THIS Part Of India Feels Like ‘Developed Nation’, Says Scottish Traveller. But Thinks We’re Behind Pakistan In ‘Cleanliness’ — Why?

THIS Part Of India Feels Like ‘Developed Nation’, Says Scottish Traveller. But Thinks We’re Behind Pakistan In ‘Cleanliness’ — Why?

India and Pakistan have long fascinated foreign travellers. Two nations born from the same land, sharing languages, food, weather and human warmth, yet offering strikingly different experiences to an outsider. For many travellers, the comparison is: India being vast, overwhelming and bursting with energy; Pakistan, though culturally similar, being smaller and often more laid-back.

Now, a Scottish traveller who has spent months journeying through both countries, found himself answering the most predictable and most difficult question his followers kept asking: Which country felt more developed? And which one felt cleaner?

What he said next set off a wave of debate across social media.

‘Parts Of India Feel Like The West'

The traveller, Hugh, speaking about India, said in a video on Instagram, “I feel India is slightly more developed than Pakistan… especially in cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad."

He described moments that genuinely surprised him. Skyscraper neighbourhoods that “honestly feel like a different country," Modern metro systems that were “clean" and “efficient."

He called India's digital payments revolution “on another level."

“Locals pay by QR code even with tiny vendors in the back streets," he said, still astonished that digital payments were so deeply embedded in everyday life.

He described walking through certain districts of these cities and suddenly feeling as if he had been transported somewhere in Europe or North America. “Some areas… honestly feel like a different country… They feel like countries in the West."

He found public transport confusing and irregular. “Most of the time in Pakistan, I had no idea where the bus was going… I just found it way easier to take public transport in India."

A post shared by Hugh Abroad (@hugh.abroad)

Which One Is Cleaner?

When the question came up about cleanliness, the traveller said, “Pakistan was cleaner than India… especially Islamabad. Absolutely spotless."

He spoke of less trash on the streets, more hygienic street food stalls, workers constantly cleaning roads and his biggest discomfort in India. “Spitting is a part of the culture. I've no idea, but it's ingrained in the locals there unfortunately. You're literally walking behind someone in the street and they go [spit noises], it's just horrible. You've got to step over it and walk around it."

Many Indians didn't disagree. But they did explain.

A post shared by Hugh Abroad (@hugh.abroad)

Why The Cleanliness Gap Exists

A user on Instagram wrote, “As an Indian I will take it positively and will try to improve myself more. Criticism should be accepted. Considering the huge population of 140 crore, it's really tough to govern but we will overcome this problem of pollution and hygiene."

Another said, “As an Indian, It's true."

Someone said, “Yes as an Indian I agree with you Hugh!! We definitely need to get the hygiene and cleanliness part to be over par as compared to so many other developing nation! Please listen to our guests and take this as a healthy criticism."

Pakistan's cities are not only smaller. They're tiny compared to India's urban giants.

Population Gap: Why Managing Larger Cities Harder?

Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, has a population of roughly 1.3 million. Delhi, depending on how you measure it, has 16.1 million in the city, 23.9 million in the metro area, and an estimated 34.7 million in the wider NCR region. That means Delhi is between 12 to 18 times larger than Islamabad. Managing waste, maintaining streets and ensuring hygiene in a city this size is a challenge of a completely different scale.

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India's largest cities dwarf Pakistan's. Mumbai has around 22 million, while Karachi, Pakistan's biggest, has about 18 million. Kolkata's 15.8 million population is bigger than Lahore's 14.8 million, and mid-sized Indian cities like Bengaluru and Chennai exceed many of Pakistan's urban centres by several million.

Pakistan's cities are smaller and easier to maintain; India's are megacities running at the scale of entire nations. And yet, despite these challenges, Hugh still believes India feels more developed overall.

Source: News18
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