If you are travelling around the Indian subcontinent or have plans to do so in the near - or not so near - future, here you have some tips that might be useful. As a person that has been not only travelling but living in India for almost a year and a half now, I have acknowledged many things about the Indian culture that can be really practical while exploring this amazing country.
1) Cultural differences: Make sure that you understand the fact that this country has a culture which is probably different to yours - as tends to happen while visiting foreign countries. In all this time, I have seen many people who come here and want to continue doing what they would do in their own countries. However, you must be respectful towards Indian culture and traditions and must adapt to it as much as you can.
2) Clothing: The role of women in most part of the Indian country is completely different to the perception we have of them in Spain and in many other more developed countries. Whether it is true that a small part of the female society in very urban areas in more developed cities dare to show their legs, shoulders and cleavage, that is not usually seen in India. Here, women tend to cover those body parts. If you look for any Indian garment for females online, you will see that most of them (sari, punjabi, kurta, etc.) cover all those body parts and only allow women to show their arms, feet, hands and faces. In order to avoid unwanted looks or comments by men or by more conservative women, I would advise any female who wants to explore the most rural parts of this country (and even popular places like Jaipur and Agra) to bring clothes that cover those body parts and/or, even better, buy Indian clothes here at very reasonable prices. Besides that, clothing here does not contain stretch and does not insinuate any body parts like the chest and the bottom. Wearing clothes which would be adapted to the Indian traditional clothing is not only more respectful towards Indian people, culture and traditions, but also safer for the female traveller. Indian men usually wear jeans and shirts, although it's also very common to see them wearing lungis and sleeveless tees, which means that there is no particular dress code for men - they can show their legs, arms, shoulders, chest, stomach...
3) Food: India has an amazingly varied cuisine that depends on the region where you travel. Depending on whether the area you visit is coastal, urban or rural, you will find a wide variety of dishes that you will probably love, especially if you're a spicy food lover. The most popular dish in the south of India, and the most frequent one in Indian homes, is dal (lentils) with basmati rice. In the north of India they tend to accompany their meals with chapati or naan (Indian bread) and they prefer bread to rice. What you must bear in mind is the amount of spices that Indian people include in their meals - apart from the huge amount of chillis they also cook their meals with. For those of you who like spicy food, you will love every single dish from the Indian cuisine. In case you are like me and you prefer non-spicy food, it would be a good idea to ask them to make your dishes "zero spicy". Trust me, even if you say "zero spicy, no chilli", they will include some and you'll find it extremely spicy anyway. It took me months going to the same restaurant and saying "zero spicy" for them to actually understand what I really wanted. After some time, I can say that I can tolerate chillis a little better than before, but I'm still not a big fan of hot, spicy dishes and I keep ordering them "zero spicy". In any case, whenever you are tired of Indian food and/or you miss food from other cuisines, you should know that in big cities and touristic areas you will find said kinds of dishes in international restaurants as well as in most fast food restaurants belonging to multinational companies. Regarding the way they eat, I must say that forks and spoons are not really popular over here - unless, once again, you go to restaurants in big cities. Indian people eat with their right hand and they consider it rude or disrespectful to use the left one, so bear that in mind whenever you are planning to eat with your hands in India.
4) Water: It is extremely important that you always buy bottled water and carry it with you. If you are staying at the same place for a long time and they have filtered water, you may also drink it. Avoid buying fruit which has been peeled beforehand because it has probably been washed with tap water. Also, avoid ice cubes which are not made with filtered water. If you are not sure where that water is from, either don't drink it or make sure it is drinkable. Even though you cannot drink tap water, you can drink tea (chai) at the street stands - I have always done it and I have never had any problem - and you can also use tap water to have showers and brush your teeth. Whenever you are having a shower, make sure you nourish your hair and skin afterwards (after one year here, I had to get around 15 cm of hair cut because it was too dry). You can always try to use the natural Ayurvedic skin and hair oils to protect it from the negative effects that tap water can have on them.
5) Mosquitoes and health: Whenever you are planning to travel to India for the first time, it is advisable to go to your regular healthcare centre and ask what vaccines would be necessary to get before you travel. Depending on the area of India where you are going, some vaccines will be necessary and some will not be very urgent. However, no matter which area in India you are visiting, you will probably be advised to take some medicines like Malarone to prevent illnesses like malaria. They will also tell you to carry tonnes of mosquito repellent and even insecticide spray. I would like to say that whatever you carry is absolutely up to you, but, whereas it is true that each person's reaction to mosquitoes and their bites are different, and whereas it is also true that dengue and malaria are frequent illnesses in India, I think healthcare centres overseas overreact to that and alarm people more than they should, up to the point in which they recommend that you take some medicine whose effects will be worse and bigger than the chances you have of getting one of those illnesses. For that matter, I recommend that you use the local mosquito repellent when you come here (Odomos) and you don't bring other repellents from Spain or from other countries. The ones they sell here probably work better than the ones you can buy in countries not affected by those illnesses and Odomos smells really good and works like a regular nourishing cream and not like a sticky spray. Also, it would be a good idea to go to hotels and hostels which provide mosquito nets either on the bed or at the windows, to avoid unwanted mosquito bites.
