So, I have been both working, studying, and spent leisure time in India about a year in total. I lived for 6 months outside New Delhi in the slums. Made interview among tribes and people displaced by established nature tourism. Together with my wife. Been to tourist spots as well.
Yea you are kind of like a bunch of school kids sometimes. Just a bit scarier. I only encountered the grandiose self image besides India in the US.
My wife could not be alone a second.
The fascist Hindu nationalism is awful to see , for a western fascist probably laughable.
Just to be plain: You think India is best in all the ways , for an outsider it’s like a bunch of people throwing everything in a pile and letting the strongest win.
Just the amount of people trying to prove forced marriage is so much better than the possibility for divorce or just marry who you want.
Of course different rules based on caste , one of my Indian friends who is kind of famous in the movie business still have a hard time based on his last name and actually trying to do some good in India.
The ads in your papers sounds like you selling cows rather than your sisters and daughters.
Don’t get me wrong there are great people , great movements and great things in India.
But overall WTF…
Today I would not return for leisure unless to visit friends there.
*Edited due to poor wordings.
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Not really I did some work there. I also been around in both the north and the south. So you kind of just assumed stuff. Most my work I did in madhya pradesh.
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How’s your reading capabilities? Try again , notice “most” “and”. Read slowly. Kerala was sure better but still my wife never went anywhere alone.
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Yea I travelled quite a lot , spent as much time in Kerala as I could when writing , but fieldwork included quite a lot of not so nice places. Including everything from government officials to displaced villages. In Banglore I only saw offices and traffic unfortunately since lack of time. But made some stops along the way in-between southern Kerala and banglore. Drove a bike so very interesting trip.
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Awhile ago I learned that there’s a thing called casteism. I thought racism was extremely stupid, but casteism just cranks the stupidity to 11. So instead of discriminating against someone’s skin tone or nationality, you’re discriminating against literally nothing??? Whatever, man…
Yea Hindu nationalism is kind of built around that. If you are poor you are poor because you deserve it. And we are rich because we deserve it etc…
Interviewed a guy from the Communist party about caste among other thing and even they have a hard time getting people out of the caste think among their own members.
It’s so hard rooted you need a revolution to even scratch the surface of it.
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Sure I’m no expert , just touched on the subject in my research. My focus was on the forced displacements done. Which was justified by many things caste , scheduled tribes that got “benefitted” by moved in to the desert. As I said very hard ingrained everywhere. but of course it’s about money and power. Just like everywhere else religion , social and politics, tradition and so on can justify it.
Just like money is about politics.
Bad wording on my part. King of the hill politics then if you wish.
Im just not a hippie that wants to justify shitty thing since they got high in Goa once. Who’s larping uh.
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One major reason I’d not want to go to India is that there seems to be a significant crowd of Nationalists that would rather deny any issues than face and fix them, and can be quite hostile to anyone that points then out. I don’t really care for the “apes” commentary as that seems racist AF, but if tourism is a goal then cleaning up regressive bullshit like caste and gender discrimination (and not conducting assassinations on foreign soil then getting hostile when called on it) would be a good start.
Dear Carl, Thank you indeed for narrating to us your honest experiences. Foremost, if at any point during this visit you or your wife felt any discomfort, we offer the deepest apologies. This is not how we would promulgate India in our pride.
India is a land where we worship women as goddesses, welcome guests as gods, and even show reverence to animals and trees. Yes, like every country, we too have individuals whose behavior doesn’t represent our values — but they are not who we are as a people.
At HappyOuting, we run a humble travel initiative that promotes respectful, clean, and soul-touching experiences across India. We actively work with locals to ensure travelers feel safe, valued, and connected — not stared at, overcharged, or judged.
You’re right: pricing disparities, unwanted attention, and assumptions can ruin a beautiful experience. However, some of us work every day to change this story.
As for this question — “What can India and Indians do to attract more international tourists?” — we believe it starts with empathy, education, and accountability. We need to educate locals on cultural sensitivity, enforce fair pricing and safety standards, keep tourist areas clean, and promote responsible tourism with genuine human connection at its heart.
Your feedback helps us grow. We request you to see India again—not just through the pain, but through the warmth, culture, and millions of kind hearts that truly define us. 🙏
We respect you and your voice. And if India hurt you in any way — then from all our hearts, we’re sorry.
This bot is pathetic.
Judging from the train videos, I don’t think they can entice me. Too crowded. No hate intended. I don’t like crowds.
a lot of those trains date from when India was British property. India needs trillions of $$$ investments in infrastructure
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FYI: RS 750 is $9. Doesn’t seem that unreasonable to me 🤷
In fact, India should charge every foreign tourist RS 830 (~$10) except the British who should have to pay RS 1660 (~£15) but it comes with biscuits and have little shops that sell overpriced tea 👍
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Making special accommodations for Global North tourists only really enriches the wealthy in the Global South. It may provide a few hospitality industry jobs, but I suspect that, all told, it’s a wash or a detriment to regular people just trying to live their lives.
Global North
What does it matter where they come from?
It’s not so much a matter of geography as the thickness of their wallets and the chauvanism of people from colonialist/neocolonialist states.
In fairness, “you ARE rich”
most tourists don’t realize how rich they are for being able to travel and don’t really understand poverty and the depths of poverty that exist in other countries.
