Previous thread: >>2847685Come and visit the ultimate normie-filter travel destination. Dive in and get to experience what they are missing out on.
Lobster bites at an art museum restaurant near the train station were meh. You get so used to flavormaxxing here that ordinary western-tier flavors underwhelm. Daytrips via train from Kolad are hardly an option either. Despite being barely 100 km from Mumbai and located along the principal west coast railway, there is only a single local train per day going in each direction. The only feasible train daytrip destination is the Mumbai outskirts, which is very disappointing when the railway passes through so much lovely green hill country to the south. State transport buses are the only choice for local daytrips, but figuring out all of your options for an out-and-back trip is a challenge, with nobody speaking English, no bus windshield signage in English, and bus staff being too busy to spend time giving comprehensive information (if they are even capable of doing so...most Thirdies can only give a simple answer to a simple question, i.e. when does the bus to Pali depart).
>>2855163have you learned to speak hindi yet?
You can stay in an Indian homeless encampment for only $22 USD per night! This is why I hardly ever visit the beach in Third World countries. Everything is a racket, and pricing schemes are downright delusional.>b-but you're paying for the vibe! muh heckin sand and waves! literally paradise!Bunch of trustafarian rich-kid bullshit, that's what it is. Restaurants along the coastal highway have been overpriced and disappointing in quality compared to the backroad village eateries on the other side of the mountains. AI-composed five star Google reviews pump up their ratings and encourage travelers to stop. They get fed watery slop and sent on their way with a case of indigestion, never to be seen again.
>>2855161Please continue talking about how much you are spending per day/week/month.
They keep trying to suck me into village life here in Kolad (which is a collection of numerous distinct villages with a highway junction at their center). Got invited to a pooja ceremony tonight with dinner and dancing. They had me start off with singing a song, so I picked the most somber Christian hymn that I could think of and sang it for them. It worked. They didn't ask me to sing again. The ceremony finally wrapped up at 2 AM: tomorrow I'm supposed to meet with the local seniors for lunch. The flamboyant guy is going to accompany me as a translator...a local sweet shop vendor invited me to the ceremony by chance, and shortly after I arrived, he swept in pinching babies' cheeks and making the rounds as usual before honing in on me and hyping my presence as the featured guest for the ceremony. Just like all of India. You either roll with it or reject it out of hand.
The zostel here is overpriced and devoid of fun. ₹1100 for a bunk, ₹250 for a boat ride across the river. I took the riverside trail, which confounded the people at the hostel. Evidently a 2 km walk is beyond their ability. The guys at the pooja ceremony talked of letting me stay in the temple guesthouse, which I expect will be more primitive than this hotel (albeit farther from the highway). The grumpy old temple dog was flogged out of the pavilion with a twig after laying down on the dancefloor. After such humiliation, he has been completely quiet. Usually he spends half the night barking and keeping me awake, but tonight there's only the ceaseless highway traffic noise. Nighttime temps and humidity on the coastal plain have plummeted as a cold wave makes its way south. These are nothing like the strong, stormy cold fronts of other continental regions; they are barely noticeable here, a gentle breeze and changing smog levels the only indicator of a slow creeping of airmasses.>>2855211Can't tell if sarcasm or not, but all my weekly tallies have fallen between ₹11K and ₹15K so far.
Today was close to 90°, the warmest it's been in a while. Languid perpetual sunshine makes you want to snooze the afternoon away.
Neat irrigation dam and lakeside nature trail in Kolad. Sadly a vast area of lakeside plain, formerly covered in rich forest, has been slashed and burned until it is nothing more than ash and stones. Every ruined landscape in India is inhabited by a large flock of extremely vocal crows whose dissonant calls replace the musical trills and chirps of the forest birds.
The fanciest restaurant in town is right next to a spot where village women wash their clothes in the river. Veg entrees start at ₹290, chicken ₹400, mutton ₹600, seafood APS (As Per Size). They are intended for serving a group, not for a solo diner. Yes, staff will always welcome a solo diner here due to low customer volume at these rural restaurants, but you'd be stuffing yourself silly if you eat a full-course meal alone. Amerifats may enjoy it. After eating barely anything all day, I sure enjoy a rich dinner...but at a more budget-friendly spot, where chicken mughlai costs only ₹200.
Ok I'm done with being social. Can't even take an after-dinner walk without people hitting me up from shopfronts, passing motorbikes, the street corners, etc. One uncle even hugged me out of the blue like I was his nephew returning from a long trip or something. No I don't remember a single one of their names. The gay-ish guy I met after arriving has been using his purported friendship with me to boost his own social clout, relentlessly badgering people to give me invitations, gifts, honors etc. Working himself up into a horrid sweat-reek with his ceaseless tramping around town on my behalf. I rudely walked off when he encountered me in the street, then told me to wait while he conferred with some "friends" who had been persuaded to throw a dinner party for me. No. I want to be alone and silent and strange, going where I want to when I want to, exchanging only looks or occasional laconic remarks with the people I pass by. This business of spending your day in endless chitter-chatter is tiring and annoying.
i will do a small trip to india next monthnew delhijodhpur pushkarjaipuris the food safe in "nice" restaurants? i'm very worried about thisalso do they have transexuals there? we would like to do a threesome at one point
>>2855491Go to Kerala, the places you mentioned are shitholes, even by indian standards
Smog is kinda thick today in Roha after a cold morning. Water towers are the handiest spots for a panoramic view of the city. Tomorrow is laundry day again, ugh. Always such a hassle to get clean clothes here; a minimum three-day stay is required. I miss Thai coin-ops where you can have your stuff washed and dried in 90 minutes for $3, 24 hours a day.>>2855491Wrong country for degeneracy. If you want an arranged marriage with a low to zero bodycount Hindu village girl, on the other hand...you just have to embrace their culture, be social, learn the local language. Prospective wives will be introduced to you with time. Indians believe a guy should be married by 28. And from my experience, the locals don't see whites as walking piggybanks here like they do in the coomer countries. Drink bottled or hot beverages only if you're afraid of getting sick, don't use a glass, yada yada. Don't eat at filthy roadside shacks or stalls with no running water.
