"Don't go to India because ..." Prejudices and Misconceptions Collected

Things are changing .
Nothing is static

The one I found hardest to reply to was from my boss at the time who was a Sikh Guy. He said "why he hell do you want to go to that S**t hole, why do you think people like me moved here?"

As my general opinion of him wasn't very high I chose to ignore him..... which turned out to be a good thing!

I'll admit any day I was totally shell shocked when I first arrived in Dehli. I don;t think the look of shocked amazement left my face throughout the entire trip actually. Looking back on it though you do tend to forget the times when you got thrown off the bus in some random town in the middle of nowhere because the bus conductor has suddenly decided they're no longer going to the place you bought a ticket for.

If I had a pound for everytime my travelling partner had shouted in frustration "Oh I bloody hate India!".... I would be very rich indeed.

On the upside when you get back to the UK it takes at least a month before you stop thinking how amazingly wonderful it is when you can pay by debit card in a shop, a bus arrives vaguely on time, the internet works, the power stays on for more than 30mins at a time, the road ahead isn't blocked by 500 goats, no one feels the necessity to blow their horn every 0.2 seconds....etc......

I'd go back tomorrow though if I could

Hmmm... one strong memory I have of getting back home is standing at crowded bus stops & everybody's capacity to completely ignore each other & pretend like they're not there (themselves or you). Took a while getting used to again.

And then the fear when you do strike up a conversation... Funny enough getting back from Spain just now my experience wasn't much different. The other day I was walking around in my hometown at nightfall in an area I'm not completely familiar with, and I needed to be somewhere in time. Innocently asking various passersby if I was going the right way, you'd have thought I was about to mug or rape them really.

Now I understand about a young woman's worries here perhaps, the thing is downtown Madrid isn't exactly smalltown country either. No such reactions there.

*sigh* Speaking to some nice women at a bus stop in Almeria (Spain again) about this and that and cultural differences and all, I explained that my countrymen were perhaps a little <makes gesture turning up nose>. Sure enough they broke out laughing saying, ahh, just like the Brits right?!

I don't know, they seemed to get me at least.

This is why I go to India No more ignoring the others in line: instead, connectring with them, with a smile, a picture, ..................


Let everyone get used to the increase in population: this is happening the world over. So many of us.

Lets get personal.

Don't leave India. Most other places are dull in comparison. You Indians who want to leave for the West- its illusory.. a fantasy esp if you have money already. Do you really want our boring Western suburbs where its so clinical sterile and bereft of atmosphere?. My whole dull western life is devoted to saving enough to go to India. If I had the money I would be in India all the time. Get it yet? Your country is better-no kidding. This is not to make light of the problems though. Please don't try and westernise India.That Bangalore b/s is laughable. India is good at being India and lousy at being western. For example you have the best food in the world and the slowest fast food in the world. What do you want to imitate us for? I hope you people realise this before you destroy India and her mesmerising cultures.

What all you said is true but this is only ONE dimension. All those peoplewho said DO NOT GO TO INDIA could have fallen in love with this country where you can feel the pulse of this nation.

You can feel this pulse when thousands of people walk shoulder by shoulder...travel together and live together.

There is no terrorits anywhere in WORLD. It is always pollitics...it is always some people trying to make sure that other live in hell.

I met thousands of people from so many countries- besides all individual versions of diffuclties and cultural shock..one statement was common...WE LOVE INDIA !

Come to India with close mind and open heart !!

It is quite absurd to talk about India that way. Every country acoss the world has its plus and minus. India is not different on this count. A little precaution can help you out of any imagined phobia you been carrying. I can bet you that once you visit India, you will come back definately.

My heartfelt thanks to you Blake. I wish I could offer you Indian citizenship.Enjoy visiting India.

Sorry to say my dear, but you really pessimist.

Hi Haritha, it is our duty to make the things better. We the educated people can make a sea change to change image of our beloved country.

golly moses, this thread is a roller coastr.
I came to India after being warned of all the dramas.
I came with a friend, who lasted three days, and went home in disgust.
We arrived at 3.30am local time, after the plane was delayed four hours. I was spat out onto the mumbai tarmac and looked for the taxi driver we had paid 300 rupees for from Australia. He had given up waiting, but left the sign with my name on by the barrier with three thousand screaming people.
After about half an hour, a man came up to us who knew the driver. he got me a cup of tea, and rang the guy at home to wake him up. An hour later, and two more cups of tea, his son arrived, who was fifteen, and drove us at breakneck speed to the hotel, where we woke up the staff, and got plonked in this room.
While waiting for the cab, a woman walked by me. She was about 400 years old, and was smoking a cigar about half the size of her body. She was also walking an elephant.
I just sat there with my cuppa, and tears of joy ran down my cheeks. I felt so at home. I had been in the country half an hour.
When the guy arrived, he apologised for being late.
India would have to be one of the few countries on earth where the trip is more interesting then the destination.
You're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy.
I would be mortified to think this might vaporise and become another city in another nameless country.
If Indian People, as a nation, ever encompass MArketing, I for one would start to be scared.

Classic post palerider!

Even if we did, don't worry,we wouldn't know what to do with it.

See
http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/12/31...ewanted=2&8dpc

Did that make sense?

Palerider... that great post (it brings tears to my eyes really ought to be in the first arrival experiences thread.

Everyone in India is into marketing. Just like everybody is a capitalist! Whether it is a Rs100-a-day capitalism, or multi-national-company-capitalism; whether it is selling you a shopping complex or a wooden toy....

You will become 'Robinson Crusso'if come to India.Don't forget to bring man 'Friday' with you.