Should I go to India?

The fact that you have such a negative image of a place you've never personally been to is exactly the reason why you should go.

The reality is worse than your mental image...dont go.

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>>1134821

I like India a lot. In fact, I've been there six times in the last three years and I'm about to go again in December.

I'm not a hippie and I'm not the kind of person who thinks of finding spiritual salvation in poverty. However, I did live in Delhi for a year and a half and have tons of great friends spread out all across the capital city and elsewhere. I can and will admit that the country has a lot of problems. There are a lot of beggars, amputees, perverts, and weirdos. Horn honking is used more as a mode of communication than as a way to warn or signal an impeding accident. And indeed, there are a lot of con artists and tourist touts as well.

Whether or not you enjoy India really depends on what kind of person you are. I'm not saying this to be rude, because everybody is different, but if you need a sterile, safe, cozy, and ordered vacation, then no, you shouldn't go. Most of the other foreigners I've met in Delhi who traveled around loved the country to death. There are exceptions, though, and they're usually the exact kinds of people you'd wonder why the fuck would have gone to India in the first place. Can't shit in a hole a rest stop every so often? Don't go to fucking India. Can't say no to a beggar? Don't go to fucking India. The thought of a guy who makes $100 per month trying to rip you off makes you angry? Don't go to fucking India.

Now, I like India because, beyond all the pestilences and inconveniences, it is a beautiful country with a great number of very genuine and emotional people. I've dated there, I have good friends there, and the decent Indians I've met on the street and on the Metro are some of the best anywhere.

Time, experience, and a helping of patient will show how you to deal with India's inconveniences and trials. I've found that problems with scammers and tourist touts are very prevalent in Delhi, Agra, and a very small handful of other cities - but when I went to Kolkata, for instance,

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>>1134918
>>1134918

everyone who approached me was doing so because they wanted to start a conversation with no ulterior motive (with the lone exception of a prostitute, who is to date the only prostitute who has approached me in India). I had an officer in the Indian Army take me out for drinks and dinner, asking me for my opinion on the India-Pakistan conflict. I had a few lawyers along the Hooghly River offer me a joint and then a free tour of the city. On NYE, I had a couple of students, who were studying abroad in Canada and the UK, respectively, walk up and have a chat before taking me to a rather large house for a round of drinks.

If you spend enough time in India, you'll get to a point where you can pretty much tell whether or not a stranger who has initiated a conversation actually wants to talk or if they're after your money. You can deal with almost every annoyance with a firm "no thank you" and then a twenty or thirty seconds of pretending the person doesn't exist. After I adopted this technique, my every day became a lot easier - nobody followed me down the street, beggars walked off instead of pulling at my shirt, and so forth. I also learned to have a sense of humor with persons who aren't being dishonest but simply trying to carve a living selling trinkets or toys. A lot of Indians have great senses of humor, and I always try to be nice to salespeople and hawkers who aren't going overboard or trying to rip me off.

So yeah. That's all I've got for you, OP. India is a very large country with more natural, cultural, and ethnic diversity than you could probably ever hope to find in a single place. Go if you want to go and don't go if you don't want to. If you have a bit of curiosity and are a little open-minded, then I'd recommend it. If you're the kind of person who expects every country to be like Germany or Canada or Switzerland, then you absolutely shouldn't.

Getting out of your comfort zone can be exciting.

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How prevalent are sadhus/yogis both inside and outside of cities?

>>1134983
why would anyone worship one of these maniacs? anyone have insight?

>>1134824
LOL it will be confirmed.

>>1134965
>I've never heard someone call a country ugly
I've heard that Kuwait is ugly. Niger is ugly.

>>1134983
>anyone have insight?
>>1134988
yes the maniacs

>>1134988
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZwG2pjzUAo


Indic religions are pretty advanced in terms of philosophy and praxis, since they existed and grew in a competitive atmosphere (where in a formal debate the loser would have to convert), ensuring that the intellectual view and practice oriented methodologies were clearly delineated and investigated.