>>2855534It's been weeks since I stayed in a dirty hotel or eaten in a filthy restaurant here in Maharashtra. Mumbai greater metropolitan area had plenty of filth, especially in the hectic, squalid outlying areas where the poor migrants live. Rural India still has reeking rubbish dumps of course, but the populated areas are regularly cleaned with broom and pan as a general rule. Still dusty, but not filthy.The cactus fences are pretty cool.
The price difference between A/C and non A/C rooms is huge in India. The hotels in Pune charged 25% extra for A/C, Kolad charged 50% extra, and this place in Roha charges a staggering 120% higher rate for an A/C room! With humidity currently low even on the coastal strip, it's super comfy. This ₹1000 room even has a balcony screen door to get fresh air without mosquito infiltration. Too bad the room overlooks a hideous construction site, with horns and revving from a nearby junction on the other side of the building. Earplugs have been a necessity for restful sleep in India, because the dogs start barking once the traffic dies down. The White God treatment continues in Roha. A village man directed his friend to give me a ride across the river to the door of the hotel as I was walking from the train station. The dosa place served a delicious butter cheese masala dosa, then refused any payment. Hotels are glad for my business, no refusals or griping about C Form lately. 180 day stay limit means no pressure to move on or pay for visa extensions...few other Asian countries are this generous for a mere $40.
Go to Kerala and go to Trivandrum
>>2855450This sounds fucking awesome lmao anon, is India worth it?
>>2855588Yes, India is the most-worth-visiting country I have been to, even surpassing Thailand in my current view. Roha is kinda dirty, with lots of putrid rubbish dumps on the fringes and drain channels flowing with foul water throughout the old peth. Being a detached and clinical observer, I'm not easily disgusted by feral pigs rooting in filth or any of the other unsightly odorous messes that are so common here. It's just part of the background, like the honking of traffic. A smelly guy with rotten teeth trying to encircle my waist or walk arm in arm like I was his beau, now that's a no. Proximity is tolerable, but I'm not interested in intimacy (here or anywhere for that matter desu)
You don't want to fuck with these Asian giant honeybees. They will literally murder you. I was on the water-tower staircase maybe 3 meters from their nest for this shot.
>>2855607Fuck sake. How the fuck do people deal with this?
When government puts its mind into building nice things here in India, they get built right proper. But too often the funds mysteriously run out halfway through a project.
>>2855608Peaceful coexistence with other living beings is a Hindu and Buddhist moral value. Every creature doesn't have to be subjugated to man's dominion...except dogs, they are taught from puppyhood to know their place and yield to people's wishes.
>>2855610Stupid fucking post. Feral street dogs are a huge problem in india and are the furthest thing from 'yielding'.You need a serious reality check.
>>2855627And you're basing your opinion on what? Your personal experience walking the slum streets of Kolkata, or hearsay from anti-India propagandists? I can assure you, dogs here in Maharashtra are no threat, least of all to an adult man. They always give you wary looks when you pass by, and hardly ever try to sneak up on your heels like the curs of Thailand love to do. The Thai dogs recognize me as a farang outsider, but Indian dogs are non-racist and respond to me the same as any other guy on foot. Cows OTOH you should be careful around, because when they get too annoyed they can attack out of the blue. This one went shopping in the vegetable market until it got a few smacks from outraged vendors, mildly agitating it. It almost knocked one old man over, then it found a pile of discarded greens and munched away happily.
>>2855632>Indian dogs are non-racistThis is hilarious, I am going to remember this.
Cheap healthy idli lunch starting at ₹10. I had the air-fried veg appa. The flavor was bland due to lack of grease.>>2855164Unless you have the vocal dexterity to be good at imitating sounds that other people make, speaking Indian or other Asian languages is very difficult. None of the sounds correspond neatly with English letters, and if I pronounce something using English sounds, it is not understood 4 times out of 5. People tell me their name, but I can't remember it or say it back to them correctly unless they write it down in Roman alphabet letters. >Oh it's Vedarth, it sounded like Virard.Likewise for many Indians, they can understand written English better than spoken American English. These difficulties in communication never frustrate or bother me, because it feels good for someone to accept that I am different and try to understand instead of getting the ick and acting weirdly polite/avoidant around me like most people do in America. The language barrier also makes a comfy excuse for non-verbal responses when you can't think of anything you want to say.
>>2855770You are just tone deaf. My friend is like you, it sounds like he's speaking English no matter what language he's attempting. Sucks to be you, I can imitate the tones without any issues
>>2855770And Hindi isn't even a tonal language you dummy. You'd sound awful attempting Spanish too
Tumblëdry is the biggest laundry service franchise in India. They charge by the kilo, which results in prices significantly lower than local laundry shops which charge per item. However, they refuse to wash undergarments for hygiene reasons, so you have to hand-wash them in your room. If you add ironing service, the 48 hour turnover increases to 72+ hours. The customer registration and order placement process alone took as long as a coin-op machine takes to run a cycle. But who cares, the bill was only ₹149. Besides, the train to my daytrip destination - a random city called Pen - leaves at 3:55 pm. India is most enjoyable when there is absolutely no hurry at all.
