Dos and Don’ts of Travelling in India

With its amazing cultural diversity, spectacular landscape, ancient monuments, places of religious significance with awe-inspiring architecture, yoga institutions and rejuvenating Ayurveda spa in serene localities, India can be a passionate traveller’s dream destination. If exploring India is on your bucket-list, you may want to know about the dos and don’ts of travelling in India to undo whatever myth about India that holds you from flying to India.

Let us make one thing clear. India is not a mystery land and neither is present day India so conservative as to expect you to follow their beliefs and traditions to the dot. You can just go easy on that. Indians are very adaptable and can perfectly understand you when you do something that does not align with their sentiments. They will give you the space and point out to you if need be. Even rural India understands their guests pretty well. With this knowledge, you can shed any initial inhibition you may be holding.

Here are some dos that can help you get along very easily with Indians:

Understand the Cultural Differences: Understanding the cultural differences sets you going right from day

1. Some of the most important points to remember include:

• Traditionally, Indians greet each other with folded arms. Shaking hands is also pretty common these days. When it comes to greeting the opposite sex, folded hands greeting is practiced here. Friendly hugging and planting a gentle kiss on the cheek of the lady will make her and the family uncomfortable. So, the recommendation would be to bring your palms together to greet women. You can say “Hello”, “Namaste”, “Vanakkam” or “Namaskara” depending on the part of India you are in.
• At very traditional Indian homes people remove their shoes outside their homes and walk barefoot inside. Some may wear slippers inside their homes. On your Indian visit, do remove your shoes outside the house you visit. Of course, you are free to wear your shoes in the hotel rooms.
• Remove your shoes when you visit places of religious significance as it is considered disrespectful to be wearing shoes in places of worship.

Wear it Right: While dressing oneself up is their personal choice, it is best to base your selection depends on the country you travel to. Metropolitan cities are used to their ladies wearing skirts, jeans and T-shirts and so you are fine to wear your regular clothing. The only recommendation would be to avoid short skirts and tops that may be revealing.

If you are travelling in the rural India, it would be best to wear loose-fitting trousers and T-shirts. If you fancy wearing Indian sarees and salwar- Kameez/Kurta, you will be fondly considered as a daughter of India.

Converse with Local People:  The general tendency of Indians is to get along well with others. They will go out of their way to help a foreigner in their place. Conversing with local people will not only help you understand the people better but also make your stay more interesting. Learn important words and sentences of the local language that would help you to interact with the local people.

Gather More Information About the Tourist Destination Before You Visit: Let’s say you are visiting a popular place of worship. Knowing in advance if there is any dress code will be helpful. For example, some places of worship may require women to wear a shawl.  

Be Friendly Yet Firm: Being friendly with local people will win the hearts. It will also make your stay most memorable. Yet, you also need to be firm when you are accosted by people trying to make you buy things you may not want. Same goes for people who keep asking for more tips or children who are forced into begging.

Ask for the Ingredients Before Eating New Foods: While Indian cuisine is great and is very different across India, it is still best to know what is in a dish before trying it. Some Indian foods are quite spicy, which may not go well with foreigners who don’t eat spicy foods. That said, not all Indian foods are spicy. Have a taste of local cuisine and you will want more.

 

Honestly, there isn’t a long list of don’ts while you travel to India. Contrary to popular beliefs about India and Indians, understanding the country and its people while you are on a visit, will make you want to revisit the country. There are just a few don’ts during Indian travel to ensure you have a pleasant stay.

Don’t Go Out Alone in the Late Night: It is generally not recommended to travel alone in the night in any place that is not your home country. Same goes for India as well. Avoiding late night outing is best. (especially in the smaller towns, would be okay in metros like Mumbai/Bangalore/Delhi).

Never Drink Tap Water: You may notice many people storing tap water in their bottles while on a journey. However, you may not be used to such water and hence it is best to go for bottled water or water served in your place of stay.

Avoid Drinking Juice from Street-Side Stalls: With due respect to vendors who follow strict hygiene procedures, there are many who do not maintain standard hygiene measures. Hence it is best to avoid drinking juice from street-side stalls.

Avoid Taking Private Cabs: Opt for cabs arranged by your tour operator to ensure safe journey. Most of the private cabs can take you to your destination safely but there are many instances when the tourists are over-charged by cab drivers.

Do Not Travel during Peak Hours in a Public Transport: Travelling in public transport can be fun and can result in you enjoying a pleasant conversation with fellow passengers. However, peak hour travel in public transport may be a rude awakening to the busy India’s working style. There will be lots of pushing around and shoving. Definitely you would not want that on a relaxed tour. Avoid public transport during peak hours.

Simple Shopping Suggestions for Best Bargain in India

Big and medium-sized shops have fixed price and bargaining here is absolutely not possible. They have standard prices for their products and unless the store has a discount offer, you will be paying what the price tag says. However, small shops and street-side shops and bazaars where there are many shops lined up will hike their prices, particularly when foreigners enter their shops. Never hesitate to bargain here if you want to get the right deal. Without hesitating for a second, offer to pay half of what the seller says. After some bargaining, the seller will be happy to sell you the product for a lesser price than what he had initially quoted.

All said, there is still something you need to remember. Yes, here it is.

Beware of Irresistible Offers

Nothing can be as enticing as an offer that seems to be an absolute winner for you. Just don’t fall for any such offers that come from people who keep insisting you to buy their products or employ their services.

Unregistered travel agents and local cabs may approach you and offer you to take you to excellent tourist destinations. Regardless of how compelling their description is, don’t make any changes to your itinerary without cross-verifying with authentic sources. It is also best to stick on with your original itinerary to ensure you visit each of the tourist attraction that is on your list. While going with the flow and making sudden changes to your itinerary will add to the flavour of travel, you would not want to miss out on the very essence of your travel. The key is to plan in advance and make inclusions after thoughtful consideration.

There is one more thing you need to do and avoid while on your Indian travel. It is great to engage in conversation with local people, interact with them and get along greatly. But, in India, you may have to field questions related to your marital status and if you have come with your friend of opposite sex, they would naturally assume your partner to be your spouse and base questions accordingly. It is essential to understand that these people are not being rude. They are just making a friendly conversation and some information about your life makes them happy, nothing more. Just go light on it.

Following the above mentioned dos and don’ts will make your travel to India memorable and by the end of your journey you would have won many hearts. A nice way to pack off to your country, right?