[jailbird_fynix]

So there's this video that has gone viral. It shows an Indian family getting caught for stealing hotel amenities from a hotel in Bali. The family members can be seen repeatedly offering to pay them off and asking them not to call the police. At the same time, the hotel employees can be seen opening the family’s bags and pulling out item after item - everything from decorative items to electronics and toiletries. Just like how magicians pull out those endless, multi-coloured ribbons from out of their hats.

http://youtu.be/sx0lV2QRdv0

Mods - Please remove the video if it is inappropriate for the forum.


This led me to wonder how the rest of the world generally perceives us as tourists. And to nobody's surprise, I found that we've made it onto most of their "Top 10 Worst tourists" lists. With rising confidence, have Indians decided to be as unruly abroad as they are at home?





Now, most of us will argue that since we have such a large population, statistically we are bound to make it into any top 10 list, especially into the bad ones, right? Well, maybe.

Nowadays, there are more families going on international tours than ever before. Pseudo-prosperity is slowly hitting the middle-class Indian. Although earlier, spending your holidays abroad was considered to be quite the luxurious affair or maybe even an unnecessary indulgence of sorts. Time & technology has changed all that and this has led to more Indians scattering across the globe in search of those perfect Instagram selfies.






We have gone from "Why waste all this money? Just take them to <insert nearest, local attraction site that one must've already visited a thousand times>"

to

"Thailand? No, no, no..everyone goes to Singapore or Thailand. We need to go somewhere <insert random neighbour or relative> will never be able to go!"



How do the Indian tourists respond to all these accusations? We'll see. Let's start with what goes on during flights.

The cabin crew is always fretting when it comes to operating from India. "They want to use the washrooms right before take-off. They have so many questions, they have many specific demands, like special meals, they keep pressing the bell…the list is endless. They drink so much as well. India is a country where everything from government office pens to train toilet mugs come with strings attached. Indians don’t know when to stop when they gain access to something for free.”

On that ending note, here's an excerpt from "The Ugly Indian".

The instant that the fasten seat belts light went out aboard Cathay Pacific’s inaugural Delhi-Bangkok flight this summer, a chorus of metallic dongs erupted like a romper roomful of Ritalin-deprived 5-year-olds turned loose on an arsenal of xylophones.

The passengers were attacking their call buttons.

In seconds, flight attendants were up and running. By the time they began dishing out the special meals, tempers were beginning to fray.

“Whiskey!” demanded an old man with a white beard when the young Chinese flight attendant tried to put a meal in front of him.

“Sir, we are not serving drinks now,” the flight attendant replied politely. (Dong! Dong-dong! Do-Dong, dongdong!)

In the next row, another man, younger but no less eloquent, reached up to press his call button, and the flustered attendant caved and uncapped the bottle.

“Arre, such a small peg she’s given you,” the old man’s companion protested.

Dong!

Well, the Indian tourists would argue that the airline guys fleece them anyway, so this is the only way to get back at them. In fact, they gather anything free and distribute them to their family and friends later – like those wet wipes sachet and that bag of salted peanuts.

"Yes, Indians are very generous people."

"Indian tourists are in a rush most of the times. Especially during landings, they like to get their stuff, rush to the exits and queue up even before the plane comes to a halt."

But Indian tourists would reason that they need to clear immigration and get their luggage ASAP. Why? So that they can settle themselves earlier and make the most out of the hotel comfort that they've already paid for. "Time is Money" is what they were taught, right from childhood. Plus, they come from a land where everyday is based on the concept of 'survival of the fittest’. Indians have had to fight for everything in their life and still do for small day to day things which becomes a part of their inherent nature. Are they actually being called out for not being slow and lazy? How absurd!

"Yes, Indians are very enterprising and time-conscious."



So let's see what goes on at hotels.

"At hotels, they over-demand. Hot water, mineral water, this and that...they wake up late and then when they miss their breakfast, they create a scene. Another rude thing they do is complain about the food and refuse to touch anything that seems strange to them for fear of 'contamination' (because of their religious or personal beliefs). They are least interested in trying out the local cuisine or sampling local specialities. Plus, they don't tip."

Recently, a twitter user posted a photograph of a notice advertising an Indian buffet in Switzerland. The meal was being charged by weight, a practice that began after, he claims, a couple from Gujarat were caught stealing food from the spread.

Similarly, a luxurious hotel in a town in Switzerland hands out these notices to Indian guests. It lists rules that are usually considered a part of hotel etiquette, but are usually never put on paper.

