Source of this article: Taken from readers' contributions!
Preface
The world is big, the scenery is thousands, see the world on the road, know yourself on the way, come to a strange place, feel the exotic customs, see different scenery, meet different people, those who have never seen the scenery, far more vast than you imagined, those who see from the book, what others hear from the mouth, are not as real as your feet on that land!
For India, the largest country in the South Asian subcontinent, few people have set foot here, but only those who have been there have a say!
India seems to be shrouded in a veil of mystery, this is a very mysterious country, people who like it are obsessed, people who don't like it scoff, many people who have been to India have given a high evaluation of India, from the beginning of the "thank you insensitive" to gradually produce a yearning feeling, I am very curious about the customs of India, but the security situation in India, food and hygiene and some daunting, the mind continues to fantasize is unsolvable, the answer is on the road, with excitement and apprehension, I finally embarked on a trip to India!
On the first day I came to India, I was "scared", I was on a business trip here for a month, I lost 20 pounds, I don't want to eat every day, in addition to being homesick or homesick, I have friends who want to lose weight and remember the bittersweet ones, you can come here to challenge, every day here is torment, if it is not forced by life, it is really not recommended to travel or work in India, what kind of experience is it to live in India?
When it comes to India, many people have the impression that there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, poor urban environment, food hygiene, toilet water pipes, dirty pilaf, and harmonious coexistence of people and animals. The education and talent training mechanism and the open and inclusive social environment are not available in many countries, therefore, India can cultivate a large number of elite talents from the crowd, but the existence of the caste system and the meritocracy management system seem incompatible.
Below, let's take a look at the real life in India!
1. India's strength in all aspects should not be underestimated, India is a big country, with a land area of 2.98 million square kilometers (seventh in the world), a population of 1.42 billion (the first in the world), a population density of 480.50 people per square kilometer, in 2023, India's total GDP will reach 3.73 trillion US dollars (the fifth in the world), and the per capita GDP will be 2391.87 US dollars. The evolution of the caste system, and then to the unification of the Mauryan Empire and then its demise, and then by the division of the males, foreign invasions, until 1600, the British invaded the Mughal Empire, established the East India Company, and in 1757, India was completely reduced to a British colony, which lasted for 190 years, and the British promulgated the "Mountbatten Plan" in April 1947 and announced the partition of India and Pakistan, and on August 15 of the same year, the Dominion of India was established, 1950 On January 26, India officially declared a republic and became a member of the British Commonwealth, counting the past history of India, which has hundreds of years of involvement with the United Kingdom, which also leads to the official language of India in addition to Hindi and English, and even India's own legal system is common law!
2. Came to Mumbai's famous slum "Dharavi", the hotel doorman told me to pay attention to safety, Mumbai as India's second largest city and India's richest city, I didn't expect that there was an area in the center of the city full of garbage, sewage flow, this slum is called "Dharavi", known as the largest slum in Asia, many houses are so small that they can only put down a bed, a few families are crowded here, hungry, unclothed, garbage and smelly ditches around, dozens of families share a faucet, with " "Nowhere to stay" is more appropriate to describe the ground conditions of the slums, and the internal living environment is embarrassing, here is the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" Unexpectedly, next door to the slums, there is a mansion that shocks the world, its owner is the richest man in Asia, and its worth even exceeds the GDP of some countries, this 27-story mansion lives 600 servants, 1-6 floors are parking lots, and the top floor is a helipad, unimaginable, separated by a wall, the gap between the rich and the poor is so big, two different worlds are connected together, and there should be conflict but such a magical harmonious coexistence.
3. India's tourism experience is not very good, but India's humanistic atmosphere is impressive, standing on the streets of India has a very unreal feeling, colorful crowds, motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles in parallel, poultry and non-poultry debut, all kinds of car horns, crowds of people are endless, the air is also filled with a special smell, the smell is extraordinary, India gave me the first impression is too chaotic, too noisy, It's too congested, single and beautiful women come to India to know how to dress conservatively, don't be too ostentatious in the crowd, India is overcrowded, and the news reports are real, at this time you will deeply understand how shocking the phrase "from the male gaze" is.
