Indian Samurai इंडियन सामुराई

At the time you will be reading this article, I will be somewhere in Philippines!!

 

The first thing I came across when I decided to go there is that there must be very few Indians visiting Philippines!! And how did I get this feeling?? I visited about 10 bookshops and there was no travelling guide!! I had to order it online…

I have to say, since I am going on holidays, and anyway carrying a walking reminder of where I live, this sounds quite good!!

 

And figures prove it – anyway it is not too difficult to figure out why Indians do not go to Philippines: Indians who travel have money (lots of money) and Philippines has not so good a reputation (quite poor and unsafe, no electricity etc.):

 

In 2006 they received 18,000 tourists from India (whereas 8 millions of Indians had travelled abroad – 0.22%). Reciprocately, only 5,000 Philippinos went to India that year.

In 2010, they received 34,800 tourists from India (whereas 12 millions of Indians had travelled abroad – 0.29%).

 

Apparently Philippines are now targeting Indian tourists, starting with a direct flight from Delhi in March 2011… Let’s see!! After ads on TV for Malaysia, maybe we will see Philippines soon!

 

And if you wonder what are the top abroad destinations for Indian tourists:

 

·          Colombo

·          Singapore

·          Kuala Lumpur

·          Fiji

·          Maldives

·          Bhutan (Thimpu)

·          Paris

·          Hong Kong

·          Rome

·          Geneva

 

Sources : http://www.india-forums.com/news/travel/10427-philippines-joins-the-race-to-attract-indian-tourists-lead.htm ; http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-10-Travel-Destinations-for-Indians&id=6220216

http://youtu.be/yPcNAjTJCWk

Note: the following remarks come from personal experiences and exchanges and if it is very general, I think that it is quite true. One can certainly say also a lot on the French who travel…

 

First: choosing the destination. The Indian is not an explorer at heart and will prefer to avoid the unknown regions – so if parents, friends went there (or better even better live there), it is preferable.

 

Second: the visa. Indians need visas to go about everywhere. And though in the majority of the countries the procedure is not too complicated – and on top of that most of Indians use the services of an agent, time management to get a visa is not easy easy. As for everything else, waiting for the last minute is preferable.

 

Once on the holiday spot, the paramount question will be the food. If the Indian is vegetarian, I don’t want to even mention the situation… In any case, after a couple of days, the Indian will want to visit about all the Indian, or Chinese, restaurants that he will come across. He will not force his partner to share his dinner, since anyway eating is about eating – you really have to be French to think that dinner is more a moment of sharing, talking, than just gulping food.

 

Very recently, my “own” Indian really played with my nerves (this is my point of view, not his obviously). After obtaining his visa in a record time (4 days before departure), he looked at the weather on Internet, discovered that the monsoon was starting there and panicked – and yes we had checked before and we knew we could expect some rain but not to the point to ruin holidays (apparently he forgot that)… So he mentioned changing the destination. Or at least suggested that I call my friend who lives there (yes, even if she is on holiday in the Vietnamese countryside, she has access to facebook not?) so that she tells me the weather. One week in advance…

If I did not have him, I would have to invent him…