Traveling hacks for Women - in India
Since I’ve travelled almost all the parts of the mainland in India, women mostly ask me what should we wear and keep in our traveling bags while visiting different states within India.
Now, I am not a fashion Guru or something but people tend to ask me this question because of my multiple visits in South, series of voyages in north and less frequent but considerable journeys in different cities of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab etc.
Their concerns are genuine too because in India we have so much diversity that most of the women ends up stuck with at least 2-3 bags whenever they are going out for holidays. Sightseeing, finding nice accommodations, safety etc are something they ask later.
What to pack is somewhat of a dilemma for us ladies. So here are few hacks that may reduce most of your concerns.
1) Majority of the country is hot and humid so you need clothes that will keep you cool. Choose clothes with fabric like cotton
2) It’s also a conservative country and it isn’t safe for women to be wearing skimpy clothing. Argh, I know it sounds stupid but it’s true for most of the places
3) If can’t stand those ‘traveller pants’ that come in khaki colours and have eight pockets on each leg then try to use comfy leggings. They are good to go with long tops, short dresses, kurtas
4) Pairs of loose, thin trousers that come in patterns and different colors would work too. Buy both kind, plain and with patterns and match one pair with multiple blouses/tops
5) Try to purchase trousers and leggings in dark colours because the streets of India are often dusty and your clothes are nearly always filthy by lunch time
6) Instead of fancy blouses choose plain t-shirts. They’ll keep you cool and good to go
7) If you are Indian keep one piece of Indian outfit, if you are foreigner keep a long black cotton dress which can be pair with shrugs and scarves, in case you’ll visit some religious place where trousers will not look good. Dress should reach the ankles
8) Cover ups/shirts/shrugs along with scarves or small duppatas will help you. It will protect from direct sun light, cold breeze (in case you traveling in winters). It will give you ease in pretty much all the monuments, religious places, market areas. Some kind of kimono/poncho style top or a loose shirt will work perfectly
9) Flip flops and pair of Converse cause heals won’t work on Indian streets. Comfy floaters will help you too. Just keep in mind, in India you may not found underpasses and foot over bridges and you have to cross the roads between traffic. You may keep a pair of nice sandals for evenings
10) Thin cardigan, in case you are living in a hotel which is fully air conditioned and you feel shivers while eating dinner. If you are going on mountain areas such as Manali, keep 3-4 warm clothes along with shawls. Black cardigan and white stole matched most of the outfits
11) Cotton scarves can be the biggest lifesaver while you’re travelling in India. You can use it to cover your arms, your chest, your head and your shoulders and there will be times when you’ll want to wrap your whole upper body in it to stop people staring
12) Keep small, over-the-shoulder bag, don’t carry much stuff. Debit card, some cash, especially for small markets, ID cards and mobile. Huge bags are always fussy
13) Use small accessories like artificial jewelry that looks artificial. You don’t want to attract pickpockets. Accessories can be funky and cheap like decorative bangle or something similar
14) Carry three important things… external charger, some kind of protection device like pepper spray and small water bottle
That’s it girls… these are my travel essentials while traveling in India. Let me know if I skipped something. Grab your bags and go for a trip..
(PS: Looking for a place to visit.. read my previous posts for ideas… Ooty, Goa, Dwaraka, Udaipur, Sarnath, Kashmir, Mumbai, Gangotri, Chennai... You may click on travel tag from the labels and find more cities and my experience while visiting those cities.)
Thank you for reading :)
Mugdha
Now, I am not a fashion Guru or something but people tend to ask me this question because of my multiple visits in South, series of voyages in north and less frequent but considerable journeys in different cities of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab etc.
Their concerns are genuine too because in India we have so much diversity that most of the women ends up stuck with at least 2-3 bags whenever they are going out for holidays. Sightseeing, finding nice accommodations, safety etc are something they ask later.
What to pack is somewhat of a dilemma for us ladies. So here are few hacks that may reduce most of your concerns.
1) Majority of the country is hot and humid so you need clothes that will keep you cool. Choose clothes with fabric like cotton
2) It’s also a conservative country and it isn’t safe for women to be wearing skimpy clothing. Argh, I know it sounds stupid but it’s true for most of the places
3) If can’t stand those ‘traveller pants’ that come in khaki colours and have eight pockets on each leg then try to use comfy leggings. They are good to go with long tops, short dresses, kurtas
4) Pairs of loose, thin trousers that come in patterns and different colors would work too. Buy both kind, plain and with patterns and match one pair with multiple blouses/tops
5) Try to purchase trousers and leggings in dark colours because the streets of India are often dusty and your clothes are nearly always filthy by lunch time
6) Instead of fancy blouses choose plain t-shirts. They’ll keep you cool and good to go
7) If you are Indian keep one piece of Indian outfit, if you are foreigner keep a long black cotton dress which can be pair with shrugs and scarves, in case you’ll visit some religious place where trousers will not look good. Dress should reach the ankles
8) Cover ups/shirts/shrugs along with scarves or small duppatas will help you. It will protect from direct sun light, cold breeze (in case you traveling in winters). It will give you ease in pretty much all the monuments, religious places, market areas. Some kind of kimono/poncho style top or a loose shirt will work perfectly
9) Flip flops and pair of Converse cause heals won’t work on Indian streets. Comfy floaters will help you too. Just keep in mind, in India you may not found underpasses and foot over bridges and you have to cross the roads between traffic. You may keep a pair of nice sandals for evenings
10) Thin cardigan, in case you are living in a hotel which is fully air conditioned and you feel shivers while eating dinner. If you are going on mountain areas such as Manali, keep 3-4 warm clothes along with shawls. Black cardigan and white stole matched most of the outfits
11) Cotton scarves can be the biggest lifesaver while you’re travelling in India. You can use it to cover your arms, your chest, your head and your shoulders and there will be times when you’ll want to wrap your whole upper body in it to stop people staring
12) Keep small, over-the-shoulder bag, don’t carry much stuff. Debit card, some cash, especially for small markets, ID cards and mobile. Huge bags are always fussy
13) Use small accessories like artificial jewelry that looks artificial. You don’t want to attract pickpockets. Accessories can be funky and cheap like decorative bangle or something similar
14) Carry three important things… external charger, some kind of protection device like pepper spray and small water bottle
That’s it girls… these are my travel essentials while traveling in India. Let me know if I skipped something. Grab your bags and go for a trip..
(PS: Looking for a place to visit.. read my previous posts for ideas… Ooty, Goa, Dwaraka, Udaipur, Sarnath, Kashmir, Mumbai, Gangotri, Chennai... You may click on travel tag from the labels and find more cities and my experience while visiting those cities.)
Thank you for reading :)
Mugdha
Carrying things like pepper spray is of utmost importance. Wonderful post....useful and informative... :-)
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