Hostel in Bangalore, possible with Indian girlfriend?

Aksel

Hi

I'm gonna live in Bangalore this summer and with me, for a while, my indian girlfriend. I wonder if anybody has experiences with the attitudes of the hostel owners?? Like will she be forced to identify her if she wants to visit me? Will they treat her with disrespect? Any way if anybody have any advice, I'm looking for a cheap hostel with a relaxed attitude.. Thanks in advance!

mairangi_vice

well... ive never stayed in an Indian hostel, nor have I spent much time in Bangalore, but I do also have an Indian girl and have spent a lot of time travelling/living with her in India.
Im sure you know that having a 'girlfriend' in the western sense is unusual for most indians, so you need to keep it low key. We often either pretend to be married, or we have pretended to be cousins (through marriage, obviously) when we stay at cheaper places, although Im sure the owner sees through the lie, everyone seems to prefer it that way.

Try and find a hostel that caters to tourists so at least they will be used to that kind of thing. And remember that its not actually illegal or anything so if ppl start causing trouble for you guys then a bit of shouting and threatening to leave usually fixes it, especially if one of you speaks the local language!

sudheer poppa

Are you talking of hotel or hostel? Hotels normally dont carry any grudge but most important thing is the place where you are heading to. Most of the places in tourist circuit would not worry too much about it, but there would be a bit of more stares in off beaten areas. I would not really worry too much about it.

However hostels in India are a bit different story and normally have policies against women in men's area and vice versa. So better to check witht he hostel admin guys and so on.

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Goldendeer

There is a good alternative to an hostel:

In Bangalore you will easily get a room with an attached toilet/bath [aka paying guest accomodation] These rooms are part of independent houses and some of them have separate entrances so your friends can visit you without disturbing the owner of the premises. However it is better to inform the owner of the house about girlfriend/drinking/partying in your room because some people do not like it.

It may not be as inexpensive as some hostels but if you are willing to pay about 100 US$ per month you can get a nice room in a decent residential area.

travell_india

I stayed some time with my Indian girlfriend in B-lore. As mentioned earlier, keep it low key. People ususally dont like it unless u both show ur passport with the same last name (married).
It's kinda irksome to get comments and strange looks. So better making situation clear upfront.
Hostels have polices abt men-women access.If couples are admitted they likely ask for both passports and I heard only married couples to be admitted in most places.
We rented a flat for 3500.- rupees from an owner that was ok with it. Acting extra decent is sure not a bad idea as it is a sensitive area for the people. We lived in an off the track area but the neighbours liked the "attraction" in their neighbourhood.

jeet

Having read the previous replies, I would just like to add that the area you are going stay also matter. If you are looking to avoid any hassle and odd looks when you might go out with your girlfriend, then you should look for areas like Koramangla, Jayanagar, Indiranagar, and a few others. Look for reletively liberal area and you will avoid much of the hassels.

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crvlvr

It all depends on the kind of place you stay at. more details will be helpful.

batistuta

I agree with Jeet and Crvlvr. The area is going to matter a lot. One of the IM Members (Lady) stayed in Majestic area of Bangalore and had a harrowing time.

livin-in-india

i've never had a problem in majestic- beyond the stares on the streets.

i've travelled extensively with my indian girlfriend all around india and have never had one hotel deny us. they are often interested, and sometimes question our relationship, but we always say husband-wife and they always are happy with the answer.

one hotelier in chennai asked for her passport (not believing she was indian?), and was happy to see that she has some foreign stamps in it.

the worst places for us to be together were UP and Bihar- no surprise! the boys on the street weren't so fun to deal with- always making comments in Hindi about us.

she is a dark southerner, so we get comments on being black and white constantly.

the most friendly places for us are: (in order of comfort)

1. far away from India and Indian judgments
2. Bhagsu, and other foreigner hang-outs in the Himalayas
3. Himalayas in general, where they assume she is African not Indian, are amazed that she speaks Hindi, and really couldn't care less about what other people do.
4. Pune, at Osho Ashram (even though when I turn my back the Indian boys through themselves at her)

Point is DON'T BE AFRAID OF BEING NATURAL IN INDIA WITH HER.
There is no law against your happiness as a couple. So ignore the constant judgment and their talk of the moral police, and realize you are free to melt into each other fully here.

Hotels are always easier than hostels or P & Gs, as they are usually employees working, not some noisy owner.

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jeet

Hotels will in almost all case wont deny you a room. That is their bread and butter. If someone do not like also, most likely
they will give you a room. The issue arises when you go stay on rent particularly in a conservative area.

Brit David

As a general rule, Indians are very tolerant and WM/IW relationships are quite common these days. That said, while big cities are never a problem for interracial couples, there are pockets in India where I did indeed get a disapproving look when I travelled around the country with my Indian girlfriend. In small town northern/central India, many view these relationships through the prism of British colonial exploitation although India has been independent for 60 years! The South is very liberal as are the Eastern states. But do use your common sense; public dispays of affection with your Indian girlfriend will no doubt generate resentment. And if people ask, say you are engaged if not married, otherwise people may assume she is a "professional" if you know what I mean.

crvlvr

But, there are laws againt public indecency/obscenity.

A rather extreme example: http://www.cinemablend.com/celebrity...ndia-3859.html But, you can get into trouble for kissing in a public place.