That's the optimistic view at any rate, I doubt that many Westerners actually give much of a toss about that.

>>1135002
I am interested.

my impression is that forced conversion in competition would more likely lead to a sophist environment, which is what I generally see them as being

certain dynasties had pretty advanced mathematics, relatively, but it could not be widespread because of differences in writing technology, some places even used dried leaves which crumbled and reduced the size of the cultural canon to what could be memorized and recited verbatim. it's partof what turned the continent into a bunch of hyper-religious zealots led by madmen on streetcorners.

if there are any remnants or advanced praxis still in practice I am VERY interested to know. I just haven't seen much evidence or good examples of it.

if you happen to know, I'd appreciate any insight you might have

I studied the same in europe and ancient china. I don't want to keep writin off india as a lost cause of structured ignorance, but people worshipping deepak chopra doesn't give me much hope

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1O3z7Kkr_0

>>1134965
This isn't going to be an answer you like, but if you've been to India and enjoyed yourself, you know exactly what this anon means. I certainly do. Not because we're enlightened beings, just because we know the experience.

Because India has so many negative stereotypes (of which, some are true, though often not to the extent that India newbs like to imagine), you get used to qualifying your statements, pre-empting the inevitable herpyderpy comments from dudebros, your racist uncle or clueless basementdwellers on 4chan. To you this may sound like "ad hoc justifications for why you let that guy at the bar assfuck you", but for others who enjoyed their time in India, it's simply trying to cut through all the dumb ignorant bullshit upfront. It never works though, alas.

>what's actually good?
Food, chaotic vibrant cities, really diverse landscapes, that many people are actually sort of charmingly innocent and sweet (indians can out-jew the Jews though), food, that certain devil-may-care git'er done! attitude lots of people have, the 'exotic' culture and customs (Edward Said called, but whatever), the ancient sites and temples, the music, food...

>>1134983
I didn't see any Bombay, Delhi or Calcutta, perhaps because the cities are so big... Or maybe I did and didn't take notice... such crowded places can blur or overwhelm your senses. They are surely there, though. Tend to congregate around temples, shrines, etc. In Varanasi they are chock-a-block. At certain festivals, they'll also gather.
>>1134988
You don't worship saddhus, and they don't want anyone worshipping them. That's not how it works. They are equivalent of monks (solitary, ascetic kind), renouncing the world and seeking liberation (moksha). Early Christianity had a similar movement. The original ancient Greek cynics are also comparable.

>>1135006
I think the degeneration of views had more to do with the arrival of Islam destroying Buddhism and becoming the religion of the rulers and therefore replacing the benefactors of competing religions. The removal of Buddhism which was the primo intellectual counter to the various Hindu religions was a major blow, as whilst not actually being physically violent, it represented a great philosophical threat with its notion of 'no-self' compared to the nigh pervasive 'self' of the Hindu philosophies, and so provided a great spur for philosophical debate, each side playing off each other to really hone their systems. There's the classic image of the Buddhist 'universities' with the outer and inner gatekeepers, all experts in philosophy who had to turn away any competing philosophers via debate, and only letting in the worthy students coming for knowledge with a test.

With the downfall of the great philosophical enemy of Buddhism and the rise of a Hindu 'universalist' thought, where each school was referring to the same thing in a different way, but with slightly different expressions, lead to a kind of intellectual laxity with little on the line, salvifically speaking. The time of the common era to the 12thC was the great era of the refinement of debate and philosophy, which coincided with the rise (and fall) of Mahayana Buddhism, and is what I'm largely basing myself on; but this is all my own supposition.

With regards to finding it today, I really don't have much of an idea where to find a qualified teaching lineage for Hinduism, but the basics are out there; a key pointer is that most Hindu religions are based off of Samkhya, so if you can grasp that, then the rest should be relatively easy; and for Buddhism you'd have to look to the Tibetans, who carried the scholastic torch of the Indians (compared to the East Asians, who split off and largely did their own thing).

