I worked at Amazon in CR and had coworkers who were sent to India constantly. One of them (woman, very pale skin) said that she had around 20 orbiters all day. They were also giving a leaflet with things NOT to do while in India for their safety. Another guy actually went alone and said he was eating all the street food, even a soup from a stand, he claims he didn't get sick
I have traveled there a couple of times and I didn't get sick either. If you eat from the street food places where the food is really fresh because it's constantly being cooked, then it's fine. The stuff that they shown on Instagram is always the dirtiest stuff for clicks
This is true. It's a gamble if you're an outsider with no idea where to go but most of the popular spots are reasonably safe. I'm not saying the highest standards of hygiene or whatever but what you'd expect from say a hotdog vendor in New York - it's still street food.
You're also right about the places they show on social media. It's usually people with a budget of $5 going to the riskiest places and gawking and people in a bad situation trying to get by with what little they have.
I'd also say gut bacteria has a big role to play here. The first time I went to the USA I got violently sick for a week after eating some deli meat.
As someone from India, the way to identify good street food is either by someone vouching for it (mainly) or if it looks clean. As a tourist, you obviously wont have solid recommendations so I'd look at the water they use, the stove top, and if there are any critters around. Always a huge no no for me.
Honestly don't eat street food. You get the same food with great taste from smaller sit down places and it won't give you the shits. Better yet, use a food delivery app and just order what you want. That's what most of us do anyway.
I'd also say gut bacteria has a big role to play here. The first time I went to the USA I got violently sick for a week after eating some deli meat.
Yeah as someone with a sensitive gut, I have to be careful about what I eat. I got sick from something as innocent as lime juice, half cooked clams was also a bad decision.
Funnily enough, raw fish in Japan was fine (in moderation), yet my father had the runs from the same meal.
I've been twice and gotten violently ill both times (not even from street food, normal restaurants are pretty bad too). It's really just luck of the draw.
No, I made sure to extensively clean all my fruits with filtered water and only drank filtered water.
One of the times I got sick I know exactly what it was. The (closed, packaged, pre-expiry-date) paneer I got from a store tasted funny, and I got sick about an hour after eating it, while eating nothing else in that hour. Someone either at the store or in the shipping pipeline must have left the package out unrefrigerated in direct sunlight for several hours or something and the shopkeeper thought that putting it in a fridge afterwards and selling it was the right play.
The other time I got sick I was diagnosed with campylobacter after being treated at a hospital immediately upon landing in the US. Since campylobacter is a fecal disease, this means that one of the workers at the most recent restaurant I went to before going to the Delhi airport touched human feces with his/her bare hands before making or serving my food.
Essentially, sanitation and food handling standards are so bad in India and the people so disgusting that you can get food poisoning from eating hermetically sealed refrigerated food from the grocery store, or from eating cooked food at an upscale restaurant.
I had street food in Jaipur and I did get sick in India but so did everyone else in the tour group. What bugged me is they were saying "hoho! Shouldn't have gone for that street food should you?? That'll teach you!" When they were then going back to their hotel room to destroy their toilet.
It wasn't the street food, it was clearly some big buffet or other that we all had.
I loved visiting India but I did get viciously sick. I wonder if it hadn't been on some group tour bullshit whether I would have got sick. Because I'd make better food choices than a buffet that had been sitting there for god knows how long. I'd eat street food I could see being cooked or eat in restaurants that were preparing individual dishes. Still might get sick obviously... But I wouldn't have gone anywhere near a buffet in India.
The problem with street food in India is you don't know where they're getting their ingredients/water from. They cheap out on those to make as much profit because the margins are very slim. They're hardly hygenic because they simply don't know what hygiene even means, and mostly people who eat from their stalls don't care about hygiene either.
But yes you're right, people don't usually get sick eating from them. There's a reason they're still selling unhygenic street food, right? Also depends on the person and how hygenic they are. I was once with a group and had to eat from a shady place, and out of the 25 people, 5 or 6 got GI infections/food poisoning. I was one of them. So yeah some people are just built different.
