View Full Version : What to wear in India
I'm off to India for 6 months in a couple of weeks and need some advice on how to tackle travelling as a single white female.
I'm flying into Dehli and planning time in North and South India.
I've been told and read lots of information about dressing appropriately but I'm still in a dilemma about which clothes to take.
I have a pair of combat type trousers and t-shirts and a long dress (ankle length) .
How much cover up is necessary? Is a shin length skirt acceptable or is best to make sure my arms and legs are completely covered?
I assume I shouldn't take very much as I can buy some local dress in Dehli?
your experiences would be helpful! :)
Random One
05-09-2005, 08:16
you don't need to cover up completely...what you said your taking sounds fine. You will get stared at no matter what you wear though on a part of being a different skin colour rather than what you are wearing...you can buy 'local dress in delhi but you don't have too.
It should be cooling down out there round about now i think so you might be able to get away with jeans in the north....no idea about the south.
DrRingDing
05-09-2005, 09:26
As Random One said you are likely to get shit whatever you wear.
lots of info here -
http://www.urban75.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=103065&highlight=india+maestrocloud
ah, thanks for that Kea. I was looking for that old thread and couldn't find it!
yes its easy to get clothes made in india.
in fact, if you take something nice with you, you can get a direct copy created at any number of tailors.
just cover up as much as you can and wear a hat
in south india i wore tshirts and long shorts just fine
one thing about trains -
if you are booking a seat then ask to be put with a family. that means you'll be sharing a cabin which is a lot less dangerous.
and if you are on an overnight bus then either buy the seat next to you, or ask to be put with another woman.
i got stuck on a 15hr bus ride with some dodgy guy hassling me constantly. (and there was no bl__dy bog on the train which made it worse)
india is lovely, so have fun
heya :)
I would wear what you feel comfortable in, but don't walk around too exposed or you'll feel weird because everyone is staring at you :D I generally wore a long skirt or loose trousers & a baggyish shirt/kurta. Wearing baggy clothes keeps you a bit cooler too, & being covered up stops you getting sunburnt.
As RO said, you'll get stared at whatever you wear, but I guess its a little less heavy & more just curiosity if you are all covered up.
Good luck
(will respond to your PM soon, promise!)
As a SWF you will get a lot of attention although mostly just stares and questions. However there is a lot of groping and stuff goes on so do be careful especially in the dark. From travelling with girls who had suffered this the consensus was a firm, sometimes agressive response was best and i met a couple of girls who had actually punched someone. The result of this had seemed to have been respect from the other Indian men. Obviously this may not always be the case so judge each situation on its own. Serious sexual assault can also happen, like anywhere, and sadly when i was in Goa this happened to a couple of girls walking on the beach early in the morning.
I have never been anywhere like India, it fecking blew my mind in a good and bad way i guess.
Have a fantastic time!! :)
you'll feel weird because everyone is staring at you :D
Not just staring at you, but touching your arm... and I'm male and nearly 2m tall.
So long sleeves may be a good idea. Hippy-y things are a bad idea. "Local" clothes can, on a non-Indian, easily be seen as hippy-y.
"Excuse me, what is your good name? Can I practise my English with you? How much do you earn?"
Random One
08-09-2005, 20:28
i found staring back quite fun-used to freak them out:D (although maybe not advisable if ur travelling alone)
(oh and its not just ur skin colour that matters-im indian but they can tell a non-local a mile off)
RenegadeDog
09-09-2005, 00:48
i found staring back quite fun-used to freak them out:D (although maybe not advisable if ur travelling alone)
(oh and its not just ur skin colour that matters-im indian but they can tell a non-local a mile off)
And also sometimes they give south asians from western countries even more shit than other westerners.
There was a canadian guy of indian descent in delhi. The people at the hostel we stayed at (Ringos) kept accusing him of trying to steal stuff and things like that :(
Other than that, I agree with everyone else. it doesn't matter whether you wear long skirts or not, they will still pester you...
Try to travel with other people though. I wouldn't fancy travelling alone in India as a woman. For men it's OK.
There is a website dedicated to india, you might like to have a look. Its very useful, www.indiamike.com.
Has a thread all about this, but I've seen people wearing everything. Its not gonna stop the hassle you are gonna get, what ever you wear, your white, female and obvious. Try to get together with other travellers as soon as you can for an easier time.
If it all gets too much, switch to Thailand, 100 quid on the plane.
RenegadeDog
09-09-2005, 08:40
There is a website dedicated to india, you might like to have a look. Its very useful, www.indiamike.com.
Has a thread all about this, but I've seen people wearing everything. Its not gonna stop the hassle you are gonna get, what ever you wear, your white, female and obvious. Try to get together with other travellers as soon as you can for an easier time.
If it all gets too much, switch to Thailand, 100 quid on the plane.
Yes, I loved India, as a bloke, but the women i travelled with had a nightmare at times with all the hassle and groping.
Thailand on the other hand - you are right there. It's the most popular place for western women to travel on their own.
China's not too bad either. Chinese men, although they love spitting and shouting etc, don't tend to hassle western women.
Yes, I loved India, as a bloke, but the women i travelled with had a nightmare at times with all the hassle and groping.
