7 Essentials to Take on Your Travel to India

India is not only the smells, the people and the craze. India is about the adventure, the chaos and the beauty. India is an experience everyone can survive, but not everyone can appreciate. Either you love it or hate it - India is the land of strong contrasts. 

I you plan or ever want to see this country with your own eyes, I'm here to help you to get the best experience. I wrote down some essentials I used myself or wish I had with me during my 1-month backpacking trip in India.

1. Important one - Toilet paper!

From most of the bathrooms you will not find toilet paper. In some hotels you might find it, but don't count on it. I always made sure to have a pack of tissues in my handbag. That is the one thing I truly was the happiest I brought with me. 

2. Quick-dry travel towel

While traveling the last thing you want to do is put a soaking wet towel into your bag with all the other items. It's humid in India and therefore it might take longer than usual for your things to dry. These towels become truly handy. The best thing is that they are really light weight, go together into very small and don't almost take any space in your bag. It's something I like to carry to most of my travels. You can get them from sports/travel gear stores. 
Mine is from a brand Ferrino and tower is called X-Lite Towel. It's made of microfiber and has a hanging hook so I can attach it outside of my bag. One thing to look out for - get a neutral color, something you can wash together with your other clothes. I picked a red one and made a mistake, it gives color so I mostly wash it with hands.

3. Bring your own reusable water bottle or a cup

I wish I had one. In a lot of restaurants, they have clean drinking water, but I was questioning the cleanness of the cups of many places. Therefore I recommend bringing your own cup, just for precaution. 

4. Stomach medicine

Moving on from the topic of drinking water, I strongly suggest to bring stomach medicine with you. It is common that people who travel to India get diarrhea. They have different bacteria in the food and water and even being very careful you might get sick. You will thank yourself thousand times when you need it. (For days "Smecta" brought from home was my best friend :D )

5. Little bag to keep under your clothes with passport inside

I'm sure many of us have been stressed out about the worry to loose your passport on the trip. To get some mind peace, I always made sure to keep my passport with some emergency money under my clothes, especially sleeping on a train, bus and other public places. This just let me sleep peacefully.

6. Power plug adapter

Depending on where you are coming from, you might need a power plug adapter. I brought one adapter with me and had no problem in charging all of my electronic gadgets with it. 

7. Backpack

Transport in India might be very overcrowded. The streets are narrow and in many cases not in a great condition. To carry your things comfortably, I suggest to keep your hands free and keep your things in a backpack while you roam around India. 


At the end there is just one thing to say - it will be alright! Even if you forget something, you can always buy it there. Prices are cheap in India and as long as you bring yourself and your passport, everything else is replaceable.

I wish you great travels, 

Mariliis

On the Picture: Lady selling cold rose water on an extremely hot and sunny day. What a relief!