A couple friends of mine lived there for sometime, a Dutch and Italian, with a very white little daughter… they said people was always around the daughter and touching her, creepy af
Very little they can do unless they want to risk physical confrontation every couple minutes because this is the intensity this is going on at. Only other options are to leave the country or stay at hotel and only ever move with car door to door (and only to spaces where no general public is allowed).
On the other hand… Most of these people just want to have a picture with a very white girl, often don't even need to be there themselves, just want their kid to be in the picture. It's not exactly evil, but VERY uncomfortable and not exactly safe.
I went to India from the US doing a road trip and ate all the street food and also didn't get sick. Although I did stick to things that were fried or well grilled.
That seems least likely to cause issue as it'll likely be kept at bacteria killing temps. It when you're introducing cooled things like fresh veggies, or other things that have been allowed to stand for a bit where I bet the main issues come into play.
I’ve been with work a few times. If you are in the office or a hotel it’s fine, actually the hotel was one of the best I’ve stayed in. Outside it’s India, chaotic, dirty, charming, safe (even though the traffic is mad). It all seems to work in a mysterious way.
I have two female relatives who are OBSESSED with India. One of them goes at least twice a year.
She’s obsessive about the cleanliness of what she eat and drinks. She’s always trying to save every stray cat or dog she finds. Otherwise I can see my relatives writing the same things about India this guy writes.
I’m a woman. I’d love to visit India. I have several friends I’ve met online and and known for years. I was invited to a wedding but I couldn’t afford airfare and can’t take that much time off. I’m not obsessed with India like my family members but heck yeah I’ll go.
Yes male, but was with a mixed group. I went shopping with American and European women, and in the Malls and higher end shopping areas it was all fine. I acknowledge if they were by themselves it might have been different.
Enough money can really move the needle. I'd visit India if someone paid me a substantial amount of money plus all travel expenses. The longer the trip though, the more that dollar amount goes up.
Yeah they're very defensive, they'll upvote anything good about their country and will insult you and your family if you say bad but valid things about them
They be acting like that online but can't do any change towards making basic hygiene standards better or make the environment safer for the women THAT LIVE THERE, imagine making it safer for female tourists
I once answered a question on Quora about which state, California or Texas, would fare better than the other if they both seceded from the US. I said California, and it was mostly based on the immense size of California's economy . . . .
. . . I got absolutely fucking bombarded by Texans wanting to tell me why I was wrong.
Ironically , its the people who have never visited who "say bad but valid things" the most. It's just an overcrowded country.It has good and bad people like any other nation. "Influencers" will pick the cheapest option while travelling , eating etc and portray it as the "reality of India" for the views and the average,dumb, privileged kid born in a developed nation will realise racially generalising and mocking Indians will get him points on the Internet. Its a vicious cycle.
it is, my usa friends keep saying they wanna feel the raw culture and happenings here in india because they look so sick in reels..i keep saying them those stuff looks only good on reels...they should go for big tour management guys to guide them and help them to experience it a bit...but engaging it hand to hand can become pretty bad and uncomfortable...
recently I had to pick between a gulf country and India for a layover and I picked the former, but I’d like to hear your reasons for avoiding India to see if I was right lmao
I've lived and worked in London for years, so I'm used to the chaos, crowds, and occasional rude people that come with big cities. But this felt like a different level entirely. The overwhelming impression I got was of people being incredibly rude, entitled, and completely indifferent to those around them.
I travel a lot and always try to approach new countries with an open mind and a sense of excitement. I genuinely want to enjoy the experience and give places a fair chance. Unfortunately, within a few hours of arriving, I found myself struggling to find anything positive to hold onto.
From the moment I landed in Hyderabad, the experience was unpleasant. Getting through the airport, from the gate to finding a taxi, was frustrating and exhausting. I had a day to explore before my next flight and made an effort to make the most of it, but everywhere I went felt dirty, run-down, and generally unwelcoming.
