Culture Shock: What To Expect As A First Timer To India
Brit and I were excited, but also, extremely nervous to go to India. We’d heard lots of ‘horror’ stories about travellers; especially, young female travellers, in India. And, to be honest, we were scared shitless, but we weren’t going to let our fears stop us! That’s the main reason that we decided to join a group tour. But nothing prepared us for the culture shock.
If you are feeling skeptical about visiting India for the first time, this post is here to inspire you, inform you, and hopefully make you feel more prepared for your time in India. Read on for my top tips for first timers to India and how to avoid culture shock in India.
Culture shock in India: Things to expect as a first timer to India
1. The Airport
We had already read things about the Delhi airport, and so therefore, had organised for someone from our hotel to come and pick us up. However, when we arrived at 3am, our hotel transfer was no where to be found. We tried going back into the airport, to buy SIM cards so that we could call the hotel, but we weren’t allowed back in, despite the fact we explained to the security guard that we needed to contact our hotel.
From this moment onwards, we were surrounded by Indian men. All shouting at us and trying to touch us, and drag us, to their cars. We were absolutely terrified, within just 40 minutes of landing. It was at this point that I decided that I hated India. Until, we found a taxi stall. A lot of men followed us to this stall and tried to convince us that we should go with them instead for a ‘special price’. My anxiety was through the roof. Then, the young-ish man behind the stall, looked right into my eyes and said, “You’ll be safe with our taxis”, so, naïvely, we followed him.
My advice here is to make sure you have a SIM card and airport transfer, before leaving the airport.
2. The Roads
If you’ve travelled to a lot of Asia before, I don’t think the roads will shock you that much. But if you’re sitting there thinking, “But all of the roads I’ve seen in Asia have been like the UK.”, you clearly haven’t seen a classic, chaos ridden, Asian road.
Even if there is a zebra crossing and traffic lights, it doesn’t matter. People will still drive at you. The trick is to just carefully walk across the road – walk, stop for motorbike, walk, avoid getting hit by taxi, walk, wait for the cow, walk. Your best bet is to wait with others, and cross with them.
At first, the roads will be quite scary, but at the end of your trip you’ll be holding your hand out and crossing like a pro.
3. The People
There is a lot of people in India, with it being one of the most densely populated countries in the world. They’re very friendly, and due to English being the second most used language in India, the locals are not afraid to talk to you. I loved having conversations with Indians who were interested in where I’ve come from, what I think of their country, etc.
But what I didn’t like; was the lack of privacy and personal space. If you are quite obviously a foreigner, a lot of the locals will stare at you. And they’re not shy about it either. It is purely out of curiosity, but it can get very intimidating and uncomfortable.
As well as staring, a lot of locals will also ask for photos with you. Some will not ask and just take them. At first I didn’t mind this, especially with young children who seemed to be so excited to talk to me, but then it got very uncomfortable too. (Read more)
4. The Animals
There is a lot of stray animals in India and they will roam around everywhere, and they like to cross in front of you with no notice. I think the animal we saw the most were cows. Just absolutely everywhere. I’ve heard that dogs and cats are not treated very well in India, and quite often you can see their bones prodding out. You’ll also most likely see monkeys, elephants, donkeys, and pigs.
5. The Sounds & Smells
You will return back to the UK, and be surprised when you can be on a motorway and actually be able to think. There is no silence in India. Especially when it comes to traffic. Honking means everything, from ‘get out of my way’, to ‘i’m overtaking you’. If you’re a light sleeper, I really recommend bringing some earplugs for nights in the city and sleeper trains.
The smell of India really varies. A lot of the time you can smell urine, rubbish and sewage. But sometimes your nose is in luck, and you will smell some amazing spices and foods.
6. The Heat
If you’re not used to a hot climate, you’re in for a treat. The hottest day we experienced was in Bīkāner when we went on a camel ride in the desert – it was 52 degrees celsius! Everytime we left an air-conditioned room and went back outside, it would take 3 seconds before everyone was sweating buckets.
The humidity and pollution is also quite a shock. One day in Agra, the air was classed as “very unhealthy” on the air quality index. So we had to do a lot of our activities either very early in the morning or very late.
But keep in mind that India is a very big country and the heat, humidity and pollution will vary between each state.
7. The Poverty
The contrast between the rich and the poor sides of India is one of the most shocking things of travelling India. In 2017, 73% of the wealth generated went to the richest 1% of India [SOURCE]. It isn’t something that you can miss; especially if you’re visiting Mumbai, where the extreme poor lives alongside the extreme rich.
Amongst this issue, you will most likely encounter beggars coming up to you, and even touching you. It is extremely hard to say no and as a foreigner you may feel like you want to help, but in some cases you won’t actually be helping…read more.
If you really want to help, research and visit places like Sheroes Hangout, and read up on responsible travel in India.
