Re: Travel Hazards and Issues India Nepal Bhutan

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It’s not just financial hassle either.

Never have I been so aggressively leered and stared at while walking down the street. My experience as a female traveller in India was worse on the whole than other negative experiences in Egypt and Morocco as it was just so frequent. The clicking, hissing and staring were ongoing, pretty much everywhere we went. I was groped twice, just walking down the street – in broad daylight.

— And just to clarify (not that it should matter), I didn’t wear anything remotely revealing the entire time we were there. Trousers, jumpsuits, long skirts, arm covering t Shirts and scarves – the whole time. I even moved a ring onto my wedding ring finger based on advice I’d read before visiting. —

Sadly because we were left with so much distrust and suspicion we resorted to carrying our valuables on us at all times. India is the only place I’ve worn a money belt every day – containing our passports, other documents and some spare cash. It’s the only place Rob’s carried a backpack with the laptop and kindles on him every day.

I guess the only good thing on this topic is that we didn’t feel we were at much risk of street crime and theft. The chances were probably as high as in any other country but we felt pretty safe walking around with our stuff on us. Safer than leaving it in the hotel anyway!

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Caleb H
6th December 2017 at 4:56 am
Hi Sarah, I recently discovered your posts through gapyear.com, and really appreciate your approach. This post in particular validates your “not another travel blog” mantra. I spent six months in India in 2009 as part of a long-term project, and I was essentially counting the days for the last five months. Everything you wrote is spot-on, and if anything a bit understated and too apologetic. That’s completely understandable, however, as one of the most incredible things for me about “incredible India” is the persistent perception by the rest of the world that it is some sort of transcendental and experiential mecca for soul-seekers and adventurers, full of vibrant colors, smells, and sounds. In fact it’s so squashed full of all that and more that it all sloshes into an endless barrage of mud and shit, often quite literally. But the extraordinary marketing of the country is so successful that this reality is almost impossible for people to believe unless they see it themselves (and sometimes not even then!), and the reaction to honest descriptions like yours can be dismissive or worse.

So like Kristine above I applaud your honesty, because people need to know and be as prepared as possible. Like you I don’t tell people they absolutely shouldn’t go to India, but it is the only place I’ve been (from nearly 40 countries around the world) where I categorically tell women not to travel alone (or even be on the streets alone for a moment), and where I STRONGLY recommend people book a tour through a reputable agency before arrival that arranges hotels, a private car, and a guide.

The country has so much to offer, but I found that the multiple dark clouds so obscured the silver lining as to render it almost irrelevant. I hope more people will be as honest as you, not to shut down tourism to the country but to give people the right expectations and preparation, and to put some pressure on the government to start earning their tourism rather than be content with a “if we built it centuries ago, they will come” mentality. Keep up the good work!