Consider Going Elsewhere If You...
Value Your Hygiene & Health: Hygiene, particular when it comes to food, can be a problem in India and many travellers succumb to the "Delhi belly", more commonly known as traveller's diarrhoea or food poisoning. As you can imagine with such a high population, illness and infection occurs often and can spread fast, particularly thriving in the tropical climates.
Are a Female Travelling Alone: India can be an uncomfortable, and even dangerous, country for female tourists, particularly when travelling alone.
Tips On Respecting Indian Culture
-The feet are considered the filthiest part of the human body; never place feet on chairs or tables, show the soles of your feet to anyone, or use your feet to point to something. You are expected to remove your shoes when entering religious sites and private accommodation. Currency, symbols of wealth (i.e. gold), books and written material are treated with respect, and should not be touched with the feet.
-Indians generally dress conservatively, and both men and women should cover as much skin as possible, particularly the shoulders.
-Profanity makes you look very bad in India and you will always lose an argument if you swear, so avoid it when you can.
-Indians apologize by touching the offended person with the right hand, and then moving the hand to the chest and to the eyes. If you feel you may have offended someone it is a good idea to apologize in this way.
-Avoid political discussion, particularly regarding Pakistan, China and distribution of wealth in any country.
About the Author:
Craig, the President and Founder of backpackeradvice.com, has had a love of traveling since he first placed a world map on his bedroom wall. Backpacker Advice is dedicated to offering first hand advice to backpackers the world over as Craig hopes to inspire people to "just go and do it (live your life!)"
This article was first published on Craig's website and can be found, in its entirety at: backpackeradvice.com/destinations/asia/india.html
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Tags: India, Hinduism, religion, architecture, tips & advice, travel