- British YouTuber traveled across India to counter negative social media portrayals
- He visited Nagaland, Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Kerala in a five-day journey
- He criticized viral content focusing on slums and unhygienic street food as misleading
At a time when social media feeds are crowded with harsh takes on India from foreign vloggers, a 29-year-old British creator decided to respond in the only way he knows how: by travelling across the country at breakneck speed to show a different side.
"Is India really just a big dirty smelly hole?" he asks at the start of his new YouTube viral video . "I don't think so."
Disturbed by what he calls a growing online "movement" painting India as chaotic, unhygienic and unworthy of travel, the London-based filmmaker flew in for a five-day sprint across four dramatically different states. His aim was simple: to show that India is too vast and too layered to be reduced to viral slum tours and shock-value street food clips.
The video has now more than 7 Lakh views. Photo: YouTube
"If I'd let these YouTubers and these comments convince me that India was just that," he says, "I quite literally wouldn't be the person I am today."
Starting In Nagaland, His 'Second Home'
The journey begins in Nagaland, a tribal-majority state tucked into India's far north-east, which he calls his "second home". He returns almost annually and reunites with his close friend Renie, who joins him for the rest of the trip.
In a village setting far removed from mainstream tourist circuits, the video captures a community pig slaughter, an experience that leaves the influencer visibly shaken.
"I'm really not sure how I feel about killing this pig," he admits. "But part of travel, part of coming to these communities and observing their way of life, I think it's important to do as they do."
Nagaland is a mountainous state in northeast India, bordering Myanmar. Photo: Unsplash
He reflects that providing meat directly for a village feels more honest than buying shrink-wrapped pork in a supermarket. "Who would I be to sit here and eat pork if I can't even kill one myself?" he says.
The episode is raw, uncomfortable and deeply human, underscoring the kind of cultural immersion he believes is often missing from quick-hit content about India.
He also explores Nagaland's striking Christian identity, shaped by 19th-century missionary work, and speaks about how a region once rooted in animist traditions transformed within a century. "There are thousands of stories in these hills," he says. "And I'd like to keep telling them for as long as I can."
To Kashmir's Frozen Frontier
From lush hills, the pair fly (Mike and his best friend) to Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, and attempt to reach Drass, often described as the second coldest inhabited place on Earth.
Battling snow-blocked roads, avalanches and strict police controls near the Line of Control, they eventually make it to Drass. Military presence is heavy. Conversations with locals inevitably turn to the 1999 Kargil conflict and the harshness of winter life.
Temperatures in Drass can plunge below -60 degree Celsius. Photo: Unsplash
Yet he is keen to highlight beauty over conflict. "When people think of the Himalayas, they often think of Nepal," he says. "People rarely think about India. But they're just as beautiful and a lot less touristy."
The sequence contrasts sharply with the Nagaland chapter: from tribal feasts to snow-choked mountain passes within 48 hours.
Desert Highs And Rajasthan's Timeless Charm
The next stop is Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, where golden sandstone streets and the Thar Desert replace icy winds.
"This is the quintessential India," he says, referring to forts, camels and labyrinthine lanes. "When you close your eyes and think of India, you think about Rajasthan."
In a candid moment, he jokes that he may not be doing the best job of tourism promotion after sampling bhang cookies before heading into the desert.
Jaisalmer. Photo: Unsplash
"If you come here and you don't like Rajasthan, go to Kerala. If you don't like it there, go to the mountains. If you don't like it there, go to the North-east," he says. "It's like going to Paris, hating it, and deciding you'll never visit Europe again," he says.
Ending In Kerala's Backwaters
The final leg takes them to Kerala, where they board a houseboat in the backwaters and feast on freshly cooked seafood.
He also praises the state's high literacy and healthcare standards, noting how 'different' it feels from other parts of India he has visited.
The final leg takes them to Kerala. Photo: Unsplash
By now, exhaustion has set in. Six flights, countless taxis and dramatic climate shifts have taken their toll.
"India is not made for five days. You should take one month, two months, three months. It's not a country to be rushed," he admits.
The 'Low-Hanging Fruit' Content
As the video closes, the influencer addresses the core motivation behind the trip. He argues that many viral clips focus on what he calls "low-hanging fruit" - overcrowded slums or questionable street food - because shock sells.
"It's so easy to go and make some slum video because it's shocking," he says. "It's so easy to show how unhygienic some food stalls are. It's just too easy."
For him, that framing misses the point.
India, he insists, is jungles and deserts, frozen border towns and tribal villages, mega churches in rice fields and valleys in the Himalayas. It is contradiction layered upon contradiction.
"Thanks India for everything you've done for me. It's turned me into the person I am today," he says at the end, voice thick with emotion.