Top 10 Things tourists should not do while in India

crvlvr · Mar 2nd, 2007, 06:20

After seeing the "What is their problem" thread, I thought it might be interesting if we could compile a list of Top 10 things a tourist should not do while in India.

Add you suggestions to this thread and we can have a poll later on which ones make it on the Top 10. Here my first suggestion:

1. Dress in revealing clothes, especially at inappropriate locations

PS: It would be great if you can number you suggestion sequentially, so that it will easy for us to find all the suggestions while preparing the poll. e.g. next suggestion to be numbered as "2" and so on.

noflylist · Mar 2nd, 2007, 06:31

2. Do not start a religious discussion, specially if you are going to put down a religious belief.

PeakXV · Mar 2nd, 2007, 06:59

3. Thou shall not eat nor shaketh your neighbours hand from the portside, the southpaw and/or the left hand!

Merchant · Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:04

I have to disagree with all this. There are no "shoulds" or "shouldn'ts." India is a huge place, and as was pointed out in the other thread, what flies in Mumbai might not be such a good idea in Varanasi. Indians are not generally so sensitive that a tourist's transgression is going to cause any offense. Indians, indeed people everywhere, respect people who are respectful. How the tourist shows that respect will vary from person to person. You can be a horse's hindquarter in culturally appropriate clothing, just as easily as you can be a suitable boy in ragged cutoffs and a t-shirt.

Yes, your appearance and presentation matter--in India and anywhere else in the world. But unless you go out of your way to provoke or offend, you are not likely to do so. You should know, however, that your appearance--your first impression--will determine how people respond to you. If you are a woman dressed in a low-cut top, you will get one response. If you are covered up (in western or Indian garb, doesn't matter), you will get a different response. You just have to decide what works best for you.

If you look like a respectable adult, you'll have an easier time negotiating India than if you look like a pavement dweller or prostitute. Remember that India's social codes are extraordinarily complex. For example, the color, drape, and fabric of a sari can indicate a person's region, language, and status. Indians are adept at making snap evaluations based on very little information. NRIs from the US are often amazed at how they can't pass as for locals in India, even though they speak the language and wear the clothes.

All of this is to say that how you present yourself as person matters. But the manner of that presentation isn't limited to your clothing, hand gestures, or anything superficial. Not that many tourists go to India--Indians will assume that you came there because you are interested in the culture and are interested in being respectful of it. If you want to talk religion, or you pick up your roti with your left hand, you are not violating any code--you are a tourist, the code doesn't apply to you.

Remember, India is a country where skinny men walk around naked with ash and cow dung smeared on their bodies. Perfect strangers will ask about your marital status and children, how much money you make. They'll also take you home for dinner like a long-lost friend.

PeakXV · Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:20

I pointed my shoes in a business meeting (albeit unknowingly) under the coffee table at a prospective JV partner and after the meeting he expressed his dislike about it to a third party. India is the same as everywhere else in the World .... if there is good chemistry and people like you ... they will cut you some slack with your cultural ignorance .... if they don't like you they might/will take you task on an issue. If you have no manners to begin with - following Indian etiquette protocol is going to be a hard task to master quickly.

I think Business & Holiday travel are like apples and oranges when it comes to how you approach etiquette/customs practice though.

noflylist · Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:23

In a small city bank, I went to a manager's office with a local friend. The friend removed shoes before entering the office, I did not. Got stern looks from the friend. Was that a violation of etiquette, I am still confused.(Anyway it took 3 hours to change $100, but that is unrelated story)

edwardseco · Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:33

I take a cue from those Indians around me..

Shark · Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:36

3. Do not kick an advancing dog that may have rabies.

Oh by the way Merchant.....lighten up. It is a bit of fun.

edwardseco · Mar 2nd, 2007, 09:25

Yes, but Merchant raises the IQ level of the site by a bunch when he signs on. He is the only person who knows the difference between a toda and a tola..

Merchant · Mar 2nd, 2007, 10:49

Well, Ed, toda and tola sent me to the wikipedia.

Thanks, though.

I accept the suggestion to lighten up. But stuff stays on the internet forever, and visitors to IndiaMike find it without knowing the context. I hate it when people are unnecessarily and irrationally afraid of travel.

mridula · Mar 2nd, 2007, 11:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merchant

... I accept the suggestion to lighten up. But stuff stays on the internet forever, and visitors to IndiaMike find it without knowing the context. I hate it when people are unnecessarily and irrationally afraid of travel.

Well said. Add to it the confusion of all those new names and unfamiliar things that crop up while searching for information, this type of stuff could make it more complex and confusing.

dzibead · Mar 2nd, 2007, 11:58

Well, there are two # 3's already, so I'll jump to # 5:

5. Don't try to photograph the image of a god in the inner sanctum of a temple.

6. Don't argue about 5 rupees with anyone over anything . That's just one of my personal rules ... life is too short to act like a rich Western horse's posterior.

seventies'hippy · Mar 2nd, 2007, 12:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by crvlvr

.compile a list of Top 10 things a tourist should not do while in India.

..

