Who here has been to India?

In India all seems to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

r1 You mean aside from the gang rapes, right?

R2 Where do I sign up!

Oh boy, a new India DL thread. It's been awhile

Looking forward to the horrors to follow

It probably smells.

The state of Meghalaya -- the rainiest place on earth -- is one of the world's paradises.

My Indian friend says seeing the Himalayas are the only thing worth going to the trouble of traveling to India for.

About 10 years ago, my husband was offered an overseas posting to Chennai. The company paid for him to go visit to see if it was something he would be interested in.

He came back with stories and photos of abject poverty, ramshackle infrastructure, cows on the beach (seriously, they’re sacred so no one moves them on), ex-pats with fridges full of snake anti-venom, and child beggars tapping your car window as the driver takes you to the expat conclave.

We chose to take the posting to Shanghai instead.

[quote] He came back with stories and photos of abject poverty, ramshackle infrastructure, cows on the beach (seriously, they’re sacred so no one moves them on), ex-pats with fridges full of snake anti-venom, and child beggars tapping your car window as the driver takes you to the expat conclave.

Eh, sounds like just another day in LA!

Why are cows sacred there?

The states of Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya are must-sees.

Varanasi is a spiritual out-of-body experience.

bump

R7, your friend is very wrong.

R10 is another demonstration of the utter lack of curiosity and education plaguing the world today.

R10 is everything wrong in the world.

Never, never, never. One of the very last places on earth I want to visit. My friend who visited shared that as his plane descended, the color of the air surrounding the city was a brownish-yellow color. No thank you.

Not spiritually enriching. That was a racist trope of the British: oh we're good at management and organization: you're good at spiritual things, ignoring the long philosophical traditions of Indian atheism and secular humanism. But here's the thing: most Indians believe this so they make a point of religiosity as though they had a special gift in this area. Interestingly for a subcontinent that has been settled so long, most of their "ancient" sites outside the Indus Valley date from 300 CE or later. There really is nothing to the claim that India i s the world's oldest civilization. It isn't and never was a single civilization. but a collection of very different cultures. There is much diversity to see, but less to learn from because so many political changes have left little continuity.

R17, oh god, please. How melodramatic. Is this what WASPs feel when they inch beyond their shitty Connecticut existence?

Not enough vaccinations in the world could get me to go to India. 💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉

India's violent treatment of gays in recent years is rather anomalous since even in its most Muslim days there was plenty of room for gays. It's more a function of Hindu nationalism. They really get off on being "ahead" of China in population now and thinks this gives them special powers!

India is the biggest shithole that has ever shitted a shitty-shit...(and yes, I have been there). Absolute filth. From any angle.

It saddens me to think of India's stray dog population. They're the cutest mutts in the world, and they live such chaotic lives.

Plus, with few exceptions, they're a very ugly people. They seem to hit the wall at 12.

They prefer to be called Pakistanis R23

My partner and I did a 3 week tour of (mostly) Rajastan just before covid. We LOVED it. It’s such a fascinating country, the sites are astounding (India was one of the richest countries in the world before British rule), the contrast of beauty and rubbish is so interesting, the people were lovely and food was delicious. It’s not for everyone, but I’ve travelled a lot and feel it was one of the best trips I’ve done. I definitely want to go back.

R26 I believe you went on this trip with an open mind and no pre-conceived notions! India definitely has its problems, but it is a fascinating place of many weird dichotomies. I think if you keep an open mind, you're bound to enjoy it.

I won't disagree with the air quality, it is absolute SHITE! You can actually smell the sulphur etc. as your plane approaches the air space of any of the major cities, especially New Delhi or Mumbai. But the miracle is: 1.4 billion people still manage to live there and many actually THRIVE!

I feel like I should have gone to India in my late teens or 20s. In my 40s, I don’t think I could deal.

the river during Covid

You couldn’t pay me to step foot in that shithole.

Been there, and save for some places and the more remote parts of nature, it really isn’t much. Shithole is pushing it, but sometimes that was a very apt description.

That said: I have only explored maybe 5% of the country — India is huge!! It’s a subcontinent with wildly different climates and subcultures.

lol at “many”, probably only hundred thousand.

Hell. On. Earth.

yummers

Why go to India when you can stay in New Jersey.

When the government feels it necessary to post signs telling citizens to use toilets, you know you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

India is one of those countries on my bucket list, but I have a strong feeling that one visit will be sufficient.

"Why go to India when you can stay in Florida?"

FIFY, R34.

go to india! use a toilet!

For some strange reason, I prefer to visit countries where people don’t shit in the same water in which they wash their clothes.

R39 That’s very elitist. It’s socially current to wash yourself in shit.

Never.

Even reading this thread is nauseating. The air changes to yellow brown and it smells of sulfur as you descend on the plane?

You couldn’t pay me.

