r/travel • u/kobeburner • 2d ago
Images First and Maybe Last Visit to India?
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.
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u/theshubhagrwl 2d ago
Indian here. I am sad to say that I can’t deny what you have mentioned here. People here behave very differently when they see some foreign people, i never understood why. It’s not that I have seen others do so, but even some of my closed friends did the same and it actually made me so uncomfortable seeing them, can’t even imagine what the foreign guy must have felt.
Apart from that if you manage to find the right company and skip overcrowded place then the exp will be good. On my last trek I met a guy who was from London and he was travelling solo in india for past 15 days and his experience was wonderful. Ofc I didn’t stare him to make him uncomfortable lol