safe to travel around nthn India

Planning a trip to India next month (march) and before I buy my ticket I wondering how are the vibes from nationals towards westerners..Is one constantly looking over the shoulder or being made to feel unwelcome? your comments greatly appreciated thanks...

Hi Annie
Welcome to the forum.

Been in India now two months including parts of the north and I have to say that not once have I felt uneasy or have had any problems what so ever. Even straying away from the tourist route I and using local transport and all that I still have had no problems.

Though the one thing I have noticed that's differant from years past, trips before when I would say I was American it used to be cool, now I sort of get a "oh sorry". But I am okay with that.


Mike

Hello Annie,
Caroline and I have been travelling around North India for over a month now and have had absolutely no problems. It has been noticeable that there are many fewer foreign tourists around, in fact many people involved in the tourist trade are worried about the drop in numbers and are hoping for better days which makes you more than welcome in areas which depend on foreign tourists for business.
Hope you have an enjoyable visit.

Alan D

as a result of fewer tourists the touts can be a real pain

..back - after a serious computer virus attack under circumstances which might happen only in India - but Steven put it:
During the last days I got to know that the destination "Crafts Museum" in Delhi got converted by taxi drivers into a tourist shop, renamed to "Handicrafts Museum". Even the closed first floor was "going to be prepared for the next exibition".
Somebody paid 10 Dollars for a bottle of water after arrival at the airport - he realized this while counting the change of a handfull of coins.
"Helpers" at the airport who touch a suitcase without being asked for demand 100 Rs. for 2 minutes of unwanted "work" - and how!!
And the railway station touts are becoming more aggressive.
It's not very pleasant for tourists in Delhi.
Gerlinde

Annie,
If your question is regarding safety in India in the aftermath of all the recent terrorist activities, the answer is Yes, there is no apparant danger that we have heard of from any of the tourists who have visited us.

The touts and porters have been indulging in similar behaviour earlier and will continue to do so specially with unsuspecting tourists! But that is why we have forums such as this that prepare you for dealing with such persons. Here you can get all the fair prices for
hotels
taxis
food
even shopping

And a lot of other useful advice!
Just ask!

Myself & my boyfried arrived in Delhi on Wednesday, and really I'd agree with most of what's been said above - both good and bad.
The lack of tourists has been notable & people have by and large been extremely welcoming. People involved with the tourist industry are very anxious about the fall in numbers, and we've had some interesting conversations with people on the subject.

In some places the touts & hassle have been bad - Delhi airport was a real pain & we got totally ripped off. But at least we knew it was happening, and just reckoned it was easier to pay over the odds so we could just get to our hotel given that it was 3 in the morning. On the other hand, we got hassled relatively little around Connaught Place etc I'd been expecting a lot worse as this is my first time in India (although I have been to Vietnam which can be really heavy on the tout front, so I'd had good training).

All in all, we've had a very good experience so far. Just hoping it stays that way!

Barbara

I was worried about the same thing and have just got back after 6 weeks there.

There is no probelm at the moment and people seem unconcerned about what is going on. (I went on to Phuket on the way home where the local economy is wrecked).

However, I was there during the Gulf War (I) and there is nothing like a riot siren going off to make you think that perhaps you are in the wrong place.

When the ultimatum of George Bush senior was due (around Jan 16th 1992?) I was on a train from Varanassi to Bombay. The train stopped at a station a few hours from the end of a 2 day journey and there was a crowd of many thousands on the platforms, bonfires and all. We didn't know where we were or whether the war had started etc.

Young men started to run through the passageway of the carriage and kicking the door. This went on for maybe 20 mnutes and we (there were two of us) were petrified.

After a while the conductor came along and insisted we open the cabin door. He told us that it was just a political rally/sendoff for the local member of parliament.

Thats about the worst it ever got and it was based on our misunderstanding as to what was happening.

If you are unsure of a street situation, go into the closest cafe or chai joint.

I did hear though that a lot of tourists are staying away from border regions.

I think that you've got enough of a feed-back..all indicating that its perfectly safe. yes if its safety u r looking for then india would be among the best bets today. Regards the tout hassles, you'll learn to handle it. It is a bigger problem in the big cities like delhi or tourist spots. Mumbai surprisingly is not tourist tout oriented. In india these things can get a bit irritating at times but never intimidating so thats real good!

i was in the north (ladakh, next to Kashmir) when all the will-they-wont-they drop a nuclear bomb on each other thing was happening last July.

I was a bit apprehensive about going, but I had absolutely no problems. There were loads of soldiers around the town centre of Leh, and there were loads of trucks carrying soldiers around some of the roads, and a few helicopters flying about, but I felt completely safe, and never experienced any trouble.

I had a wonderful time up north, and i would highly recommend anyone to go there - I think in March some of the high passes will be closed (the only way to get to Leh will be flying) and you cant get up to the Nubra Valley - easily my favorite place up there.

Go for it!!