Foreign Woman Traveller Lists 10 Things She Did Not Expect In India

A foreign woman traveller has caught social media's attention after sharing a list of things that surprised her during her India journey. In an Instagram post titled, '10 things I did not expect from India', the user named Mia described her journey of falling in love with the country. She also raved about the surprisingly smooth transport and the ease of connecting with locals, thanks to the impressive level of English fluency among other things.

"I am in Goa in this video, just finished a yoga class so this was appropriate for a beachside, yoga, tourist spot," Mia captioned the video.

Here Are The 10 Things Listed By Mia:

• Mia said she was surprised to see so many Indian tourists travelling to explore different parts of the country. She said it was not the case in other countries she had travelled to in the past. "At first we found it so interesting being the only westerners in hostels, but instantly we met amazing Indian friends and ended up staying together for over a week!" said Mia.
• Since the majority of Indians eat with their hands, the presence of sinks and soap in every restaurant surprised Mia.
• Mia pointed out that she found Chinese and Israeli food everywhere. She managed to eat "some pretty good shakshuka, hummus and falafel" across the country.
• Being a foreigner, Mia initially assumed that kajal (eyeliner) was just a sweet way to dress the babies. However, she soon learned that it is used to protect babies from the evil eye.
• "Everyone speaks such clear English, even the slang! English is taught from a young age in school in India, and I'm guessing social media also helps," said Mia, adding that it made connecting with people natural and easy.
• The convenience of availing cab services surprised Mia, who said she managed to catch Uber even in some of the remote places. Additionally, she found the delivery apps easy to use.
• Mia highlighted that fake paneer and water were issues that she really needed to be wary about.
• While TikTok remains banned in India, Mia managed to get by without it.
• As for travelling using trains, Mia pointed out that tickets needed to be booked in advance as majority of the seats filled up fast.
• Last but not the least, Mia said she had fallen in love with India, but it wasn't actually a surprise. "I knew I would," she added.