>>2855606You make it sound like a PVP zone, like GTA
>>2855610>>2855632It's the opposite. Dogs absolutely rule over humans in India. There are countless videos of them tearing up old people and children who are merely sitting down and minding their own business, 20000 rabies deaths a year from dog attacks, and over 2 million reported dog attacks per year (and that's probably only a small portion of the total).I'm a white dude with nothing against dogs. I peacefully walked through the streets and dogs would mind their own business during daytime hours when there were people everywhere. But mornings before 10 AM and after 8 PM were very different worlds. Dogs, even those who were happily wagging their tails at me hours earlier, were now barking at me with gangs of several other dogs tagging along with them. I walked down a narrow empty street and some fuckers strategized and blocked off both ends of the street to try killing me. They lunged at me like a pack of wolves and I kicked them in the teeth when they tried to bite. Thankfully a local managed to come along and distract them because even a healthy man isn't much of a match for 15 german shepherd sized dogs.Cows won't do shit if you steer clear of them. They also won't gang up on you. Dogs act like high melanin teenagers. Spot them in a good mood all alone in the middle of the day and they'll probably be fine. In odd hours with nobody around and they're trying to show off to their friends, and you are fucked.
>>2855164>>2855770I understand the language is not your priority, and that is fine. But, I have some insight regarding Hindi: It is only 1 language of many in India. The only one I can speak on, as I have not attempted the southern Telugu or Tamil yet - those are completely different languages, and not even related to Indo-European. Believe it or not, Hindi/northern languages all have a lot more in common with English and other European languages than you'd think. Hindi is close enough to a few others in the North of India to make them mutually intelligible. Another thing to consider regarding pronunciation is regional variation and lazy speech which is not enunciated - just like in English or any language.There are only a few sounds in Hindi which are alien to the English native tongue, and even with those, you can get by with alternatives which even regional native Indians use - they will even write them differently depending on where they're from. The nearest equivalent to help you understand using English: th/dh sounds. It is a rare phonetic component internationally, so many ESL and some English accents just say t/d instead while speaking English. And we understand them just fine.The basic building blocks of Hindi, the alphabet, you could become familar with in a few days - even using latin letter equivalents with an eye on phonetics. If you were dedicated, you could even learn the devanaagarii - it only requires a few weeks of daily practice to be able to read/write. Once you can read the alphabet, you will absolutely have a better ear for the language, but obviously not perfect. Just as a tourist, one could get the broad strokes of Hindi pronunciation pretty easily, and hone the finer points later or not. Let me write out the alphabet in latin letters for you guys:
>>2855787a aa i ii R u uu e ai o au(these 11 vowels are actually the only "hard" part)k kh g ghc ch j jhT Th D Dht th D dh p ph b bhy r l vsh Sh shThe consonants, you all know already. The 8 dentals are the ones that trips everybody up at first glance, but upon closer inspection, are not actually critical for communication. You will sound funny, but people will still understand you - ie "tank you dat is good" in English. I could explain all the differences but nobody would care.Those letters with "h" after them are literally just consonant followed by h. Again, not critical.They have two "R" sounds: The more common tapped/trilled r, like the rest of the world. And less commonly, the "KRishna" R, using the American English R. But again, not critical.The only truly alien sound is the "retroflex R/D" which is a rollercoaster for your mouth. But again, it is not critical. You can still get by with equivalent.I think a mastery of the 11 vowels is the only real barrier of entry. The consonants, you can get by with closest-equivalents unless you wanted to hone further. If you want a super protip which is easy to implement: Instead of just lightly tapping your tongue around your mouth for the consonants like you are used to in English: for Hindi words, instead make full contact. Specifically for N, T, D, and L. For these, your tongue ends up resting up against your teeth for a moment. Not critical, but an easy fix.
>>2855171The only way I'd visit this place would be if I'd lost a bet or something. There are so many much more satisfying places to travel to.
>>2855578You should write a book. Great story telling.
>>2855792But finding beauty in the most random places in India feels so much more rewarding than it does in, uh, Poland or Taiwan or Malaysia. Particularly so because the density of India means a 3 km walk from the train station or your hotel will reveal so many different facets of the country. In other countries, you need motorized transport because of the vast stretches of uninteresting, lifeless monotony that separate points of interest. India may be appalling, but it is never monotonous.
>>2855786You only have to scare the pack leader good, and then the others will lose interest in further hostilities. Behave like an angered predator who is asserting his supremacy when challenged, not like a cornered prey animal caught by surprise and lashing out in a panic. That gets them seeing red and lunging for a bite instead of slinking off to circle and bark from a safe distance.
Straw and bamboo shanties are popping up all over the edges of towns like Pen which offer easy daily access to jobs in Mumbai. The ones without plastic sheeting looked cooler, but I didn't want to be obnoxious and stick my camera in people's faces trying to get the best shot. Many of them seem embarrassed by the mere presence of a white guy.
>>2855786>>2855627Don't bother. He's entertaining and to his credit he actually posts from his trips which is miles better than the usual "hurr travel sucks how get sucky sucky", but he does arrive at the most broad and retarded conclusions imaginable and then vehemently sticks by them.I know first hand how bullshit it is too after having to throw kicks at attacking stray dogs in India after sunset. OP had also posted from my own country once and it was a riot to see some of the nonsense he'd come to believe. Just enjoy and stay for the ride while rolling your eyes from time to time.
>>2855161Why does /pol/ hate India so much? It’s bizarre
Woke up to horrible Delhi-tier fog at 9 AM this morning. It doesn't smell dangerously polluted desu. Locals said it's best to climb Avchitgad Fort in the morning...if you're lucky you'll catch the sunrise over a fog-bound river valley. If not, you'll be staring at a wall of white haze.