And the gang rapes are so brutal that they ultimately start using metal rods, leaving women’s intestines hanging out of their bodies.

Horrific country. No thank you.

R41 That sounds horrible. As much as you want to make light of it being dirty and chaotic, the treatment of the women is awful.

What's the cost of a common male whore?

It blows my mind how they treat the Ganges

RE r44:

I went with my family as a kid. On the first day, we saw something on the sidewalk that we thought was a dead frog. It was a fetus. He was about the size of a pear. My mom and I just stood there in horror. She gently wrapped him in a napkin and asked a tour guide where we could bury him. He recommended a quiet place near the hotel. We did it and said our prayers. Our family really wanted to just leave at that point.

I truly wonder what India would look like today had the British never colonized it.

My parents are from the South Asian region and I have ZERO desire to ever visit India, ever. I get wanting to go to see historical and religious sites. But that's it. I can just go on google images and see those things, I have no desire to go to dirty, nasty, smelly India to see those things in person.

I know nothing of India, except my nephew was on a golf tour and was on a plane ready for takeoff. A fat lady bent over and her ass was very close to his face. He said that the smell almost made him pass out right there. He said it was the filthiest place that any human could imagine.

I don’t want to go to a country where people wipe their ass with their fingers.

R36, And "bucket list" will be literal!

R49, the thought of the rampant B.O. and people shitting in the streets is revolting. The fact that people bathe in the Ganges river is horrifying.

Injah.

[quote]The states of Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya are must-sees.

THANK YOU, R11!! Many of us, myself included until recently, carry around an image in our heads of India as one big stereotype - hot, flat, dusty, urban, overcrowded, etc.; however this is like picturing all of the United States as looking like Nebraska. India is a vast and diverse country, and the places you mention are some of the most beautiful places on Earth.

No thanks I have a very pleasant and comfortable bathroom

I spent a couple of months in India roughly a decade ago and had the time of my life. Went to big cities, small villages, beaches, mountains. Loved the experience and hope to return.

Yes, any country that large is also going to have monumental problems (China? Russia? Brazil? The US?) but if you’re going to selectively emphasize the bad out of proportion to the beauty and the wonder, of course you’re going to create a distorted picture. Not to be dismissive of the problems India suffers from, but look at the numbers of tourists who visit the US despite high rates of urban crime and what I assume is a world record for gun-related violence here.

I found the overwhelming majority of people I met in India to be kind, welcoming, curious, and generous. The landscapes were breathtaking. I ate really well. I heard musicians and poets who moved me. And many of the men are stunning.

The infrastructure from a visitor’s perspective is well developed. The rail system is extensive and works well; there are also efficient low-cost domestic airlines for longer journeys. The press in India is freer than in many countries. India has many distinctive cuisines that vary from region to region.

I have friends and family members who only want to travel to countries where most everyone speaks English, the environment is reliably sterile, and they’re less likely to face the unpredictable. In other words, they’ll comfortably visit Canada or England or Australia. I probably wouldn’t recommend they visit India. But if you want an exhilarating experience, to be in an environment that is nothing like home, India is incredible.

I’d rather be covered with honey and tied to an ant hill.

I feel that India could be daunting for even seasoned tourists. Another option is Sri Lanka, which feels like a cleaner, more compact, less chaotic India. It's a strikingly green and beautiful island.

Great post, r56. Thanks.

I recommend visiting its neighbor Nepal. Beautiful country.

Just remember to stay at Oberoi hotels, only. You'll be fine.

They use human waste to fertilize their crops.

Great post r57. Thx!

I can’t think of a place I’d rather visit least except Gaza.

I'd wanted to visit it earlier in life, after seeing A Passage to India, but now- no thanks. It's not safe for women and I don't see what reward I'd hope to gain for the risk. It sounds very depressing.

If I had to go to India, I wouldn't go to the bathroom for the entire trip.

MARY r66!!!

R54 and r56, Who is saying nay to India's beauty? Cuisines? Hospitality?

The Taj Mahal alone would be worth the price of admission, among other man-made structures....

But for the one topic you omit: Indians' cultural aversion to indoor, shared, sit-down toilets. The forest, railway platform, and street photos are there for all to see.

I'll stick to "sterile" environs that don't require my getting an anti-malaria shot.

R56, did you have a favorite state or region of India?

Fuck India!

Corrupt, shit-encrusted gang-banging killas

R56 great post. The nay-sayers will nay-say (most of them without any first hand experience, just the handful of images they've seen in the media). *sigh*

The majority of replies so far aren't by people who have actually been to India - that's the subject, after all - but by ignorant people who just want to perpetuate the stereotypes and express their own personal bias.

R66 Co-STANZA!

Gangbanging fucks is real!!!! Stop the anti-propaganda propaganda fuckas

Oh Never ! I just read about a gang of mean monkeys that killed a ten year old kid. They pulled his intestines out .

