SE Asia and India | SE Asia IndiaAdam Champion | 23 Jul 2023

 SE Asia is generally safe and there are loads of travellers. With Cambodia and Laos borders you will generally have to bribe the guards, but it's all done very 'officially' and is only 1 or 2 USD

Vietnam - If found buses are always a bit weird in the sense that they just sort of go all over the place, stop randomly and it's almost like you've got the wrong bus because they just seem to go wherever, but they do always end up where it is supposed to be.

India - tuktuks will always try and scam you - even Uber ones. I didn't use them that often, but often when you order one they will ring up asking for more money/asking where you are going etc, usually in Hindi too. 

India - trains are actually pretty good and organised. I booked mine through Ixigo, which was impossible to set up, but once I had it working it was really good. You can also book buses on there which are also surprisingly good. 

India - lots of people, especially at tourist attractions, temples etc will basically just take you/drag you around, or try to at least, and then demand money. They will also say at the beginning that they want no money, before trying to pressure you into giving some towards the end. At the Taj Mahal it's photographers. They offer to take a photo of you, and then from there they just take a billion all over the place before demanding money. To be fair, some of the photos are pretty cool, but just good to be aware of. 

Kolkata airport - if you are arriving there, I don't think there are any ATMs, nor anywhere you can get a SIM card. Also, the buses to/from aren't great, but there are pre paid taxi places which you can use card for.