It pretty much covers everything, doesn't it? The notice immediately brings to mind how Indians often end up being perceived as noisy, entitled and disrespectful to other people’s culture when they travel abroad.

Well, in their defence, nothing and absolutely nothing beats the food that they have back home. And if it makes them more comfortable, then why should they bother experimenting with all these "Sooshi Kooshi" types of food. Nobody wants to end up with a Delhi belly in the middle of a well-earned "phoren" trip anyway. And besides, what if they end up loving something that they'll never get to eat again in India. Why would they voluntarily torture their palettes like that?

"Yes, Indians are very health-conscious."


Also if there's one thing that the Indian tourists want you to know is that if they are paying for something, they better get it. This is what goes on in their heads when they are asking for something 'cos every penny is hard-earned money.

so...

"Yes, Indians are very hard-working."






And let's just not get into the whole tipping debate. Indians generally believe that a tip should be given only if an employee truly deserves it.

"It’s the job of those waiters to take orders and transport food from the kitchen to the tables. Why should we pay them anything extra to just do their job? Do you get tipped in the office for doing your job? All I get for even working overtime is a pack of Tiger biscuits. Rather than complaining about our tipping habits, we should work together to put an end to this ludicrous concept."



Of course, none of this matters when they 'tip' into corruption. But (shush!) these sahibs don't need to know all that. They wouldn't understand anyway. What? You call the Indian tourists stingy? They just don't care. They have skins that are thicker than a monster truck's tyre shoulders. All that melanin does serve a purpose after all.

"Yes, Indians are very careful with how they spend their money."



By the way, this is how that Swiss hotel responded when that picture of their notice went viral.





Ok, so...what else ?

"And, then, they’re super loud everywhere they go. Especially, in buses, hotel corridors and other public places - they tend to annoy others by talking too loudly. A poll of 15,000 European hoteliers has ranked Indian tourists the most impolite."

"Cleanliness doesn't seem to be a strong suit for them either, with those in the trade saying Indians are often likely to leave their hotel rooms in a big mess when they leave."

Indian tourists are more demanding than others which is why they may be perceived as impolite. Indians like to be precise and loud in both the way they talk and act. The Indian tourist, naturally, feels insecure in a new place. The mother in a family of 5 or 6 will tend to get loud as she struggles to keep everyone in line so that things go according to plan. The father of the same family will tend to get loud as he enquires for clear directions to the next place they have to visit. More than often, they travel with all their family members so that no one misses out on what could possibly be a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Indian tourists simply don't travel as often as their western or eastern counterparts. They have other responsibilities. Why is this so hard to understand?

"Yes, Indians love their families and are responsible as well as commited to them."



Wait, there are more complaints?!

A women traveller who went backpacking in Cambodia says, “I met this single Indian guy in my hostel, who made me stay up to have a conversation with him, which I did out of politeness. I had some white friends over the next day and he started acting weird, I noticed he tried really hard to strike up conversations with the uninterested group.” Indeed, the problem of Indian men “travelling and trying to get pally with white women in the hopes of getting some action,” as the woman says, is also a prevalent one.

Indian tourists, as a whole, cannot be held accountable for the actions caused by a few lousy, rotten eggs. They prefer not to offer a detailed insight to this situation for they respect the sanctity of the Team-BHP forum. All they can say is that..

"Yes, Indians are very friendly."






World travel has been the exclusive domain of citizens of the developed world for a long time. This is changing fast, and so, like everything else, there's a backlash from a lot of people in the countries to where we're travelling. Truth is that Indians will always be stereotyped wherever they go. But, terrible tourist or merely misunderstood, there's no stopping these John Denvers from packing their bags and 'leaving on a jet plane'. Thanks to social media, instances of bad behaviour by Indians anywhere in the world now reach wider audiences and hopefully, it will foster better behaviour eventually. We definitely need to show them our best side and not our worst.


I have compiled this write-up based on bits & pieces taken from many articles that I found online (some links below). Hoping to hear some similar funny and embarrassing personal experiences from our members.


Indian Tourist? Run! - Asian Age

Bali hotel incident

Indians - the worst tourists? Bah! (Sampath Menon)

[am1m]

Any large group travelling together tends to become loud. Irrespective of nationality. (Notable exception- the Japanese, those guys have a different level of discipline!) And the notion of solo or couple travel is just about catching on here. It's still mostly group or big family tours for us.