>>1135025
I appreciate your post, but it was just an apology for a lack of actual praxis.

you claimed that advanced methodologies exist in hinduism, and I was curious to know, but you didn't provide anthing.

I understand that some teachers still practice philosophy that is essentialy bronze age... in the 21st century. that's all.

I'll read about samkhya, but I don't see where the praxis you mentioned is

>>1135042
The foundation of praxis in Samkhya can be found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali; and then you have the schools of tantric Shaivites based on the Shiva agamas. These two cover the most ground for knowledge of practice in Hinduism.

>>1135025
also, actual knowledge shouldn't have to be taught. truth is self-supportive, whether from a book or whathaveyou.

something that need be "taught" is essentially brainwashing. something with inherent value will self-spread because of individual utility.

it should be enough to link me to a document

>>1135048
okay I just finished reading about it. it's surprisingly comprehensive for its time.

but it's just a handful of schools right? might I wager that they're easily NOT the predominant ones? just how common are they, or what percentage of practitioners does this school represent?

this seems roughly in line with the sort of intellect needed to develop the mathematics that the indians did develop.

but that didn't stop the entire country by being consume by nonsense in the past. I can't imagine that this is a large modern school now. it doesn't seem foundational to the other schools of thought, the way that greek thought became in the west. and, whle a lot of it might be fndamentally more correct than eastern writings, I don't see a mechanism for sorting or advancement according to performance, as existed in the less advanced, but routinely tested eastern philosophies. what ended up being well tested and correct was selectively promoted and made the foundational basis for a land area four times the size of all of india.

it seems this school is tiny, and isolated.

>>1135051
That's a view borne from a materialist standpoint which takes what we perceive as being valid. Generally speaking in religious metaphysics, we are seen as in a state of ignorance or deprivation, one of which we are unable to get out of ourselves due to the virtue of being in said state, and freedom from that relies on a revealed truth which we are incapable of realising for ourselves, whether that ultimate truth is innate or not.

>>1135054
Samkhya is the basis in the sense of its core of purusha-prakriti, gunas, and tattvas, being taken and used in Yoga, Advaita, Shaivism, Vaishnaivism, etc., with each school bringing its own meaning to them to various extents. It's the background for the play of Hinduism in the same way that Abhidharma is the background for the play of Buddhism.

>>1135057
Additionally the corpus of traditional Ayurvedic Indian medicine is based on Samkhyan principles.

>>1135057
self propogation of truth doesn't depend on our perceptions being valid. it assumes that perceptions, in order to exist, must merely have some ties to truth.

number exist because they are true, independent of your ability to count. numbers stand as true because they are replicable, and reliable. it's why we evolved to percieve them in the first place.

you can't throw all human perception under the bus, otherwise you end up in strang spirit world nonsense that destroys knowledge.

we must make systematic attempts to understand human perception and bias, which is not the direction the indians took it, evn though they understood certain orders of the material world that the chinese did not.

you can't honestly argue that indian philosophy has a praxis if it doesn't have a sorting mechanim. their sorting mechanism, according to what I read was "sitting in a dark room and thinking." you don't arrive at knowledge this way. period.

>purusha-prakriti
can you please speak english, with the indian terms in parentheses. this is another reason no one takes indian philosophy seriously. it's masked in voodoo talk that impresses no one but hippies.

if it's epistemology, CALL it that and add the ethnic term in parentheses. if it's deontology, CALL it that.

refusal to call things by proper names and instead insisting on a new name is a key aspect of brainwashing among cults.

you also didn't answer my question, it doesn't seem to be more than a vast minority among hindu thought, despite its high degree of correctness vis-a-vis other philosophies in modern scientific terms. this specifically indicates a lack of methodology or praxis inherent in the hindu system.

>>1135065
>self propogation of truth doesn't depend on our perceptions being valid. it assumes that perceptions, in order to exist, must merely have some ties to truth.
Sure, but it depends on what type of truth we are talking about, whether relative/mundane or ultimate/transcendent, the hard sciences are concerned with the former, and religions with the latter.