6) The role of women: Women rights are not as developed in India as they are, once again, in Spain and in many other more developed countries. Apart from being careful with the clothes we, women, wear, we have to take some other precautions that can save us from unwanted looks, comments and even abusive actions. For example, it is a good idea not to flirt with Indian men unless you see that they are from an open-minded background and they have had experiences with other people from countries which are more similar to your own. Also, try not to walk alone in isolated places and/or at night. Here, specifically in more rural areas and the outskirts of bigger cities, women do not usually go out at night and you can only see men around. That added to the fact that they consider "white women" (and I do not want to sound intolerant towards other skin colours) to be very sexually promiscuous, can be a detonator for groups of men on the street to feel that they have some rights over you. Women in very rural areas need permission from their husbands to do things - and from their fathers it they are not married - and men think that this male supremacy is the same everywhere, so do not find it strange if you are asked about your father's name to do some things (like donating blood and even getting your visa to come here). If you are a female and you are travelling by yourself, book seats which are specifically for ladies on busses and trains. I have travelled around India alone many times and I have never had any problem (even travelling by bus one whole night and sleeping on it) because I was using the so called "ladies' seats". Once again, remember that respecting their culture is a must, no matter how feminist you are.
7) Running on Indian time: When someone says "five minutes" in India, it might as well be thirty or one hour, so do not stress if you see that things are not done as quickly as you would expect them to be. Trains and busses usually come late and this is something you must accept if you want to travel or live here. For that reason, be patient, my friend.
8) Religion: If you want to travel to India, you will be asked what your religion is to be given your visa. Even if you are not religious, you will have to include the one that you feel the closest to. Indian people are very religious in general (despite some exceptions in very urban centres and people who have travelled a lot or lived abroad), so you will have to accept the fact that they use religious symbols over their bodies, they go to pray when it's time, they wear clothes which are specific of one religion and they keep asking you what religion you belong to. The good thing about all this is that everybody will accept "what you are", and nobody will criticise you for covering your face with a burka, having a bindi on your forehead or wearing a Christian cross around your neck. From my own experience, if you say that you are not religious, you might see them looking at you with a "don't understand" expression and then they will start interviewing you about why you aren't and they might even try to convince you to be religious. To avoid unnecessary judgemental looks and questioning, it's a good idea to say a religion - whichever you want - and get it over with.
9) Unmarried couples: There are two things in India: single people and married couples. Getting married here is almost mandatory and it's not very frequent to see unmarried couples together (only in more liberal areas). For that reason, some hotels might not allow you to share a room with a person from the opposite sex unless you are married. A way to avoid arguments with the receptionist or even enquiring questions, is to wear a ring on your finger - married Indian women also wear them on their toes - and say that you are married, even if you aren't. Gay couples will have no problem in sharing a room (but try not to talk about that in front of Indian people, as this is a concept they do not usually tolerate). If you are over 25-26 and you are travelling by yourself, you will probably be asked by strangers whether you are married or not. So, if you don't want to be asked why afterwards, it's better to say that you are. That way you avoid giving explanations about your own personal life to strangers.
10) Money: Although the plane fare to India can be really expensive depending on where you are coming from, you must bear in mind that what you will buy here will probably not be very expensive (unless you go to five-star hotels, beach resorts and international restaurants every day). Prices in big cities are more expensive than those in more rural areas, but, in general, India is a cheap country. Here, you can eat a generous meal for 300 rupees and you can sleep at a hostel for 600 rupees a night. Also, the big variety of items that you will want to buy (jewellery, shoes, bags, furniture, etc.) are all quite cheap (especially after you bargain for some time). Always bear in mind that the price they tell tourists is higher than the real price they would ask an Indian person, so asking them to reduce it always works (not because you are tight-fisted, but because you know that, as a visitor, they are trying to charge you more for everything).
11) Transport: If you want to travel around India for a really long time and you have a very low budget, you can travel long distances by train. However, if you have a very limited amount of time and you don't mind spending some more money on a flight ticket, then I would recommend it if you want to travel a long distance. Trains might take two days to go from one place to the other if the distance is very long, but by plane you can do it in two or three hours. Other than that, trains and busses are the best means of transport to go from one city to another - because of the road conditions, busses are slightly more uncomfortable. As travel guides say, a lot of local people travel by train in India, so it's a good idea to book your tickets in advance. In order to book it, you can either go directly to the station, go to a cyber parlour (little shops filled with public computers whose owner can also buy online tickets) or to a travel agency and buy them. Personally, I would always choose the parlour, because the fee they charge for the work is lower than the ones at travel agencies. At the train station, you can get it without a fee (which is usually around 50 rupees), but people who work there don't usually speak English and it can be a difficult thing to achieve. If you choose to travel by bus, you can directly go to the bus station and get on the bus, as tickets are bought inside. In order to travel short distances within the same city, you can either take a rickshaw (sometimes called auto), or use the Ola or Uber apps on your phone (if you have an Indian SIM card). If you decide to travel by rickshaw, you should either insist that they use the meter or negotiate the price (as a tourist, they will always ask you to pay a lot more). With those apps, however, the price they give you is always the exact one and it's usually less than what rickshaw drivers ask for, but be ready to receive two or three calls before they actually pick you up from your location, because they don't check the location on the navigator... They call you to ask you instead!
These are all the tips that I can think of for now... I hope they are useful!
Whatever you decide to do, India is a wonderful country to explore and I really suggest that you visit it at least once in your life!
Best regards and have a nice Sunday!!
P.S.: I have typed this post with my iPad and I must say that it's really uncomfortable... As you know, I have no laptop right now and typing something with it is impossible. That also means that I cannot include any pictures. And I'm seriously not in the mood to type this in these conditions two more times (once in Spanish and one in Catalan), so this is the way this is going to stay for now.
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