A lot also has to do with cultural differences. Things we take for granted in our country might not be culturally acceptable elsewhere (and vice-versa). It is up to the tourists to learn what is acceptable and appropriate behaviour in the country they are visiting and adapt. With so much information available online, that is pretty easy these days.

Also, from personal observation, I think we Indians over-indulge our children a lot more than most other nationalities, especially Western ones. And it's usually the kids running riot in most places. (parents, forgive me, just my observations )

Finally, as the opening post rightly mentions, there are just so many of us, that we'll make the top 10 of almost any list that derives directly from population numbers!

[Rajeevraj]

We are misunderstood because our unique cauldron of cultural attributes are not known to outsiders. (Forget outsiders, even within the country, we travel a few 100 km in any direction, the cultural attributes change and can be misunderstood).

We are terrible, because a majority of us do not make any attempt to understand the acceptable norms of the places we visit and insist on 'this is the way I do it' attitude.

There needs to be some gives and gets from all parties involved to avoid being misunderstood and considered terrible.

[Mortis]

I agree 100%. Indian and Chinese tourists are the worst and India itself isn't all that tourist friendly.
I have been traveling internationally since I was a kid when travel wasn't so easily accessible as it is now, possibly because of foreign exchange restrictions and it is quite apparent that nowadays we have been moved from the "tourists" category to the "Indian tourists" category.
Our country as a whole needs to learn better manners and to be more 'civilised' instead of excusing it with the usual we are like this only and it's our culture etc.

Just a couple of months ago on a flight my wife saw a woman putting a fork from the meal tray into her purse. Wife said to her " Excuse me you have dropped the fork in your purse by mistake" giving her a chance to gracefully correct her theft. The lady took it out and kept it back on the tray. Then few minutes later when the stewardess was coming to collect the trays she dropped the fork on the floor and then "accidentally" dropped her purse on the floor and stuffed the fork in while picking it up.
Air hostess friend has horror stories of drunk passengers and even some of them washing their hands with water from a bottle over the food tray.
Once at the domestic airport at The luggage claim belt one middle age man kept pushing me and one older lady to try and get ahead even though there was no place. I gave him a firm elbow to the gut and told him to back off. He tried to argue and use the respect your elders nonsense so I loudly and firmly told him to shut up and not talk crap cos he had almost pushed a woman older than him onto the belt. The icing on the cake was when we were outside waiting for a pickup, a bit further down there was a commotion and traffic jam. It turns out Mr Elders done was a chip off the old block and had parked in the middle of the road to get out and meet his father. Both of them very casually chatting and slowly making their way to the car. Unfortunately the usual traffic wardens were missing.

So yeah, Im sure there are a lot more stories of badly behaved Indian tourists that can be shared but we need to buck up and learn some manners. As seen in the video money isn't everything

[deadguy25]

We can see this happen within the country too.
Simple example, try dining out, unlike about 15 years ago (at least in Bangalore) wherein one could hardly hear the sound of cutlery from the next table; people would either whisper or speak very softly to each other so that others are not disturbed. But then now, one would have to speak-up quite a bit for the other person seated on the same table to hear. Reason, most of the other people in the restaurant are loud. They do not respect silence.
Respecting a person's space has almost vanished. (Something similar to how someone knocks our car's ORVM and goes-on as though nothing has happened).
Agreed population and all that, but it is the educated lot that seems to be creating the ruckus.
Not sure how this is going to be corrected.
Most of us were either taught in school or at home, that one should never be loud in public. Looks like that kind of teaching is missing in lot of places.

[Motor_Nut]

Good one! I believe it also happens because of cultural differences and society set up. Let me share few of my experiences which might explain other side of story to some extent. So, years ago I was in Zurich for my first official international assignment, this was my first international trip too. For few days, I hesitated to cross the roads which had zebra markings but no traffic light signal. Later I learned that pedestrians have priority over vehicles when it comes to zebra markings without a traffic signal. On first day in office, while taking coffee from coffee machine, I stood 'closer' to the next person. Realized my mistake seconds later and positioned myself where I should have been .

In office cafeteria, I did frown initially on few food items unintentionally, that was a mistake obviously. Next comes the best part, we were few friends living in office leased studio apartments. We used to gather often in the evening and party in someone's apartment. Completely unknown to us, one fine day, our office admin called us and informed that apartment management has complained against us that we make noise which is beyond acceptable level for other residents .