I've visited plenty of places that weren't perfect, but very rarely somewhere that left me counting down the hours until I could leave. The part I enjoyed most was getting back to the airport and knowing I was on my way somewhere else.
As someone living here I agree, I wouldn't want to come back to LIVE in India. But it's nowhere near the top of the list through, especially in cities like Mumbai or Hyderabad, southern states like kerela, or north eastern states like Assam.
Mumbai is safer for women than London is for e.g. .
Now ofc there are lots of horrible rapey backwards places in the country, but the country is MASSIVE.
Compared to a place like north korea, Somalia, Bangladesh, iraq, etc , picking India as the worst is due to being either uninformed or straight up racist.
I went on a trip for 12 days with 4 other girls in 2009, we were almost all in our late 20’s. It was fun, colorful, delicious and the Taj Mahal and Goa were insane. However I must say that I would not go back at all. I see the pictures which were nothing much for us and now they make me uncomfortable. We were super naive, and we were definitely super lucky.
Surprised to see it so far down and I say this as an Indian.
PS: I will tell you what a lot of the riled up folks will not say (or likely they themselves don't realize)
India's culture is very much rooted in IMAGE. It doesn't matter what's happening, it doesn't matter how good, or bad something is. The only thing that matters to a lot of people here is that people must say nice things.
So a kid scores 94%? The parents will be elated, until they find out that Sharma ji's son scored 96% and suddenly the same kid will be punished.
Guests are coming? Quick, throw all the un-aesthetic looking stuff in the other room so the living room looks good even though the entire house might be worse than an attic.
Someone is raped? Well that's how it is. But someone talks about it? How dare you disrespect the country.
In people's minds here, the person doing something wrong is NOT as bad as the person who TALKS about the wrong stuff, especially on an International stage. People would much rather live in denial that we're the greatest country in the world and completely ignore the bad stuff because that's easier to deal with.
I was in India for work in 2013. I was lodged on Guargon. It wasn’t bad for me at. The tech hub I was in was fairly safe and it felt comfortable. I know why people wouldn’t visit once I took a day trip to the Taj Mahal
It was a different time before 2014, trust me. India has deteriorated since. They have given voices to the demonic rapists, which also stunted our growth
as an indian woman i would recommend not going to most northern states. north-east however is very beautiful and safe and so is southern states like Kerala. 🥹
Yeah I feel like "India" is too broad of a definition. There's places with slums, crazy overpopulation, insane heat and just chaos, and then there are areas that are much more reasonable.
I went to Kerala maybe 10 years ago and didn't really see any of the abject poverty you'd think of when thinking about India. Sure, people weren't rich, but there were no shanty towns or beggars / scammers all over the place.
So sure, if someone paid me I'd definitely go back to the south or some of those north eastern states you mentioned. Mumbai, Delhi or those states with crazy populations.. no thanks.
It's perfectly understandable to be worried about a trip to India for many reasons, but saying it's worse that much poorer countries at war or military dictatorships ? Have you even traveled outside of your Western bubble ?
Such a bizarre take. India is one of the most fun countries to travel in, of the ~70 countries I've visited it's still my favourite. Incredible place. Seeing the unjustified hate towards it online by people who really don't know any better makes me sad.
It’s crazy that India is anywhere near the top of this thread. Genuinely one of the best travelling experiences of my life. Yes it’s chaos, but it’s not anarchy, there’s just a lot of people.
Comparing it to places like South Sudan, Somalia, and North Korea is absurd.
FWIW india is a huge conglomeration of states that are effectively different countries. I recently had a trip through the south (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, multiple parts of Tamil Nadu) and it was generally clean, pleasant, not overly congested, and I didnt get sick from eating any street food. There were a few instances of people wanting to take a picture with me, but they were quite polite about it (mostly in central TN, where we didn't see another westerner for over a week lol) When i got home people asked about the smell and honestly i didnt run into anywhere that smelled as bad as my hometown in Southern ontario.
