India is a great country to visit. The sights and the sounds and the smells are like nothing we experience in Australia. It’s a completely different world; culturally and physically.
In fact, when people ask me how I enjoyed India and if I’d recommend it, I’d give them a few options. I’d say the history is immense and so interesting. The food is incredible. The architecture and buildings some of the grandest in the world.
But it’s busy. And noisy. At times dirty. And being a white guy in shorts, you stand out like a sore thumb.
It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but in a place as different as India you roll with it. Net-net I had a great time in India and would definitely go back. But I know that after telling some people the above, they told me how unappealing this sounded (hi Mum). So it all depends on your attitude and expectations as to whether you’ll enjoy India or not.
So, with that introduction, here are the 9 things that I think everyone should know before visiting India, because it is not for everyone.
India is very noisy
I mentioned this above. There are well over 1 billion people in India. You may not realise this but that is a shit ton of people.
In any setting, when there are a lot of people in one place, it gets noisy. And when those people are all trying to drive somewhere at the same time, honking their horns, it gets noisier still.
This is the reality of India, even in smaller cities. The roads are busy, congested and slow.
India can be chaotic
This will surprise no one. With over a billion people and roads that haven’t been updated in decades, it can take a long time to get anywhere. Throw some farm animals and bicycle rickshaws into the mix and its a recipe for little movement and a lot of car horns (see previous point). Most daytime drives through Delhi were pretty clogged but the most chaotic I saw it was through the streets of Chandni Chowk markets, where cars, pedestrians, rickshaws and the occasional ox jostle to get through the narrow streets every day.
India is not as clean as home
I don’t get it, but Indians love throwing trash on the ground and don’t mind a bit of rubble as well. Look out the window for a few minutes in any city and there’s a good chance you’ll see some rubble. And maybe a pile of garbage.
It’s worse in the poorer parts of town, which may not be a surprise. My guide told me there is a simple reason for this and it is just that many poor people are not educated that trash goes in the bin. It’s somehow acceptable to just leave it where you finish with it.
Contrast this with Japan, the cleanest country I have ever been to. It is world’s apart.
The food is incredible
There is a saying in India: “I can’t please everyone, I’m not butter chicken”.
This is because butter chicken is the best. You think it’s a cliche to order butter chicken at your local Indian takeaway joint? Wrong. That is typical Indian behaviour.
There are of course other delicacies. Murg labbabdar was a favourite I brought home and now cook semi-regularly. It’s a similar curry dish to butter chicken and differs in ways I cannot totally describe.
I loved dosa too, which is like a large, thin crepe with a curry-style potato filling, rolled once and served with a collection of chilli sauces. This often served at hotels for breakfast like we would expect omelettes.
You might run into monkeys
Monkeys are common in India. In fact, in some places, they are worshipped. But it’s not like the country is overrun with monkeys and you can escape them. I happened to come across a couple while atop the markets in Chandni Chowk. I also visited a temple where it seemed like monkeys pretty much run the place. But it certainly wasn’t a day to day occurrence of seeing monkeys in the street.
India’s history is remarkable
If you didn’t pay attention in history class you’ll have probably never heard of the Mughals. But visit the big monuments and you won’t be able to stop learning about their fascinating impact on Northern India from the time they invaded India from Afghanistan and the north.
It was the Mughals who built most of India’s monuments, they brought a lot of wealth, and a lot of their culture is now what we would recognise as Indian culture.
The monuments are next level
Alright this is pretty standard blog-writing stuff right here but it would be remiss of me not to include it.
So we’ve got the Taj Mahal. Need I go on?
I don’t need to, but I will, to prove a point.
The main gate at the Taj and the two mosques that flank it all would be impressive monuments deserving of their own tourism if they were built as standalone structures. But because they are part of the Taj Mahal complex, arguably one of the world’s most impressive and beautiful buildings, they merit merely an afterthought by everyone that visits.
This is utterly mind-boggling.
Then you have ancient structures like the Qutb Minar Complex as well as Hamayan’s Tomb, the precursor to the Taj Mahal. And of course the Red Forts in Delhi and Agra are both worthy of a day’s exploring as well.
The people love to have a chat…
…even if it is to ask why westerners don’t like stopping to browse. This happened to me Jaipur and I had about a 15 minute conversation with the guy explaining that it is physically impossible for me to stop every time a store owner asked me to.
But people are just intrigued. I actually wish I had longer there just so I could talk to more locals.
Don’t be afraid to hire a guide
This is a big one. Some places are easy to explore, but some parts of India are not. I could have taken myself on a self-guided tour of Delhi, for example, and I would have had a fine time immersing myself in the local culture, but with a local guide I was taken to places I couldn’t have found even if I had directions. One such place was on top of a 3 story building, through a series of dark stairwells, in Chandni Chowk looking down over a mosque. My entire tour (including local guides) was through a company called Delhi Magic and I wholeheartedly recommend them.
Looking after your health starts before you board the plane
Get your shots and take malaria tablets, even if they mess with your insides. I had to have 3 shots a few weeks before I went to India, which is fine, it’s good stay up to date with immunisations anyway. But there is no shot for malaria, so you have to take tablets once over there.
Malaria is the real deal but the tablets are no picnic either. There are cheap tablets and expensive tablets. The cheap ones you have to take daily and for a month after leaving the country. The expensive ones it is only a week after leaving. I opted for the expensive ones because I thought a week sounded much more doable. But know that these things mess with you. It won’t stop you doing any activities, but it might take away some of your appetite (not what you want in India), or might make you feel a little ill.
I’m still glad I took them even though they didn’t sit well because I didn’t want to risk getting what can be an awful disease.
You’ll see random stuff on the side of the road
We’ve covered rubbish and rubble above, but always keep an eye out of your car window. One day I driving into Delhi I saw a guy welding. In Agra I saw someone just hurling gas bottles. And it wouldn’t be drive through Delhi with seeing a buffalo hauling a large load on a busy main road near the Red Fort.
You can’t make up some of the stuff you see so I’m not going to try. Just keep your eyes peeled and your camera handy because although some may not be appealing, some might be pretty funny.
It’s cheap
Probably not blowing any minds here but India is a cheap place to visit. A nice meal can be had for under AUD$10 and a cheap meal could be well under under $5.
And hotels are no exception. You can stay in some very nice hotels (Crowne Plaza, Radisson Blu, Hyatt for examples) for not much more than AUD$100 per night. Even the Westin looks to be only about $300/night. If you’re on a moderate – but not tiny – budget, this could be an opportunity to upgrade your stay from what you normally might stayin for a similar price.
Don’t believe me? Check some prices for New Delhi here, Jaipur here, and Agra here.
Final Thoughts
India is an incredible and surprisingly diverse place. From the delicious butter chicken and dosa I ate to the insane historical buildings I photographed — it was a once in a lifetime trip. But there is a seedy side to India so it’s important to go with an open mind. Don’t expect it to be polished, just expect to experience something different.
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