#7 Even if it's the 100's "good morning come into my shop, what is your name" of the day & it's still only 10am

You should not "under any circumstances" forget to smile

indira · Mar 2nd, 2007, 13:01

Quote:

You should not "under any circumstances" forget to smile

How very true, I am really smiling reading this quote...

shahronakm · Mar 2nd, 2007, 19:35

# 9] Don't litter. I have seen foreign tourists throwing things here & there. Although less than we Indians.

Ronak.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 06:20	#1
crvlvr Guru Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hollywood Posts: 4,474	Top 10 Things tourists should not do while in India After seeing the "What is their problem" thread, I thought it might be interesting if we could compile a list of Top 10 things a tourist should not do while in India. Add you suggestions to this thread and we can have a poll later on which ones make it on the Top 10. Here my first suggestion: 1. Dress in revealing clothes, especially at inappropriate locations PS: It would be great if you can number you suggestion sequentially, so that it will easy for us to find all the suggestions while preparing the poll. e.g. next suggestion to be numbered as "2" and so on.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 06:59	#3
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 4,196	3. Thou shall not eat nor shaketh your neighbours hand from the portside, the southpaw and/or the left hand! __________________ We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time. T.S. Eliot Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:04	#4
Merchant Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: New York Posts: 2,096	I have to disagree with all this. There are no "shoulds" or "shouldn'ts." India is a huge place, and as was pointed out in the other thread, what flies in Mumbai might not be such a good idea in Varanasi. Indians are not generally so sensitive that a tourist's transgression is going to cause any offense. Indians, indeed people everywhere, respect people who are respectful. How the tourist shows that respect will vary from person to person. You can be a horse's hindquarter in culturally appropriate clothing, just as easily as you can be a suitable boy in ragged cutoffs and a t-shirt. Yes, your appearance and presentation matter--in India and anywhere else in the world. But unless you go out of your way to provoke or offend, you are not likely to do so. You should know, however, that your appearance--your first impression--will determine how people respond to you. If you are a woman dressed in a low-cut top, you will get one response. If you are covered up (in western or Indian garb, doesn't matter), you will get a different response. You just have to decide what works best for you. If you look like a respectable adult, you'll have an easier time negotiating India than if you look like a pavement dweller or prostitute. Remember that India's social codes are extraordinarily complex. For example, the color, drape, and fabric of a sari can indicate a person's region, language, and status. Indians are adept at making snap evaluations based on very little information. NRIs from the US are often amazed at how they can't pass as for locals in India, even though they speak the language and wear the clothes. All of this is to say that how you present yourself as person matters. But the manner of that presentation isn't limited to your clothing, hand gestures, or anything superficial. Not that many tourists go to India--Indians will assume that you came there because you are interested in the culture and are interested in being respectful of it. If you want to talk religion, or you pick up your roti with your left hand, you are not violating any code--you are a tourist, the code doesn't apply to you. Remember, India is a country where skinny men walk around naked with ash and cow dung smeared on their bodies. Perfect strangers will ask about your marital status and children, how much money you make. They'll also take you home for dinner like a long-lost friend. Last edited by Merchant : Mar 2nd, 2007 at 10:04.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 19:35	#15
shahronakm Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,448	# 9] Don't litter. I have seen foreign tourists throwing things here & there. Although less than we Indians. Ronak. __________________ My Picture Gallery

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Mar 2nd, 2007, 06:31	#2
noflylist Account Closed on User's Request Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Houston Posts: 840	2. Do not start a religious discussion, specially if you are going to put down a religious belief.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:20	#5
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 4,196	I pointed my shoes in a business meeting (albeit unknowingly) under the coffee table at a prospective JV partner and after the meeting he expressed his dislike about it to a third party. India is the same as everywhere else in the World .... if there is good chemistry and people like you ... they will cut you some slack with your cultural ignorance .... if they don't like you they might/will take you task on an issue. If you have no manners to begin with - following Indian etiquette protocol is going to be a hard task to master quickly. I think Business & Holiday travel are like apples and oranges when it comes to how you approach etiquette/customs practice though.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:23	#6
noflylist Account Closed on User's Request Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Houston Posts: 840	In a small city bank, I went to a manager's office with a local friend. The friend removed shoes before entering the office, I did not. Got stern looks from the friend. Was that a violation of etiquette, I am still confused.(Anyway it took 3 hours to change $100, but that is unrelated story)

Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:33	#7
edwardseco Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Land that shakes and bakes. Posts: 3,932	I take a cue from those Indians around me..

Mar 2nd, 2007, 08:36	#8
Shark Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia, New South Wales Posts: 158	3. Do not kick an advancing dog that may have rabies. Oh by the way Merchant.....lighten up. It is a bit of fun.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 09:25	#9
edwardseco Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Land that shakes and bakes. Posts: 3,932	Yes, but Merchant raises the IQ level of the site by a bunch when he signs on. He is the only person who knows the difference between a toda and a tola..

Mar 2nd, 2007, 10:49	#10
Merchant Maha Guru Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: New York Posts: 2,096	Well, Ed, toda and tola sent me to the wikipedia. Thanks, though. I accept the suggestion to lighten up. But stuff stays on the internet forever, and visitors to IndiaMike find it without knowing the context. I hate it when people are unnecessarily and irrationally afraid of travel.

Mar 2nd, 2007, 11:58	#12
dzibead Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Northern California Posts: 2,082	Well, there are two # 3's already, so I'll jump to # 5: 5. Don't try to photograph the image of a god in the inner sanctum of a temple. 6. Don't argue about 5 rupees with anyone over anything . That's just one of my personal rules ... life is too short to act like a rich Western horse's posterior.

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