First and Maybe Last Visit to India?

[u/kobeburner]

I’ve only visited 18 countries and even though the historical buildings, architecture, and cuisine were incredible, I have little desire to return to India.

As a fairly tall Black American male I stood out among everyone. I was grabbed often, all by men, stared at for an ungodly length of time, and just generally felt overwhelmed and uncomfortable there. The staring is next level. It’s not a glance. It’s a purposeful observation that continues indefinitely. At one point a man was looking at me from a few feet away. I moved to block his view then he moved to get closer to me to continue the gawking.

The poverty is disturbing and the absurd amount of garbage is nightmare fuel for environmentalists. Locals don’t seem to care much about the cleanliness in the urban areas. Watched several people willingly throw trash into the street from apartments and train cars. Why do they do this?

On the other hand, the Taj Mahal is incredible. Easily the most fascinating part of our trip. We’ve been to 6 new world wonders, 7 if we include the Pyramids of Giza, and the TM is in my top 2 with Petra being the best.

Walking through the gate and seeing the mausoleum in the background bathing in the morning light was like stepping into a fairy tale land. We loved it so much, we returned for a second day. There are rooftop bars and restaurants too with incredible views and inexpensive food and booze.

My suggestion visiting India would be to ensure everything is private. Transportation, guides, etc. The logistics can be a pain so the peace of mind of having everything taken care of for you is worth the cost imo.

[u/BartholomewKnightIII]

On my fist day in Mumbai, I thought, what have I done?

5 Weeks later after visiting, Goa, Delhi, Jaipur and Agra, I didn't want to leave.

I know it's not for everyone, but I had a great time.

Great pics btw.

[u/kobeburner → u/BartholomewKnightIII]

Really happy you enjoyed it. Not every destination is for everyone and that’s okay.

[u/BartholomewKnightIII → u/kobeburner]

Completely agree, sorry you didn't have a great time.

What's been you favourite place you've travelled to so far?

[u/kobeburner → u/BartholomewKnightIII]

Oh man too many to list. Each country offers something different.

Jordan, Egypt, Italy off the top my head. Costa Rica, Brazil, and Guatemala are incredible as well.

Went on a Kenya safari too last year. Rekindled my love for the outdoors and camping. That was an experience I will never forget and something we would do yearly if we budgeted for it. Tanzania was great too.

[u/tomasswood → u/kobeburner]

How do you compare India to Egypt? I gave Egypt a similar review but I expect India to be on a whole nother level.

[u/kobeburner → u/tomasswood]

So our experience in Egypt was different considering we were with a guide the majority of the time. We hired a driver through our Airbnb host in which we were taken to the Giza Plateau. There, we were not harassed or spoken to at all by any of the touts as our driver was next to us the entire visit.

Next, we cruised from Aswan to Luxor on the Le Fayan. We had a guide as well so everything was taken care of for us. At the conclusion of the cruise, we were on our own and took a GoBus from Luxor to Hurghada. Purchased tickets on site in Luxor.

Nothing out of the ordinary except a shop owner who tried to short change us but we weren’t fooled. Egypt is beautiful though and I’d love to take family friends there one day to share the experience with them. There is poverty, garbage, and other unsettling sites. Cairo is chaotic too but I found where we visited to be less dirty than Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. But we were with a guide most of the time and didn’t have much of an opportunity to see much of the local life.

I posted photos of our trip on this sub from an account that I had but deleted. You can check em out in the link.

[u/SamoTheWise-mod → u/tomasswood]

I'm guessing he didn't stand out in the same way in Egypt.

[u/J_Dadvin → u/SamoTheWise-mod]

Nobody really stands out in Cairo. It has imkigrants feom most of the world and tourists feom all of the world.

[u/Direct-Country4028 → u/kobeburner]

Was Italy OK as a tall black man. I haven’t heard good things.

[u/rafiktt → u/Direct-Country4028]

Depends on where you’re staying. I’ve visited Italy a few times and as a tall black man with dreads 98% of persons did not care. Got a few stares here and there and experienced probably two moments of racial undertones. But the store owners, staffs in restaurants and just people in general are really really friendly. Obviously they ask where I’m from and usually build conversation on it.

[u/Few_Supermarket3314 → u/kobeburner]

Surprised to see Italy on the list of favs as a Black person. It’s either you loved it or had a terrible experience. Did you do Italy with a guide as well?

[u/RGV_KJ → u/kobeburner]

Did you experience racism in Italy?