>>2855842Most people on /pol/ are turbo normies and latch onto >current_thing. A couple years ago tranny hate dominated half the board. A few years before that they all believed China would collapse in two more weeks. Go back a bit farther and it was all Germany being the worst thing on earth. Then you go back before 2015 and everyone absolutely hated right wing parties for being christfags.Now India hate is everywhere. But it's turning back around to Europe hate since they think based right wing Indians will save the west. And saving the west means invading Europe and killing all the white people so a couple billionaires can nab Greenland. Just disregard what normies like /pol/ users say regarding travel. India is wild but it's fun. I'd never live there, but it's nice to feel like you're seeing society from 3000 years ago, 200 years ago, and sometimes even 10 years into the future all at once. India is the closest thing you can experience to an irl RPG game.
>>2855984>India is the closest thing you can experience to an irl RPG game.If you mean performing a saving throw every other turn to avoid becoming diseased or being run over, or noticing you are being stolen from, sure. It's very RPG-like in that regard. >erm....roll a constitution check>uhhh ok roll a perception check>oops, make a dodge check Except you don't level up from any of that, there is no treasure to find, and nobody cares about what you did.
>>2855632Why are you lying? I am beginning to suspect you are literally an indian state government propagandist, or being paid to serve in that role.Either way, your bullshit is as despicable as it is transparent. Street dogs are an absolute menace everywhere in india, not just in terms of violence, but also noise and filth. There is something actually wrong with you.
>>2855990Anti-social misanthropes resent jeets for their ability to remain positive, placid and socially connected in the most difficult & unpleasant living circumstances. Jeets don't rage against the way things are, they accept it and work with it. This is why I have meshed so well with Indians. Since turning 30 I have also come to accept the state of humanity and the world as it is. Yes, people still get frustrated with problems, but frustration is not the baseline emotion here like it is for /pol/tards. India teaches you to enjoy & appreciate the good things in life that you are privileged to enjoy. Some people come here and don't get it. They remain stuck on a negative emotional baseline, continually searching for copes that never fix the underlying problem. This surmai curry was perfectly spiced to explode with flavor but not overwhelm. Very expensive fish; I only paid ₹300 for the entree, so I got a skimpy portion. Other places charge ₹600+ for surmai dishes.
This is beautiful, which state should I go for Indian lads with an idea of this?
Its all over bros... My 19 year old cousin watches too many travel vlogs and now wants to go on a solo trip to India before starting university. Shes a blonde white girl so im and im worried she is going to fucking die. Ive tried to convince her to atleast try to go with a friend but she wants to prove how strong she is.She wants to start in Dheli the just "explore the horizon" whatever the fuck that means.Someone tell me the actual safest part of india so I can convince her to spend all her time there.
>>2855996I've seen this copypasta before...Lots of Hindu Indian females wrap a scarf around their head and face, leaving only their eyes exposed. Ostensibly it's to protect their skin from sun exposure, but it also helps avoid lustful stares from passing men. Aimlessly wandering around alone is considered strange and atypical behavior, particularly for a young girl and even more so in a big city (Delhi is one of the most rapey places in India, beat only by Rajasthan.) It'd almost seem like she was looking for trouble... Undoubtedly any backpack foid can find friends from her hostel to go out with, both male and female. Oh, and leaves the shorts at home. Long pants are the norm here, though every now and then I see a daring girl wearing cut-off jeans.
>>2856001>(Delhi is one of the most rapey places in India, beat only by Rajasthan>Long pants are the norm hereShe said she looked up normal clothes to wear. I think she is going to wear those a those long flowy pants. Like hippy pants made of cotton or something. Shes definitely not going to wear a head scarf thoughI looked up Rajasthan and that also seems to be king of northwest like delhi. Google seems to say that the more south cities are safer.
>>2856001>I've seen this copypasta before...I read similar shit on travel subreddits all the time. Many such cases
God I love these old Maratha forts, built on impenetrable forested mountaintops. The map only showed one trail to the top, so I took the train one stop to save 6 km of walking along a rural highway and then set out through a beautiful village to the trailhead. Two village dogs accompanied me to the top and set a grueling pace right on my heels. Halfway up there is a saddle between two tit-shaped peaks, one of which has the fort on its summit. A different trail descended the other side of the slope into a creek valley that spead out into a wide fertile plain. The villages on this side were more squalid, but the single-lane access road led right back to Roha. A cricket match reached a decisive finish just as I stopped to watch, with the winning team running together to slap backs and jump for joy. There really isn't any other country that is so interesting and rewarding to explore on foot, where even in the small isolated villages you get noticed by 50+ people. It makes travel seem much more meaningful, like you're an ambassador for your own countrymen come to experience all that India is so proud of.
Forget America's Appalachia. The human inhabitants are so incredibly dull compared to the people of the Indian Ghats, it costs so much more to visit, it offers so much less to a visitor, and lately it has become very unfriendly to outsiders with the drug abuse epidemic rampant in its dying towns. Indian winter is 100x better for exploring and wildlife watching here than it is in America, and monsoon here means waterfalls galore, far more than you'd encounter anywhere outside a couple counties in North Carolina.
Compare to the soulless trailers that are strewn across the Appalachian hollows. Here, every village, every street, every house is unique. There's no First Street, Second Street, Third Street, all indistinguishable from each other. Exploring America I often felt deprived and missing out on everything. Here I get to escape to nature on a regular basis AND stay for cheap in the middle of the action, all without wasting money on cars and fucking gasoline.
