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/Annual-Market2160]

Do you ever wonder if we should be in certain areas if this is what you must do to be comfortable? Do the people even want us there?

[u/ALasagnaForOne → u/Annual-Market2160]

In my experience of India (went twice after college, both for 2.5 months) so many Indian people are incredibly warm, kind, and excited to meet foreigners. We had so many people invite us to tea and mean it sincerely, not a scam, just excited to practice English and learn about each other.

Of course things like staring or touching are cultural differences. I tried to keep my space but sometimes a dude just starts giving you an arm massage on the street.

In my experience, the garbage thing is horrible. But I see people talk about it like they’re choosing to litter over using available trash services. That is not something accessible throughout most of the country. Imagine if you grew up somewhere with no sanitation service. Also wealthy countries literally pay to ship mass quantities of trash to places like India so it feels very hypocritical to criticize it for being polluted.

[u/ani_svnit → u/Annual-Market2160]

‘Comfortable’ is relative. As a tourist, you are visiting for a few days max - what level of comfort do you think those locals, especially of a lower socio economic strata, are used to on a day to day basis?  Seeing people who dont look like them is the novelty and hence the asks for pictures. The scamming is true in almost all tourism hotspots

The average local does definitely want you visiting but has an unfortunate expression of the same. They know a dollar for you isn’t consequential but goes a long way for them and hence the singling out. I like the comment posters no nonsense attitude - definitely works well

[u/gilliefeather → u/ani_svnit]

Agree with everything you said. I remember visiting India ~40 years ago as a 23 year old white female back packer and feeling completely overwhelmed by the nonstop gazes and attempts to engage and/or touch or pickpocket, etc. It was exhausting. I was with a boyfriend and it didn’t make any difference that I could see.

I went back as a side trip ~30 years ago because I was in Nepal and had missed seeing the Taj Mahal. It was worth it. But again non stop hypervigilance and navigating being a fascinating object of attention, especially because I was alone.

I remember a seasoned traveller’s comment about travelling in places where the distance between the top and the bottom of society is so vast: we are incomprehensibly wealthy to the majority of the people whose path we will cross. If we leave with only a passport and airline ticket, that’s still true. It made me more realistic about danger and less put off by the attention.

[u/Conscious_Dig8201 → u/Annual-Market2160]

While I've done plenty of tourism, I primarily go now for work and to visit specific people. Whether or not any other people want me there is besides the point for me.

Although there's not really any hostility on the street. It's more just constantly being treated like a novelty and/or a mark.

Different for women, of course. Both Western and Indian women get a very different kind of attention...