India v. China---opinions of traveling in both

OK guys, I have been pretty quiet on IM the past few months, because I was getting ready for my China trip [didnt want to contaminate it with India stuff!!] and I spent three weeks there. So, now I have visited China three times and India twice. If you care, let me give you my opinion on which one is better.................

1. VALUE. This is easy. India is cheaper. Much cheaper. India wins! Although, I wish airfare from the USA was cheaper to India...

2. HASSLES. China wins. Power is on 24/7, just about all guesthouses I stayed at had hot water all the time and a real shower, and I stayed at similar quality places in both countries. One for the bad guys, China

3. GENERAL ANNOYANCES. Less beggars in China and less people harassing you, but in a way that makes India special. Still, it was nice not having to deal with this stuff. Some of this could be the language barrier, so China is up 2-1.

4. COMMUNICATIONS. Indians speak more English. Yes, this is American (or English) centric, but its very nice to have people be able to communiacte with you, so India gets the thumbs up here.

5. TRAINS. Although Chinese trains run on time, train stations are boring in China. In India, I can spend all day at a train station drinking chai, watching people and animals come and go. Access is controlled in Chinese train stations, so hordes of families can't go to pick up their brother or whoever. Also, on the train, it is much more fun in India. You will never get bored on an Indian train....so India is up 3-2.

6. STREET LIFE. Not even close. India wins this with the people and animals and everything else...4-2. Coming from India on my last trip, China seemed sterile, but its probably not China's fault--not sure how anything else can match watching life go by in Old Delhi.

7. STUFF TO SEE. Really, its a draw. Both countries are absolutely mesmorizing. 4-2-1.

8. BEING ON GUARD ALL THE TIME. Might be due to language, but I didnt feel I always had to be on guard in China. In India, I am always under the impression that people are out to con you as much as possible...China doesnt seem that bad, but some of it might be becuase they can't communicate with me...so 4-3-1, India.

9. DIVERSITY. China is extremely diverse. But, so is India. You can spend a year in both countries and not see everything. 4-3-2.

10. TRAVELER AFFINITY. This is subjective. But, I talked to a few travelers in China who have also been to India. They all (including someone who has been to India 15x) enjoyed India more. I wont count this anywhere, but I thought this was an interesting tidbit. I am giving away my results, but I have an affinity to India I dont have for China, although I had a blast in China.

11. FOOD. OK, this is subjective. But, I prefer Indian food hands down. Chinese food can be good, but can't compete with Indian food, although it seems to be easier to get cold beer in China. Still, China wins. 5-3-2.

I am sure there are other catagories, and maybe you all can help me add some, but the nod here goes to INDIA by a 5-3-2 score. China did put up some good competition, and if you get to the Tibetan areas (not Tibet itself since its basically closed to independent travelers) the score gets closer I think--I love the Tibet areas of China. Perhaps that means I should hit Leh in India next. Perhaps I like the Tibet areas since they look more Indian and have very colorful clothes like Indians Other way, the Tibetan areas of China are great, and I highly recommend that for a China trip.

Also, Americans can get a 10 year visa for India which is useful. By the way, these were my trips:

China 1: Beijing only

China 2: Greater Shanghai (Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, some small towns around that area)

India 1: Delhi, Rajasthan, MP

India 2: Mumbai, Maharastra, Karnataka

China 3: Beijing, Pingyao, Xian, Xining, Tongren (Tibetan area), Xiahe (Tibetan area) and some small towns for day trips.

oh, on #11, India won, not China

Interesting, to say the least. One is a chaotic democracy, other is still a communist state.

Yes, I agree in some ways, NYCANK. Another person I talked to said China is like an apple computer system: closed and regulated but runs well, but India is windows, being more open but prone to bugs and crashes.

The bottom line is this: if you have to sit on a chair all day and watch the world go by, I would prefer India, unless the chair was in a very special city in China or was in a bad city in India.

Also, for general nastiness, Indians men pee everywhere but Chinese men spit everywhere...yuk!

Interesting comparisons.

It would also be interesting to hear from someone who have lived (rather than just visiting as a tourist) in both countries for any duration of time.

The few things that come to mind wrt China for me (never visited): Their manufacturing prowess, well organised Olympics, High Speed Rail, Not a Democracy.

Both dip their wicks with abandon too - yuk time 2

Can't see why such positive emphasis is put of democracy anymore...

Haggling over price while shopping is easier in India

actually, the Chinese all have calculators by their stores for haggling, and they haggle just as much as Indians.

As far as the democracy comments go, I think its a part of "are they like me". I found this a bit odd, but now I firmly feel that Indians are more akin to westerners than Chinese. At least if you see westerners as Americans.

Why? I think colonialization has something to do with it. India of course had huge British influence and being an American, there is a common thread there. It is a bit hard to explain since India (and China) is absolutely nothing like the USA, and actually the city services in China are more similar to that of the west (i.e. trash pick up, power 24/7, no wells in cities, etc...).

Be A Man

but in China, taxi drivers actually use the meter, and it works without any recalculation machines, so that is a much better system than the haggle/overcharge westerner system in India.

Go to #3 comment Most Iron curtain countries had straight/no tip/no gouge services including taxi cabs. Once the fear factor vanished post cold war; Overnight the gouging began from Praha to Minsk, From Budapest to Bucharesti. Fear, and not intrinsic values drive them people

The thriving black private taxi market at the time quite apart. (At least in the GDR I know it was so.)

I have lived in Shanghai for 3 months and then travelled for 2 months through China. One big pro of China is that you can actually order in MacDonalds (allthough nowadays I'm disgusted by their foods!)even though it was only a 100 meter walk to the McD Chinese don't speak English btw, was a good thing for me to study their language, which was actually quite fun!

Will be going to India in 10 days for the first time, so I'll post some comparisons when I get back!

McDonalds are alive and well in India...