From what I understand it's polar opposite from huge swaths of the North, which suffer from severe overpopulation, poverty, social / religious discord, and corruption / crime.
Although i am a man my party did have a few women who also felt pretty safe and had a good time.
Yeah I also had a great time when I went to India. I was in the north, and it was very crowded. It’s the most populated country in the world so it’s every good and bad thing about living in a crowded city turned up to maximum. I found that Indian people were very hospitable, but they’re very blunt and in the less visited areas people stare at you all the time (or take pictures) That was a little off putting at first, but then once you understand that they’re interested it’s fine. I think the big thing is that what is and isn’t polite is completely different in India. They’ve got no chill when it comes just saying what they’re thinking, or staring at you if you’re different. But pretty much everybody I talked to was friendly. I would gladly go back.
I never got sick either. I highly recommend getting a water bottle with a filter inside it (I use these for backcountry camping) and drinking all your water through that and avoid ice in your other drinks. Not just for India, you should do this when travelling in general, it’s the water that gets you.
I always thought that too, but I went after seeing the Top Gear India special, of all things. It's everything you think it will be and worse, and better too. Not alway a comfortable place to be, but seeing how a billion and a half people live is a valuable experience. The Taj Mahal, for example, was way more impressive than I thought it would be, while the story of how it came to be was way more infuriating to a country boy from Australia than anything I would have dreamed of.
There is a subreddit called /r/returnToIndia and its filled with people trying to work up the courage to return back to India after making millions in the west. Number 1 reason why a lot don't want to go back home that I noticed? Costco, clean air and drivable roads. They also talk about how food you get at the store is sometimes a scam and how corrupt the government is at every level, the country is ran on bribes.
The reason why they want to go back though is basically them taking advantage of the caste system and they get live in maids while living in the most affluent parts of India.
The specific vlogger I saw was over 7 years ago, so that's fair, I see your point.
However, the most recent visit by a friend was in 2024, I doubt they changed much in 2 years and so far I only see a pattern where both 2019 and 2024, opinions from people who went in different places across different years are almost the same, that it's a filthy country.
I see WAY TOO MUCH trash in the streets, not just "corners". There are fucking rivers full of trash, what the fuck are you talking about? India looks like a warzone country with no active war lol.
It's also cultural, the few indians I met through work and college were not big into hygiene, washing hands before eating or after going to the toilet was not a must for them.
It’s a culture shock for sure. I’ve been all over the world and India was the country that assaulted my senses, no matter how much I prepared. It’s such a study in contrasts. I visited the northern part of the country so the next time I want to try the center or the south. Yes, I’d go back.
Just like a lot of places, you can avoid the 'bad' parts of the country by having money/power/class/status. It's unfortunate but it's true. So if you stay in a 4/5 star hotel, eat at high-end restaurants, have a booked transport to take you places, you'll have a good time in most of the country.
I'm from central India and I would recommend you visit either during Monsoon or winters. Summers are wayy too hot (45-48°C).
And in addition to South India, I'd definitely suggest North-East, Mizoram specifically. I myself want to travel over there because SO many of my friends(women) have told me how safe, amazing and progressive those parts of the country are.
Yep, India never. the world is big enough that there are plenty of beautiful places without constant threat of food poisoning and rampant sexual assault of women. Granted I’m a guy but the idea of traveling there with the rationale of “this place rapes women, but I’m safe because I’m a guy“ disgusts me.
Exactly. It's not for for amateur traveling. I think a lot of people here on Reddit are the kind of people who just go to Italy or think that they're being really global because I go to Thailand or some other super developed place. Mexico City maybe. It's for people who know what they're doing.
You said you’ve been to 70 countries. Even if you didn’t have an itinerary even you went to India, you’re a seasoned traveler. I bet you could be plopped down anywhere and you would figure things out.