>we must make systematic attempts to understand human perception and bias
It's not necessary at all, unless you believe in something illogically emotional like materialism's eternal march of progress or religion's soteriology.

>you can't honestly argue that indian philosophy has a praxis if it doesn't have a sorting mechanim.
Gradations of realisation are found throughout all these systems, such as in Buddhism's grounds of realisation (bhumis), levels of meditative concentration (dhyana) etc. each with their own signs of accomplishment.

>you don't arrive at knowledge this way. period.
Only if that knowledge is dependent on external phenomena.

>this specifically indicates a lack of methodology or praxis inherent in the hindu system.
The methodology of Yoga's 8 yogas is nothing *but* praxis.

>>1135006
>sophist environment
What is this?

>>1135075
>religions are concerned with transcendent truths
yes, they're concerned with truths that transcend hard sciences... but which DONT transcend human perception. do you see the sleight of hand? they argue that truth transcends OBSERVABLE physical phenomena, because humans are flawed, and that the TRUTH is something purely observable... by human emotion... because of course SCIENCE is flawed by objective human standards... but emotion isn't flawed?

you're making a really strong case that you're a cultist or a conman.

>understanding human bias isn't necessary
uh....

>sorting mechanism
your sorting mechanism is sitting alone in a dark room

>dependent on external phenomena
your mind is part of that external material world you count as flawed. unless you're insane nd you believe that somehow YOUR smelly hobo who meditates in a shack all day is somehow smarter than scientists who build elctron microscopes. which seems to be your argument

you're making a very strong case for the unilateral rejetion of all hippies who believe in indian sophistry.

>>1134821
>these are really good friends of mine who are always really fun to hang out with
Yup, it'll be fun to travel with fun people no matter where....unlessssss....they are so damn low budget you are in some major filthy hotel.

>>1135015
>>1134918
>>1134921

Thanks for the good posts. This is why I like /trv/.

Sad to see this board going down the shitter, though. It's more and more of the same, especially when people make threads about India or other non-Weeb destinations.

Getting ready to give up on 4chan tbqfh

>>1135112
>Getting ready to give up on 4chan tbqfh
I've been here since 2009, and I know the feeling. It has became 1000 times more meme-y over the last 2-3 years, and the general contamination of /pol/ memes outside /pol/ is regrettable. /trv/ used to be a very friendly helpful board. Trolling, shitposting and general "durr we iz legion hurr" nastiness were a lot less common.

>>1135117

I'm: >>1134918 >>1134921.

I still think /trv/ is a decent board, but, as the other Anon said, it is getting progressively more and more full of memes. I can definitely tell that the anti-India prejudice from /int/ and /pol/ is spilling over here.

I've been to several dozen countries by myself. The only place I didn't like was Athens, because it fell so low below my expectations. Other than that, I'm willing to go just about anywhere, because I'm confident that I'll see sights or meet people who will make the experience for me. I don't understand the overwhelmingly negative sentiment that so many posters here seem to be taking on - not just about India, but about any place that isn't Europe (and let's not forget that Paris is infested with Moroccans, London with Pakistanis, etc).

Makes me feel like a growing and sizable number of /trv/elers are just basement-dwelling poo-poos who have escaped their containment boards on the way to /tv/ or whatever.

>>1135117

Kuzu era was pretty shitty for /trv/

>>1134821
Do it, especially if you're with good friends.

India can be demanding but it's one of the world's great cultures. Easy to travel as an English speaker and engage with the locals too. You'll love it, provided you're not a complete princess.

>>1135125
Kuzu was just a stupid namefag. He was a laughable punching bag and made predictable arrogant posts about Dubai and homoerotic Turkish pop music, but at least he didn't talk in /pol/ memes.

>>1135117
Back then the only thing anyone ever posted about on this thread was Japan.

