Coupled with many positive aspects of the beautiful city of Bangalore, there are struggles that travellers will likely encounter. If you’re intending to go to Bangalore, whether you’re a tourist or business traveller there are few things you should be aware of:
1. Lack of Personal Space
Bangalore, being the 3rd most populated city in India may have you wanting to hide in your hotel rooms if you’re not ready to be bumped into. To the travellers who may come from a quieter town, this just might be your very first encounter to culture shock. India’s large and growing population will have you bumping into everyone making the hustle and bustle to your next destination quite difficult. Whether it’s because their homes that are generally small or the families are large or just because India is a very community-orientated country, the concept of personal space is different in Bangalore. They aren’t trying to invade your privacy, it’s likely that they are also just heading to their destination also. This is a struggle that you’ll have to adapt in order to enjoy the busy city of Bangalore.
2. Commute
As mentioned before, Bangalore being one of India’s biggest cities, every road will be extremely busy. Although it may disrupt your beauty sleep, you may want to wake up an hour earlier to get to your intended destination as Bangalore’s roads are unpredictable. Just because you may have gotten from the airport to your hotel in 30 minutes, doesn’t mean that the trip back won’t take up to 2 hours.
3. Choosing the right hotel to stay
There are many hotels in Bangalore and choosing the right hotel just might prove to be one of your trip’s biggest challenges yet. Choosing a hotel can have the struggles of average security, sanitary, mosquito and unmarried couple issues. If you’re travelling as an unmarried couple, there are lot of precautions as you may be denied access into a lot of hotels in Bangalore. Hotel prices can vary significantly, from $2 a night to over $300 a night and depending on your budget, your experience can be very different. This makes choosing the right hotel quite difficult, but ensure that you do your research on the right websites.
4. Health and Safety
Health and safety is different in every country and travelling to another country, awareness and studying of these issues are crucial. Bangalore is one of the safer cities in India where organised crime is very rare. The struggles relating to health is more towards food and drink. Only drink water from bottled mineral water and ensure that the bottle was sealed properly and don’t drink from taps. Also, as annoying as it may be, it may end up being beneficial if you avoid ‘street food’ and stay away from salads as they might not be washed with clean water. There are many other precautions that should be taken, so ensure that you do your homework.
Choosing the right hotel may prove to be a challenge for unmarried couples travelling in India. No law prohibits unmarried couples from staying together, however you may still be denied from their service because of either moral policing, uncertainty about credentials or fear of police checks. Do research for each hotel that you’re considering, understand their policies.
Tips and Advice:
For unmarried couples: Ensure that you call up the hotel and be honest by stating that you’re intending to travel as an unmarried couple. Carry government ID as it is proper identification proof and ask if you can pay as you checkout.
Security and sanitary can be an issue in some of the lower price to mid-range hotels. While organised crime is very rare in Bangalore, you should ensure you know your standard travelling basics. Keep your valuables on you and ensure that your room is locked. Also at these hotels, ensure that they have mosquito nets, as malaria is still an ongoing issue in India.
Your safety shouldn’t be jeopardised as long as you do your research and make sure that you understand your basics. No drinking tap water, carrying pepper spray for emergencies, carrying a first aid kit, mosquito spray and other essentials. If possible, try not to travel alone.
After doing all your research, you’ll be fine to set off without being restless. Jump right into the unique and wonderful city of Bangalore.