An Indian tech CEO has sparked a discussion online by relaying his conversation he had with a retired American tech worker, who compared his travel experiences in India and Sri Lanka. Harshdeep Rapal, the co-founder and CEO of Legitt AI, said he met a 62-year-old retiree in Florida who described travelling in India as "exhausting" and anxiety-inducing.
The Florida man had previously worked for Oracle in San Francisco, and had heard many good things about India from his Indian co-workers. When he retired at the age of 58, he decided to visit the country.
Unfortunately, his experience did not pan out the way he had hoped. The ex-Oracle worker said India made him anxious and overwhelmed. Sri Lanka, by contrast, offered a more relaxing experience.
(Also read: Laid-off Oracle employee turns Uber driver, earns while planning new business: ‘No panic, no stress’ )
“Met a 62 year old retiree today here in Tampa who used to work for Oracle in SFO,” Rapal said in his X post this morning.
“He said he had heard a lot of good things about India from his Indian colleagues. So when he decided to retire from work at 58 and moved to Tampa, he took a vacation to India and Sri Lanka,” the tech CEO relayed.
“He said and I quote (and agree with him) - 'rather than feeling relaxed, India makes you feel anxious, overwhelmed and exhausted. Sri Lanka on the other hand made me feel relaxed.'”
The American retiree further said that he encountered a number of scams in India.
While Rapal privately agreed with his opinion of India, he chose to change the topic. “I laughed it off and changed the topic. Because deep down I know there is truth to what he said and experienced,” he wrote on X.
(Also read: Swiss tourist shares his frustrating experience in India: 'Too many scams, bad intentions' )
The post again highlights an issue that has long plagued Indian tourism — the proliferation of scammers at every street corner. Earlier, the Bengaluru-based American founder of Catoff Gaming, Tony Klor, had spoken to HT.com about the myriad ways in which he was scammed when he arrived in India.
Klor said that the first time arrived in Bengaluru, a bus driver stole his luggage. The driver then managed to ‘find’ the luggage again and returned it to him for the small fee of ₹ 1000.
Another time, Klor was conned into paying the hefty bill of a five-star meal for a stranger who promised to take him to an Indian wedding.
(Also read: ‘India is not for beginners’: Bengaluru-based US founder reveals how he’s been scammed in the country )
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience -- from viral videos to human interest copies that spark a conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and finding newsworthy angles in viral content. She writes about a wide range of topics, from business leaders and social issues to everyday people and internet trends. She enjoys speaking to content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs and turning their experiences and stories into engaging, relatable articles. Read More
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