Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

Only, if you are traveling like the poorest of the poor.

I only luxury travel to and in India. I fly business class in middle eastern airlines (Emirates or Etihad), stop over at Abu Dhabi or Dubai, go in luxury and comfort and minimize the impact of jet lag, Then, I either stay with my family/friends who have extra room, AC, well established homes and servants - or I stay in expensive 5 star hotels. I hire the best and most expensive touring vehicles available and drivers that are known to the family or have great reviews. And I travel mainly with family or friends. I also shop a lot and get all my bulky stuff couriered to US.

India is not a place to do on shoe-string budget travel. If you do that then you have to be inconvenienced sometimes. However, India is still incredibly cheaper than US or Europe so it boggles my mind that westerners want to travel in the way the poorest of the poor are travelling there. If you spend a fraction of your money that you spend in a Western country and stay in good hotels and take taxis from proper registered taxi service, you will have an experience of comfort and luxury.

Nothing beats the food in India. Not one country I have visited has better food than India (ok, Thailand is amazing food too).

Indian food is so so bad- different varieties of glop- and my dadi is Indian, we totally grew up with the flavors but my mom stir fried the veggies instead of cooking them down into slop. the meat is so one note and they dont know how to butcher anything so it all tastes bad and is in orange or brown gloopy sauce. I dont know about the muslims and their meat dishes, the only good food is the sambar and dosas. idli is teh most foul textured thing I've ever had to put in my mouth. when im with family- the food at their homes is good but the indian food in the restaurants- no matter how posh is awful. the western style dishes at the cool places is good now though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

+ 1 Billion.

I am Indian and am generally surprised when non-Indian people choose to vacation in India. I don’t know how they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I have family and cultural ties, and worked there for a few years during formative years for me. So I love it most of the time. But I wouldn’t go there if not for these reasons.

I am Indian and I escape from the big cities as soon as I reach there. I travel a lot but I do the luxury version of everything. India is not for beginners. My favorite in previous years has been Rajasthan - the palace on wheels, Kerala, Palampur and Dharamshala. But, then I do not go to big cities and assume things will be smooth, I avoid the worst of the worst and I depend on family and friends to have a really good time there, I pay my way to making things convenient there. I laugh when I see westerners trying to stay in average hotels, use Uber there, travel on cheap tickets made for the poorest of the poor. I stay in India and don't balk to pay European prices. And for the same prices one can pay in any Western country for average services - I get more service, luxury and convenience - than anywhere in the world.

So much natural beauty to see, so much spirituality, family, weddings, shopping, Ayurvedic retreats, reunions, people, vibrant people, love and warmth...

My relatives in India come along with me, we go to lovely vacations and family retreats together and I foot the bill for everyone. We go to our village home, we go for weddings, we go touring and travelling together - and I pour in the money I earn here to better the economic situation of people there.

I have no illusion about how poor and dirty India is, but it gladdens my heart to see how there are more bubbles of prosperity there now than previous decades. I love the new confidence and pride people have in India. And I am shocked to see how supremely intelligent, resilient and innovative people are there. I am glad that their hearts are filled with hope for the future.

I love India.

You sound so annoying. Poorest of the poor? The way you keep repeating it - it seems like you have a chip on your shoulder.

Are you the same one who brags about your PhD and how your kids are so great.

DP, but I lived there for a few years for work and hated it. When OP is sneering at people she sees traveling like "the poorest of the poor", this is an example of what the caste system looks like today. The middle and upper classes in India rely on an extended staff and broader subclass of impoverished people they treat like just more of the mounds of garbage that little all the city streets. OP sees herself as better than the majority in her own country because she is not "poorest of the poor"/the class that were the lower castes for so long. And speaking of garbage, the reason you see so many Indians just throwing their garbage on the ground in Indian cities and public spaces is just an extension of this: they truly feel they are above "cleaning" and that it is someone else's job to clean up.

Anonymous wrote:I hate crowds, smelly food, and lines - so I hate Disney - all of it. I don't care for Six Flags or the Zoo for the same reason. Nor do I care for major tourist destinations on a busy day, like walking around in lines at Versailles - no thanks. I still take some for the family, but a vacation to me gets us as far away from crowds as we can, like cat or heli skiing, hiking in remote places, snorkeling or diving, but staying in a beach house, not a hotel. Even loved a recent cross-country skiing trip we did through Yellowstone - yes, we were in a hotel, but it was quiet and peaceful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

+ 1 Billion.

I am Indian and am generally surprised when non-Indian people choose to vacation in India. I don’t know how they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I have family and cultural ties, and worked there for a few years during formative years for me. So I love it most of the time. But I wouldn’t go there if not for these reasons.

