Enjoy the Hassles !

goose

I treated the entire vacation like a research project which allowed me to experience an objectivity that was alien to my companions.

I landed in India with Dad, Mom and my brothers. I was dreading the thought of being groped in broad daylight, let alone in front of my family! I was convinced this would be something I'd have to fear as I'm quite the spring chicken.

Connaught Place met with the usual hassles that everyone gets, but sexual harrassment? No way! I didn't even fear the locals after the first day. They weren't interested in making my trip miserable because they actually have lives aside from loafing on the roadside -- imagine that! I was getting pretty confident. So I decided to try something new. I didn't pick any battleground, of course. I picked Barista in Khan market.

The experience was like any other indifferent Starbucks encounter in NYC, so I got the nerve to venture outside. Alone. I reminded myself as I walked briskly into the comparatively darker lanes that the locals are surely foreigner de-sensitized in this shopping mall for diplomats, right? WRONG!

As soon as I was away from the family, I was treated as 2 rupee lady of the night.

<to be continued>

Fresa81

I hate the fact that my first post since I arrived in India is going to be a negative one, but I have been getting hassled every 5 minutes since I landed on Friday night! And no I'm not dressing provocatively at all, I am actually wearing salwaars and a big baggy jumper (its so cold in Delhi!!!!)

Right now I'm really wishing I wasn't a solo female traveller ......

__________________
Whereever you go, there you are.

R.T.

Male travellers also get a lot of hassle, especially in the Golden Triangle (Delhi-Jaipur-Agra).
But after a few days you'll most likely have developped a better attitude towards them.

Chandra

Sorry to say this, but... Why do you travel to India if you expect to fear the locals?

I have, as I've said a few times before, experienced little sexual harrassment apart from a few incidents connected to festivals. But I think two things are relevant to this discussion:

1: Your own attitude towards what you exprience. I don't count the comments of giggeling teenagers in Connaught Place as real sexual harrassment - I don't feel threatened and I just ignore them.

2: The fact that it'll always show that you're new in the conutry. In the beginning you'll encounter a lot more hassle from everyone, but it'll pass as you gain experience and feel more at home in the Indian setting - thus losing the big, blinking "newbie"-sign on your forehead.

Good luck!

C