What Brought About Your Interest In Traveling To India?

amelia88

amelia88

Active Member
I'm wondering what made everyone here interested in India as a tourism destination.

It might sound weird or silly to some people but the first thing that made me think I wanted to travel to India was the movie The Darjeeling Limited. The main characters travelled by train across India and I thought it looked magnificent.

There was also a tourism campaign in my country called "Incredible India" which I thought was interesting too and it made me think more about visiting.

What about you?
 
When a friend of mine traveled to India as a foreign exchange student I became interested in sharing a similar experience. She was there for one year often sharing pictures and basically a diary of her everyday life. She worked with children and lived with several different families and adapted according to their lifestyle. Many of the pictures she shared were of the children and the folks there. Our church has a program with exchange students so I applied to go to India which I would have never done had my friend not shared her experience. I was disappointed when I was not accepted for the program as they wanted a young, strong student that was in college involved in classes pertaining to India. I hope that one day I will be able to afford to go on my own and experience your fabulous country.
 
To be honest I had never even thought about India as a tourist destination till a few months ago when a friend of mine booked a holiday there, my first reaction was really? India?! What's there?

When they came back he was telling me all the stories and showing me about a million pictures he'd took and it does look like a fascinating place to visit.
 
pwarbi said:
To be honest I had never even thought about India as a tourist destination till a few months ago when a friend of mine booked a holiday there, my first reaction was really? India?! What's there?

When they came back he was telling me all the stories and showing me about a million pictures he'd took and it does look like a fascinating place to visit.
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That's always been a big motivation behind a lot of my travel destinations - friends or family go there and show me pictures, and ultimately it gets the travel bug ignited in me again!
 
I think the major factor attracting people from other countries is the diversity here. India had been dominated by many countries / dynasties from time to time. That is why India is rich in attractive monuments and historical places which has a lot of stories to tell. All these are contributions of the rulers who ruled India in the past. Geographically also India enjoys some of the best places which are naturally beautiful. Unity in the midst of diversity is the greatest strength of India I think.
 
The prices being way cheaper than where I live, no offense, but I've heard you can live like a king in India with just a little money. that's a good thing.
The second thing that attracts me toward India is the Persians that still live in there, because it's being told that they are the pure people from Persian race and I'm persian and for some reason am curious to see them.
 
Sar@ said:
The prices being way cheaper than where I live, no offense, but I've heard you can live like a king in India with just a little money. that's a good thing.
The second thing that attracts me toward India is the Persians that still live in there, because it's being told that they are the pure people from Persian race and I'm persian and for some reason am curious to see them.
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Ahh yes, finances definitely come into it as well! If a destination is way out of my price range I don't have a lot of desire to travel there. If I know that I can find accommodation, things to do, and food for reasonable prices, then it certainly makes it more appealing on my destination radar!
 
Sar@ said:
I've heard you can live like a king in India with just a little money.
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Really depends what everyone's definition of "living like a king" is. Manual labor is cheap but everything else costs more or less the same as it does else where in the world. Cars aren't cheap and fuel is not cheap either but you can get a driver for a lot less then what you would pay in some developed economies.
 
To me it was my sister. She lived in India for a year when she was in an ashram learning yoga and meditation. She talks about amazing people, places, culture and I’m like obsessed with India now.

Besides, I’ve been in almost every continent of this world, I’m just missing Antarctica and Asia, and India seems the most interesting to me.

Haven’t seen this movie, I’ll have to find it!
 
It was primarily all about the food. I'm a passionate cook and spices really add to my life and dishes. One of the best meals I've eaten involved curry and Roti bread, I guess you could say it not only charged my love of cooking but of the country as well. The description of the Taj Mahal, the colorful characters of Bollywood films and Hinduism suddenly interested me-- it's a very beautiful country that will enrich your life.
 
GammaRay said:
It was primarily all about the food. I'm a passionate cook and spices really add to my life and dishes. One of the best meals I've eaten involved curry and Roti bread, I guess you could say it not only charged my love of cooking but of the country as well. The description of the Taj Mahal, the colorful characters of Bollywood films and Hinduism suddenly interested me-- it's a very beautiful country that will enrich your life.
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Oh yes, I hear you about the food! I love trying different dishes whenever I travel, and despite not having been to India yet, Indian cuisine is absolutely one of my favorites. It would be great to go there and experience the best food India has to offer!
 
