The Truth about Travelling India... (not what you think)

Many travellers have the idea that India is a difficult destination to travel, and in my experience I've found that to be true, but not for the reasons you might be thinking. When people think about travelling in India, I think they think about a few different things. Number one, they think about the heat. As a Canadian, I come from a very cold country, so the heat was something I was definitely thinking about when visiting India. But actually I've found the heat not to be as big an issue as I thought. I mean some places I've been were really really hot, Varanasi got really really hot. But the thing about the heat in India is you just have to learn to work around it. You know in the very hot time of the day at 3pm in the afternoon, there's only so much you can do. And if you want to do a lot of stuff, wake up early, or wait for the sun to go down and then do some adventuring. But if you have an idea before you get there that you are going to go visit some temple and go visit some fort and do all of these different activities between like 1pm and 5pm, by the time you're done you're going to be exhausted and you're probably not going to have a very fun day because you're going to be tired from the heat. Or you can go to other destinations altogether. I mean I've been looking north, there's a city I want to go to called Shimla, which is sort of at the foothills of the Himalayas. And last week Shimla had snow. So actually I'm waiting for Shimla till the end of my trip because it's still too cold for me to visit. So I'm waiting for it to heat up a little bit. So the important thing to remember about India is there's very many different sides to this country and very many climates as well. The second thing people worry about in India is safety. I have not had any safety issues whatsoever. I walk around with a big camera that I'm filming on today. I've asked Indian friends of mine, I've asked other tourists, like what's been your experience? Should I be worried with my camera, especially like after dark, should I be cautious? I can tell you guys without a word of a lie, I feel safer here after sundown carrying my camera than I do in my city back home in Canada. I never feel as though I'm going to get mugged, I never feel as though I need to hide my valuables I'm not saying you should come to India wearing like some expensive Rolex watch or something. That's just not a good idea in any foreign place when you're traveling. It just attracts the wrong kind of attention to you. One thing I've noticed about India, and this was told to me by a woman from the United States who actually, she spent like a year traveling and living in India. And she said that not only does she feel safe in India, but if there's ever any sort of incident, let's say if someone were to steal your camera, if you shouted, there are always enough people around that, you know, 50 other Indians would be coming and helping you. There's just like the society here looks out for each other, and they look out for you as well. Yes, there are scams, yes there are things to look out for, but from everything I've experienced and everything I've heard from other travelers, people across India are very respectful to foreign travelers, and it just hasn't been an issue. The only issue I've had is like sometimes I film in train stations and stuff, and a security person will tell me I can't film there. I just got lesson number one from India, they don't like cameras in the metro station. But still, they are very respectful. They say like, sir, you are not allowed to film here. It is not like they want to grab my camera and see my footage or anything like that. It is always from a place of respect, and if you come from that same place of respect, you probably won't have any problems. And the third thing that people think about, this is something I was thinking about before coming to India is, I mean, if you do a quick Google search for like crowded Indian train, you will get all these images where it's literally like there's a train and there's people on top, there's people hanging on from the sides, and you start to think like, oh my God, there's what, 1.5 billion people in India? Will I just be like this, side to side with people all the time? And I mean, look, I know this is just one example, but I have this rooftop in this hotel to myself right now. If I look around, I'm currently in Jaipur, in Rajasthan. And yeah, I just took a train here from Delhi, and I had my own sleeping compartment. I had my own space, my own reading lamp. I wasn't hanging on to the side of the train. So the crowds, again, yes, they can be crowded, but I think the only time you will have a problem with the crowds will be if you come with an unrealistic expectation of what India will be like. For example, sometimes people see photos of the Taj Mahal where it's just one person in the front with the Taj Mahal behind it, and it's this perfect image. If you want that image, you better be lined up at 5 a.m. to be the first one inside, or else you're going to have hundreds of people in the background, because it's a big country, and there's a lot of tourists, Indian tourists and foreign tourists. There's just a lot of people. So sometimes that can be overwhelming if you're not used to that, but I feel like I've quickly adapted to the number of people in India, and also, I don't know, it kind of adds to the charm of the country. For me, as a filmmaker, it's great, because there's always something interesting happening. So for me, it's not about the heat, it's not about the safety, it's not about the crowds, it's about the pace that some things happen in India. Some things take a very long time to happen. If you're another tourist who's traveled in India, you probably know what I mean. If you're an Indian, you probably know what I mean, but let me give you an example. So my last day in Varanasi, I wanted to do three things. I wanted to try some local meals. I made a video about that when I went to the Kasi Chat, and then I had to go to the Varanasi train station to buy my ticket, and then I wanted to go see this Buddhist temple. It's actually the area where the Buddha went to give his first sermon after reaching enlightenment, so it's a very important place for Buddhism, and I thought it would be cool to visit. What actually happened was, well, first, I left my hotel and I had to go through the old city and all these alleyways and stuff, and I got a little bit lost, because it's such an ancient city with so many paths, it's really hard to find your way around sometimes. Then I saw some kids playing cricket in the alley, and I started to talk to them and had a good time, and it was cool. And then I finally made it out, and I finally made it to this restaurant, and then the guy who was working there started giving me more food and saying, you have to try this, you started talking to me and other people started talking to me, and in the end it took much longer than I expected it to, and from there I wanted to take a tuk-tuk ride to get to the train station. I had asked the guy at the hotel, or the hostel that I was at, what's a fair price to get to the train station, and he said, you know, you can do it for 60 or 70 rupees, like don't pay more than 100, 100 is max price. So I started asking and trying to get this ride for 100 rupees. But all of the tuk-tuks, they wanted, you know, 300 rupees or 250 rupees, and I would try to get them down, but they wouldn't go down, and I just kept walking and trying to find a place where I could get a fair price, because 300 was far too much. And finally I found one