I think it'd be great to see the Taj Mahal, etc. but I think that negative aspects would cancel out any enjoyment. I've watched Youtube videos of street food vendors and the nasty conditions, I worked with some Indian people and knowing how they don't use deodorant, I can imagine that the smell permeating everything. I've watched The Amazing Race for years and have seen how crowded, dirty and sad a lot of the country looks.

I also used to listen to Howard Stern and his cohost Robin went to India and only lasted one day before the horrors that she experienced spurred her to get a flight back home within 24 hours. She spoke about people begging at every turn, seeing crippled people sitting in the street, garbage and stink, having to move hotels because the "first class" place her cab driver dropped her off at was worse than a prison cell.

I've only had a couple of brief 1-week long work trips and hope to return on my own time. But, since this is DL, I will mention there were so many good looking, muscular men in the middle/upper-middle classes of the big cities. Gym culture is massive with men in their 20s and 30s there -- almost to an obsessive level. If you're looking for no strings attached sex with hot guys, you can find it in abundance there. True, many of them aren't out of the closet, but, hey, if you're not looking for love, who cares?

“You know where I’m from, we have this thing it’s called deodorant!!!!!”

India? No thx,I have an aversion to foul stench.

Stinks over there cause nobody uses toilets or wipes their asses

r73, I wonder how many of these posters also screech about MAGAts on other threads, oblivious to their own noxious bellowing.

I could never ever eat their food. Yuk.

Indian food is tasty.

Indian food is nasty. I’ve had it and it’s vile.

not me

If you visit India, remember to take your poo to the loo.

My ex grew up in a village in Arunachal Pradesh in North East India close to the Himalayas. He said it was quite lush and not crowded, had limited electricity, etc. He then moved to New Delhi where his family is now. He lives in Bellevue and works for Amazon, of course.

To think he lived in a tiny village far from Washington state and us meeting and being compatible is amazing to me— with him being a Hindu vegetarian with math abilities and me a meat-eating, artistic, atheist.

He admits India has issues with pollution and poverty but no one seems to care. He and many like him like to visit family but do not want to live there. Corruption, bureaucracy, pollution are cited as reasons.

r88 "with him being a Hindu vegetarian with math abilities and me a meat-eating, artistic, atheist."

Fixed "with him being a giant cocked Hindu vegetarian with math abilities and me a meat-eating, artistic, atheist, gaping hole"

I went 10 years ago and had a great time. We did the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Jaipur, Agra), Mumbai, and Goa. Yes, there’s poverty, but not in the places you’d go as a tourist. And even then I didn’t think it was significantly worse than other places I’d been in the Caribbean or Latin America.

Gasp

Everybody I know who has been to India got very sick from the water. It's very difficult to protect yourself from this. Anyway - they all survived and lost weight.

R14 He’s mad at Modi and the caste system.

Dear Datalounge, this thread doesn't disappoint

A good friend of mine grew up in the mountains of the pState of Kerala. He’s shared a lot of stories about living and growing up there and I’d really like to go there one day.

Apparently, Kerala has everything: beaches, mountains, forests, jungles, etc.

If I were to go I'd have a travel agent handle everything and potentially go only on guided tours. Friends went and their stories of trying to arrange travel in a country where the concert of waiting in line or timetables does not exist.

It would be expensive but I am curious to visit the major sites and don't see another way that I personally could handle it.

They poop in the streets !!! It's like San Francisco!!! Gurl NO !!!

R95, Kerala is called "God's own country" for good reason.

I’ve only spent one night in Paris……but I did get a nice view in the Hilton.

I have visited India many times. One thing that always stands out, I see more smiling and happy people there than I do in the USA.

I have been there four times.

The traffic there is abysmal. Midtown Manhattan or Los Angeles seem like paradise in comparison.

"The smell" upon arrival is a thing! We couldn't take a long-distance train as my Ex was afraid of insects, vermin, etc.

Food is very good. Foodie heaven. One vegetarian restaurant distributed metal trays with compartments, with boys coming around to distribute items from each from buckets: rice, vegetables, yogurt, etc. as a sort of reverse-buffet.

R11, r55

I long wanted to visit Kashmir (admittedly, after watching The Jewel In The Crown) as a young teen but jeez, it would be dangerous.

Hell on earth

No I do not want to vacation there. I still have my pride you know.

Poor, hot, and dirty.

I would love to go. The architecture and landscapes and historic sites would be amazing. And the food and experience overall.

My partner was there some years ago, touring for 10 weeks, which might be about the ideal time to get some proper sampling of the place. Though I wish I had done this when younger, I would still like to do a shorter, more luxurious trip of a few weeks. Surely few places could come near to approaching the experience and seeing things genuinely "exotic" to what I know. It might not be a destination that I would quickly repeat, bit what else could come close?