I was lucky enough to have an Indian friend who was actually born in the USA. All his life he wanted to go back to his roots, as he called it. I've also always loved the food, music and language so when he wanted to go I was more than happy to get packing and hit the road. Our trip was amazing (no disappointments at all). We even went to Taj Mahal. Beautiful people and beautiful country.
 
I think for me the story of the Mahabharata and how the battle takes place in Kurukshetra and the kingdoms that many kings ruled in that era and also how the battle was fierce and the place it took place still exits today which is amazing. It is interesting in 2012 the city banned meat as it is a religious city and people do need to be aware of not taking any meat products over here and surprising the area is well developed, and now has a university. I think it is amazing that the land which had a fierce war is well developed, and also people still visit the place and can be good if you are travelling and want to know about the history of the place.
 
I personally have always been fascinated with India. The culture is so much different than anything I have been exposed to in my life so far. I would love to see all the historic places, and meet the locals. To me, the only real way to understand a culture is to go there, meet the people, eat the food, and just see what life is like there. I would also love to be dressed by the Indian women there. Have them help me pick out a beautiful outfit and see myself through their eyes.
 
I have always been an avid traveler. India has been on my bucket list for years now and an just so excited to see it.

The culture is what really mashes me want to visit. Anytime I've ever visited another Country I've found myself immersed in the future if the natives. From the clothing, to did, religious practices etc, I gave always been enamored by it.

When I do travel to Delhi, I plan on visiting more rural areas ( that are safe of course)to gain a better perspective on the culture. I think we do ourselves a disadvantage when we aren't willing to learn about the culture of the country we are visiting. I actually find it quite rude to be honest

The dress of those in India is so beautiful. Seeing it on television only helps so much as I am the type of person who likes to see things in person. It makes me excited almost when I see a documentary about India. The fashion alone is amazingly beautiful!
 
Faye1232212 said:
When I do travel to Delhi, I plan on visiting more rural areas ( that are safe of course)to gain a better perspective on the culture. I think we do ourselves a disadvantage when we aren't willing to learn about the culture of the country we are visiting. I actually find it quite rude to be honest
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I think it's great that you want to visit more rural areas. I think sometimes in big cities it can be hard to get the 'real feel' of what a place is like, but visiting more rural areas can feel more authentic - at least that has been my experience with some of the places I have visited!
 
The Indian culture has always fascinated me. It's just so beautiful and I have a lot of respect for it - in fact, I think I respect and like India's culture than my own. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it's actually true. I suppose the culture you grow up in is always less interesting than the foreign cultures.

I spent my childhood travelling to modern western countries (Singapore, United States, Japan, England, Australia, Switzerland & more) and of course while they are definitely amazing and are all beautiful and exciting in their own ways, I've always preferred the less-modern, more exotic countries like India. It's just an amazing feeling to experience something vastly different for once; something truly unique.
 
I believe I have mentioned this before already, but it was a friend of mine who pointed me towards India (not literally), while we were talking about exotic locations. After that I slowly started to do my research, and I've fell in love with the idea. That's also why I'm here, so you can thank my buddy for my presence. :P
 
I had an Indian mother and travelled extensively with her back to India throughout my childhood, which only increased my curiosity about the rest of the country. When I married my Indian-born wife we began taking yearly trips back there so she could visit her parents. I've travelled all over the World, but only in India will you find such incredible diversity, a dynamic and emergent economy and an incredible heritage and countless historical points of interest. So many places around the World look so similar due to Globalization and international business models but India alone has retained a unique sense of its history while still emerging as a modern Western country.
 
The first time I came to India, I was very much against it. I was required to come for business purposes. I did not want to go at all as I thought I would be very uncomfortable and chaotic. I can gladly say that not only was I wrong about not liking the place, I fell in love with it. The ambiance of India is something that cannot be replicated. I have been to China as well and even with similar population densities, I can clearly say that Indian individuals are vastly more kind and accepting than most. I am not downgrading Chinese individuals but it was something that I noted very quickly. The culture of India which I recieved also peaked my interest and convincd me to return one day just to enjoy being a tourist and not a bu
 
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