As India is such a varied country, the packing essentials will vary from place to place. Here are some tips for Southern India (specifically Bangalore and Mumbai) that you should keep in mind while packing.
What to Pack for Your Trip to India
What to NOT pack:
- Hair dryers and Curling Irons for the ladies: They take up space, are heavy, may fizzle out due to all the electricity fluctuations, and no Indian woman really uses them on a daily basis. If you want to get your hair done nicely for a party or an event, you can go to one of the many cheap local salons that will style your hair for approximately $8-$10.
- Jewelry and Expensive Watches: No diamonds, gold, precious gems, or expensive watches. If you can’t bear the thought of losing it, you shouldn’t be bringing it! Cheap costume jewelry is the way to go.
- Gadgets: Kindles, a million iPod accessories, handheld video games, and all other devices that cut you off from your environment.
- Too many Guidebooks: Don’t bring too many guidebooks on culture and 10 things you need to do in India. One is enough (such as Lonely Planet’s Southern India Guide).
- Offensive Clothing: No tshirts advertising beer and liquor brands, religion, or cheeky comments that will draw attention. For women, no shirts that expose cleavage or skirts/shorts that are above the knee.
- Dramatic Shoes: India is quite dusty and in parts very muddy. You wont want to bring your 4 inch heels or very expensive white sneakers unless you are okay with them experiencing wear n tear.
- Too Much Super Casual Clothing: Don’t bring sweatpants or pajama pants as most of your clothing. Indians are very formal and don’t like seeing people dressed in pajamas when grocery shopping.
Now let’s go into what you SHOULD pack..
What to pack:
Very comfortable walking shoes: There is a lot of construction happening all the time and many roads are unpaved, rocky, and uneven. Walking for 25 minutes can seem like an obstacle course sometimes. So take along your best padded shoes.- Toiletries: Deodorant, travel sized shampoo and conditioner, your own towels (they will not be provided), portable toilet paper (essential as many places in India do not have toilet paper), soap or body wash, sanitary napkins for women (tampons are hard to find, pads are easy), hand sanitizer, bug spray, and sunscreen.
- Luggage and Bags: A sturdy backpack for weekend traveling. Leave some room for the shopping you will do.
- Clothing: For interns working in companies, pack one suit with tie (for men). Look into business casual clothing such as khaki and black black pants and work t-shirts. Women should not wear anything revealing at work. For volunteers, you can wear jeans, skirts, cotton drawstring pants, and shorts to work. Make sure your tshirts are long enough that they don’t rise up and that your shoulders are covered (no tank tops) at work.
- Alarm: No one will wake you up for work. Make sure to set an alarm to get up early for the rush hour commute every morning.
- Pens: Instead of giving cash to beggars, you can give them pens. For some reason, a lot of children like to receive pens or if they see you with a pen, they will ask you if they can keep it. This is an inexpensive item which you don’t necessarily need to pack but can also get in India.
- Laptops and Cameras: The guest house will have wi-fi and so do many places around Bangalore and Mumbai. Bring an extra memory card in case you run out of space.
- Medical Supplies: A simple stomach medicine (in the United States we have Pepto Bismol), a headache and fever reducer (Ibuprofen), a basic medical kit or bag with bandaids, astringent, cotton, etc., anti-diarrhea pills.
- Socks: To use as storage for hiding money, your camera, memory card and other small things.
- Small Sheet or Sarong: To use as a bedsheet if you travel overnight on trains and buses and don’t want to use the sheets they provide, to use as a beach towel, etc.
- Flip Flops for the Accommodation: You will need to have plastic flip flops to wear around the accommodation and the bathroom as you don’t want to walk around barefoot. There is no carpeting in India for the most part and you don’t want to step on dust or bugs.
If we’ve missed anything, feel free to contribute!
