The false claims people make about travelling in India

“You’ll get the runs or malaria, there are swarms of rabid street dogs, and you’ll be clawed at by sleeve-tugging beggars.”

Tell some people you’re off to India, and they’ll come up with a litany of the horrors that await, usually without ever having been there themselves. I’ve just completed another three-week trip and in more than 20 visits, only twice have I been unwell.

An Indian street seller serves up chai.Credit: Getty Images

Yet nothing inspires fear and loathing among armchair travellers quite like the news you’re travelling to the subcontinent.

“Don’t put your face in the water in hotel swimming pools.”

I’ve just swum in five different hotel pools in Delhi and Rajasthan and yes, I put my face in the water. I even opened my eyes and I can still see just fine.

“Keep your mouth closed in the shower and don’t let water run into your eyes.”

True confession, I wouldn’t drink it, nor would most Indians, yet I brush my teeth and rinse my mouth afterwards with whatever comes from the tap. I also use tap water in my room kettle for my morning cup of Darjeeling’s finest.

“Don’t touch street food.” I have a rule that anything I eat on the street must be cooked in front of me. Provided that samosa or aloo tikki is hot and fresh, I’m in. Chai boiled up while I wait and served in a disposable clay cup? Yes, please.

Also, I look for a crowded food stall where lots of locals are eating.

“Beggars are everywhere.” On my most recent trip I’ve seen maybe half a dozen. Granted, there are some places where they’re more common, and there are kids selling flowers and trinkets at the traffic lights in Delhi, but as for people sitting over a begging bowl, I see more of those in a stroll around Sydney’s CBD than in the past three weeks in India.

“You need to haggle for everything.” Yep, you haggle for tuk-tuk rides and souvenirs but most things have a price tag just like anywhere else.

The truth doesn’t matter to the naysayers. But in missing India, they’re missing something special. And the chaos, the colour, the unpredictability and the beautiful madness of the subcontinent are not to be missed.