I am Indian and I escape from the big cities as soon as I reach there. I travel a lot but I do the luxury version of everything. India is not for beginners. My favorite in previous years has been Rajasthan - the palace on wheels, Kerala, Palampur and Dharamshala. But, then I do not go to big cities and assume things will be smooth, I avoid the worst of the worst and I depend on family and friends to have a really good time there, I pay my way to making things convenient there. I laugh when I see westerners trying to stay in average hotels, use Uber there, travel on cheap tickets made for the poorest of the poor. I stay in India and don't balk to pay European prices. And for the same prices one can pay in any Western country for average services - I get more service, luxury and convenience - than anywhere in the world.

So much natural beauty to see, so much spirituality, family, weddings, shopping, Ayurvedic retreats, reunions, people, vibrant people, love and warmth...

My relatives in India come along with me, we go to lovely vacations and family retreats together and I foot the bill for everyone. We go to our village home, we go for weddings, we go touring and travelling together - and I pour in the money I earn here to better the economic situation of people there.

I have no illusion about how poor and dirty India is, but it gladdens my heart to see how there are more bubbles of prosperity there now than previous decades. I love the new confidence and pride people have in India. And I am shocked to see how supremely intelligent, resilient and innovative people are there. I am glad that their hearts are filled with hope for the future.

I love India.

Just got back from India (New Delhi). Using uber was easy, safe, convenient & inexpensive. No idea what you’re referring to when you say “I laugh to wee westerns trying to … use uber there”.

That particular person is just an ahole and giving other Indians a very bad name.
She's making fun of westerners when in India and scoffing at Americans when in America.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

+ 1 Billion.

I am Indian and am generally surprised when non-Indian people choose to vacation in India. I don’t know how they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I have family and cultural ties, and worked there for a few years during formative years for me. So I love it most of the time. But I wouldn’t go there if not for these reasons.

I am Indian and I escape from the big cities as soon as I reach there. I travel a lot but I do the luxury version of everything. India is not for beginners. My favorite in previous years has been Rajasthan - the palace on wheels, Kerala, Palampur and Dharamshala. But, then I do not go to big cities and assume things will be smooth, I avoid the worst of the worst and I depend on family and friends to have a really good time there, I pay my way to making things convenient there. I laugh when I see westerners trying to stay in average hotels, use Uber there, travel on cheap tickets made for the poorest of the poor. I stay in India and don't balk to pay European prices. And for the same prices one can pay in any Western country for average services - I get more service, luxury and convenience - than anywhere in the world.

So much natural beauty to see, so much spirituality, family, weddings, shopping, Ayurvedic retreats, reunions, people, vibrant people, love and warmth...

My relatives in India come along with me, we go to lovely vacations and family retreats together and I foot the bill for everyone. We go to our village home, we go for weddings, we go touring and travelling together - and I pour in the money I earn here to better the economic situation of people there.

I have no illusion about how poor and dirty India is, but it gladdens my heart to see how there are more bubbles of prosperity there now than previous decades. I love the new confidence and pride people have in India. And I am shocked to see how supremely intelligent, resilient and innovative people are there. I am glad that their hearts are filled with hope for the future.

I love India.

You sound so annoying. Poorest of the poor? The way you keep repeating it - it seems like you have a chip on your shoulder.

Are you the same one who brags about your PhD and how your kids are so great.

Anonymous wrote:We went to Amsterdam two summers ago and there were piles of rubbish on every street and in every canal. I had heard such great things and found Amsterdam to be far dirtier than Brussels, Rome, Lyon, Bratislava, etc. (i.e. cities that are supposedly less well-kept but I'd take any of them over Amsterdam).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

+ 1 Billion.

I am Indian and am generally surprised when non-Indian people choose to vacation in India. I don’t know how they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I have family and cultural ties, and worked there for a few years during formative years for me. So I love it most of the time. But I wouldn’t go there if not for these reasons.

I am Indian and I escape from the big cities as soon as I reach there. I travel a lot but I do the luxury version of everything. India is not for beginners. My favorite in previous years has been Rajasthan - the palace on wheels, Kerala, Palampur and Dharamshala. But, then I do not go to big cities and assume things will be smooth, I avoid the worst of the worst and I depend on family and friends to have a really good time there, I pay my way to making things convenient there. I laugh when I see westerners trying to stay in average hotels, use Uber there, travel on cheap tickets made for the poorest of the poor. I stay in India and don't balk to pay European prices. And for the same prices one can pay in any Western country for average services - I get more service, luxury and convenience - than anywhere in the world.