What is a white guy doing in a random part of rural Maharashtra?>>2855609Kek this guy understands the great problem of Indian development. After 60 years of stagnation, people have little faith in the government to build anything lasting. So even if the structure is planned and budgeted well, local people feel the need to skim off the top because there's zero faith that it would have been planned and budgeted well to begin with
>>2856054After enough time here, you lose the ability to compare India to other countries. India is your life now. And like the jeets, you become passive and work with things the way they are. Oh that doesn't mean you submit to blatant ripoffs like a cuck, but you no longer rage inwardly over the numerous flaws of a country which has risen up from a history of squalor almost unimaginable to the average Westerner. Having a nice room and good food in your belly makes all the difference desu. It is 100% worthwhile going to whichever parts of the country offer high quality lodging & dining for fair prices. Here you venture out feeling secure and confident in your tourist privilege. Nobody can tell you what to do or where to go, and you don't tolerate any attempt to do so...but likewise you can't order anyone else to do your bidding as if they were your inferior. Indians are sensitive about that shit when it comes from foreigners, muh colonial trauma etc etc; they like white Americans inasmuch as we are egalitarian and treat the help as if they were equal in status to ourselves. Picrel is ramphal or bullock's heart. Sadly the fruit cut open was completely unripe. 15 rupees wasted...
Nagothane felt like a time capsule of sorts...a large village bounded by highways yet unchanged by their presence. The old bazar street is still the center of commerce, while the temple complex located amidst three small ponds is the center of social life - in this case, an elaborate Hindu funeral. A local lodge (not even on Google Maps) charged ₹600 for one person in a surprisingly decent room with a small window and hot water. A/C ₹600 extra. The problem of hotelkeepers refusing a foreigner seems to have vanished as inexplicably as it arose.
Three curious crows joined me at the top of the water tower, one of them notably braver than the others. Hands get filthy clutching the dirty ladder. I washed them in the pond below, then ate some chicken biryani Indian style afterwards. Microdosing local bacteria or something like that.
The funeral underway. Nobody would tell me what was happening, but there appeared to be a casket at the front of the room. An impudent little boy showed up with his buddies to practice his English by making various demands of me. I told him that I am an adult, I do what I want and not what people tell me to do. He suddenly got embarrassed and left me alone.
Construction of elaborate new temples is clearly a higher priority than rubbish disposal. Evidently visitors are not supposed to enter the temple while it is being built. They weren't rude about it, but neither of the guardians spoke English, so their lengthy explanation was lost on me.
Seven weeks completed here. So many more places to see while the pleasant weather lasts.
>>2856260You should come back at the peak of the dry season and tell us how fun India is
Test
>>2856268Being a cheapskate, it's the phat surcharges for A/C in Indian hotel rooms that will be the deciding factor more so than the 38° haze (which Thailand also experiences in hot season). Many times a non A/C room has an A/C unit, but it's disabled at the breaker box unless you pay the surcharge. So many possible daytrip destinations from Roha. Instead of paying extra to stay near the beach, or getting a cheap room near the reeking fish market, why not stay here super comfy for ₹1000 ($11) and ride the bus to a different village every day?
The supposed smell of this dish led to a discrimination lawsuit awarding $200,000 to Indian doctoral students at an American university. Smell? What smell? I didn't smell anything, but I've been here long enough that only the most offensive odors are noticeable, pisshole lavatories and rubbish piles that make girls cover their nose with their sleeve. The most delectable cooking odors always come from people's houses where dishes simmer for hours, never from restaurants where everything is slopped together fast.https://www.msn.com/en-in/autos/photos/palak-paneer-smell-sparks-discrimination-case-indian-phd-students-win-rs-1-8-crore-in-us/ar-AA1UbvMQNot much grease or sodium in these traditional Indian dishes. It's ironic that I'm dining more upscale here than any other country, but still spending less per day on food than any other country. Stuffing your face with an assortment of street snacks like "OMG this is so cheap and amazing!!" is for rookies. Experienced travelers go for the finer offerings that stick to your ribs and more importantly, give you smooth solid shits.
>>2855996Let her learn her lesson. I tried telling a Mexican female to not go to Egypt several times, sent her links and videos about how bad it is, but she still went there and then a few days later she was complaining about how she got scammed and was literally crying on the sidewalk in Egypt and some locals gave her a bottle of Coke, kek.
>>2855995wtf is that lol
Mistook ताला for पाली and boarded the 2 PM bus to Tala instead of the 2 PM bus to Pali. There's always a rush to get on board, sometimes before the signage has been placed in the windshield. Well, what a coincidence. Tala also has a kickass fort overlooking the village. I have the place to myself as usual. People talk about how crowded India is, but there's still so much room to freely explore and be yourself here. The extroverted villagers got annoyed by my inability to understand Marathi or Hindi. So be it. Can't win 'em all.
Cool weather persists here, with low humidity and daytime highs around 29° even in the coastal lowlands.
The mountaintops inside the fort are sometimes forested, but this one is extremely barren. Indian trails are very well maintained as a general rule, with large flat rocks placed as stepping stones in steep portions and greenery trimmed back to allow passage without fear of lurking snakes.
Indian bars are rather dull, male-only spaces. I've never seen a female inside one. Drunk Indian men are not pleasant to be around. Overly exuberant, crude, and heedless of causing offense. Less dangerous than drunk Mexicans, but more careless. A bottle of Tuborg (MRP ₹200) costs ₹250 here in this village bar. You drink alone or with friends at a table. If you get hungry, a full restaurant menu is usually available. Motorbike riders often go out into the country, build a campfire, and have their bro time around some beer and snacks. Leaving rubbish strewn all over, of course.
>>2856478Sounds and looks grim and incredibly uncozy. Enjoying a beer is one of /trv/s greatest pleasures, any nation which tries to prevent that is not one for me.
>>2855606you could have picked up some of your litter, dude
>>2855787it is true. hindi is indo-aryan and non-tonal so it should be easy to pick up
>>2856031>to explore on foot,i don't even know how you can do that in such a large country. surely you must have to rent a motorcycle scooter or something?
