Who’s done India? Any tips or recommendations?

I know a very well seasoned traveller who has been to some crazy places in China, middle east, south Asia? Etc. He had two work trips to India and said never again. He said it was absolutely disgusting once you left the hotel.

I go to London for my Indian food fix.

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Feel free to talk me into it or out of it…

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With a wife and 14-year-old, I would choose Makay (Kuala Lumpur or Georgetown) + Singapore. You’ll still get amazing food, culture and a very different experience, but with less chaos, easier transport, and plenty for a teenager to enjoy.

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We did it as a family with 3 teenagers. It was cool, but the poverty and mass of humanity were overwhelming

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We’ve done our best to show of our kids as much of the world as we can. Different landscapes, different cultures, etc. Sometimes that means giving them a glimpse of the harsh realities that an area may face. India feels like one of those opportunities. Seeing the Taj Mahal and other landmarks is enticing. I also don’t want to go in knowing that the time, effort and resources spent will ultimately end up being for a negative experience.

The amount of money someone would have to pay me to spend time in India would be astronomical

And there is NO universe where I would take my wife there, reading about the experiences of other western women there

I applaud your efforts and completely agree with the approach of exposing your kids to as much of the true world out there as possible. I've spent well over 7 months total in India over the past 8 years, a total of 15 or 16 trips. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai.

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Seeing the Taj Mahal

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Completely over-rated experience. The drive there and back was one of the most depressing experiences of my life considering the purpose of the trip. However, I did get to see a monkey steal a piece of fresh made pan-fried naan from a street-food vendor, so that was special.

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I also don’t want to go in knowing that the time, effort and resources spent will ultimately end up being for a negative experience.

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This entirely depends on your definition of "negative".

If negative includes:
Seeing abject poverty at every turn.
Public urination. I mean, everywhere.
Public defecation.
Public masturbation.
Flying fiery shits out your arse.
Flying fiery shits out your family members arse.
Family members fighting over the toilet during flying fiery shits sessions.
Constant harassment by beggars, many of which are 6 to 8 year old kids that are absolute MVP professional level at make you feel sorry for them and none of the money which you give them stay with them, but go to some corrupt adult using and abusing those kids.
Constant threat of pick-pocketers and back-pack thieves.
Overloaded and overwhelmed senses of smell, sight, sound and taste.
Emaciated cows rummaging through garbage heaps on the sides of the roads looking for anything edible.
Emaciated dogs at every street corner. Seriously thousands upon thousands of street-dogs everywhere.

IF those things automatically make the experience a net-negative, stay out of India.

However... if you are still intrigued:

You will experience some absolutely amazing food at the most unexpected places.
You will meet some of the most genuinely nice people.
Your family, as a whole, will grow an infinitely better understanding of how good we have it in the US.
You all may cry from some of what you experience. But chances are, if you are seasoned travelers, you will all laugh together too.

Some lesser-known stops in Chennai:
Auroville - If John Lennon's song, "Imagine" were a town/community - it would be Auroville.

St Thomas Cathedral Basilica - Burial location of St. Thomas, the Apostle


Hogenakkal Falls, Tamil Nadu


ETA: To be clear, you will have opportunity to have "enjoyable moments", but in no way, shape, or form will you consider it an "enjoyable trip". Educational - yes. Informative - yes. Astonishing - yes. Honestly, I always considered India a "bucket list" country. Now that I have checked it off the list, I can unequivocally say, it certainly merits being on anyone's travel bucket list. But it should be down far, far, far, exceptionally far to the bottom of the list.

It's all the negative things people say it is but I still thought it was cool as shite.

I guess I had the same reaction those British fellas had during the Raj where for reasons unknown they became just endlessly interested in the place.

If you want a interesting side thing to do. Consider a Bollywood movie. I saw one here: Raj Mandir

It was a blockbuster so this massive theater was filled to the gills. Felt like the room was moving as the audience gets really into the movies.

Someone mentioned the hotels. The Oberoi hotels are really nice but even stuff like the Trident Hotels that are a step down are still really nice. It's fairly easy to "get away" at those hotels.

I think having a driver/guide is a good way to go. They will keep people away and otherwise make sure you don't give money/do things that will lead to scams etc.

Also there's lots of staring but while the men do it, everyone does it because many haven't seen white people or blue eyed people before or something. I understand how annoyed famous people must get but I rolled with it.

Anyways, once you do India you can do anything. People bitch about places like Bangkok and I don't get it (because it's cool AF) but it may have been because I did India first.

People will recommend books like Shantaram (it's fine) but I think I liked "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" more.

Recently I started a podcast called "Empire" and the first 20 episodes are about British India. Not my only India books or podcasts I've done but of note I think.

Lastly, good forum back in the day I used was called India Mike. Hopefully still active. I also know a driver if you need one.

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I think having a driver/guide is a good way to go.

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It's the only way to do it. Officially drivers are separate from quides. It's a licensing distinction. We had a driver in Delhi who took us widely around the city and to Agra. He was on call for us 24hrs. We stayed in a 3 story guesthouse owned by the car company. Drivers lived on the ground level.

He advised us to get a guide for the Taj. He arranged by cell phone and picked the guide up on the way. I thought Taj was outstanding. Opinions vary.

On the Agra trip he drove off the pavement to avoid what looked like an official check point with armed cops. He informed us that it was a scam. So, they do protect themselves and you. Hindu Indians worry about terrorist attacks. At the Red Fort the entrance gate had a machine gun emplacement.

On the same trip to Agra we stopped at a highway restaurant where we had a great discussion about spicy food with the owner. After offering us several hot sauces which we thought mild, he produced a familiar bottle of Tobasco!

Bad news is that public hygiene is non-existent. Avoid public toilets at all costs. Carry your own TP. Even the finest restaurants cannot avoid contaminated food. Allow 2 days of toilet time early in the trip. Carry prescription travel meds. If you do wildlife excursions, rabies vaccines are recommended. Travel sickness in India is no joke.

Live like the Indians. Stay in the cleanest, coolest, calmest places you can find. Make your public outings planned by your driver as focused and short as you can. When the chaos gets to you, decompress back at your accomodations.

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Seeing the Taj Mahal

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Completely over-rated experience.

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I will agree with this. On my first trip I was south of Delhi to a wildlife area and the Taj. And then north to a tiger preserve (yes) and the Himalayas. Whatever you do don't go when Delhi has their peak smog. It's insane. I was there in November and it was astonishingly bad. And it's not just Delhi. It was everywhere we went until we got higher in the mountains. The Taj is reasonably good but wears off quickly but I was much more impressed with Hagia Sophia on the return leg. Jim Corbet Tiger Preserve was good (we got one on the last afternoon) and higher in the Himalayas was better. Much better than anything near Delhi. I couldn't wait to get on the flight back, but I knew I'd be back some day. There isn't anywhere else like it.

Last year I was back for a trip roughly from Bangalore to Kochi. Southern India is less overwhelming than the area around Delhi. Not as crowded and cleaner and higher standard of living. India light in a way. It was reasonably OK but nothing all that interesting. We went on to Sri Lanka from there which was better.

India is not my favorite place in the world but there is no other place like it. To me it is a mandatory trip at some point in your life. And yes, I've become a fan of their food.

I’ve been to Bangalore for work a few times and had a good time, but India is at the very bottom of my list of places to take my teenage sons