Tonight's menu will be capsicum Paneer masala, I even made my own paneer! I'm not Indian either.

I recommend Morocco. It has a similar atmosphere, architecture, and smell, but is notably cleaner and quieter. Morocco can be a toilet, but India is a toilet that's been used heavily.

I was recommended some videos of various street food channels. The Indian ones were the most nauseating - it was always a bunch of men in stalls pulling ingredients from dirty ice chests or boxes, or making drinks with blocks of ice that they kept piled on random pieces of cardboard. Handling vegetables and other food with bare hands that didn't look too clean. Meat sitting out in the sun with zero refrigeration and flies all around.

Slight tangent, but where do they get those huge pots, pans and giant griddles and soup pots over there? Every street vendor has a griddle the size of a table. Also, where are all of the women at these street food places? It's almost scary that you see no women there - are they banned (women should be at home doing woman things!) or it's too dangerous?

STFU GERG R107

I've been there with my Auntie Mame.

R108, I spent three days in Morocco in the 70s Didn't need an anti-malaria shot. Tetuan, Fez, Meknes, and environs. I never noticed any untoward odors, not even in the souk alleyways. Maybe at a tannery, I don't recall, but nobody was working when I went to one, as it was a sabbath day, as it were. I had French and Moroccan restaurant meals---fabulous.

I would return to Morocco.

^Les anciennes

R102, it is safer now (at least for tourists). Kashmir is enjoying a bit of a travel renaissance at the moment.

The Holi Festival looks colorful.

Hellhole.

It’s not something I would ever do

The Dawki River is something amazing to behold.

The monkeys are probably killing people because they’re worried about being raped. In all seriousness why does India have such problems with gang raped? Russia is also a shithole yet you don’t hear about gang rape epidemics.

[quote] STFU GERG [R107]

No.

[quote] I also used to listen to Howard Stern and his cohost Robin went to India and only lasted one day before the horrors that she experienced spurred her to get a flight back home within 24 hours.

R77, what was she expecting?

I don't know. Maybe, at least, 18th century hygiene?

R122, she probably should have done her research first. She certainly has the time and money

If I’m going to go somewhere where people shit in the streets I’d rather go to San Francisco

[quote] Russia is also a shithole yet you don’t hear about gang rape epidemics.

Only because their dicks all fell off from krokodil.

R119, yes, you don't hear about it. But that doesn't mean it's not happening.

[quote] Russia is also a shithole yet you don’t hear about gang rape epidemics.

No. They prefer cannibalism instead.

Please say more, r127, since you're clearly an educated poster.

Tell us about this Russian cannibalism

I've never been to India, but I kinda like the music...

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

The Mrs. Lovett of St. Petersburg loves the other white meat.

lol oh ok

thanks r130, this sounds true to me

Thanks r131 sounds believable

Russians are cannibals.

Of course, it's so obvious now.

Russians are cannibals.

That's just how Russians roll.

R133, are you Russian yourself or something?

Yes r134 I'm a Russian cannibal like all Russians,

I mean, we just love it.

R135, lol.

I'd rather deal with someone, anyone, from India before I'd deal with Russians and their stupid fucking attitudes.

And I know Russians, honey.

Not yet. I've been to Nice and the Isle of Greece. Plus I've seen some things that I'd rather not get into.

R136 ok "honey."

Maybe see your therapist.

R136= Twice failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

R140, awww someone is triggered by Russian criticism

18,000-20,000 people in India die of rabies every year.

If you visit, be careful of those "cute" stray dogs.

Wait... I thought this India thread was about what horrible cannibalist monsters the evil cannibalistic Russian monsters were.

Lets get it straight everyone

Russia is a big country. It we can have Jeffrey Dahmer, why is anyone refusing to believe the same about any other place, let alone a lawless nation of staggering toothless drunks, abandoned orphans, and indifferent oligarchs?

India (from absolutely all angles) makes Hell look like Versailles.

Some of the men are terribly attractive.

[quote]India (from absolutely all angles) makes Hell look like Versailles.

Coincidentally, I would’ve chose my fate if the other option were banishment to India.

R30 by “Step foot” you mean “set foot”, right?

I read Shantaram. That was enough.

No need to be pedantic, r148.

🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

Chana

We went a few years ago just before Covid. We spent 3.5 weeks visiting the Golden Triangle and several National Parks/Tiger Reserves. The Taj Mahal is breathtaking and we spotted 8 Tigers on our trip, one less than 6 meters from our jeep. Our driver accelerated in reverse as the Tiger approached. Yes it was hot (49°C on some days) ,chaotic ,noisy and dusty but it was so much more than this. It was invigorating, colorful and truly unforgettable.

Indian food is magnificent but there is nothing else about India I find very interesting.

