India

Never Drink the Water or Use Ice

The water in India is unsafe to drink and should be avoided at all cost. Unlike other Asian countries, ice in India is made with tap water and is thus also unsafe.

Peal Fresh Fruit Fresh fruit is often washed with raw tap water which leaves microbes on the skin of the fruit. To avoid stomach problems it’s best to peal all fresh fruit before eating.

Be Careful of Water Drops on Plates and Utensils The seemingly harmless drop of water on your spoon can contain thousands of microbes that can make you sick for days. Take care to clean your own utensils using sanitary wipes.

Food is Sometimes Safe in Tourist Restaurants Since there are no food safety regulations in India you can never be sure of how safe the food is going to be. The best bet is to stick to restaurants that are clean in the front. While this is no guarantee the kitchen is clean and safe, you can be sure that a dirty dining room is an indication of a dirty, and unsafe kitchen.

Be Careful of Beggars Beggars in India can become quite aggressive and persistent. It’s common for them to follow tourist and even grab them from time to time.

Avoid Getting Angry in Public Losing your temper in public will make you lose status in the eyes of those around you, and will certainly make a bad situation much worse. Keep cool and smile even when you’re ready to pull your hair out.

Be Careful of Pickpockets Tourists in India are often the target of pickpockets. Keep your money split up into different, preferably zipped or buttoned interior pockets, and don’t flash big wads of cash around.

Friendliness or the Beginnings of a Scam? Be careful of strangers being friendly, often times this is the beginning of an elaborate scam than can get you robbed, kidnaped, or even killed.

Don’t Smoke in Public It’s not permitted to smoke in public and you can be fined for doing so. If you must smoke find out locations where smoking is permitted, and restrict your smoking to those areas.

Marijuana and Hash Sting Operations Moth marijuana and hash are illegal in India, they are also both very common. It’s best to avoid illegal drug, and be aware that police run sting operations against foreign tourists in order to get bribes out of them. That leaves you in the position of paying a bribe or spending ten years in prison—not a good set of options.