Namaste, My name is Johanna. I come from Germany and I`m 20 years old. I am doing voluntary service in Bangalore, India since August 2016.

During this time, I have traveled a lot with friends and also alone. At the beginning I was happy to travel with other volunteers, because it was all new and I had not planned many trips myself before. However, I have had the experience that it is very easy to travel in India. On one side, you can book a lot of things on the Internet or you can go to a travel agency. On the other side, you have many different ways to travel e.g. train or bus. Mostly, we travel in the sleeper bus in the night. That is very practical, because you can sleep in a bed and you arrive at your travel destination in the morning. In addition, you don`t lose one day for travel. That is very good for a weekend trip.

The whole time I never had the feeling that I was in danger. Also, when I traveled alone I didn`t feel afraid. I was only worrying about whether I missed the bus or the booking was wrong, but it was never wrong at any time.

In addition, people are everywhere. If you need help, you can ask someone and they will help you. When your behavior is normal, nobody knows whether you are a tourist or someone who lives in India. Most of the people are interested in you and want to know where you come from and what you are doing in India. So a nice conversation can arise.

In my opinion, bad things can happen anywhere in the world. The most important thing is that you trust your feelings all the time! If you feel unsafe, you can`t ignore it and it is better not to take a chance in the situation.  Maybe nothing would happen, but it is better to be safe.

All in all, I advise you to use the chance to travel in India, because India is a very beautiful and versatile country. Don`t miss the chance to go to India!

Many greetings,

Johanna