Comments on: Love Hate Relationship With india

By: Somak chatterjee

Somak chatterjee — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 13:22:47 +0000

In reply to Rachel Jones. It's also true for USA. Most people don't see Real USA in USA only see new York but don't see homeless people.

By: mexicoindiatravel

mexicoindiatravel — Sat, 01 Dec 2018 07:10:49 +0000

I couldn’t agree more with what you’ve written, both bad and good. I’m a 56 year old from Canada who has been traveling for almost a year. In March, I taught in Delhi for two months (too long to be in Delhi) and now I’ve been in Jaipur for a week and will be ending my travels with a three-week stay in Goa. I have definitely experienced some magic in India, no question, particularly the ancient historical sights. But I’m hoping that Goa will be a more relaxing experience, a side of India I still have yet to see…

Thanks for your blog!

By: Marybeth

Marybeth — Mon, 24 Sep 2018 21:52:59 +0000

Hello,

How do you know if rides are safe or not? I have a hotel coming to pick me up from the airport, this should be safe, correct? Or should I use a prepaid taxi like you did before? I am flying into Delhi.
Thanks!

By: Sarvagya Kumar

Sarvagya Kumar — Thu, 24 May 2018 09:47:23 +0000

On behalf of India, I express my apologies for all the bad experiences that happened to you. Not only foreign travellers but Indians as well face some of these problems on a daily basis. I know that some drastic changes should be made to improve the condition of places,espe especibig cities. But overall India is a beautiful country and an experience that every traveller must have in their lifetime. Thank you for pointing that. :)

By: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones — Thu, 28 Jul 2016 13:23:28 +0000

In reply to Vera Lucia. Hi Veri from Peru! :D A friend of mine and her husband are from Peru and are very good cooks! They live in Goa. Mumbai can be very difficult and the chaos there can make you feel quite tired or keep you inside. It's good you like to walk. I hope you enjoy learning a lot about your new neighborhood!

By: Vera Lucia

Vera Lucia — Wed, 27 Jul 2016 12:52:25 +0000

Hello Rachel!
I have loved reading your post and now feel a little less “alone” in this time of my life. I am Vera Lucia, from Peru. My husband decided to start an amazing journey to the UK so that he could study his MBA there, 10 months ago. Thanks to the MBA, he got the amazing opportunity of an internship in a very big company here in India, specifically, in Mumbai. His program lasts 8 weeks and I arrived 5 days ago. Since he is working… obviously, most of my time I am by myself. Coming from a “third world country” from latin America, like Peru, I really thought that being in India would be like going a little bit back home again: the honking, the traffic, the chaos. Actually I missed Lima (my home city) so I thought that Mumbai would be perfect for me. I can´t say that I was not prepared because things have not surprised me us much in general… but there are certain things that really do “affect” me and I am really hoping I can get used to it for the time I have left. I love walking!! Love it! But walking here is really a challenge hahaha. I am quite open-minded but it hasn´t been that easy this first days. Your blog has helped me a lot and I am sure I´ll keep reading it!

By: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 05:31:38 +0000

In reply to Kim. It's true, India has a trash problem! There is also a lot of dust and pollution.

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 16 Feb 2016 13:27:22 +0000

You forgot the trash and dirt in India…it’s just unbeliveable! Indians and their government just don’t care!

By: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 07:54:13 +0000

In reply to Manjusha. Open heart open mind <3

By: Manjusha

Manjusha — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 07:00:07 +0000

Hi Rachel

You were absolutely right when you said that for each horrible encounter in India, there is an equally opposite encounter. A lot of people complain about scams, stares and hawkers. I am sure, scams exist in every country. India is not different, but it certainly isn’t the most dangerous place on this planet. And in most cases a tourist only has to use common sense to see through those scams.
India is one of those places that one needs to visit with an open heart.

By: alan

alan — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:05:25 +0000

I have been to India 4 times and will be going again in a few months. One of the many things India has shown me is the value of where I live. Even though I live in a city central location – noise,pollution and crowding it’s nothing compared to India. It makes me appreciate what I do have, which is what very few Indians have. My stress levels are so low as compared to India in general and my worries about daily survival are nothing compared to theirs.

By: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 11:22:31 +0000

In reply to Mandira. They do not charge you the minimum fare always. My first time in India I was charge over 700 rs to an apartment in Andheri East that was less than 10 minutes away. Even at the airport, prepaid will scam if they get the chance. Even now, you can check multiple counters some offering 2x the other.

By: Mandira

Mandira — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 13:08:11 +0000

Prepaid taxis from the airport will always charge you the minimum fare (Rs. 250-300 depending on the city) irrespective of where you are going. Hardly a scam. If you are travelling short distance and want to avoid paying the minimum, you can hail a cab. call an uber/meru/easytaxi/radiotaxi/or any other easy taxi or take a rickshaw.