8. The Food
The food in India is amazing. Don’t let people scare you with ‘Delhi belly’, it is common with locals as well as tourists and is all down to where you do and don’t eat. A lot of travellers thinking that by avoiding meat, they’ll avoid getting ill. But you won’t. And Brit learnt that the hard way (it was gross). It’s really hard knowing where to eat, and we were quite lucky due to the fact we were on a G Adventures tour, our CEO Shelly, knew exactly where to eat and always recommended some awesome dishes.
9. The Prices
If you’re travelled a lot of Asia, you’ll most likely be used to haggling. But if you’re a first time traveller to Asia, you’ll most likely have no idea what I’m talking about. Haggling just means that a local will try to charge you a higher price, and they’ll expect you to play a little bargaining game with them. I always offer 60% of the asking price, and meet somewhere in the middle.
10. The Safety
I have read and heard a lot of different views when it comes to discussing the general safety of India, particularly, female travellers. If I am being completely honest, and maybe it’s due to my anxiety disorder, maybe it isn’t, I felt quite unsafe in India being in a large group, let alone as a solo female traveler. I really don’t think I could have coped alone.
But, on paper, India is not any less or more ‘safe’ than most Asian countries. It is just seen as ‘unsafe’ due to the fact that many travellers feel uncomfortable because of the privacy and personal space issues.
If you are still unsure of travelling India alone, I would recommend reading this article. And I would also recommend visiting in either a group, or heading down to South India first.
Wrapping Up…
At the end of the day, I had an amazing time in India and can’t wait to go back and explore more, particularly the South. This post isn’t here to scare you, just to prepare you. And it also shouldn’t put you off backpacking India, which many travellers have done. I really thought that as I’d been travelling Asia for 6 or so months that I’d have been ready for India and not experienced any culture shock, but it really did hit me. I think it didn’t help that India was my last destination on my gap year, and so, I just wanted to go home to see my family and friends. I didn’t hate my time in India, like I said, but I did really struggle with the culture shock and this made my time in India less enjoyable. I really wish that I had researched it more, and so, I hope that this post helps anyone looking to visit India.
Related: India Travel Guide
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8 Comments
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Lana
Hey Matt, thanks so much for commenting! India is definitely filled with many stories!!
Absolutely, very hard. The whole 6 or so months I was backpacking Asia, I was very lucky to not get food poisoning at all! That doesn’t surprise me about the cow to be honest – hahah!
The food in India is absolutely incredible, every meal I had I loved! I, too, hope this post hasn’t put anyone off – that wasn’t the intention at all!
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Sudhir
Good post Lana. India is a vast country , full of different cultures, stories , foods etc. Few tips to enjoy your next stay in India.
1. Best time to visit India is from Nov to Feb.
2. Travel in group provided my good travel agents.
3. For good restaurants, you can google the best eat outs in the city.
I am 100% sure, when you visit next time you are going to fall more in love with India and it’s amazing people.-
Lana
Hi Sudhir, thanks for your comment!
Glad you enjoyed the post. Absolutely agree, there is so much more of India for me to explore and fall in love with, and I really can’t wait for my next visit. Completely agree with your tips, which I touch on a little in my India Travel Guide and my G Adventures group tour review. Regarding tip number 1, I do think that I visited India at the wrong time of the year. I visited in May, which is the least popular time to visit for tourists, due to the heat. It was also off-season which meant that there really weren’t many other tourists, so maybe that increased the curiosity of locals with regards to taking photos and staring.
Like I say in my post, I did really enjoy my time in India. But I do agree with you, that I will fall more in love with the beautifully cultured country next time I visit.
Thank you so much.
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Agnes
Appreciate the honesty! India has been on my list for a long time, but we just haven’t made it happen. The bit about personal space would be tough for me I think, but I remain so intrigued by the possibilities there. Great post!
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Lana
Thank you, Agnes. The personal space issue is what I struggled with the most, especially as I get really nervous in crowds. I think the fact that I was travelling in a group made it more manageable for me, and I’m really not sure I could have coped without my tour group. Are you thinking of solo travel? I am always so excited and proud when I read about a female traveler who has solo traveled North India! You got this!
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Chris
Really interesting! I’ve heard about the animals being everywhere, I would love to visit India and know a few people that have been with differing opinions as it is one of those places that you can either love or hate, i think. Going with a group is a good plan I think as going alone might be a bit too overwhelming. Great read, thanks for sharing! 😊
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Lana
Hey Chris! Thanks for your comment. Absolutely, everyone has a story about India but I really wouldn’t let that put you off. I think there’ll be things that you love and hate about that country, like me! I’m sure you’ll have an amazing time!
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Matt
Great post! Really would love to visit India at some point, as I’ve heard some amazing stories!
Very true what you say about the food, it’s hard to know exactly what is safe and what isn’t! Some friends of mine saw a cow shove its head in a large vat of curry being made on the street… After eventually getting the cow out of the curry, they continued to sell it to people!
Clearly whether veggie or not it’s difficult to tell how the food has been treated, you just have to hope that a cow hasn’t shoved his head in it first haha! (Hoping this hasn’t put anyone off, because everyone I’ve ever spoken to says the food in India is the best they’ve ever had!)