Howdy all. I wanted to write about an interesting video that Bald and Bankrupt posted a couple of months ago by the time this post is published, where he returns to India with another vlogger, ‘Backpacker Ben’. This is a vlog which has been criticised quite a bit and created backlash because he is quite critical of India at points in the video. On the other hand, I came across by chance I guess or YouTube suggested it to me a video which talks about the Bald and Bankrupt video in question and uses it to agree with him and to then talk about immigration from India to Britain. Turns out this guy is a right-wing commentator, I’m not going to share his name or channel as I don’t support most of what he says. (of course after clicking on ONE video YouTube is suggesting more of his videos to me!)

But it does raise some questions of the role of the travel vlogger (and indeed blogger), their ability to be critical of times of a country that is not their own. Because clearly there is a school of thought that says that you are a guest in a country and therefore should not criticise it. On the other hand, if you’re presenting experiences to others you do have an obligation to be honest. I’m personally not interested in watching a review of a place, a hotel, an airline where the vlogger has been invited to review it. Occasionally they will criticise, but odds are that they will be vlogging keeping in mind it’s basically a sponsored post.

Bald and Bankrupt, aka Benjamin Rich, has a long connection with India (and Russia) and it was India where he filmed his first vlog. He’s known to hold quite right wing views on a number of topics, but I don’t feel personally that this is a feature on his vlogs with a few exceptions. He speaks excellent Hindi, Russian and other languages and it’s clear India is a special country in his heart.

In this video in question we see him pointing out poverty and begging, auto-rickshaw drivers ripping him off (‘scamming’), expressing disappointment that the buildings built by the British were beautiful but have been left to decay and fall down, and point out that someone outside the train he is taking is defecating in public. Generally he also criticises the train he is on and Indian Railways.

So what do I make of all these criticisms, and is it fair or wrong to criticise in this way? Keep in mind a lot of reaction (mostly from Indians) has been that of outrage and anger. Others have bemoaned that he is right and want ‘better’ for their country. So let’s think about it.

At the end of the day, India can be a challenging place to travel. You need to as a travel embrace the chaos and accept that there will be delays, crowds, and things won’t always be easy. Whatever challenges you might face in India, at the end of the day as a westerner you can hop a plane and go home if it’s not for you. 1.5 billion people live in India and most can’t. If you are woken at 4am on a sleeper train by a beggar asking for money, of course it is confronting and unwanted (as happened to Backpacker Ben), however surely you would rather be being asked for money than being the person asking for money, right?

Bald criticises the rail network for a massively delayed train – it seems it’s at least 6-8 hours or MORE delayed, and well, that’s not an uncommon thing in India. On the flip side, India’s rail network is massive, they are using some very old train carriages, and it moves millions and millions of people around the country every year. Sure, it’s not Europe but even in Europe – heck even in JAPAN you can and will experience delays. Although I must admit it’s very very rare in Japan.

The criticism of the condition of the British buildings is certainly an uncomfortable criticism. The British spent a long time in the country as colonials pilfering whatever they could to make the Empire rich whilst treating the locals like dirt and then dividing the country off when they ran away. Some of the buildings they left are beautiful, mostly Victorian era. But India also has a host of beautiful, INCREDIBLE buildings that have nothing to do with the British AT ALL. Anyone heard of the Taj Mahal for example? Perhaps in India they place more importance on the buildings that are linked to their OWN culture?

I don’t think there is anything essentially WRONG with showing the poverty and begging in India. It’s a reality of not just India but a lot of countries, and I think if you decide to visit India you should be aware of it. It’s a sad reality of almost every country in the world to be fair. We have homeless people who beg in Melbourne. They do in the United Kingdom. The world is not perfect. Mental Health and Social Services fall short in Australia and many are left on the streets. Do I think people should be embarrassed by the homelessness in their country? Well, we should all be saddened and embarrassed by the world and it’s inability to NOT leave people behind. We are more socially aware than ever before, but humans and governments are not prepared to go all out and provide homes and services. It may be pie in the sky thinking to suggest poverty can be eliminated, but at the same time, it shouldn’t stop people from trying. Sad fact is – poor people keep rich people rich. You can not have extreme richness without extreme poverty.

Bald and Bankrupt shows a reality here. I am totally okay with that. I’m not so okay with an emphasis on it being an annoyance for the visitor. Either do something about it – donate, start a charity, whatever. Petition Modi and the Indian Government. Don’t make out that the biggest issue with poverty is that you get hassled when you go to India.

In short, in summary. Jeepers see what happens when you open a little ‘thought bubble!’, I think it’s really important that we think about what we say and write as travel vloggers and bloggers. I don’t see anything wrong in showing the bad, but I am less comfortable when people are clearly judging when they speak/write about it. You don’t live in the country and you don’t know the ins and outs of how things work. I think Bald certainly crossed a line at times, but then again I don’t think he was super-offensive either. To remember in travelling to a place like India as a European or of European origin the history and power imbalance over the centuries is an important, if not easy thing to do. And I think thought and conversation about this kind of issue is important.

Thanks for popping by and dealing with my ramblings once again. Take care wherever you are in the world, and May the Journey Never End!