A first-time solo traveler to India just completed a 20-day journey through Rajasthan, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru - and lived to tell the tale. More than that: they got invited to a lavish Indian wedding with 2,000 guests, professional dancers, and endless rotis.
The traveler's detailed trip report on Reddit offers a refreshingly honest look at what solo India travel actually entails - from managing Delhi's notorious air pollution to navigating scam artists in tourist hotspots.
The Golden Triangle Plus Southern Cities
The itinerary covered the classic Golden Triangle route (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) plus Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Udaipur in Rajasthan, before heading south to Mumbai and Bengaluru. This north-south combination proved crucial.
"My tip would be to add one southern city to your travel itinerary if you're planning to visit northern India and the Golden Triangle," the traveler wrote. "Southern India is quite different: cleaner, more people can speak English, different cuisine, just less overwhelming."
The contrast was stark. In late January, Delhi's air pollution caused throat irritation and coughing - "you can smell burning, you can't see the blue sky, just fog/haze." The traveler strategically stayed far from central Delhi at the end of the metro line in a neighboring state to minimize exposure.
By February, conditions had improved slightly, but the experience underscores why many travelers find India's southern cities more manageable for first-timers.
The Unexpected Wedding Invitation
The trip's highlight came unexpectedly on a Jaipur street. The traveler encountered a baarat - a traditional wedding procession with the groom on a white horse - and was encouraged to join the dancing.
What followed was an immersive experience in Indian wedding culture: a dinner party with 2,000 guests, four rows of buffet counters, five professional photographers, a full band with trumpets and drums, and professional dancers alongside celebrating families.
"There were 10-15 people just baking rotis," the traveler recounted. "Made to order roti. The women kneading dough, the men putting it in the oven, a kid dabbing your roti with ghee. There's a specific oven and team just to make chapati, another team for naan, another for paratha."
The wealth on display was striking: "Every woman had so much gold, precious stones, diamonds on them I felt so underdressed." But the warmth was genuine - kids excitedly approached to practice English, saying the foreign guest was the first foreigner they'd spoken to.
"It doesn't matter you don't speak Hindi. You will be very welcomed and honored," the traveler noted.
Practical Survival Tips
The trip wasn't without challenges. One bout of mild diarrhea in Jodhpur - likely from "filtered water" at a budget hotel - was manageable with medication. The traveler also learned to navigate scams, including at Fatehpur Sikri, where saying "NO thirty times" was necessary before finding the legitimate ticket booth and hiring an official guide.
A key insight: even Indian tourists from other states get scammed. Meeting an Indian friend for lunch in Jodhpur, the tuk-tuk driver recommended a restaurant that turned out to be a tourist trap - expensive, small portions, only foreign tourists. The friend also recommended shopping at Baba Emporium, which locals never use; National Handloom Coop offered the same items 50-400% cheaper with fixed price tags.
"Rely on your host, homestay, local insider knowledge, not Instagram or online reviews (many fake reviews)," the traveler advised.
Transportation varied widely: Air India domestic flights (with full meals even on short flights), the older train from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur, the Vande Bharat high-speed train from Udaipur to Jaipur ("7-course meals including manchow soup, chai, snacks, roti with curry, cupcakes, curd - food keeps coming"), and the Delhi Metro.
When overwhelmed by trash at a Mumbai metro station on day two, the traveler made a practical choice: checked into the Taj Santa Cruz hotel for one night. "Soundproof windows. Not a single honk or plane could be heard. Sometimes you can pay some money to make your travel in India more pleasant, more enjoyable."
The Verdict on Solo India
Despite challenges, the Taj Mahal made the entire trip worthwhile: "Truly beautiful... the first view in the early morning with a slightly misty background gave it a magical feel. The building appeared out of the mist."
Wildlife sightings added unexpected charm: wild boar and piglets eating trash near Agra, black kite predator birds across multiple cities, Hanuman gray langurs at Jaigarh Fort, macaque monkeys at Agra cantonment station, and squirrels everywhere.
For first-timers considering solo India, this trip report offers what glossy travel blogs often don't: honest assessments of air quality, scam prevalence, health risks, and the value of balancing overwhelming northern cities with calmer southern destinations. The wedding invitation? That's the unpredictable magic that makes India worth the chaos.