>>1135250
Not true at all. I have always disliked manga/anima/weeb shit and have very little interest in Japan, yet managed to find enough to keep me coming back, even then.

spent 2 months in rishiksh this year, will be going back. loved it.
fav travel destination

>>1134821

I'm arriving in Delhi on Sept 1st...60 days from now...I'm getting nervous anons. Just pre travel jitters I guess.

Afraid of getting mugged or swindled.

>>1135592

You're not going to get mugged. I'm the Anon who lived in Delhi - I'll write a post tomorrow at work.

>>1135595

?

>>1136019

Sorry, senpai, I can't even remember what I was going to say.

There are a lot of scammers and con artists, but mugging has never been a major concern of mine. It is possible, of course, but I think petty theft is much more prevalent than violent crime in India. Use some common sense, don't wander into the slums at night, blah blah.

I know girls who have been groped, families who have been ripped off, and dudes who got their phones stolen, but I've never met a tourist in India who had been mugged.

Contrast that with a country like Colombia, wherein I met tons of people who had been robbed at gun- or knifepoint.

>>1136126

Should I bring my phone to India. I don't really want the hassle, and fear I will just be remain to connected to my life at home.

>>1136405

If you want to?

It's not going to get stolen as long as you aren't a total fucking idiot. I've been going to India for years and have never had anything stolen from me.

>>1136405
This: >>1136436

They have smartphones and shit. No one is really going to want to nab yours any more than might be the case at home. SIM cards and plans are cheap as balls, although I had an irritating bureaucratic process. This was right after the Bombay mass shootings, and it was discovered the shooters had planned shit with easily-bought no-questions SIM cards, so they tightened things a bit. In the end I just used the address of the hotel I was in (this was in Bombay), and the guys at the store just shrugged and figured since I was an obvious white dude tourist, nothing would come of it.

A friend of mine who is a priest in Kerala/Tamil Nadu has invited me to come stay with him for as long as I like as I was asking him about volunteering opportunities. Is it worth going? There seems to be fuck all to do in the deep south of India and whilst I'm not going to strictly sight see, I would have spare time between projects for it. Help me /trv/.

>>1136790

Why wouldn't you go? There are several large cities in South India as well as a distinct culture. I guess my question to you would be this - would you rather get a new set of memories and experiences or sit around at home jerking off for a few months?

>>1136780

It's still like that. SIM cards are cheap but you have to fill out a form, attach a passport sized picture, and then wait until evening or the following day to receive a call from the cell phone company for activation. You should be fine putting down the address of your hotel or the address of the store you purchased the phone from. The activation process can be a bit of a pain in the ass, because they'll ask a few security questions, such as what the nearest "landmark" to your house is - make sure you find out before buying, because sometimes the representative will just write in some stupid shit.

The last time I went to India I just paid an extra few dollars for a card that was already activated. I suppose there was a slight chance it used to belong to a criminal, but I had to meet niggas up and couldn't deal with that shit.

It's kind of annoying - if you get a SIM on a tourist visa, they automatically deactivate it after six months or so. Doesn't matter if your visa is five or ten years either, like mine.

>>1136890

How long should I give for my visa application? 6 weeks before I leave?

>>1137401

Depends on where you're from. India recently approved a new scheme for the citizens of dozens of countries. In the United States, persons are only able to obtain one of two different visas: one is an e-visa, which can be purchased twice per year and is valid for 30-days, or a multiple entry 10-year visa which you have to submit a paper application for.

The rules and game have changed a bit since I got my 5-year multiple entry visa. Back then, processing was handled by Travisa. Now it's handled by Cox and Kings. Travisa was quite efficient but I think it still took me 2-3 weeks to get my visa back.

I'd do it as soon as possible if you're planning to get a long-term visa. Never count on Indian bureaucracy to do anything quickly.

>>1137414

My flight is September 1st.

>>1137693

Send it in now or get an e-visa. How long are you planning to be there? If it's just a month or two get the e-visa.

>>1137713

6 months

>>1137775

Send it in now. I'm not trying to be a dick, but I don't know how you're going to budget for half a year if you've put the visa application off this long.

