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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   3148 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 29, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Ok, If you are going to India ........ hit me up. India is an amazing country, but doing it wrong can leave you with a slum-dog millionaire impression of the place.

I'd recommend:

  • Western ghats = Mumbai - Goa - Hampi - Bangalore - Mysore - Kochi- Madhurai. Best cities, great food, ancient civilization, crazy architecture, rainforests, safe.
  • Leh Ladakh = Alien Landscapes, peak bike-trips & glacial lakes beyond imagination, safe.
  • Himachal = Mountain temples, Buddhist towns, Alps but better, safe.
  • Few days in Delhi. No more - Amazing last-millennium architecture. Scratch the Taj Mahal itch. Epitome of gluttony. Worst people.

Skip:

  • Taj Mahal & Golden Temple- The entire region has 1 thing to look at. It's like Niagara Falls. Worth looking at, but really out of the way. Too touristy as well.
  • Rajathan, MP - Everything is far away. It's hot. Food is meh, and sorta unsafe. Great architecture, but Delhi + Ajanta/Ellora + Maratha Forts cover about 90% of the same. Udaipur might be worth it. But again, kind of out there.
  • Chennai, Varanasi, Kolkata, Dharavi, Hyderabad - Yeah just skip.
  • 7 sisters states - Safety is hard to gauge here without a good guide. You're better off doing Nepal or Bhutan with a good friend instead.
  • Bangladesh, Srilanka
  • Vaishnodevi, Ganga - Too crowded and dirty. Better places on the recommended path with no crowds and honestly, better architecture & views.

Most of the standard worries of white people visiting India are borne out of stupid things that no Indian does.

Don't shop on the street. Proper stores will have reasonable prices, with fixed rates & higher quality. I spent ~25 years in India and never ate shit from the streets. There are a million better options more a marginally higher cost.

The best chaat in India (my favorite cuisine) costs about 2 dollars of a meal. They have indoor AC seating, use mineral water and wash hands after every serving. You don't have to go eat at the street side spot to save 1 more dollar. Your loose-motions are on you.

You can get a properly hygienic bis-ass meal in India anywhere for under $7. If you must eat on the streets then remember that all food in India is prepared fresh. The best way to make sure no pathogens touch you, is to see the shit get cooked in front of your eyes. If it was exposed to fire for a few minutes before you eat it.......you're good. Do not eat cold chutneys and sauces from random places please. Lots of times, your sickness is not due to food, it's heat stroke. India is a hot country. Stay hydrated. Don't spend the entire day in scorching heat. My only 2 cases of terrible food reactions came from drinking unpackaged-cold-water and heat stroke respectively.

Same thing with hotels. Good hotels costs between 50-100$ a night. It's cheap, pay up. Don't try to go stay at the $20/night spot and then complain when the toilets didn't have soap in them. You brought this upon yourself.

Same with visiting completely random desolate spots. India is a big country. We have a lot of guides for everything. The curated stuff is good. If you're hiking through the forests of Jharkhand and get caught by violent Naxalite–Maoists then that's on you. If no Indian visits there. It's for a good reason. Thankfully, the spots I recommend (Western Ghats, Delhi, Himachal & Leh-Ladakh) are quite safe. Just don't hike through a Tiger or a Leopard sanctuary.

Don't be an idiot. You'll be alright.

Great comment! Will be revisiting if I ever do go to India. Wish I had the funds to travel more now, alas.

My friend got bloody diarrhea without ever touching street food. YMMV.

It's the water that gets you.

He only drank bottled water.

It is also the ice in drinks or the water that the vegetables in your dish was washed with or the water you brush your teeth with or... Water can get you in a lot of ways

I had a similar experience as your friend.

Went to Bengaluru in 2018. Was incredibly careful the entire time. Avoided most sketchy street foot and only ate in decent restaurants.

Ended up with food poisoning. The suffering was so bad I won't soon forget it. It was the worst I have ever felt in my life, by far. I loved everything about India but that experience is enough to make me not want to go back.

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