By: Santosh Menon

Santosh Menon — Tue, 12 May 2015 18:15:04 +0000

Give south of India a try!.

By: chinmayee

chinmayee — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 13:04:06 +0000

I totally lovehow u guys come so far to india with the guts to travel alone. The sad thing is often we dont have the courage to travle alone in India and hence have to go to western countries for that all alone kind of adventure ….

By: Mangesh

Mangesh — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 16:55:07 +0000

I left India in 1967 as a teenager to study in the US (the Hippy era). Visiting India later I felt the same frustrations that all the foreigners feel about the chaos, corruption, etc. etc. Most foreigners probably don’t (or I should say can’t) feel the deep traditions, sacrifices, love etc. that we Indians feel growing up. I always wanted to really know what foreigners feel about India – know it honestly. I wished I could get in the head of some of the foreigners and find out. Then at my kids summer camp I found a book “Holy Cow” by an Aussie girl. This girl left India in disgust, never to even look at the direction of India. But fate brings her to India as foretold by a porter at the airport when she was leaving. She had to live in India then. That is when she found the inner beauty of India also. I generally don’t read fiction as during my high school I had saturated myself with fiction. When I read the first page, I was glued. I am writing a screenplay for an independent movie about an American girl finding out that she was the daughter of a person in India. She goes to meet him. I have included all the negatives of India in the script but I am having difficult time to find some good experiences to include.

By: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 11:58:40 +0000

In reply to Liz Gazzola. Ah, Dengue is a bitch huh!! You have hit the nail on the head, there are 2 sides and I agree that someone who only see the postive hasn't seen all of the real india, because some of India is very scary, poor, run down, unsafe etc and you have to understand an see it all to "get" india as a whole

By: Liz Gazzola

Liz Gazzola — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 05:01:35 +0000

Hey Rachel! Just wanted to say how much I loved this. When I was in India I kept reading all these blogs and hearing abut “what a spiritual beautiful place india was” and talking to all these people back home who had gone to India and “simply loved it”. I felt like there was something wrong with me, sure I liked India, I loved the architecture, the endless chai, and the amazingly kind family I was living with, but I was also really struggling. I kept getting sick (I got Dengue and pretty bad food poisoning in my first month here) and I was so sick of everyone ripping me off and sexist comments. I had been yelled at more in that first month than I had been in my entire life. I was spit on and young men tried to grab my butt or boobs and then run away. I was always being followed by tuk tuks and sellers when I was walking to work, and had been stolen from while I was in the hospital! Anyway I was living in “the bad part” of Jaipur so I think this had a lot to do with it. I have been traveling now and have found a deeper appreciation for India. I have met so many lovely Indian people and had experiences I will remember for the rest of my life. Just yesterday I was traveling on sleeper class by myself for a rather long journey, and I was a little worried, but this family sat down next to me. They bought me dinner and chai, I tried to refuse but they wouldn’t take my money. They offered me so many of their home made sweets and I spend most of the train ride playing with the two adorable children. I really have met some of the most gentle souls while I was here. However, I think someone who claims that India is a spiritual wonderland is a little misguided and hasn’t really seen a lot of india. Some of India is dirty, and corrupt. There is more misogyny here than at home. It’s all a part of the experience. I feel India is rather like a lotus flower, a thing of immense beauty, blooming from a murky place.

By: Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 14:17:12 +0000

In reply to Dee. I think it's great that you can relate! India has made me a little cynical too, but only at first. After some time it starts to be more positives than negatives, but after my first few months in India I felt the exact same as you!

By: Dee

Dee — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:51:07 +0000

I’m currently sitting in my hotel in Mumbai, by the gateway of India; and having being here for about 2.5 months for work, I think you summed up my experience with India pretty well. I was just surfing the net to read about other people’s experiences and wanted to see if how I feel about this place is a common thing. I have gone through the extremely frustrating scams and countless fights with cab drivers, to getting sick and spending 4 days at the hospital; but I feel like I’ve finally gotten use to the life here. I have had complete strangers go out of their way to help me as well, and it always picks my spirits back up. I laughed when I read about the “milk scam” because I was approached by this man and his baby just today and I knew what he was up to. Sometimes I hate this place because it’s turned me in to such a cynical person, making me not able to trust anyone and always giving people that “death stare”. I definitely prefer Bangalore over Mumbai. I haven’t had the opportunity yet to see other parts of India. But with the constant con artist I still encounter on a daily basis, I’m sick of this place. Definitely ready to go home! But just want to say it was a good read coming across your page. Good luck with your work and let me know if you’re in Mumbai. It’d be nice to talk to someone that actually speaks ENGLISH and not someone that conveniently “forget” the language when it comes to MONEY! ha! :)