“The people there are so nice” is a phrase that’s always
tossed around when talking about travels. And sure, there is no objective
measure of “niceness” when we talk about varying cultures and peoples of the
globe. So it’s hard to truly whether any one group of people are in fact
relatively nicer than another and so on. But when visiting India it’s difficult
not to notice how polite and helpful everyone here is, not to mention
respectful and not overzealous towards foreigners.
I love Latin America, and I love the people there too, but
one of the annoyances of traveling there is how much attention one attracts as
a tourist while walking down the streets there. “Hey my friend” was a phrase I
constantly heard from some random dude on the street, always wanting to either
take me somewhere, sell me drugs, or just plain annoy me as I tried to pass
merrily on my way.
That’s not the case in India, where the people manage to
strike a wonderful balance between not being too stand-offish and not being to
overly excited to me you. By and large Indians are rather reserved in public,
are happy to offer a “hello” and a wave from the street, but that’s about where
it ends unless you pursue the conversation further. At the same time, they are
also happy to help with questions you might have and enjoying a pleasant
conversation.
Meeting the people of India on this trip has been a
rewarding experience, and in all honesty I am really amazed at how nice and
friendly they are towards foreigners. One of the other striking things about
being here is how safe I feel amongst the Indians, even though I clearly stick
out as a foreigner. Nowhere else have I traveled where I felt I could walk down
almost any street and not have to worry about running into a malicious
character, or could I leave the door to my hotel unlocked without
preoccupation. My traveling motto regarding protecting your personal belongings
while traveling has always been “if it can get stolen, it will get stolen”, but
I don’t think that applies in India.
That’s not to say there isn’t crime here, and sure around
some of the more touristy areas there are more aggressive vendors and hawkers,
and with that assuredly more instances of crime. But in India I don’t think my
motto really applies as much, and that’s a pleasant relief when traveling.
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