The Indian Traveller Longs For Home-Made Food

Dal chawal is king for the Indian traveller, according to a new survey on the eating habits of Indians vacationing overseas by travel portal TripAdvisor. The survey, which polled a 1,000 people from across India, found that 41 per cent started hankering for homemade food five days into holidaying abroad. Encouragingly, 64 per cent of those surveyed said they made the effort to explore local eateries as opposed to eating at popular tourist dens. Amazingly, only 38 per cent of the respondents admitted to travelling with non-perishable food items (the assorted khakras, namkeens, and other munchies that have made us notoriously unpopular the world over). More vegetarians packed dry snacks as compared to non-vegetarians and presumably it was the former that largely comprised the 14 per cent that hunted for Indian dining options for most meals. The survey’s most contentious finding was that compared to the residents of Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, Delhiites were more willing to experiment with the local cuisine while on holiday and were also the most generous with the amount of money they were willing to spend on a meal abroad.