We did, but men lifted us upon their shoulders everywhere in screened, roofed golden carts on their shoulders, so that our feet never worried about actually making contact with the ground--which they never should have done, because of who we were.

Don't drink the water, don't eat the food.

Gay tourists make a wonderful curry!

Hell to me would be some shitty-nowhere place like Monaco.

I'd rather spend my travel money on the northern coast of Maine or one of the islands off of Maine. Thanks. Anyways.

Indian Matchmaking on Netflix has a lot of eye candy, both in male form and in the luxurious, sumptuous upper class places where they live and socialize. A country that huge is going to have it all...from the filthiest slums to the most gorgeous palaces and temples.

I still don't want to go. Maybe once I've hit all the safer, easier places on my bucket list, and with the right company, I would consider it. But only to a few select places where one can be assured of a certain level of development.

You just know their foreskins stink of shit, sheep and niece.

I can't believe the gays haven't gone on a tangent to adopt cute little Punjabi babies.

Diarrhoea for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

R163 It's the old Mumbai mudslide.

Fucking nasty

Gangbangin’ killas

Nah, it's just the Indian dribbly shits.

Nothing like a good long shit to clean you out. Just hope the terlit doesn't clog and your TP holds out.

I've only been on DL a couple of years. Was it always made up of so many elderly, racist shut-ins?

[quote] They seem to hit the wall at 12.

Pity. Just as they’re approaching peak ripeness.

I think the only people who would willingly go to India are seasoned travelers who go everywhere.

Pickier and less traveled people aren't usually going to visit such a difficult place.

R169 Yes.

I've had sufficient.

💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

I've known five people who traveled to India and they all said it was a life-changing experience. I'm not sure what that means though.

Their intestines will never be the same.

On "The Amazing Race," India always kicks the spoiled Americans' asses. More than anywhere else on earth.

I thanked India naked.

r169 Yes

r171 Yes

r176 Yes

Regarding the discussion earlier in this thread: Russians aren't rapists? Hmm.

I know a gay couple who went to India. They are well off, so they stayed in only the best hotels. They found the country's history and sites fascinating, but they both were bothered by the treatment and the luxury they could afford and were accorded (at one hotel they were greeted by attendants streaming rose petals along the way), and the abject poverty they saw everywhere.

I've never been to India but this vlogger wasn't impressed. He said it's by far the most polluted country he's ever visited. Tuk tuk drivers following him and not taking "no" for an answer. It's especially depressing to see cows eating out of the trash at the 9:32 mark.

Just watch the Oscars

I always think of this story when I hear about India:

[quote]Lakshmi's father, Shambhu, and mother, Poonam, were day labourers who earned less than 40 rupees per day and were unable to afford a separation surgery for their daughter. The daughter was named after Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth (who is depicted as four-armed). The girl was sometimes an object of worship as an incarnation of the goddess; by the age of two, she was known all over India. At one point, a circus offered the couple money to buy Lakshmi as a sideshow, which forced the family into hiding

I’m glad she was able to eventually work for NPR.

R179, The Russians never believed the "Germans didn't know" lie. And they wanted revenge, even terrible revenge, for the Siege of Stalingrad.

Going to places like this as a tourist would make me feel dirty, in the sense the excursion is little more than an exercise in privilege.

Well, smell you.

I recently had the misfortune of having an Indian tourist seated next to me at a fine dining establishment. His body odor was overpowering.

I am not familiar with the customs of your country!

Someone should start a charity that provides Indians deodorant upon their arrival to first world countries.

Poonam?

I live in a city with a lot of indian immigrants and I’ve been told many Indian business men enrol in etiquette and hygiene classes when they get here

I get sick when go to Mexico (PV) almost every time. So my friend who had an extended consulting gig in India told me, "you can never go. Just don't even try". He knows me well. So I will happily watch a video of the subcontinent. But my delicate flower self shan't go in person.

According to Wikipedia, the US has the highest number of Indians outside of India.

No wonder shitting in the streets has become so commonplace in the us

R194, I'm shocked it's not the UK.

I watched some Indian movies and got a sense of their culture. They seem to be more conservative. Gays don't continue the family.

Watch some Indian movies on Netflix, op.

Their movies are messed up

Has anyone been to Pondicherry? And then Sri Aurobindo Ashram?

Why would anyone go there?!?

The Hawa Mahal Palace in Jaipur looks interesting, R200.

[quote] They seem to be more conservative

The understatement of the century.

All 41 workers safely pulled out from collapsed tunnel in India.

The ruins of Hampi are incredible.

To R197 and others re social conservatism in India, I didn’t find Indians to be particularly homophobic, certainly less so than in many other countries. But I did find an interesting dichotomy there. Many people I met were fine with my being gay. But still expected me to be married. To a woman. But I genuinely don’t believe that stems from homophobia as much as from an intense loyalty to tradition and an inability to view gay men in family-type relationships.

