All Around the World with the Most Travelled Indian
By Nitin Gairola
Our Independence Day (15th August) is around the corner and I felt this is the right time to pen my thoughts on how it feels to be an Indian going to all edges, ends, parts and corners of the world and how things have changed from when I started in 2007 to today, 17 years later.
For starters, it wasn’t this easy to get visas. And who am I to say this when Indian globe trotters before me tell me that it was a lot, lot tougher in the 1970s and 80s as compared to my early 2000s. I can only say that it is even better today for Indians around the world. With just 1 Schengen visa, we get access to 29 European counties. With the 10 year USA B1/B2 visitor visa, we get almost all of North and South America visa free or on arrival (except Canada, Brazil & Argentina). Of these Brazil and Argentina are pretty simple to get and Argentina even has an e-visa for those with a US B1/B2. Besides, Brazil is in talks with India for a visa on arrival too. Best part of this US visa is of course its 10 year validity for just 185 USD or around 15,000 INR. The same 10 year validity UK visa is around 1.07 lakh.
Besides the 2 Americas (North & South), we all know that both the Arctic (Greenland) and Antarctica do not have a concept of a visa. And while Australia and New Zealand do require visas but many of their nearby islands of Oceania (the name of the continent) have ease visa regimes for Indians. And let’s face it, with 1 Aussie visa we get such a large country to explore.
So with Europe, North & South America, Oceania and Antarctica out of the way, it leaves us with only Asia and Africa. But they are the largest and 2nd largest continents on Earth and frankly are my focus areas today, since I have a few ‘white spaces’ here (check my countries visited map).
In Africa things are getting better with countries such as Kenya removing visa requirements altogether for Indians and a lot many other nations putting in place visas on arrival or e-visas such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Egypt, Ethiopia and a few others. But it must be told that some countries are extremely bureaucratic (and that’s putting it mildly) such as Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali, Central African Republic, DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Angola and the one that takes the (fruit) cake – Libya. Just try getting into that one.
When it comes to Asia, speaking of it as one continent is the first hurdle in understanding the landmass. It is so large that it really can’t be spoken in one breath and we really need to break it down to digest its complexity. The best part is that all of the north is covered with one e-visa. By that I obviously mean that the mega large continental scale land of Russia is one and it’s all in a simple e-visa which takes care of your travels in this enigmatic country for 90 days at a stretch. Coming down to South East Asia and on the other side to West Asia (i.e. Middle East) we again have many e-visa or visa on arrival options and also a few visa waivers (such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia in the South-East and Jordan, Iran, UAE, Oman and a few more in the West. That leaves us with a handful of visas to get (China, Japan, South Korea) and a few which are very, very difficult to get and I guess you guessed which ones. The other Korea to the north along with Pakistan and Afghanistan are right up there in the ‘tough-to-get’ index.
In all of this I didn’t mention the central part of Asia that is dominated by the ‘Stans’ or the 5 break-away ex-U.S.S.R. states. While they are moderately easy as far as visa requirements go, but they are not so easy when you are on the ground. I will come back with first-hand information very soon (well, that just spilled the beans on where I am headed next and you guessed why – it’s for the deserts of Central Asia (Karakum, Kyzylkum and Ustyurt Plateau). This area also has some of the most ‘breathtaking’ mountains outside of the Himalayas. These are the Tien Shan, the Hindukush and the Pamirs. I can’t wait to be there in the deserts and mountains.
So back to world travel for Indians – As you can see, things are brighter and better for the Indian globe trotter. And If to easier visas you add our better & cheaper air transport network linking us to the outside world, you suddenly have people like me making full use of our one lifetime to see as much of the world as possible. Ordinary people like me can see more of it today than what the great Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta ever could just 700 years ago. So isn’t it wise to make good use of such good times and fulfill all our exploration dreams?
And while visas and flights are 2 of the biggest differentiators between those who can do world travel and those who have to struggle for it, we also have travel information as never before and there are no borders for websites & blogs (barring countries where certain media is barred). So today it is not a case of flying blind into a country (metaphorically speaking, of course). The hotel, hostel and homestay infrastructure has also come of age in many parts of the world, making it further economical for most to tick off a few parts of the planet.
So many Indians today go outside our borders for international holidays. I believe the number is around 17 million or 1.7 crore international trips every year, something that was unthinkable just a decade back. And besides the visas, flights, accommodation and information, this is probably the most important part – That the world community is getting used to seeing more and more Indians move along with them to places which earlier were visited only by Europeans, Americans, Australians and Japanese.
And here we are slightly different from our big northern neighbours – China. Chinese are also travelling international like never before, and more than Indians, but they typically do group tours. Indians on the other hand have an ability that the Chinese’s don’t have – and that’s the English language. Google-Translate or no Google-Translate, you need the language to confidently saunter into any destination and not get flustered when alone as a stranger on strange streets. That’s where the fuzzy warm comfort of groups comes and that’s what limits world travel dreams for most people. You see, group tours are more expensive but its real price is that it doesn’t build one into a confident and independent traveller. You don’t acquire the skills to transform and become someone else, not to mention you lose out on so much of the experience of interacting with locals than with those who will only speak about familiar topics. It is in this were the learning can be lost and while I do understand that at times group tours are needed to manage certain limitations, but in those too one can wander off from time to time (but make sure you return back to your tour manager on time).
While I am no expert on most things economics, progress & globalization but I can speak for world travel. And what I see, hear and perceive in my travels is that people know India and Indians so much more than before. Earlier we were the same as Pakistanis and Bangladeshis to many foreigners, but now we are clearly not. I truly believe this is the time not just for around 20 million Indians, but many more who will have their passports stamped and fulfill their international travel dreams. If not anything else, this world travels gives an amazing new perspective to people and they can carry it with them though their newfound personas, personalities and thoughts, and that is priceless. No one can take it away from us, and it is what propels us to get better jobs, live better lives and most importantly to have wider (and hopefully kinder) views on the world. I also believe that more world travel reduces the chances of world wars, and we surely need less wars than what we are living though these days.
I may not have done anything very significant in life, but I am really very proud to be an Indian who travels the world. If I can inspire even a few more Indians to see the world, then I can live with no regrets. So here’s to the Indian world traveller who is about to get his or her passport stamped and about to fly on the ‘big bird’.
Nitin Gairola is from Dehradun and has travelled the natural world more than almost any Indian ever. He has set world travel records certified by India Book of Records, has written for Lonely Planet, and holds National Geographic conservation certifications. He is also a senior corporate executive in an MNC and in his early days, used to be a published poet as well. More than anything else, he loves his Himalayan home. Reach him at facebook.com/MostTravelledIndian/
