You must have seen commercials on CNN and other channels about Incredible India. In fact, India is indeed incredible in many ways. There is no denying that Americans and Europeans come to India looking for spirituality and to explore this amazing country. But to honest, there are certain things that can make you incredibly insane which the Government of India adverts do not tell you.
There are some of the things that you “might” hate on your travels to India:
Poverty
Poverty is extremely rampant in India. You must have heard of documentaries and news about India as a sleeping giant and how it is rapidly growing second to China. There is no doubt, lots of excellent development has taken place but to be honest, it does not seem that to me from where I am standing.
Poverty in India is still prevalent like never before no matter what anyone says. Even some Indians are also shocked to see the rampant poverty, hunger, homelessness and destitution which the government of India is extremely keen to hide from the tourism industry.
As soon you step out of the airport and take your ride to your hotel you will see poverty around you. For instance, you might see a truck load of men all cramped like cattle. These men are landless labourers probably being taken to a building site. You cannot fail to see beggars some of which are genuine and have no choice but to beg to keep alive. You will find real poverty in India. You might feel as if there is no dignity for human life in India.
Mosquitoes and flies
Most hotels have mosquito repellents at work and air conditioning does a good job of repelling some of the mosquitoes but sometimes they will get on your nerves. Most of the time, they will come out at night and starting biting you left, right and centre. It is best advised to take some sort of repellent with you. Flies too are a nuisance, you will find them everywhere. Don’t get too surprised to find flies swarming around you. You probably need one hand free to wave them off of your face.
Dusty, noisy and chaotic roads
Some of the Indian roads are chaotic, you’ll soon find out that road sense and rules do not exist. You will also find families on scooters and motorbikes, something that you can only find in India. In addition, the roads are often dusty specially country roads and not to mention noisy. The driver at the back thinks that the car in front runs on the number of times he blows his horn.
Polluted drinking water
One annoying factor about India is that drinking water is not safe to drink. Most Indians carry their own water or buy bottled water. Some foreign tourists go to the extent of using bottled water to clean their teeth. Here’s a bottled water buying guide in India.
Open defecation and urination
If you wake up very early in the morning and take a stroll on the road, you’ll find people defecating in the nearby fields. The poor in India may have a roof on their head but that does not mean they have bathroom facilities.
This one really bugs me the most. It is said that 60% of the total population of the world who do not have access to toilets live in India and they are forced to defecate in the open. This makes India the number one country in the world where open defecation is practised. So much for development!
Touts and cheats
You will find them everywhere. There will be fake beggars asking you for money. There will be someone following you around trying to sell something or some child will want to polish your shoes. There will be cheats who will want you to take you to a better hotel or travel agency and demand huge sums of money for it. Just be careful. Sometimes, your hotel might even try to sell you tour-tickets at high prices.
Indian heat
Indian summers are extremely hot. The temperature in Delhi can reach close to 45 degrees centigrade. If you don’t like the heat, stay away from India during the summers. Here are some of things you could do when you are India during the summers.More about climate of India.
Delhi belly
One of the main reasons for visitors disliking India is getting sick of a condition called “Delhi Belly” which means upsetting the stomach due to eating spicy or contaminated food. Visitors are not used to eating street food or food prepared from water from the “supplies” that could easily cause diarrhoea. Travellers to India definitely need to take cholera, typhoid and hepatitis A jabs to protect themselves from contaminated food and water.
Excess attention
If you are an American or European tourist to India, you’ll be considered as someone with a lot of money to spend. So you will be given a lot of attention in the hope of a tip or simply loose change. Also in some places, people may not have seen foreigners so expect to be followed (that doesn’t mean you will be mugged). Indians are of curious nature and hence many would like to talk to you and find out who you are and where you’ve come from and so on.
No respect for the environment
If you are one those fanatic environmentalists who love to sort their waste into recyclables and non-recycles then you are probably will hate India. We Indians don’t give a toss about the environment. You will find plastic and other non-degradable waste all over the place and it will lie there till someone from the municipal department responsible for disposal will collect it. Furthermore, Indians love to spit out in the open and you will find people spitting without any concerns whatsoever. In addition, you won’t find dustbins for your litter so you can imagine what we do with our litter.
These are the things the government of India tries to hide on their “Incredible India” adverts. But I do hope I have not dissuaded you from visiting India. All I have done is just tried to show some of the things you might hate about India.