of the guys who bicycles, you know, you're in the back seat and he is bicycling, he had this big smile, he's like, where are you going, where are you going, you know, he was this little guy, but like he was very excited to take me on this ride. So I said, I'm going to the train station, only 100 rupees, and he's like, okay, 100 rupees, 100 rupees. So I get in the back and the hot sun is coming down, because there's no roof, it's just me sitting there, and the traffic is crazy, and he had some little accidents, not accidents, but like in the Indian roads you're always kind of bumping into people, and like it's, that's another story, driving is a bit crazy here. And it was taking a long time, like the traffic was barely moving, after 20 minutes I checked my map and I saw like, we still have so far to go, like how long is this going to take. After we got away from the big traffic, he actually stopped and like went to get some water, which is fine, because it's a hot day, you know. But then he was having a long chat with the guy at this little shop, and like I'm just sitting there like, okay, let's go, I got to get to the train station, finally he comes back and keeps going, and he dropped me not at the train station, but on the other side of this very busy like road area, like just a huge, just mess of traffic, he just dropped me there and said, okay, train station's over there, and suddenly he wanted 150 rupees. And I was thinking, you didn't even take me to the destination, this took much longer, I mean, you stopped for a long time, like, no, like, I will give you the 100 rupees, but that is plenty of money, and he started to get a little bit annoyed, and then another Indian guy working in a shop came over and started to argue, and he was telling the guy, take him to the train station, take him to the train station. And then like after I gave him the 100 rupees, I just walked away, I was like, I don't have time for a 20 minute conversation about this right now, I settled my part of the agreement, I'm just gonna go. I finally make it to the train station, and I need to buy this tourist ticket for the special train that I wanted, the high speed train to Delhi. And you get there, and it's not very clear where to go, and there's this tourist information office that I go to, and I go in there, and there's three Indian employees, but they're all talking to this woman who has questions about exchanging money, and she has a long conversation, she is speaking in Hindi, I believe, like a bit of English, a bit of Hindi, so I understand a little bit, but I'm just sitting there like, okay, like, where do I get my ticket? Finally I have a chance to ask where to go, and they direct me to this other room, and there I have to sit in this big room and wait while other people talk to this one woman who is working at the computer, and some people who are watching are probably saying I should have just booked it online or used an agency, well, in India it's always a bit more complicated than you expect. To book it online you need a certain India Railways, like, ID number, and to book with an agency, there are only certain trains they can book for you, and for some reason this high speed train said it was sold out, but if I go to the train station they will have special, like, tourist quota tickets. So that's what I was doing, and finally I wait, and by the time I get up there and I get my ticket and stuff, the sun has already gone down, like, it is already 6.30 at night, the traffic is maybe even more crazy, and the idea of going to the Buddhist temple is completely gone, and in that moment I was also like very sort of mentally tired, I was just like, okay, I had this crazy drive, I had this crazy experience, I just want to get back and, like, rest for a little bit and have some dinner and go to bed. And that is the thing about India, looking back, talking about it now, I think that was actually a funny day, and I had a great experience at the restaurant, and when I finally did speak to the woman at the train station, she was an angel, she was very helpful, very very helpful, but that is the experience with India, you meet really cool people, but sometimes the journey to get there can have unexpected twists and turns, and if you plan too much for one day, you might have a bad experience, because plans are always changing in India, you know, like the train will always be late, the tuk-tuk will always have some, like, some issue, or sometimes there are power outages, so the day when I actually did take my train to leave Varanasi, there was a power outage, so I met some other foreigners who were there to buy tickets, and this guy, this Italian guy had been waiting for two hours, and the whole system was down, he was just waiting all day for the power to come back so he can buy his ticket. And if you are from a country where it is very easy to book train tickets and stuff like that, it can be very hard to stay patient and calm in those moments, because you just feel like, like, why is this happening, why is it so difficult to do something that should be easy? And so, for me the hardest part about travelling in India, it is not so much India, it is like a battle with yourself, it is like reminding yourself to stay patient, and just to enjoy the journey, because India is a lesson in patience, and if you can just take things slow and enjoy whatever comes, you will enjoy it. And I didn't get to go to that Buddhist temple, but, I mean, the whole principle of Buddhism is about finding peace with yourself, right? To some degree, if I can find peace with myself in that situation, in the train station, or that situation with the tuk-tuk driver, then I don't need to go to this Buddhist temple, because, like, the experience of travelling through India can bring you a similar feeling of peace, if you allow yourself to just reflect in those moments, and actually relax, take it slow, lose all expectations of what your time in India will be like, and just enjoy whatever comes, because there is magic to be found in every corner of this country. And I find the people who have the most problems, or the most negative experience in places like India, are the people who have very set schedules, you know, today we are going to do this, this, this, tomorrow we do this, this, this, and then we go here, then we go here. India does not always work that way. Travel does not always work that way, life does not always work that way. There will be times when things go wrong. And what I have learned from India is just to, just to go with the experience, to remember the good moments, remember the good people that you meet, ask for help from locals whenever you have the chance, because they will be very helpful, and just go without expectation, and you will fall in love with India. All of the stereotypes aside, all of the things you hear about maybe India is dangerous, maybe India is too hot, maybe India is too crowded, forget that. Those are the ideas you have before you come to India, but they are not the truth. As always, I'm not here to paint India as being a perfect country, it's not, but I'm also here not to focus on the bad and the lies and the stereotypes, because you see what you want to see. If that's what you believe, you will see that. If you look for something different, if you look for the beauty, if you look for the cool people, if you look for the unforgettable experiences, then that's what you will find. That's what I'm looking for on the new travel, and that's what I'm going to keep showing you guys in India. So I hope you enjoyed this video, as always I'm Dan from The New Travel, I'll see you next time.