So I believe not everything Indians do is because of ill-intentions, it is also because of setup people have back home. Only solution is that Indians traveling abroad can study a bit about local culture of the place they are traveling to and pay attention to the etiquettes which are confirming to international norms.

Edit: Got to read other posts now, there are two things being discussed here.

1). Behavior and actions of some of the Indians which bother and annoy others.
2). Indians have typical food, clothing and traveling habits which might sound strange to others but don't offend as such.

More focus should be given to point 1, point 2 can be taken care by the people in due course once they understand the local culture and setup. Let me quote an example here w.r.t. point 2, people from certain European countries have this habit of blowing out nose loudly and repeatedly, even in their workplaces. Most, if not all, Indians may find it strange.

[sushantr5]

Here are some of my thoughts as I live in Germany and traveled most of Europe, and hosted few of Guests

1. Compared to tourist from developed countries, we always emphasize and covering the most of things in the given span of time. We want to see all do all for sake of doing it. We think we will never come back and why shall we miss anything from all the tourist attractions. Contrary to Tourist from Europe-USA, they would like to have experience, they will relax in their holidays. They will go hiking, cycling and what not activities. Foreign tourists gets relaxed in their holidays and we get tired in our holidays.

2. For most of the Indians two things matter the most. Food and Photographs. ( Though we cannot beat Chinese in case of Photographs ). In the matter of Food we are the most inflexible people in the world. We have really peculiar food preferences. Last week I visited Mount Titlis and for that matter Gstaad as well. On Mount Titlis, you see most of Indians, most of them once reach to the top, open the lunch box, Pickle Bottle, Chutney Bottle, Chapatis and subji. The smell of Indian food concurs the one of the highest mountain tops in Europe. We always want to have our food at every place. We can not keep it simplified. We do not eat food most of the world eats. We always need strong taste for our tongues. We find bland uncooked western food not worth for money, though it is far more healthy.

Two months back two relative families came to my place. We planned DIY tours for one week and arranged Bus Group Tour throughout the Europe. One week with me, we went to places, we ate whatever is available at the place, we enjoyed a lot. But they soon got bored because they could not get to satisfy their tongues during lunch time. After the week they traveled bus tour throughout Europe. Too Fast Too Many Place Too Few Days like typical bus tours. When I asked how was the trip, instant reply from them was, Food was amazing. They got to eat Indian food all time throughout the tour. Only thing they can remember is now Food.

Another thing is that, wherever we go, we first want to photograph the place instead of experiencing it with eyes. Chinese are simply amazing in this stuff, I don't know where they see everything through screen only.

3. Our clothing habits are also inflexible. You will find, Indians worn most unsuitable clothing for the occasion. Saaries and sneakers on snow. This mostly has to do with our culture and which makes us inflexible most of the times. We really love to stick to old traditions I do not know why.

[Chetan_Rao]

One aspect of human behavior that should stay consistent, is civic sense.

Hotels, public transport, parking lots, elevators, corridors, meeting rooms, driving, walking, queues, waste disposal, traffic accidents, what have you. Watch how people behave, and it's a good indicator of their civic sense, or lack of it.

Everyone can choose to act like a decent, considerate human being, irrespective of their culture, language, clothing and culinary preferences. Some unfortunately don't, and that's how larger groups gets stereotyped.

[ashokrajagopal]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

One aspect of human behavior that should stay consistent, is civic sense.

Hotels, public transport, parking lots, elevators, corridors, meeting rooms, driving, walking, queues, waste disposal, traffic accidents, what have you. Watch how people behave, and it's a good indicator of their civic sense, or lack of it.

Everyone can choose to act like a decent, considerate human being, irrespective of their culture, language, clothing and culinary preferences. Some unfortunately don't, and that's how larger groups gets stereotyped.

I used to think, until very recently that it all will change as the youth in India reach middle age themselves. Unfortunately, that isnt the case at all. That noisy restaurant scene in Bangalore is now in every restaurant in some of the most startup friendly hotspots. Haggling for discount at the coconut guy, the roadside cloth vendor, blocking aisles at supermarkets and so on. The young ones have caught on every nasty habit from the old ones.
I bet everybody would be able to find that one guy who wouldnt move from the water cooler before finishing his glass of water, the group who walks alone really slowly blocking everybody in an office corridor, and hundreds of other little things everyday in the most expensive and high tech Indian work places.
Imagine if the average Indian guy was a lot more wealthy

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

One aspect of human behavior that should stay consistent, is civic sense.

+1.