>>2856576Jesus, there's no end of places you can take daytrips to for a 50 rupee bus fare. India is huge, yes, but it's denser and more interconnected than any other country of its size. Buses are much more tedious than riding a motorbike, but if you have more time than money it's worth the hassle. Today I hopped on the 10:30 AM bus to Murud via Supegaon, a village in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary. If a tiger doesn't make lunch of me in Supegaon, I intend to board the next bus four hours later and continue into the coastal village of Murud. Then a bus back to Roha via the Bhalgaon route. Picrel from MSRTCbus.com.
Daytrip plans have to be flexible in this country. If you insist on following your itinerary to the letter, frustration and delays are inevitable. I walked 7 km down to the beach from Supegaon, a beautiful forest mountain village with rather unfriendly inhabitants who served me a mediocre veg lunch for ₹150. Better than going hungry... Down here people seem less upstanding than inland. Boys yell insolently at me like it was the Philippines. Others give me suspicious looks, like they don't want a whitey in their little beach village. Asking where the bus stop was, they gave me bullshit answers trying to get me to take an auto (and get ripped off). All of it the typical Thirdie BS so far absent on my trip.
The little highway up to Supegaon was so pretty and quiet. A great road to walk along. Nature preserve charged ₹120 to walk in the forest, which god gives us for free. The next scheduled bus through Supegaon never came through, so walking down to the main coast road was a good idea. Half an hour wait after a stroll on the beach and I caught a bus to Murud just past 3:30. "No more buses today" my ass. Last bus from Murud back to Roha is 6 pm, so I have time to explore the village and judge if it's worth a stay.
Murud seems tranquil and pleasant enough, apart from the touts riding ATVs and horses on the beach. People are not genuinely friendly here; if they call out to a white guy it is either to tout something, or (more often) because they're bored and want to get a reaction from you. Others are curt when talking business, with none of the attentive service I've become accustomed to in places like Pune and Roha. A local hotel bookable for ₹2400 online offers non A/C rooms for ₹1000 and A/C for, um, ₹1800. So don't judge prices of lodging in these small beach towns by looking online. You have to make phone calls or go door to door.I've already encountered the price going up when it's time to pay for the meal. It was only ₹10 more, but the practice of refusing to honor the offer price can become quite infuriating.
Alibag's boardwalk is bustling with visitors, but the development and crowds quickly run out as you continue up the beach. Room prices are higher than I've been accustomed to lately, thanks to the proximity of Mbai. They vary from the ₹1500 I paid for a large non A/C room with a shitty bed half a km from the beach, to ₹4000 for an oceanfront A/C room with balcony. The ₹2000 A/C room at my hotel had a much comfier bed, but my lodging price cap sits firmly at $20 USD. Most of the plentiful cottage & villa accomodations are geared toward middle-class families, but there is a backpacker hostel located on an inconvenient back street. Nobody harasses me on the street here. Word seems to be, don't pester the visitors no matter who they are. As far as things to doooo, parasailing is ₹1000 a session. ATVs, horses, even camels can be ridden. There's an offshore fort you can buy a boat ticket to explore.
>yeah the brown people were annoying and shitty....but trees tho!>yeah the brown people were annoying and shitty...but it was cheap! >yeah the brown people were annoying and shitty....but the beach! >yeah the brown people were annoying and shitty...but parasailing!
>>2856950Called a shopkeeper a scammer and made him flinch after he tried to short me ₹100 on the change for a ₹27 purchase. India is an NPC filter country, why? You always have to be paying attention and engaging with your surroundings here. And walking with a thousand other people across the seabed at low tide to a centuries-old fort is something you can't experience in any old country. When I showed up around 3 PM, motorboats were ferrying people to and from the fort. Worth staying here for one night just to experience that. Weekend price hikes kick in tomorrow for most properties, so I'm out of here. The cheaper rooms here have zero furniture besides a bed. Unacceptable.
Even this south-facing room is down to 78° inside by 7 PM. No need for A/C. Indian brick construction doesn't trap the day's heat like an all-concrete building does.
>>2856958>Indian brick construction doesn't trap the day's heat like an all-concrete building does.you're such a clown
Reference map showing how close this is to the big city. It's about damn time to venture farther south and see the remaining 1500 km of the Western Ghats, but Pali remains stuck on my must-see list. There is an extensive 400-600 meter tall escarpment east of Pali near Nadsur, which is conveniently accessible by bus from Pali. Also, Sarasgad Fort overlooking the town. Mountains mog beaches.
>>2856957>Called a shopkeeper a scammer and made him flinchEasy, tough guy.
>>2856658and if you miss your bus? you'll be stuck spending the night with the village ho
>>2856707it looks just like appalachia
>>2857059Your plans have to be flexible here. One example, Murud ST stand had a 5 pm and a 6 pm bus scheduled for Roha. Google reviews for the bus stand complained that buses don't follow the schedule, so I showed up 4:45 pm and there was only one bus to Roha, the 4:30 pm bus to Mahad (delayed 45 minutes). Whew, lucky break. >>2857060They only have hounds chained up in the backyard over there. Here only the special breeds have the luxury of imprisonment.
$16 for a room with a sofa and three large windows half a km from the beach really isn't a bad deal in [current year]. The world is running out of places where $10 is still the median tariff for a budget room.
Pali is a weird spiritual pilgrimage town. Everyone pushed and shoved to get on the bus to Pali at Alibag, one dude latching onto the guy in front of him like a starfish in his panic...then as soon as he got on board he stopped near the entrance. Now the people he pushed in front of to board first have to push past him to move toward the back of the bus.Pilgrim guesthouses predominate here. One place says "Rooms Available", but the gate was latched and they wouldn't let me enter. I got a room at the bhakti niwas (temple lodge) facing a huge, noisy carnival ride. The ₹1250 room is supposed to sleep five; I'm surprised they didn't turn me away. It also smells of poop inside, like somebody hid a dookie under the mattress. Another one-night stay...Airtel data service is atrocious any time there is a large gathering of people. Dialup tier speeds barely usable for Google Maps.
