Solo female traveller Mumbai, safe?
 

I'm going for business from the U.S., there 4-5 days. The office arranged a car to pick me up, I arrive mid day. Should I have any concerns or take precaution beyond common sense as a woman travelling alone?

You should be fine, but be careful. More careful than usual.

See: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ndia-again.cfm

Locals will tell you Bombay is safer compared to other Indian metros. Truly there are many warm, wonderful people there. I am sure you will feel comfortable once you meet your colleagues, but do - not - let - your - guard - down. I would advise you not to wander around alone (or for that matter even with recent male acquaintances, only with women you have known for some time), stick to your hotel. Avoid eye contact with strangers, wear dark glasses if you need to. Indians do not generally smile at or converse with strangers at malls and other places. Trust your instincts, it is OK to ignore someone who attempts to engage in small talk, even at the expense of appearing rude. Do NOT take public transport, be aware of your surroundings, maintain personal space - an umbrella can be handy for this. Avoid drinking alcohol in public, there may be people trying to catch you off guard.

This may sound paranoid to some, but I believe India is a country that should be approached with caution.

Dear jubileefd,
You should always use precaution whenever you are travelling alone. As, for India, especially Bombay, it is safer than most of the other cities and states in India but as of lately a lot of incidents are happening in India like to be followed by touts and people who try to be friendly and pretend to help you even without you asking them for help. Most commonly you will be followed by touts when you come out of train stations, airports, while walking in the market etc. The first thing is keep walking and with confidence. If you don’t know the directions then stop and ask someone (people in India are generally very friendly and asking a direction is very common there).

>If you don’t know the directions then stop and ask someone.
- Make sure you ask a woman, and not a man.

One last thing I would like to add, is I often use an alias when I visit India (and when I lived in India decades ago). I use that alias (which bears no resemblance to my real name) for making restaurant reservations, at the cleaners, for shopping orders, with people I did not know well or with whom I would have only brief contact with. That way people could not track me down or obtain too much information about me.

Of course, it is safe if you are well prepared. Past this summer, I got this incredible opportunity to travel alone. My solo trip took me to the mountains of Kasauli – neither very far from Delhi nor very popular solo tripping choice. But that was just the beginning; I knew I had to start from somewhere to come out from my comfort zone and let my dreams fly.

I remember how freaked out I was the first time I traveled alone, all by myself. And to be honest, sometimes I still am. It can be scary at times not to have anyone to back you up but dealing with uncertainties brings the best out of you. To become a confident individual, I encourage you to travel solo at least once in your life.

I love traveling solo. But there are better places and worse places to do it and unfortunately India has become worse rather than better.

With all due respect, the above comments are so overly exaggerated.

You are absolutely safe in Mumbai, even as a solo female traveler.

Only word of advice - avoid going to shady areas alone (which is a general caution for any city in the world).

Nonsense.

See (in addition to the thread I linked above):

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...exual-violence

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...dharamsala.cfm

@thursdaysd -

If 2-3 news pieces worry so much, then perhaps USA is also not a safe place - see below:

http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womeninth...s-say/?mcubz=3

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...gang-rape.html

http://nypost.com/2017/07/13/three-s...oer-gang-rape/

My point is not to compare MUM with NY in terms of safety (I completely realize that is not true) but to simply convey that we don't need to exaggerate by spreading rare cases.

Crimes like these occur all around the world - somewhere less somewhere a bit more. So if you are so afraid, it is better to sit at home.

Suggest you read the second link I posted above, where this is discussed in depth, and does not need to be repeated here when you can read it there. Of course the US is not a particularly safe place, but the issue here is gun violence. The issue in India is rape, which is the result of endemic misogyny and mistreatment of women,

I would point out that I have traveled extensively in India, on my own and mostly by public transport - ten weeks in 2001 and six weeks in 2010. I would be considerabky less sanguine about repeating those trips today.

>>You are absolutely safe in Mumbai, even as a solo female traveler.

That is overly exaggerated.

@mrwunrfl - the poster in question apparently lives in Delhi, and perhaps has a vested interest in seeing the country in a favorable light. I would discount the posts.

yes, thursdaysd.

The important thing is that jubileefd understands that like we do.

https://tinyurl.com/ybxc6r3k

from the Washington Post a few days ago

@ CaliNurse -- thanks for the link to that article.

Thank you, Kja. Very upsetting, particularly for those of us who love India.

The recent info cited by Caligal is behind a paywall, at least it is for me.

Jobin, I know---very frustrating to encounter that.

Instead, try Google search :
"A woman interviewed 100 convicted rapists in India"

This is the article's title. You should be able to find it that way, without having one of those irritating blocks that wants to force you into subscribing. It will show up as an article in the Washington Post and the Sydney Morning Herald, and probably others.

The only reason I advised jubileefd to be careful, as opposed to cancel the trip and not go, was because she said it was a business trip.