India: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive India feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 459 written places.
Intense, generous and layered; the head wobble means many things and all of them are friendly.
✓ Considered polite
- Eat with your right hand where hands are used - the left is considered unclean
- Remove shoes at temples, mosques, gurdwaras and homes
- Dress modestly - shoulders and knees covered earns respect everywhere
- Negotiate auto-rickshaw fares before boarding, or insist on the meter
✗ Better avoided
- Point feet at people or religious images when sitting
- Show affection publicly - it draws attention
- Drink tap water - stick to sealed bottles or filtered refills
- Photograph people without asking, especially women and at ceremonies
Worth knowing
- UPI payment apps rule daily life; foreign visitors can now link international cards in some apps, but cash still helps
- Trains sell out days ahead - book online early via IRCTC or an agent
- Street food is glorious - choose busy stalls with high turnover
- Personal space and queue norms differ - a friendly firmness is normal, not rudeness
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.