Preparing For Your First Visit To India

A trip around the the world is not complete without visiting India! There is nowhere on the planet quite like it. A lot of people, particularly Canadians, have apprehensive feelings about traveling in India.

Even as experienced seven-continent travelers, we had a few butterflies in our stomachs after hearing experiences from other travellers and reading some horror stories online. However, entering with the right mindset and some mental preparation allowed us to really enjoy our time in this beautiful and diverse country.

We left the country with good experiences and no horror stories to speak of! We have compiled a toolbox, so to speak, with some useful tips to help new visitors prepare for India and to know what to expect.

Prepare for honking

Indian drivers honk. They honk to notify other cars they are passing. They honk when going through intersections. They honk when they are turning corners. They honk when traffic is heavy. They honk when traffic is light. They honk at pedestrians. They honk to say hello. They honk to say goodbye. They honk ALL… THE… TIME! We have experienced our fair share of honking in other areas of the world, but nothing quite like India! If you have sensitive ears, it is helpful to bring along a set of earplugs. Shaleen wore a pair during a 6-hour bus trip in India!

Prepare for scams

Tourists having been traveling to India for centuries, and locals tend to see foreigners as giant dollar signs. Sadly, that means scams are prevalent. Be sure to have your guard up. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Prepare to be stared at and have your picture taken

Indians seem to love staring at foreigners! We can’t really figure out why, since millions of tourists from all over the world visit India and the British have been in India for centuries. However, they seem to be entranced by us! This is not limited to white skinned tourists either; Shaleen received way more stares than me! To note, we always dress conservatively and try not to bring attention to ourselves when traveling.

Also, it is not uncommon for locals ask to take selfies with foreigners. Be careful though. Once the floodgates have been opened, it can be hard to close them. We watched a couple of blonde girls unable to escape a photo shoot with locals in New Delhi for about 20 minutes! If you don’t like having your photo taken, do as Shaleen and wear a N-95 mask and ball cap!

Prepare for touts everywhere

If I had a rupee for every tout that tried to sell something to me, persuade us to dine at their restaurant, or get in their taxi, I would be set for life. These touts can be very persistent when they see a foreigner. Usually, it takes at least three polite “no thank yous” before they leave you alone.

If you do wish to use the services, the first question they ask is, “Where are you from?”. This is so they can charge according to your socioeconomic status based on your country of origin! If you are from Europe, Australia, or North America, be prepared to be charged higher rates for everything!

We would often say we were from Argentina, as it’s Shaleen’s second home and we spent a lot of time there recently. Plus Argentina is in economic crisis! After that, they often left us alone, knowing we didn’t have money to waste! We heard about this hack from a blog written by a Philippine-American girl, who would tell everyone in India that she was from the Philippines. Do your research though. In Jaipur one of the vendors began speaking perfect Spanish with us!

Prepare to see a lot of garbage, feces and more

Unfortunately, environmentalism does not seem to be much of a priority in India. Virtually everywhere was littered with garbage. Although it appears that local governments are beginning to to encourage cleaner habits, we watched locals routinely drop their garbage on the ground, with seemingly no worry whatsoever. Furthermore, there are a lot of stray animals (dogs, goats, cows) roaming free, which also results in a lot of droppings on the road. Keep your eyes peeled when walking around.

Prepare to see wild animals

Wild animals are everywhere in India. You will see your fair share of goats, cows, dogs, cats and more strolling on streets, alleys and sidewalks. You may even encounter the occasional elephant, but often these beautiful creatures are owned and often mistreated. See our post “Are Elephant Sanctuaries Actually Ethical?” for more information about the elephant tourism industry.

Prepare to almost die every time you cross the road

Cars do not stop for pedestrians. At best, they may swerve out of the way or slow down slightly. Walk with confidence when crossing the road and if possible, cross with a crowd of locals.

Prepare your stomach

Indian food is awesome! Portions are always huge and filling! We thoroughly enjoyed pigging out on dosas, curries, biryani, daal, bhel, idli, paratha, and more! In order to avoid getting sick, eating cooked vegetarian food is a good start. For the first few days, we ate only in our hotel, which we figured would have a higher standard of hygiene for foreigners. You can start taking probiotics one month before your trip!

Be sure to only drink bottled water, purchased from a reputable source. We stayed healthy during our entire trip in India by following these tips and avoiding street food. I’m sure there are some safe options for street food, but we decided not to risk it.
Tip: Download the Zomato app for good recommendations, menus, pricing, and reviews for restaurants throughout India.