>>1137899

??? budget half a year? I have 30k in savings m8?
The visa is valid from the moment is issued why wouldn't I maximize my time there?

>>1137899

Your post doesn't make sense.

>>1138155
>>1138157

Sorry if it didn't make sense.

The Indian bureaucracy is notoriously slow. If you're an American citizen and trying to stay for longer than an e-visa, you'll have to send in a paper application along with your passport. In most cases, the process shouldn't take more than between one and a half to three weeks. However, you never know what could happen. If you're planning to leave in September, I personally would not have put it off until now. There's always that stray chance that you could be the one who gets held up for a month or two. At the very least, it'd be less stressful.

Send in your completed visa application and passport to the appropriate agency along with a money order ASAP.

New guy here. I have 2 of my son's overnighting in Delhi on the 17th of August. They fly into Indira Ghandi at 11:00 am local, and leave at 1:00 am on the 18th,so only 14 hours or so.

Problem is, they're both 6' 6" tall and blonde!

They'll probably wanna get some lunch, maybe street food, walk around a bit, and see the city a little. Or is a cab for the day better? Where should and shouldn't they go?

They're both mountain bike riders, climbers, outdoorsy types. Anything like that in Delhi?

Thanks!

>>1138201
>They're both mountain bike riders, climbers, outdoorsy types. Anything like that in Delhi?
In 14 hours? No. Delhi is pretty flat and sprawling, the Himalayas are a few hours north. I don't think it's worth the time finding a hill station or whatever when they'll be jetlagged and looking around at what's nearby would make more sense.

They would stand out as gora ferengi even if they were squat swarthy Portuguese -- they're being blonde beanpoles doesn't make a whole lot of difference. Except, well, they probably will have a fun time squishing themselves into rickshaws.

I'm sure they could buy a driver for the day for like $20-25 equivalent. Probably only half of that would be actual milage, the rest to keep him from running off and happy. Of course, they should maybe buy the cabbie lunch or for refuelling (it won't be a lot). Hopefully they don't get some prick that gets greedy and drives to a mugging spot, but it's very unlikely despite what ignorant media would have you believe. A cab itself would also be possible, but cabs can't go quite everywhere a rickshaw can. Two tall dudes in a rickshaw with bags might actually be impossible.

Otherwise you can just hail one anytime, they're dirt cheap. There is also a metro/subway in Delhi, which was new when I was there, but may be more haggard by now. People are pretty friendly, they only need to ask for info or help and they'll get it plus a chat. Indians love to chat, Jesus.

If they eat street food, make sure it's cooked over heat/flame/boiling oil in front of them. Don't eat anything that's been laying around in the sun for hours, or from a stall that looks too dirty. I don't think Delhi, from my recollections, has quite the streetfood culture that Bombay or Calcutta has. If they can, since there is a large Tibetan community, maybe they can look for momos or a Tibetan cafe.

>>1138235
>>1138201

There's nothing outdoorsy to do in or immediately around Delhi. Lodhi Gardens and India Gate have some nice walking paths, but I can't think of much more for a couple of casual day visitors.

If they're not planning to leave their bags at a hotel, they will get harassed by auto-walas and tourist touts relentlessly. I'm not a big fan of organized tours, but, as the other poster suggested, I might recommend booking a cab for a day. It shouldn't cost much and I'd advise you to find rates online before telling them a price.

The Himalayas are not an option at all. I believe it's 5-8 hours to Rishikesh and a full 12 hours to Manali from Delhi. However, were they so inclined, they could probably go and see the Taj Mahal if they took a taxi and returned to be back at the airport by 10pm. IGI is usually good for security times but was an absolute nightmare the last time I flew out. I've never seen a major airport in such chaos.

Delhi Metro is still in great condition. So far as the platforms and trains themselves go, they're more modern than what you'd find in New York, Chicago, and Boston. I love the Delhi Metro! The problem isn't the trains themselves so much as the passengers - if you're going at peak times, from around 7am - 11am and then 5pm to 8pm, you will get crushed. Indians have awful line etiquette and will usually push their way on board a carriage before those inside have a proper chance to deboard. When I was living in Delhi and commuting via Metro every day, I'd occasionally get frustrated and tell people to just wait.

