At 25, globetrotter Cameron Mofid became the youngest person to visit every country in the world. The California-born completed his journey in North Korea. After travelling to so many destinations, one would wonder which place was his least favourite. Recently, during an appearance on a podcast, he was asked the same, and he said it was India.
Among the 195 countries Cameron travelled to, India was at the bottom for him because of the deeply negative experiences he and his girlfriend had while visiting several major cities. He even highlighted a range of persistent challenges, including constant scams and severe air pollution.
‘The scamming is non-stop, almost exhausting…’
On June 5, Cameron shared a part of the podcast on Instagram with the caption, “Spent two weeks in India and was very disappointed. Should I give it another chance?” In the video, he describes aggressive behaviour from local men toward his girlfriend, the constant scammers, and several unpleasant interactions, which added to an overall sense of exhaustion and discomfort.
Explaining why India is his least favourite destination, Cameron shared, “I mean, it’s just like tons of scammers everywhere we went across the cities, like tuk tuk drivers, people in the hotel. It’s kind of non-stop, almost exhausting. I remember we couldn’t breathe outside because the pollution was so bad. I had to wear a mask.”
He further shared uncomfortable incidents and harassment he and his girlfriend faced during their visit, “I was with [in India] with a girlfriend of mine, and everywhere we went…every single time we’d go outside, like kind of strange-smelling men would come up and try to take selfies with her and be very aggressive and creepy.”
Cameron confessed that he would like to give India another shot because he has heard the far north and the far south are much better. However, his time in Delhi, Mumbai, and Agra wasn’t pleasant. He added, “Taj Mahal is beautiful, but the city is not great. Varanasi, the spiritual capital, is interesting.”
“So out of 195 countries, India is at the bottom?” the interviewer asked the globetrotter, and he confessed, “From the experience that I had, yeah, it was pretty rough.”
However, in the comments, Cameron clarified that he doesn’t want to reduce India to a single story, agreeing that it does have a beautiful culture, a rich history, and excellent food. However, being constantly scammed left a bad taste. He added, “I didn’t have as many bad experiences in the other 194 countries I visited. I think India has some deeply rooted issues that, if worked on, would be very good for the country long term. Just my thoughts.”
How did the internet react?
Many Instagram users agreed with Cameron’s candid critique of the difficulties tourists face in India’s major cities. One user commented, “Thanks for calling this out. We indeed are one of the worst places when it comes to welcoming visitors. Infrastructure, pollution, overcrowding, scams targeting tourists, and a general lack of civic sense remain major issues…honestly feel embarrassed at times when I travel abroad and see how much better public systems and civic behaviour can be.”
Someone else shared, “As an Indian, I have to admit that this criticism is justified. The way many Indian men behave towards women, especially foreign women visiting India, has severely damaged India’s image.”
However, others urged him to visit other places in the country. One user commented, “Bro probably did not explore South India.” Another wrote, “Try Jammu, Kashmir, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, etc., south all the way.”
Note to readers: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