Thailand on the other hand - you are right there. It's the most popular place for western women to travel on their own.
China's not too bad either. Chinese men, although they love spitting and shouting etc, don't tend to hassle western women.
Yeah, India's great as a bloke innit, treated so well. Sorry girls, I been told, many times, that the blame lies with western movies. Personally, I blame Indian men.
I'm going back when it stops raining. Missed the Taj, Darjeeling, Varanasi and Amristar, might even get to see a Tiger. Gonna fly in to Calcutta.
Personally, when I go back to india Im just taking the clothes on my back and my camera then buy it all there. Its so much cheeper, you wont care if it gets lost/stolen/destroyed, and its usually the right type of clothing for that climate. Where ever you go you're going to want to buy stuff and wear it so, as i said above, just bring the clothes you're wearing and some comfortable underwear.
You could literaly turn up with nothing and buy your bag, medicine, clothes, etc for about £20.
Personally, when I go back to india Im just taking the clothes on my back and my camera then buy it all there. Its so much cheeper, you wont care if it gets lost/stolen/destroyed, and its usually the right type of clothing for that climate. Where ever you go you're going to want to buy stuff and wear it so, as i said above, just bring the clothes you're wearing and some comfortable underwear.
You could literaly turn up with nothing and buy your bag, medicine, clothes, etc for about £20.
OK, well its cheaper, but then its often falls to pieces 3 days after you buy it and its never really looks very good, or fits properly, so be ready with the needle and thread or expect to keep buying. I got very knowlegable on stitch type and fabric when I was there, one extra thing to wear (sic) me down.
MBK (massive thai style shopping center) in Thailand sells stuff that aint mega high quality, but they are all rips of Logo clothing on OK quality cloth and stitching and I've got some great looking t-shirts that have lasted me 3 months now and still look new. Only 2 things I bought lasted 2 months in India. 150b (~150rs) each. Less if you buy a few and haggle hard.
I'm gonna pop in before I go back, 2 more. Generally White (cool logo'd) t-shirts and zip off trouser/shorts for me but thats OT
RenegadeDog
13-09-2005, 05:04
Yeah, India's great as a bloke innit, treated so well. Sorry girls, I been told, many times, that the blame lies with western movies. Personally, I blame Indian men.
I'm going back when it stops raining. Missed the Taj, Darjeeling, Varanasi and Amristar, might even get to see a Tiger. Gonna fly in to Calcutta.
Try getting the boat form Calcutta to the Andaman Islands. When I went (95) we had an entire beach on a deserted desert island to ourselves. Literally nobody but us and the occasional passing fisherman. It was like something out of Swiss Family Robinson. Like Thailand but with none of the amenities. Of course, some might see that as a bad thing, but if you want the desert island experience it's awesome. Although the boat journey was quite crap - about 4 days - and it took a while to get to the most deserted islands...
RenegadeDog
13-09-2005, 05:05
Personally, when I go back to india Im just taking the clothes on my back and my camera then buy it all there. Its so much cheeper, you wont care if it gets lost/stolen/destroyed, and its usually the right type of clothing for that climate. Where ever you go you're going to want to buy stuff and wear it so, as i said above, just bring the clothes you're wearing and some comfortable underwear.
You could literaly turn up with nothing and buy your bag, medicine, clothes, etc for about £20.
Agreed. I ended up leaving most of the clothes I brought with me, with a contact in Delhi, because most of them were just too heavy for the climate. Although if you are heading for the north in winter it's worth having warm clothes.
Try getting the boat form Calcutta to the Andaman Islands. When I went (95) we had an entire beach on a deserted desert island to ourselves. Literally nobody but us and the occasional passing fisherman. It was like something out of Swiss Family Robinson. Like Thailand but with none of the amenities. Of course, some might see that as a bad thing, but if you want the desert island experience it's awesome. Although the boat journey was quite crap - about 4 days - and it took a while to get to the most deserted islands...
I'd love to have done that.
Unfortunately, remember where they are located. Port Blair has been smashed to pieces.
I'm not really up for the uber deserted island myself. I'd have to cook and stuff.
RenegadeDog
13-09-2005, 12:17
I'd love to have done that.
Unfortunately, remember where they are located. Port Blair has been smashed to pieces.
I'm not really up for the uber deserted island myself. I'd have to cook and stuff.
:( Fuck, I forgot about that.
My dad said he saw an item on the UK news where they were trying to deliver help to the natives and they were angry, waving spears at the planes and stufff...
The andamanese are quite distinctive, they don't look Indian or East Asian, but more like australian aborigines.
Those natives are one of the final remaining tribes nearly untouched by civilisation. They are protected and you cant go see them, unlike Thailand where you can see the
hill tribes and they'll sell you trinkets so they can fill up their shiny new Honda dream.
They were doing the spear thing probably because they probably don't know what a helicopter is and they are very suspicious of outsiders. They didn't need help anyways as they saw it coming and moved up into the hills.
www.andaman.org
to the exact quote but after the Tsanami the Anthropological Survey of Indai issued a lovely statement which went pretty much like this
The native poeples seem to have survived the disaster quite well, as there were at least 30 of them firing arrows at our helicopter when we went to offer aid
Excellent
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