4. In India, the status of cattle is very high, the locals regard cattle as extremely respectful existence, streets and alleys, everywhere, but no one is expelled, Indians worship cattle because of faith, they will make cow dung cake into fuel, cow urine into drink, of course, Indians also eat beef, but it is a buffalo!
5. The outside world knows that the health of the Ganges River in India is worrying, but India's religious beliefs support them, the Ganges River is regarded as the "holy river" and "mother river" in the hearts of Indians, with a length of 2510 kilometers, it is a big river in northern India, ancient India is one of the four ancient civilizations, and has created the famous "Ganges civilization" in human history. Prayer, and even many people take pride in drinking a sip of Ganges water, which is inconceivable in our eyes, but in the eyes of Indians, even if the Ganges water is dirty, it is extremely holy, and in many areas along the Ganges, public infrastructure and services are not perfect, and there is no running water in many places, so the Ganges water becomes drinking water. Water for washing and irrigation, but due to the rapid deterioration of the water quality of the Ganges, Indians around the Ganges are exposed to more serious health threats, and the more densely populated the river, the more polluted the situation.
6. India is a populous country with a population of 1.42 billion, and this is only the data of 2023, and now it has become the world's most populous country, but India is also a country with a huge gap between the rich and the poor in society. In the state of poverty, you can often see a group of Indian children begging around tourists, and the living conditions of the rich in India are completely different, wearing famous brands, driving luxury cars, living in buildings, eating Western food, going in and out of high-end consumption places, eating imported food, hiring people, going to private hospitals, practicing yoga, attending private schools, etc., in India, although poverty and wealth are close to the end of the world, but it is difficult to cross, and all living beings can't help but sigh that a happy life is not easy to come by!
7. When you come to India, you will find that some Indians are blonde, blue-eyed, deep-eyed and high-nosed, and look like Caucasians, while some Indians are dark-skinned. Thin body, looks like a black person, in this skin color contrast, Chinese tourists come to India looks out of place, often strangers come forward to talk or are used as a scenic spot to take a group photo, there is no way, India has a lot of ethnic origins, complex bloodlines, in history from Central Asia into South Asia a group of ethnic groups, many ethnic groups live on the same land, although there are caste system and tribal group restrictions, but it is inevitable to blend with each other, so, Indians look complicated.
8. According to the degree of mixed race and the depth of skin color, Indian society divides different people into different classes, from top to bottom: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, Dalits, the first three are high castes mostly maintain Caucasian characteristics, and the last two are low castes mostly black or brown people, although India has abolished this caste system, but deep-rooted obsessions still exist!
9、 In India, whether it is a high-end place or a civilian family, many bathrooms are equipped with a hose, for Indians, they feel that the use of toilet paper is not as good as rinsing with water, there will be residues, there are also families will store buckets, large buckets of water, small buckets of scooping water, Indians are used to the feeling of wet toilets, tourists are difficult to adapt, therefore, tourists come to India It is recommended to solve the problem in the hotel and then go out, the outside bathroom is difficult to find, and, when shopping in India, if you see a man in a long skirt suddenly squatting, if no one is around, don't be curious about how far you can go forwardThis is so unfriendly to female tourists, it's just too embarrassing, if you are not used to using water pipes, it is recommended to go to the store and buy paper towels!
10. India is one of the most important consumers of gold jewelry in the world, Indians' demand for gold once affected the price of gold, and there is even a saying of "no gold, no wedding" in India, wearing jewelry in India is not only a custom, but also a symbol of strength, but the local gold is mainly 24K gold, the shape is rich in national characteristics, Indian women like to buy gold necklaces, gold anklets, gold bracelets, gold earrings, gold coins, they will think that Chinese women are too poor, because at best, they buy a small ring or a thin necklace.