R205, perhaps they put you, a foreigner, in an entirely different category than they would put fellow Indians. (I'm assuming you're not Indian, if you are - sorry and never mind.) They are tolerant because they see you as "the other", a strange people who don't matter in the long run. The marriage expectations are the result of growing up in a society that has no place for single men - an extreme anomaly in Indian society - or single women living independently.

I know very little about Indian society but it seems there's an attitude that if a woman puts herself in a vulnerable place, it's her fault if she's raped. In 2012, there was the case of the young woman, Jyoti Singh, who went out to the movie theatre with a friend in the evening and later boarded a bus and was gang raped, tortured and died. It's hard for me to believe that such a society is accepting of gay men. If the brutal rape and torture of that young woman hadn't made international news, maybe the perpetrators wouldn't have been punished at all.

They may be a bunch of macho brutal gang-rapists, but that silly sing-song accent leaves Momma’s Mussy drier than a Mormon Temple picnic in Death Valley!

R207, you're correct but let's be honest, A LOT of Americans still believe that BS about it being the woman's fault in 2023.

R206, you are correct. People in developing countries tend to be much nicer to white tourists versus the people from their own country (or even other "people of color"). Why? Because they know that they can get more money from foreign tourists.

What about the Kama Sutra temples? That was the first depiction of sex I ever saw. Thanks a lot, history channel!

Meghalaya is populated by the the Khasi people. They're one of the few matrilineal peoples populating this earth, so if you're a female traveler and weary of India, this is a safe spot.

R212, matrilineal is not the same as matriarchal. It just means that inheritances, and sometimes names, are passed down through the mother. It says nothing about women's power or safety in society.

R213, well, it's matriarchal, too. It was my favorite part of India.

A melting pot of despair.

A melting pot of despair, shit and curry.

There are two types of people on this earth. Those who can handle India and those who can't.

Indians have been posting on reddit lately about how the entire country is celebrating the suicide of an lgbt influencer, saying stuff like "one down now get the rest of them" etc. most of them are saying that extremely violent homophobic attitudes are the norm, the average indian wants gays dead.

R207 iirc there have been large protests in support of rapists in india

I like the burning tires around the neck in Africa better.

I’d rather go to east St. Louis

R221 we'd rather you go there too.

Is the Taj Mahal worth it?

Does Gary count?

I know I’ve been to South Bend, and some lake west of Cincinnati.

I’m sure Gary is better than India

R225, are you sure?

[quote] I’m sure Gary is better than India

That’s ignorant.

Da Taj Ma Hal

never ever ever ever ever ever

They’re nice once they’ve left India and have been socialized!

Why would I visit a shit hole?

I’d like to visit Tikka Masala.

R218, I'm amazed that gets past Reddit moderators.

I'll just watch Slumdog Millionaire and call it a night!

Everything about the place gets on my last nerve. Especially the music.

Bollywood movies are not my cup of tea.

The music is a nightmare

R171, India (especially any of the cities) is definitely not for the first-time traveler, unless they want to experience the absolute crush of humanity.

I don’t think India’s big cities are any harder to manage for a tourist than the biggest cities in the U.S. If visitors can deal with the NY subway system, Times Square, downtown LA… they should be just fine in Bangalore, Hyderabad, or Mumbai. Possibly safer, since in India there’s little threat of gun violence.

Speaking from experience in all of the above places.

R233 homophobia is okay if it comes from brown people

R239 there’s little threat of gun violence in either NYC’s subway/Times Square or DTLA. Safer there than virtually any big city in the US.

Yes! That was my point, R240. I was being sarcastic because I've seen people at DL - apparently still living in 2010 - who decry Reddit as a sinkhole of right-wing ideology when in fact Reddit mods these days are ultra-"progressive" types.

[quote] I don’t think India’s big cities are any harder to manage for a tourist than the biggest cities in the U.S.

I don't think there is anything in LA or NYC that can prepare someone for navigating 20 non-lanes of chaotic Delhi or Mumbai traffic.

I've never been but it appears to be filthy.

20 lanes of traffic weaving in every direction and a couple of cows in the middle of the street for good measure.

Isn't India where diarrhea started?

I was there and loved Gary but wish I had skipped Indianapolis.

I don’t want to go to any country with gang rape issues and filth. You won’t catch me in South Africa either

You won’t ketch me in Seth Efrica either.

OP Do you realize that 48% of the population shit in public?

This fort is pretty amazing!

The Holi Festival of colors!

India is shit bakla

My favourite country!

Poor, hot, and dirty. N. O.

R1 Really? All I wanna do is hold my breath whenever I’m near Indian people.

Rivers of feces

R250 there’s the monstrous amount of gang rape as well.

It’s pronounced Indi-AH

Do NOT read Song of Kali if headed to Kolkata!

Yuk

1974 never ended for half this thread.