>>2857108these street dogs look very healthy. they probably are eating a lot of unwanted beef
>>2857371Yeah, most dogs here are well-fed...even the poorest tribal villagers dump half their meal out in the dirt for the curs (which is how the girls are skinnier than the dogs). Middle-aged village women OTOH are universally paunchy and saggy in the middle...the concept of toned abs is completely unheard of. India is not a food-scarce country anymore.Decided to stay longer in Pali. There's some kickass nature destinations at the base of the Ghat that are accessible by bus from here. Pali is pricier than Roha, super friendly to a white guy, but sometimes dishonest. I did get suckered into paying ₹60 for a fresh pineapple juice that sold elsewhere for ₹30. Some boys advised me to be careful with my belongings after they saw my wallet bulging with enough rupees to buy four phones. The big celebration of Lord Ganesha's birthday wrapped up yesterday...a kilometer long stretch of road had been closed to traffic and turned into a street market full of bumbling family groups. Accustomed to walking amongst people who are busily going about their daily routine, the aimlessness of the leisure shoppers was a little annoying.
Nice noisy carnival outside my window last night. They cover the rubble and garbage of the vacant lot with green tarp for events like this. A noisy, unmuffled car engine was connected to a belt which made the ride swing back and forth as it was revved by the operator. The filthy open sewer smelling of poop was to blame for the smell in my room. Sometimes in India you have to close windows for fresh air instead of opening them. Cell service died completely in the evening, forcing every airtel customer to live in the moment with their friends & family.
Sarasgad Fort is the most impressive one yet. Built on multiple levels on top of a sheer pinnacle of solid rock, it's a helluva climb to get there. You have to climb this exhausting stone staircase up a cleft in the rock and open a creaking wooden door to enter the first level...only to see a taller pinnacle still towering over your head. Despite it being a lovely weekend afternoon, there are barely half a dozen people up here. Other countries, this place would be CRAMMED with annoying tourists in their expensive trekking gear...but in high season India, it's serenely quiet. Only the announcers for a cricket match far below disturb the peaceful soundscape. A saffron banner flapping in the balmy breeze, buzzing flies and trilling crickets.
Portals allow access from outside along certain portions of wall. Everything is remarkably well-preserved. The gnarled trees growing throughout provide shade and lend it natural beauty.
The solitude is amazing when you consider how close Sarasgad is to the town. Barely ¼ km from my hotel to the trailhead. Accessibility feels so good. Lack of a car doesn't mean lack of adventure here, like it does in so many other countries. And no weary 10 km of trudging along the roadside just to get to the trailhead either.
One of the underground chambers hewn into the base of the tallest monolith. Doubtful the pillars have any effect on holding up half a million tons of rock, but they look cool.
When the hotel chefs take holiday, good luck getting any real food in a village like Pali. All the nice restaurants were curiously devoid of diners despite the crowds on the street; hungry for some eggplant masala, I tried each one but was refused or bullshitted every time. Why couldn't the owners just close up the place and give everybody a break, instead of staying open as a glorified tea stand. Had to settle for ₹60 street shawarma and ₹100 Muslim biryani at a dirty old place. The only alternative was a dozen different Chinese stir-fry slop dispensers, or pav bhaji. Moderately humid tropical air - with dewpoints up to 21° C - has returned to the coastal lowlands, making for thick haze and warmer temps (31° C hi 21° lo). A good building stays cool even on hot afternoons, but humidity builds up inside, creating a musty smell and making it next to impossible to dry out clean or dirty clothes as RH levels in your room reach 90%. That's why tropical peoples always festoon their balconies with laundry.
Pecker Peak overlooking Bhira village. They tried so hard to herd me to the Devkund waterfall hike that is the basis of their ecotourism economy. It's one of few perennial waterfalls in the Ghats. ₹200 entry fee plus ₹300 chaperone fee. No thanks. I headed over to the far side of the lake for some free forest seclusion instead.
The lake's setting is pretty spectacular, with the backbone of the Sahyadris directly behind it. A sight definitely worth the $0.50 bus fare from Pali.
Monkeys trying to learn cricket
Can foreigners pay easily with UPI yet, or is using cash for everything better still?
>>2857641Word is you need an Indian bank account to set up GPay.There are so many of these abandoned communal buildings all throughout India. Some have hallways connecting the rooms, others have a separate entrance for each room. Were they all built by the Brits? Indians avoid them like they're haunted. Villagers here build their houses all crammed up next to each other, but each house is separately constructed. They never share walls with neighbors.
India's forestland is nearly all public domain. You hardly ever see fences and "Tresspassers will be Prosecuted" signs blocking off access to nature like is so prevalent among the greedy, selfish landowners of America. The idea of murdering somebody for walking in the woods is unthinkable here, but burgers gleefully fantasize about killing nature lovers who cross invisible property lines in undeveloped natural areas.
>>2857649>Word is you need an Indian bank account to set up GPay.Donwload MONY or CheQ right now anon. you're missing out on so much.
How can i get the best diarrhea of my life? I'll be in bangalore for a business trip next month
>>2857614aren't we being a little racist here?
>>2857696Drink water from a dispenser or better yet, a table pitcher that is exposed to road dust. Drinking local water always gives me a prolonged blowout bowel movement with lingering colon-rape pain for hours afterwards.
>>2857696Find the cheapest pani puri
This has probably been asked a million times, but is travelling to Goa with a woman not worth the trouble? Might have to go for a wedding but would rather go alone than deal with weird lankoids trying to grope my companion in public.