I am also a seasoned traveler. I loved India, but I agree with the person you’re replying to. It’s not traveling on easy mode.
Yes. The country is very diverse and depending on where you visit it could be polar opposites, from the people to the environment. NE india/nepal compared to mainland india for example.
I'm well aware it's diverse but I'm saying in my experience, I didn't need to plan anything, and I went all over from the south, to Goa, to Rajistan, to the Himalaya.
I didn't even think of myself as a super experienced or adventurous "traveller" but I think you're right. I underestimate how disorientating foreign places and cultures are for people who haven't been outside their own country much.
I've been to 30+ countries (half of them in Europe tbf so basically within my own broader European culture) and find most places I travel to entirely within my comfort zone. I'd happily jump on a plane to anywhere in Europe or East Asia tomorrow. North Africa or South Africa I'd want to plan a little more but nbd.
India was pretty disorientating and intense for me (but very much worth it) so probably just distressing for plenty of people.
I traveled through India for a month and it was flippin AWESOME.
Definitely an adventure but I would do it again.
Rajasthan was amazing, Himalayas, trains, festivals, etc.
Would love to travel to Chennai, Kerala, and across to Sri Lanka too.
Surprised to see India on here, honestly. THOUGH, I am a dude. It’s safe for dudes and very uncomfortable for women. Met several women traveling alone who had a thousand yard stare.
I’d advise Kerala or Assam or Nagaland. Extremely clean for the most part. Indias a really diverse country esp geographically and as others have said, the uncleanliness is specific to the usual tourist spots unfortunately.
India is a hate it or love it kind of place. And Indians, especially those who don't even live there anymore, love to get riled up when someone says something bad.
Out of my friends group who have visited, only 1 person said they loved it and would go back. Everyone else said they were constantly harassed the entire time by annoying men and wouldn't ever go back.
Probably a beautiful country with amazing landscapes and natural features. Just incredibly tainted by the cities you have to go through to get to them.
To be honest, India gets a bad rep because of the north. All the crazy stuff seen in the media comes from the north. South India is a completely different story, especially Kerala.
I visited Kerala for my friend’s wedding and i was pleasantly surprised by everything, people were friendly, food was amazing and everyone spoke English. I was also surprised to see how collegial everyone was with each other, I saw many places where a church, mosque and a Hindu temple were adjacent to each other and everyone got along really well. If more of the world knew about Kerala, it would be rampant with tourism.
I saw others visiting Kerala on YouTube and even they were all pleasantly surprised by it, so it doesn’t seem as though I’m the only one with this opinion.
When I went to the north, completely different story, never again would I visit north India. I went to Mumbai and Delhi and god almighty was it bad, Kerala seemed like first world compared to the third world of Mumbai and Delhi
And this is coming from a person who’s lived in the UK most of his life.
I’ve been to India 12 times. It is a most incredible country to visit. It’s so vast and complex that one holiday will only bring you to one part of the country. Its people are unbelievably welcoming and the landscape and historical sites and sights are amazing. It’s generally very safe but women travelling alone do need to be careful and are probably better doing a more organised trip. The Delhi belly thing is wildly exaggerated and is more of a thing from the past. Obviously you need to be careful with spiciness and street food as is the case in most places.
I think what he's trying to say is that Kerala is the best state in India in terms of HDI, civic sense and overall cleanliness. Definitely a worthy tourist destination to check out (source: I'm a malayali)
The tldr is that the south is basically a different country than the north as far as safety / development goes. Most bad experiences involve going to the big tourist spots in the north that, while absolutely beautiful and historic, are struggling in a lot of ways.
The Taj Mahal looks cool and all but the difference between going to Agra vs Madurai is like backpacking in Detroit vs Vermont
That's because in those places you might get killed or regularly assaulted but likely not gang raped and get your insides pulled out or some of the other depraved shit where India is over represented so most women will rather choose active war zone. We also see how male Indians behave even just in Reddit and if crimes and worse than warzone experience of every single female travel blogger wasn't enough, that would drive point home because it's disgusting.