Jannu and Kashmir valley is considered the Swiss Alps of India for good reason.

Who here has been listening to La India?

Mrs. Moore! Mrs. Moore!

I say, r260!

“They shit everywhere!” Liars!

They don’t shit in the airport waiting area and if somebody does squat behind a row of seats, suddenly everyone is yelling and screaming while rolling their “R”s. Some of their shouts sound like English slurs!

Also, their scarves with gold detailing do not work with your anus.

r264 JAMMU. It says so right in the headline of the article you posted.

If I wanted explosive diarrhea I’d go to Waffle House…not sit in a plane reeking of BO.

Jakku and Tatooine are considered the Tunisia of a galaxy far, far away for good reason.

[quote] "My Indian friend says seeing the Himalayas are the only thing worth going to the trouble of traveling to India for."

I'll see them in Bhutan and Nepal, thanks.

Why do so many Indians not wear deodorant? I live in a city with a huge Indian population and even here many do not wear it. What is the reason? Do they think Bo smells nice? I really wonder because once you’re in North America with running water and cheap deodorant available everywhere Bo is easy to get rid of.

[quote] Do they think Bo smells nice?

[quote] Bo is easy to get rid of

Bo Luke?

R274, Bo Peep.

LOVE IT!

[quote] Indians have been posting on reddit lately about how the entire country is celebrating the suicide of an lgbt influencer, saying stuff like "one down now get the rest of them" etc. most of them are saying that extremely violent homophobic attitudes are the norm, the average indian wants gays dead.

So, like the American south?

I spent time in Goa for a few years after my parents died. He traveled widely, so I got to see a lot by train and realize how wonderfully different the states and cities were.

Since then I've had business, mainly in West Bengal, based in Tamluk, and getting to Assam a lot. I have friends from when I was a kid in Karnataka, and see them every other year, or we meet in Hyderabad.

The crap-and-primitive-hellhole reflexes here are just that - stereotypical reflexes for cuntery or hate speech. Yeah, it's bad for many/most, especially compare to the first world. The wealth imbalance is worse than in the USA. Corruption is ubiquitous and religious divides are worse than ever. The Hindu temple in Uttar Pradesh is a fascist kick at the Muslim minority, with Modi pushing it like the Trumpian he is.

R272 A West Viridiana mocking India?! Now I’ve seen everything….some nerve.

*Virginian

R278, are you familiar with the Andaman Islands? I've heard that as far as tropical beaches go, it doesn't get better than that.

R281, I've heard that North Sentinel Island is especially pristine. People love it so much that, if they visit, they never leave!

R282, why, you dirty rat!

R278, We're not talking just about "wealth imbalance." And what we are talking about isn't a canard.

I want pinga india

I had an Indian friend who grew up in Africa. She was a strict Hindu, arranged marriage (divorced and got along well with ex). Emigrated to the US from Africa. Visited India as an adult and said, “Don’t go, the poverty is extreme. It was very upsetting to me and I grew up in Africa. Someone who grew up in America will be even more upset.”

There is no other place on this earth like India!

I loved "The City of Joy" (Kolkata). Patrick Swayze's best role, IMO.

Oh look another example of why you may not want to visit.

Yes, it's western traveller gang rape time again

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

What is it with Indians and gang raping? It sounds even worse than South Africa

No thank you, Indians are some of the RUDEST people I have ever met. They are ALWAYS late & dont care, they are always looking for a deal or a discount. I cringe & couldnt imagine a country full of them.......

r292 would you say ALL Indians?

I met one really hot polite Indian guy.

I can never see me in India. I’m like the complete polar opposite of someone who would visit there.

I went there last year, mainly to see the Taj Mahal. I am hoping to complete the New 7 Wonders of the World (only left is Great Wall of China-yay!). I stayed in New Delhi and took a private day tour to Taj. All in all, it wasn't that bad and the people are quite nice. But I don't see myself coming back. Oh btw, I had an explosive diarrhea for about 2 days out of the 4 days I was there😒.

Talk about burying the lede, R296

There is no way. If my former company had asked me to go for any reason whatsoever, I would have feigned surgery to get out of it. There's no way. I love looking at some of the amazing ruins and temples people have posted here. But that is all I will ever do when it comes to India. Look at someone else's pictures. I am a fussy, snobby, semi-germaphobe and I gag at even the smell of a baby diaper full of poo. I know my place and it not India.

For some reason, I think India smells like REALLY bad B.O. Makes me retch.

The B.O. must have evolved as a rape deterrent.

There's a status gained for young men based on how ripe your body odor can become. But I'm not sure why would they continue this practice in the West. Some Indians do smell okay but the majority have B.O. Food isn't really an excuse as Indians who practice good hygiene eat the same food but don't smell as awful.

I hate to see Indians using gym equipment when they radiate the smell of old ass, rancid onions, and spices and then not wiping down after they use.