So much natural beauty to see, so much spirituality, family, weddings, shopping, Ayurvedic retreats, reunions, people, vibrant people, love and warmth...

My relatives in India come along with me, we go to lovely vacations and family retreats together and I foot the bill for everyone. We go to our village home, we go for weddings, we go touring and travelling together - and I pour in the money I earn here to better the economic situation of people there.

I have no illusion about how poor and dirty India is, but it gladdens my heart to see how there are more bubbles of prosperity there now than previous decades. I love the new confidence and pride people have in India. And I am shocked to see how supremely intelligent, resilient and innovative people are there. I am glad that their hearts are filled with hope for the future.

I love India.

Just got back from India (New Delhi). Using uber was easy, safe, convenient & inexpensive. No idea what you’re referring to when you say “I laugh to wee westerns trying to … use uber there”.

That particular person is just an ahole and giving other Indians a very bad name.
She's making fun of westerners when in India and scoffing at Americans when in America.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

+ 1 Billion.

I am Indian and am generally surprised when non-Indian people choose to vacation in India. I don’t know how they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I have family and cultural ties, and worked there for a few years during formative years for me. So I love it most of the time. But I wouldn’t go there if not for these reasons.

I am Indian and I escape from the big cities as soon as I reach there. I travel a lot but I do the luxury version of everything. India is not for beginners. My favorite in previous years has been Rajasthan - the palace on wheels, Kerala, Palampur and Dharamshala. But, then I do not go to big cities and assume things will be smooth, I avoid the worst of the worst and I depend on family and friends to have a really good time there, I pay my way to making things convenient there. I laugh when I see westerners trying to stay in average hotels, use Uber there, travel on cheap tickets made for the poorest of the poor. I stay in India and don't balk to pay European prices. And for the same prices one can pay in any Western country for average services - I get more service, luxury and convenience - than anywhere in the world.

So much natural beauty to see, so much spirituality, family, weddings, shopping, Ayurvedic retreats, reunions, people, vibrant people, love and warmth...

My relatives in India come along with me, we go to lovely vacations and family retreats together and I foot the bill for everyone. We go to our village home, we go for weddings, we go touring and travelling together - and I pour in the money I earn here to better the economic situation of people there.

I have no illusion about how poor and dirty India is, but it gladdens my heart to see how there are more bubbles of prosperity there now than previous decades. I love the new confidence and pride people have in India. And I am shocked to see how supremely intelligent, resilient and innovative people are there. I am glad that their hearts are filled with hope for the future.

I love India.

Just got back from India (New Delhi). Using uber was easy, safe, convenient & inexpensive. No idea what you’re referring to when you say “I laugh to wee westerns trying to … use uber there”.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not go back to India. Hard in many ways.

+ 1 Billion.

I am Indian and am generally surprised when non-Indian people choose to vacation in India. I don’t know how they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into. I have family and cultural ties, and worked there for a few years during formative years for me. So I love it most of the time. But I wouldn’t go there if not for these reasons.

I am Indian and I escape from the big cities as soon as I reach there. I travel a lot but I do the luxury version of everything. India is not for beginners. My favorite in previous years has been Rajasthan - the palace on wheels, Kerala, Palampur and Dharamshala. But, then I do not go to big cities and assume things will be smooth, I avoid the worst of the worst and I depend on family and friends to have a really good time there, I pay my way to making things convenient there. I laugh when I see westerners trying to stay in average hotels, use Uber there, travel on cheap tickets made for the poorest of the poor. I stay in India and don't balk to pay European prices. And for the same prices one can pay in any Western country for average services - I get more service, luxury and convenience - than anywhere in the world.

So much natural beauty to see, so much spirituality, family, weddings, shopping, Ayurvedic retreats, reunions, people, vibrant people, love and warmth...

My relatives in India come along with me, we go to lovely vacations and family retreats together and I foot the bill for everyone. We go to our village home, we go for weddings, we go touring and travelling together - and I pour in the money I earn here to better the economic situation of people there.

I have no illusion about how poor and dirty India is, but it gladdens my heart to see how there are more bubbles of prosperity there now than previous decades. I love the new confidence and pride people have in India. And I am shocked to see how supremely intelligent, resilient and innovative people are there. I am glad that their hearts are filled with hope for the future.

I love India.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not recommend DCUM’ers Panama City in Panama (not the one in Florida)

What didn't you like about Panama City?

I'm a big fan of Colombia and nobody traveling around South America seems to speak enthusiastically about Panama.

I've heard it described as "low risk, low reward."

Would love to hear more from the Panama poster. I was thinking of a trip that would be a couple days in Panama to see the canal and the old town area then chartering a catamaran about the blas islands. Is that worth it?