Comfy $13 room across the street from the beach in Murud. They tried to give me their best sunset-facing rooms on the second floor, but I chose a smaller room for the same price. Cool shade and lack of street noise are higher priorities than ample space and great views. Indians often don't understand my decision-making processes and pressure me to submit to their guidance. BTW if attempts at persuasion by Thirdies make you seethe with butthurt, you are an insecure rookie traveler who would do well to learn some self-assurance the only way it can be learned...by blazing your own trail through life, learning from your mistakes and oversights along the way.My laundry is currently two hours' bus ride away, kek. In two days I'll leave on the early morning bus, pick it up, then return to the bus station to board the 10:45 bus to Mangaon.
>>2857814Go alone. It’s absolutely not worth the trouble.
Ruins on a forested bluff overlooking the Arabian Sea. If there is an opening in a property wall, like there was here, a dog trail will give it away. I was tempted to sneak on into the Ahmedganj Palace, as these abandoned structures were inside the palace compound, but the grounds were wide open, and getting caught red-handed is not on the agenda.
Local taxes in India...Matheran charges ₹50 tourism tax per head on all passengers arriving by rail. You must pay before leaving the station. Murud has dudes standing in the road stopping every inbound driver. Payment of village tax is required to drive a car into Murud, even if you are just passing through on your way down the coast. And that's a good thing. The roads around here are extremely narrow; the last thing they need is more fucking cars. If you want to visit, ride a motorbike or take the bus.
The beach horses of Murud are treated gently, unlike those of Alibag which are forced to run while pulling a heavy carriage loaded with people. The ponies really struggle under the load, but the driver whips them relentlessly. Here the horses are larger and mainly used for horseback riding. The switch is rarely used. Murud in general is a more appealing place, with much less traffic than Alibag. I've yet to see a single man young or old with his shirt off at the beach, however. Walking around half-naked is not proper for either sex here. Maybe 5% of men and women are wearing shorts.
Giant fruit bats were having a screeching orgy in a banyan tree last night, which marked eight weeks in India - and one lakh rupees spent on the ground. Daily average sits steady at $20.50 per day, of which roughly $12.90 goes to hotels and $5.30 goes to food on average. About 65 bus, train and metro rides covering about 1300 km cost $26 USD. Add to that about 700 km of walking, give or take. It's amazingly cheap to go all over the map here, but goddamn is it slow. Been waiting over a month to visit Mahabaleshwar...
>>2858003aren't indian bus drivers crazy though? i thought they drive like gta over there. it's not worth risking your life
is this the same anon who toured around south east asia trying to spend as little money as possible?
>>2857814I traveled around india with my ex who was quite attractive big tits half asian tattoos and another time with a german red headthey stare but that's itthey wouldn't grope if you are there and if they do just beat them in public and shame them
>>2858003go to gokarna and check out the various beaches
Locals are bewildered why I would follow cattle trails along a high grassy ridge all by myself when everyone else is shuffling aboard the ferry to Janjira Fort. It's very rewarding to find your own route across the terrain and enjoy great views along the way. Nobody minds when you suddenly materialize in unexpected places, peering around trying to figure out the way. India is basically a right to roam country. >>2858009MSRTC drivers are sometimes rookies who can't shift gears, but they are never reckless. Often the bus has to stop completely to let another vehicle squeeze past. Some roads are so narrow a motorbike can barely pass. Average speed for these hilly coastal regions is 20 km/h. Express A/C buses on intercity routes are most likely to drive recklessly.>>2858018Gokarna is a Reddit destination. Why skip over fifty plus cool places along the way just to end up where Redditors flock to? Next up you'll recommend staying in Jaipur or stopping by Varanasi. Bah. >>2858017He said companion, not gf. Seems he doesn't want to be her (sexless) 24/7 orbiter and guardian, but he would blame himself if she went out alone and came back crying about how horrible Indian men are.
I have a two online gfs in India that I plan on meeting. One is in Delhi and one is in Deradun. The one in ND will meet me in my hotel no problem and the one in Deradun wants to but days she can't cause her family is strict. She said she could elope with me though. She hates her family btw. I'm not sure what to do with her. Any ideas?
Murud is becoming one of my all-time favorite beach towns. It's the kind of undiscovered, unfranchised, locals-only beach that shouldn't even exist in the modern age...but it does. And there's a whole lot more than a single stretch of sand to explore here. No, the rubbish dumps, stray animals, dalit squalor and other hallmarks of primitive India don't bother me. If you want a sanitary, globally homogenized coastal experience, there's a thousand fucking corporate franchise resort strips you can go to. Pick any one, they're all the same. Only here can I start in sonebody's side yard, disturbing a grumpy dog before climbing goat trails up a hill to sit inside an abandoned Muslim shrine, eating half-rotten wild jujubes that an ancient granny was selling for 10 rupees a serving at the ferry terminal. Then, why not follow the grassy ridgeline back to Murud instead of the road. Come out on the road where it cuts across the ridge, then shortcut onward through village alleys to reach the end of the ridge where it drops off into the sea. Dead end? Not quite. A stepping-stone trail leads down the rock to a Hindu cliffside shrine, where barefoot worshippers are mildly distracted by a weird white guy stepping down off the hillside into the temple walkway. Wrap it all up with a ₹350 surmai thali that I never ordered, but which was good enough at first taste to change my mind. A cute pajeeta with a sister in upstate New York started chatting with me, but I quickly bored her with talk of social and economic trends. She offered to give me the surmai for free (because I had ordered egg thali only), then forgot to charge me for the water, then gave me ₹40 too much in change when the total was agreed on. She was light-skinned with curly hair and little/no makeup.No two interactions are the same here. Could a white guy interested in dating get a date here in India? Sure seems that way. You of course have to be properly socialized and know how to conversate in a charming way.
>>2858042How the fuck did you not do any dating there as a white guy? I was getting approached all the time