Wow, both of you, excellent info. Thanks a ton. I think they're either cabling for the day or just getting a hotel room. They're inbound from Nepal and mountaineering/glacier walking, so they might just wanna crash for a few hours and nap.

Safe hotels nearby?

Cab company vs independent?

The Taj might be up their alley, they like walking around.

This looks like a great thread with a lot of good posts, but I don't have time to read it now. That said, why wouldn't you go if you enjoy the company? Even if it's as bad as you expect, it's a shared experience and for better or worse will provide you with stories that last a life time.

I have similar views of the country and yet that's precisely why I want to go.

>>1138546

There are plenty of safe hotels. New Delhi isn't a very dangerous city unless you're roaming around deserted neighborhoods late at night or happen to be a particularly naive woman.

The most popular and accessible place for backpackers is a neighborhood called Paharganj. It's well-located and would be easy to reach from the airport. One can take the Delhi Metro Airport Express to New Delhi station, walk across the New Delhi Railway Station after exiting, and find their hotel along or off the Main Bazar street. However, Paharganj isn't a very good representation of the "real" India, despite what many hippies and backpackers like to think. It's a place with a lot of drug dealers, con artists, tourist touts, and hawkers, given that the main streets are all lined with hotels and shops catered towards domestic and foreign tourists arriving via air or rail.

It's a little more out of the way, but I'd recommend staying in GK-I or GK-II. Good neighorhoods, metro stations nearby, and no nonsense. However, Paharganj would probably be easier for two guys just hopping through.

Alternatively, if they have wifi, they can download and book via an app called "OYO Rooms." OYO has a lot of local properties and offers rooms at discounted prices. OYO ensures that all rooms and properties are kept up to a certain standard, but the service can be hit and miss. I use OYO because the discounts are really good and you can end up in some nice properties.

>>1134821

This looks like a place for genuinely good India advice, so help me out.

I'm debating whether or not to go to Kerala or Sri Lanka. Where should I be going guys? What are the pros and cons of each?

>>1140055
>Sri Lankans
>attractive
*shudder*

Coming from a place with a huge Tamil population, I don't know how anyone can get this idea. Tamils are basically Abos that didn't make it all the way.

There are some hotties among Sinhala people, but I wouldn't go to Sri Lanka just for that. I think Malayalee women are pretty hot, but many are serious Christians.

Sri Lanka is nice for beaches, some jungle stuff, elephants, insanely hot food, and generally cheap everything, but not for the women.

>>1140088
Scarborough?

>>1140147
Bingo. And I'm white!

>>1140088

Yeah the food and scenery is what I'm interested in. Where's in better? Sri Lanka or Kerala ?

>>1140248
himachal pradesh

>>1140289

Maybe next time, this time I want to check out the South of India

So whatever you are thinking it would be like, whatever is coming to your mind when you picture India, whatever situation you are imagining yourself in if you were in India, it is a lot worse.

Regardless go.
It's a good experience, and will really make you appreciate wherever you currently are

I've been to Pakistan and India, and I would honesty say I found Pakistan better, simply because there are less people I imagine.

India is a lot richer, and has a lot of modern and wealthy people, but Pakistan is a lot cleaner, and the capital Islamabad is way more developed than Delhi (though that is because Islamabad is a planned city made in the 20th century, while Delhi is more than a thousand years old).

Do both desu. India has more variety, you get to see cool temples and eat great food, but Pakistan has serene valleys and snow capped mountains, with sleepy villages, especially the Northern parts. The people were really nice too, though there are parts of Pakistan that are literally controlled by the Taliban, so don't go there lel

>>1141762
>Pakistan has serene valleys and snow capped mountains, with sleepy villages, especially the Northern parts

India has all of that, DESU - Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K, Sikkim, etc.