Traveling India proves to be challenging for many travelers. There are several dynamics you will want to consider in preparation before you set out on your adventure.
- All Budget and Mid-Range Hotels have Hard Beds.
- This entire country uses florescent lighting.
- All buildings are made from Cement with odd bright color paint.
- The Food is Acidy and Spicy.
- You must buy bottled water.
- It is best to buy a good pair a sandals here in India, it adds bulk to your pack, but will keep you much cooler. I tie my regular shoes to the outside of my pack.
- Wi-fi internet is mostly non-existent. You might be able to get a 3g sim card and buy an unlocked usb modem which helps greatly, but sometimes the service is doggy.
- Hot Water sometimes can be sketchy, most budget hotels only have hot water from 6am to 9am, some hotels offer a bucket.
- There are a lot of poor people and people who are pose themselves poor in India.
- Many shops that are selling silk or wool scarfs are fakes and scammers.
- The streets and shops (infrastructure) is the same all over India. It is dirty, dusty, some places smell from cow shit and human urine, lots of people spit, there are no sidewalks, the streets are filled with traffic that continually honk.
- India is very noisy. The temples, prayer calls, and the traffic, in addition to loud kids and people.
India is a shame based culture:
When you ask for directions most people will nod up and down and point toward a direction. Most people don’t know the answer, but pretend as if they know. Closely observe the body language, the nod, as in Yes with distorted eye movement means they don’t know the answer. Because of the shame based cultural programing most Indian use the same body language.
Indians just want to talk and tell you what they think they know, and will talk very fast, most do not listen.
This Wedding Couple Never Held Hands or Even Smiled
Most Indians cannot comprehend why a single traveler didn’t bring their family, or why the person is not married. I always explain that the Indian culture is forced to get married and have kids because of the shame, and that their community will gossip under severe negativity. They have no choice within the shame based culture to get married, and when I mention the truthful cultural dynamics everyone respects me for my knowledge, even though the truth is shaming. There are still many arranged marriages here in India when the groom and bride meet each other for the first time at the wedding. The only reason that there is a high success rate within arranged marriages is because the couples are controlled by Shame, Guilt, and Fear.
There are a lot of non-educated people in India—the Indians look up to people that look smart and that are intelligent. The Indians also respect foreigners that are clean and dress according to the culture. Surprising, most travelers here in India look dirty, don’t bath, and dress somewhat bizarre.
The Indian hospitality is slightly backwards:
The emotional reality of most Indians relates to feeling rejected and negative thoughts when you refuse their offering of food and drink. Due to health reason I have to say “No” to many offerings, and most people do not understand due to the fact that they don’t listen, and are affected from the sub-emotions of shame that dominate their mind.
Avoid the Poor and Beggars here in India:
Within India there are a lot of poor, lame, and maimed people. Many of these people will nest at tourist locations or near the temples. It is important to understand an organized Mafia controls the street beggars. Your best bet is to ignore the situation here in India. There are also lots of phony people on the streets who make themselves look like poor beggars, the Indians are very good at this. There are also many people who do not have any appreciation, and if you buy them a new blanket, the Indian way is to resell it for the money. It sounds harsh, but the above dynamics are true.
From my experience most people in India has never been taught how to listen, to think-outside-the-box, to show appreciation, and limitations. The cultural programing through family generations and mindless TV has created a negative emotional disposition.
The Generous Well-To-Do:
Yet, there are many people who can be very nice and friendly. There are many people who have a good-heart disposition, even though they struggle with the dynamic of money. There are very few people of the poor, middle, and even the upper middle class that have a good grip on money. The majority think about their pockets first. However, the high class Indian people can be very generous people.