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Why Should You Go To India?

By Craig P.
January 18, 2015

India is a huge and diverse country, with enormous differences in culture, language, ethnicity, climate and geography - over one billion people inhabit this incredible country. India has always been popular with the "hippie" backpacker, and is generally cheaper and more innate than Southeast Asia.

Go To India For...

Spiritual Journeys: Many people come to India to find themselves and refresh their soul. You may want to learn yoga, meditate, or spend time at an ashram (a spiritual (generally Hindu) monastery, cultural center, or hermitage). Extraordinary and elaborate religious festivals also occur on a regular basis.

Sensory Adventure: Mysterious aromas, bizarre spectacles, mouth-watering delicacies, deafening commotion - your senses are really pushed to the max in India.

Architecture: India's architecture isn't limited to the Taj Mahal, impressive architecture can be found wherever you go. There are both ancient and modern wonders, largely inspired by India's many religions and great history.

Great Value: Your money will go incredibly far in India, especially if you don't mind where you spend the night. You don't necessarily have to stay in grim places though, India has many top budget hotels and modern hostels, at much cheaper prices than you will find in other Asian countries.

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