Prepare for a different experience in different areas of the country

We started our trip in the south of India, which was a nice way to ease in to India. The state of Kerala is much more relaxed and moves at a slower pace compared to the north. We noticed that people were friendlier, spoke better English, traffic was less crazy, and things were overall calmer compared to cities we visited in Northern India, such as Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra.

Prepare to ride local buses, metro and trains

Riding local transportation is super cheap and super easy. Although it may appear intimidating, it is not complicated at all. For most city buses, you simply wave it down and jump on. A fare collector will eventually come to you and collect money. More often than not, they will also alert you when your stop is approaching. Be aware that the front seats are usually reserved for women.

Prepare for a somewhat complicated experience buying train tickets

We were unable to buy train tickets online in advance on our Canadian credit card. That meant that we needed to buy them in person at the train station. This entailed going to a counter, filling out a form, and then bringing that form to the ticket window to purchase the tickets. There will be many “helpful locals” around. We were not sure if their motivations were honest, so we used our best judgement and politely thanked them and declined their help.

Prepare to tip

Tipping is expected from foreigners in India. However, keep in mind that a simple 10% on meals is more than enough. In some restaurants, a 10% service charge is already included. It’s a good idea to keep smaller bills with you to tip bell boys, tour guides, drivers, etc.

Prepare to line up in different queues by gender

There are often different lines for men and women when buying tickets, entering the metro, at airport security and more. More often than not, that is because all passengers receive a security pat down. Men are frisked by men in the open, while women are frisked by women in an enclosed booth.

Prepare to buy a really cheap SIM card

SIM cards in India can be purchased at airports, are super easy to get, and are incredibly inexpensive. For 350 rupees (less than $7 CAD), we activated a prepaid plan at Cochin Airport with Vodafone. This allowed us a whopping 1.5gb of data per day, plus text and local calling!

The only annoying part is that we received multiple spam texts every day. Having a SIM card is useful in India, as a lot of free wifi networks require a local number in order to join, and we were able to hail an Uber easily. Make sure your SIM card will work in the areas you will be traveling in India! We noticed that we were “roaming” once we headed north, however, the data plan continued working without roaming charges.

Prepare to use Uber or Ola

Using ride sharing services like Uber and Ola takes all the hassle out of negotiating prices with taxi and rickshaw drivers. Prices are cheap and you can even order a rickshaw with these services! We primarily used Uber as it was already downloaded and activated on our phones. Both services have similar prices.

Prepare to have tissues with you all the time

Public toilets in India are rarely equipped with toilet paper. Usually there will be a spray hose and/or water bucket, but if you are not used to that, it is a good idea to have a stash of tissues handy at all times. Also bring hand sanitizer with you, most places do not have hand soap.

Prepare for public spitting, urination, defecation and other bodily excretions

Local people commonly spit on the street, which is partially attributed to the popularity of chewing tobacco. Also, it is not unusual to see men urinating in openly public places. We even encountered a man defecating on the side of the road and a woman vomiting outside the Lotus Temple in Delhi!

Prepare for poor air quality

The air quality in some areas of India (such as Delhi) is horrendous. It is not a bad idea to use an N95 facemask to protect yourself. Shaleen’s tolerance to the poor air was particularly bad. She was continuously coughing during our time in Delhi. Within a day of leaving the country, she was better! You can easily monitor the current air quality by checking the Air Quality Index (AQI) online.

Prepare for aggressive salespeople and to be followed in stores

Any time we entered a store, a salesperson would undoubtedly follow us around, asking if we needed assistance whenever we looked at something for more than 5 seconds. It can be annoying when an eager employee shows you seven more styles and colours of jeans simply because you examined a pair for 10 seconds. In Canada, we are used to being independent and seek assistance when needed!

Prepare your visa in advance

If your country requires you to have a visa to enter India, be sure to print it off. Even though ours was an e-visa, we were required to have a printed copy at customs. The e-visa is a complicated process requiring pictures, previous countries traveled, your religion, information about your parents and more! Our e-visa took 24 hours to process, however, we recommend applying for it at least a few weeks in advance.

Prepare to have an awesomely unique travel experience

As mentioned earlier, there is nowhere in the world quite like India. Even though this may sound like a list of negative things, we found that reading blogs and preparing ourselves made our first trip to India amazing! Entering the country with right mindset will allow you to have an unforgettable experience! Be sure to check out our two-week itinerary for first timers to India. Have fun and namaste!