It’s true r300 I’ve smelled curry and garlic on clean Indian people and that is not an excuse for the Bo problem. Bo is very different from those smells

it would never occur to me to go on holiday to one of the most overcrowded nations on earth.

it would never occur to me to go on holiday to a country with multiple mass shootings of children

r303 that means you'd never visit the USA, right?

R304 = irony challenged

R301, that may be a laundry issue more than a bathing issue. Some of those cooking smells cling like cigarette smoke.

^^^cling to CLOTHES like cigarette smoke

an indian college friend in the 90s is from a .001% family. she invited me for a long spring break. of course we flew private and the entire visit was extra lux. another world. so many servants

R300/R301, a lot of Indians who live in America and other countries cook their food with tons of spices and garlic, onions, etc. without opening windows. That is a recipe for smelly clothes and skin.

R309 There is a vast difference between the smell of cooked spices and the smell that dead bacteria creates on unwashed glandular areas such as armpits.

R310, yes, truth is, a lot of the people who smell also don't wear deodorant or care about its existence. That, combined with the smell of spices and garlic and onions on the skin, is a lot. Also, some of these people attempt to cover it up with cologne/perfume.

I will say, Indians are not the worst offenders when it comes to attempting to cover up BO with fragrances. In my experience, that award goes to people from Middle Eastern countries.

Like bad or overapplied perfume, rancid, stale body odor is an assault on the senses.

Never in a million years. I've been to Queens, NY. I've had sufficient.

I've found "middle eastern" men quite clean if yes, over perfumed.

Very cheap eats! At one all you can eat vegetarian restaurant we were given compartmentalized trays. The servers would come around with buckets and ladle the various items in each: curry, bread, yogurt, etc. Overall, the dining there is outstanding!

The traffic makes Manhattan and L. A. seem deserted in comparison.

I get daily calls from their scammers - evil preying on people

Why don’t the ones who move to the west wear deodorant? Surely they must find out about it when they get here

R317 Scammers trained by the big Western companies who stupidly thought these people were trustworthy.

R301 you thinks it’s easy dumping that olde right wing bitch??

Ewwww no

No thx. Like an overpopulated toilet

It was on my bucket list. Then COVID hit. I had a choice. Egypt or India. I chose Egypt and I am not sorry. It was a wonderful experience.

2001. Had money and I hired a young man to be my fuck toy and interpreter and travel companion. The travel was amazing and the fucking was even better.

Went home drained.

R324 because of dysentery?

Cholera R325. It can really knock a girl out.

Had to go to Bangalore for work. It was very modern and nice. I was only there five days.

Talk about bottom of my bucket list...

I try not visit countries that people are fleeing from en masse

I have to say. One of the things I have seen in my travels is poverty. I know people from other counties depend on tourism, but I just cannot do it anymore. I cannot go to a country where the poverty and class distinctions are so sharp. So that eliminates Southeast Asia, Indian Africa, and parts of the Middle East. The disparities make me very uncomfortable enjoying all the amenities of a nice hotel with servants.

With my luck I'd visit and get stuck there due to some virus outbreak or planes falling out of the sky. There is no way I would even take a flight where I had to switch planes in India to get somewhere else. No fucking way. I am way too white, way too soft and way too rich.

We went in July of 2020 as my husband had business & he insisted I go along....... The air alone gave me diarrhea for the entire trip. I was miserable, then seeing all the poverty made me more miserable. We stayed in really nice hotels that cater to westerners & everyone was really nice. Although everyone smells like turmeric, BO & fried food..... I would have had a MUCH better time if I didnt need a toilet every 20 minutes. We did a day tip out to a temple in Kerala & I had to go so bad, our driver wouldn't pull over until he could find me western toilet, I yelled "Unless you want me to shit in your van, PULL OVER". There I was, in the WORST "bathroom" squatting over a hole that seemed to be where flies came from........ The worst.......It was 98 degrees & 120% humidity..... When I came out, the husband was concerned, I said "That was the WORST EVER"!!! I can still smell it....... Never again

I enjoy watching Indian movies. Not the Bollywood movies, but more modern plot driven movies that are pretty good. I vividly remember watching one that required some of the characters to stay at a posh, western style hotel where one of the characters worked. I was shocked to see that in the private service areas of the hotel, things weren't too much different from the way they were on the streets and the rest of the city. The posh western decor and manners were a facade. The kitchen, the laundry the service areas were a filthy mess.

[quote] I cannot go to a country where the poverty and class distinctions are so sharp.

Does that eliminate the U.S.?

r33 have you seen Pather Panchali?

R335 it looks depressing, but I may try to check it out. He was a great director. At least it's not Bollywood with chorus of singing and dancing Indians.

It's very good, r336

My desi ex and I saw the Apu Trilogy decades ago.

I too am a big fan of Apu