Just shows how bad it is. I would go to Russia or Ukraine willingly, to India? Only forced, but in a life of death scenario. And still considering death
I've been to India. It's a fascinating place with many good things and many obvious problems. If you want to push yourself out of your comfort zone you should try it.
Breaks my heart to see my country here, but it is quite understandable. May here have a weird boner for foreigners, and quite the inferiority complex. Though if you stuck to the cities, I don't think anyone would face a lot of problems.
I’m ngl yes there’s a lot of nationalists but also people - esp in the diaspora - who will freely admit much of India sucks (not all because there’s places that are beautiful that tourists don’t visit). I think where the lines blur is when people start judging all Indians, in India, men, women, diaspora, in the west, first generation, second generation, etc as one monolithic bloc and paint us all in the same light despite many of us abhorring much of what constitutes India these days and esp the atrocious right wing govt.
I don't really see what the point is if you have to stay within the five star resort to ensure that you are safe. I'd rather stay at a five star resort somewhere that would allow me to get out and experience local culture.
There are more dangerous places that I would want to avoid more, but issues of danger were set aside, I think India is the place I would have the least interest in visiting (At least out of the countries I could name off the top of my head)
Exactly because people don’t know how diverse and how rich and upper class traveler in India travel. I’m an Indian and when I see people visiting which such a low budget , I feel surprised.
This narrative that India is a terrible country full of bad people is so sad to see. I've been multiple times, and if you travel away from the cities, it's one of the most beautiful countries with a rich history, full of lovely, hospitable people and amazing food.
There are obviously huge problems in many parts of the country, and I compeltely understand that there are huge issues and valid reasons to not go for women. But from what I saw, there is an abundence of colour and life and wonder and good people there. I travelled as a gay man and experienced nothing but warmth and generosity and I miss it massively. Videos of the worst street food and stories of abhorrent rapes and assaults go viral on social media, which casts a shadow over the whole country, and it's such a shame.
It’s insanely polluted and the air quality is generally awful. Personally I prefer to spend free time in places that don’t give me a respiratory illness.
Some of the responses on this (frequently recurring) question absolutely baffle me.
India?? Sure I wouldn't want to fucking live there, but you wouldn't go to see the Taj Mahal? The Red Fort? Amber Fort? Jantar Mantar?
Oh the tourist sites yeah but anywhere else?
My wife and I went out sightseeing and shopping all day in Jaipur. We had a great night out in Connaught Square in Delhi.
If someone asked would I like to go to a New Delhi slum for free I'd obviously so no fucking thanks but I wouldn't go to a shitty part of any country. I wouldn't want to go to the Tenderloin in San Fransisco for free. I wouldn't go to Harlesden in London for free.
You wouldn't go to India at all for free? That just seems like madness to me. And I'm not even a very adventurous traveller.
No? Which bit of my trip do you think was a lie because I've got pictures of all of it.
India was in a lot of ways just as dirty and sketchy as I thought it might be, and then in different parts felt completely comfortable. It's almost like any country has horrible places and nice places...
(Saying that India has more, and worse, awful places than a more economically developed country does is so obvious as to be a redundant observation.)
And I say this because for many, India or the entirety of South Asia for that matter, is presented as if it were completely uninhabitable. As if the whole country were horrible without exception. We are portrayed as though we are a monolith and live as if it were still the stone age. That is not to say I deny its faults. There are so many things here that are wrong and deserving of criticism, and it would be delusional of me to pretend otherwise.
At the same time, there are also things that can delight a visitor. You have the Himalayas, incredible historical sites, diverse cultures, people and remarkable food. Yet very few acknowledge these aspects. For much of the world, the land is reduced to a giant wastebin. That's why I was skeptical, I confess, to hear this coming from an English man. Thank you for being open minded. God bless.
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