Should I travel to India or Thailand?
First time backpacker want to go to Asia but not sure where is best? What does everyone think?
India is a culture shock for sure but if it is your first time backpacking maybe choose Thailand? From Bangkok it is easy to get around, islands, beaches, elephants and its cheap. But do you really have a desire to visit India? India is cheaper than Thailand but then also really full on.
India can be a really tough country for newbie travelers, partly for cultural reasons. Much of India is densely populated, and at least in northern India, the people do not understand western privacy boundaries. So you will be constantly confronted by touts selling everything imaginable, and sometimes complete strangers will ask you personal questions. And you need to steel yourself to bargain for everything, and any encounter w/ a taxi driver could quickly escalate into a contest of wills.
A less nerve racking experience can be had by visiting south India instead of the north. Culturally it's quite different, and people are not nearly so intrusive.