This list of common experiences does not apply to everyone I met in India and every location I visited, but from my experience traveling throughout the country for two months, it does apply to most…
– Locals use their left hand to wipe after using the bathroom, and therefore everyone uses only their right hand to eat and conduct business with. Contact with someone left hand is avoided in most situations. A simple and innocuous act such as handing over money with your left hand can get you a nasty look from a salesperson. I carried a personal roll of toilet paper with me everywhere I went for good reason, but you need to remember the custom regardless.
– Car horns in India may be the loudest and most piercing of any country in the world. Nowhere else that I’ve been have I heard such obnoxious and deafening horns on such a consistent basis. Large trucks even have “Please Horn” painted on the back. Whether cars behind them are passing the trucks or not, they just lay down on the horn in compliance.
– Everyday, without fail, you will have at least one person try and get money from you and follow you a few blocks or a couple of minutes down the road regardless of what you say to them. Many times this clinger will be a homeless woman shoving her infant into your face for the entirety of this unending stroll. Believe me, it’s amazing how little you feel for this type of person after it happens to you 50+ times.
– Everyday, also without fail, you will be called to by a stranger a minimum of twenty times. These are all by store owners, taxi drivers, and beggars. These distant yells turn into the previous and more insistent followers if you actually engage them in conversation. The usual calls are “Hey”, “Hello”, “Where you from?”, “Please”, “Where you going?”, “Need rickshaw?”, and my personal favorite: “Hey England!” (they try and guess where I’m from to get my attention). Through all of these calls, most travelers either say “No”, “No thank you”, or most often, just pretend they didn’t hear anything.
– There may be some of the nicest and most generous people in the whole world in India. Many people, without knowing you at all, will invite you into their homes, ask you to join them on trips, or just invite you to share chai. Don’t even think about opening your wallet either, money is out of the question.
– Indian food is not as spicy as Thai food (Yes, I had the local fair and not just the touristy versions).
– Corruption is rampant in almost every level of government. There is even a term (Baksheesh) used to describe the non-bribe bribes that are needed to get almost anything done that involves the government.
– The Taj Mahal really does look like all the pictures, but it’s bigger and more beautiful up close.
– There are traffic laws, but I have never seen them followed with the exception of an occasional and rare traffic light that is actually obeyed (usually because it’s in the middle of the city with police standing guard).
– Arranged marriages are still very common. I met a 16 year old who was already engaged. His bride-to-be was 13.
– Every Bollywood movie would be considered a musical by western standards.
– All popular music in India comes from Bollywood films.
– There are almost as many muslims in India as there are in Pakistan.
– Beef is eaten in certain areas of the country, especially in Kerala, a state in the southwest. Otherwise you won’t find it, even at a Mcdonalds where instead of the Big Mac you’ll instead find the “Chicken Maharaja Mac.”
– Cows roam most streets freely, although in some cities, the government has banned them from more touristy and populated downtown areas due to their nuisance with traffic and obvious sanitary issues.
– As a westerner, you will almost inevitably get sick during some portion of your stay. Delicious looking but thin skinned fruit washed with dirty water is usually the culprit.
– If you like dogs, don’t come to India. Packs of stray dogs roam the streets at night (being potentially dangerous) while sickly and sometimes dead dogs can be seen all around the streets by day.
The top 5 smells I encountered in India:
- Cow Shit
- Urine
- Body odor (a surprisingly darker and more spicy variety than I’m used to)
- Burning plastic
- Chilis