11. Most people in India are vegetarians, many wealthy families will purchase milk in large quantities, they will drink milk to ingest calcium and vitamins, India's meat is not called meat, but called non-vegetarian, Indians eat and eat bread by hand, but drink soup with a spoon, Indians think that eating directly with their hands can experience the feeling of food at close range, and knives, forks and chopsticks hinder this feeling, more importantly, with hand to grasp the temperature of the food, come to India to eat roadside stalls, roadside fried noodles, Pancakes, cheap and large, but the color and taste are indescribable, and the brave do not dare to try it easily, it is worth mentioning: when eating at a roadside stall in India, the stall owner will provide a pot of water, which is not for you to drink, but for washing your hands and dishes, the right hand pilaf must be washed, and the left hand has other uses!
12. There are many types of roadside stalls in India, and the price is also very cheap, basically a few yuan a piece, such as: fried food, freshly squeezed juice, rice bowl, pilaf, Hummus and the like, handmade juice is best not to look at the process, many people think that Indian food is unpalatable and unhygienic, this prejudice is not right, put yourself in the shoes of the people, to eat at a lower cost, it is very cost-effective for poor Indians, at least there is no technology and hard work, and it is not a prefabricated dish, tourists come to India, it is not recommended to try roadside stalls, especially the kind full of flies, be careful to diarrhea into the hospital, even if you go to the restaurant to eat, you must also observe the neatness of the tableware, it is worth mentioning: eating in an Indian restaurant, regardless of the size, the waiter will generally give two cloves of garlic, and later understandThis is a small trick to prevent foreign tourists from having diarrhea, and those who can accept Indian food are real foodies!
13. Indians like to eat masala, which is a sauce made by mixing a variety of spicy spices, Masala has no fixed ingredients, and the taste is different for each family, and Indians' daily diet is inseparable from masala.
14. If you want to travel to India, you need to do your homework in advance, there is a big difference between the north and the south of India, the north is poorer, overcrowded, the south industry is gathered, software, film, medicine, textiles and other factories are stationed, it looks relatively rich, and the quality is relatively high, India's famous attractions Ganges and Taj Mahal are in North India, but I prefer quiet and simple South India more than the bustling and noisy North India.
15. Traveling in India is a magical experience, only talk about real experiences, not talk about cultural differences, in India, not only the toilet has no door, but also the bus is hop-on hop-off without a door, there are various modes of transportation in India, in addition to trains, buses, Outside the ferry, you can also take a taxi or rent a car, the local taxi software OLA is much cheaper than UBER, you can usually take a tuk-tuk when you go out, the road conditions in India are really poor, very bumpy, there are often strangers who come to reach out and ask for money, it is recommended to prepare 10 rupees of change in advance to pass it.
16. When I first came to India for tourism, in order to avoid being pitted by the locals, it is recommended to find a place to draw a henna, which can be painted at a roadside stall, which is just an art painting, 20 rupees an inch, but when you check out, you will have to be twenty or thirty inches, then it will cost hundreds of rupees.
17. India in summer is really hot, 4-9 months average daily more than 50 °, indescribable, Jaipur hostel terrace, hit a raw egg, five minutes will be half-cooked, it is not recommended to travel to India in summer, because of the hot weather, resulting in worse environmental sanitation here, worse eating conditions, the smell in the air is more, but in December to January, the haze is worse, the visibility is lower, the air quality is very poor, and the plane is often delayed. Travel to India in October-November!
18. If you are not an experienced traveler and come to India for the first time, it is recommended to go to Delhi or Jaipur, Jodhpur and other places in Rajasthan first, where the safety is better, the adaptability is stronger, and they are more mature travel destinations, and there will be no surprises in other places, most likely surprise or fright!
That's my opinion on India, and I welcome my friends to disagree, or the same sentence:
What are your thoughts on this?