This is something which is missing or not used here.

Couple of weeks ago when I was returning from London, the Indian guy seated beside me was loud and unapologetic. He ignored me for the most part of the trip and kept chatting with his other co-passenger, a foreign national but a stranger for him. He kept asking for multiple hard drinks and peanut packs. When the flight landed and everyone was preparing to leave, he got up, took out his bag, neatly folded the blanket provided by the airline, stuffed the blanket, the pillow and the earphones from the in-flight entertainment system, into his bag before leaving.

Our country is as diverse as it can be. I stay in Hyderabad and am accustomed to the driving styles on our roads. I have also spent couple of years in Bangalore and found the road "rules" to be similar. Three months ago, I drove to Chennai for the first time and it took me some time to get a hang of the "rules" followed there. To my surprise, in Chennai people slow down/stop to other drivers to pass or pedestrians to cross the road. Pedestrians check the road before crossing it. At traffic signals and even while moving, people maintain good distance from the vehicle in front of them.

Three cities in the same country and yet, following different rules. I had similar observation of the drivers across 4 different cities in the US. So we shouldn't stereo-type!

[amitk26]

If you look at China , the government started massive education program to instill civic sense and among Chinese. The measures taken may be bit harsh like facial recognition of each individual and assigning social score.
In South Korea it is more subtle like stickers in elevators and even at the back of doors of toilets as reminder of basic civility.

I feel in another decade or so India will see similar campaigns just like we now have prominent government educational campaigns for certain basic aspects of life like "swatch bharat" and "beti padhao beti bachao". As of now our problems are more basic then what foreigners think about us.

[TSIboy]

Here's an article from Vice
https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/p...sts-travellers

[Malyaj]

I think one needs to differentiate between behaviour that is causing inconvenience to others and that which simply might appear unsophisticated to the more discerning or experienced traveler. A lot of what is being said in this forum belongs to the latter category.

Talking loudly inside an aircraft, not queuing up, littering, blocking access to an exhibit by standing in large groups, not respecting peace and privacy etc are obvious examples of behaviors that inconvenience others. I however find nothing problematic about people wanting to eat home made methi theplas or wearing sports shoes with sarees. To each his own. Mount Titlis is not going to get more offended by an Indian grandmother eating mango pickle compared to a Texas lady eating jalapeno in a gourmet sandwich. Mount Titlis doesn't give a damn. This is an Indian way of looking down upon someone. I doubt most foreigners find anything wrong with these.

I also find nothing wrong in (mostly) elderly tourists wanting to cover as many places as they want during their trip. For many of them it might be the first and last time they get to travel overseas and may want to see all possible places they have only seen in photos. It gives them happiness and nothing wrong with it. Even if they get tired, they don't mind.

Even if you are a do-no-wrong kind of tourist, you might be subject to discrimination by someone pre-empting bad behaviour and therefore trying to correct you even before you have done something. I have traveled enough to see white people applying grossly double standards to similar behaviour by other white people and on more than a few occasions I have seen drunk white tourists being absolute jerks, doing things Indians wouldn't dare even if they had armed guards with them.

Episodes like the one in Thailand recently was definitely shameful and an embarrassment. But I also find it annoying when I visit a waterfall in the western ghats and find the place usurped by underwear clad men drinking beer and hooting for no reason except that they are in underwear and under a waterfall, effectively turning the area a no-go for women. Annoying, but not embarrassing, because no 'outsider' is watching it and downgrading us on the sophistication scale

[ani_meher]

Indian tourists is too broad a brush to paint 125Cr+ people. The above incident is absolutely shameful, but to associate majority of Indians with them just because of nationality is not fair. For one such example, there will be thousand others who never get published because they fit in well.

[deathwalkr]

Another crucial aspect i find is lacking from my own experiences is punctuality. When you are in a package tour, rest assured someone will be late and unapologetic.

And many of us hate walking. Why can't bus take us there or here, why do we have to walk etc etc.

And another point i have found is most of us hate listening to the tour guide while he/she is explaining about the place and what to do and what not to do and when to be back...gets down and asks "so what's this place about?!"

Jaywalking, spitting on roads also come to mind. My heart stops when uncles cross the road as they please with a confident stop sign. "Can't you see i'm crossing?!". All the more inane when you consider people stop for you to cross at designated crossings.

But i am sure, there are bad tourists everywhere and we tour a lot! For work or leisure, we travel everywhere.

We just to understand not all places are like home and act accordingly.