Travel In India: 5 Things To Know Before Going To India

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• published: 23 Oct 2015
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India! A country filled with color, spices and life. My trip to India left me with mixed feelings about the country and a memory bank full of interesting adventures. Here are my top 5 tips for what you need to know before going to India! 1) It's HOT! Although the temperatures and humidity are different depending on what part of India you are going to (as well as the time of year) overall India's climate is quite hot particularly in the south in Kerala. It was so hot and humid I was sweating at 4 o'clock in the morning…before sun had even woken up. However, in the north ( Delhi, Agra & Jaipur) it was a tolerable temperatures around 80 degrees fahrenheit. Note: I was in India in March. 2) You will see both rich and poor…very, very poor. The poverty level in India is quite extreme and it will be evident just from looking out a train window. Sanitation is also an issue as I saw many "restrooms" that we wherever a person decided to pull down their pants. Ironically next to tarps and shacks are large palace structures. Right outside the walls of the glorious Taj Mahal there are people who are in extreme poverty struggling to survive. If you haven't seen poverty like it before, it may be a lot to take in. In addition, there are a lot of random animals walking around like goats, cows, cats and of course dogs. It may not be wise to pet them…I couldn't resist the little goat! 3) There are a lot of scams and people will try to take your money. Literally and figuratively. You need to watch your belongings because pick-pocketers will try to take items not carefully watched (think phones, wallets, passports etc.) In addition, they are hardcore salesmen, who will not leave you alone until you've bought something. Then, after you've bought something, they'll try to get you to buy more. No is just the start of a conversation and even if you walk away you will be followed, sometimes for half a mile. The best advice I was given is you have to ignore them. Don't even acknowledge they're existence and they will eventually go away. It seems harsh, but it's the only thing that ended up working. If you do want to buy something know that they will try to overcharge you to the extreme because they can tell if you are a foreigner and that you are unaware of the actual cost of items. Do not be fooled into paying more than an item is worth. The actual cost of most items is 50% (sometimes more) than what they are asking for it. You'd be surprised to see how the price drops when you walk away. One item I got for 80% of the original asking price because I wasn't going to give in. This however was after I learned I paid 4x what another item was worth. ALWAYS BARGIN. 4) Don't give money to beggars. This includes women, children and handicapped people. This can be difficult because they will swarm you and follow you, again sometimes for half a mile. My guide explained that the money I'd be giving to the person will not in fact be helping that person, but be going to their boss, thus reinforcing this begging mentality. Begging is a kind of business and not a business that they want reinforced in India. Kerala in the south is quite proud of the fact that there are not very many beggars and I noticed the lifestyle of those living in Kerala was in fact much better than other places in India. The only people seen begging in the south are people who've come from the north. 5) The food and architecture are phenomenal. If you have the chance to try butter nut chicken do it! It's unbelievably delicious and one of my new favorite things to eat. And of course there are so many amazing and beautiful historical sites to look at but my do not skip the Taj Mahal. Words fail to express the vastness and the beauty of such a building. It's worth a trip to India. In addition, there are lots of other beautiful place to check out including: The Red Fort, Agra Fort, Amber Fort (Palace), Gurdwara Bangla Sahib (a large Sikh temple), Rashtrapati Bhavan (President Palace) and many more. Hopefully my tips help prepare you for India! Subscribe to this channel to stay updated on the journey! http://www.youtube.com/ehrensworld Stalk me on Instagram!!! http://www.instagram.com/ehrenhotchkiss Follow me on Twitter!!! http://www.twitter.com/ehrenhotchkiss