3 min readNew DelhiMar 10, 2026 05:01 PM IST
An Indian travel vlogging couple has stirred debate online after sharing their experience of travelling in China and comparing costs with India. Swati and Prateek left their jobs last year to pursue full-time travel. They spent much of 2025 exploring India and began their international journey in 2026, starting with China.
In a recent Instagram post, Swati spoke about how her assumptions about the country changed after arriving there. She said that although many people had warned her that China would be expensive, her experience on the ground told a different story.
In the video, the travel vlogger highlighted “3 ways China made me realise India is expensive.”
First, she pointed to hotel prices. Swati said she and Prateek managed to book what she described as a luxury hotel room for just Rs 1,800, a rate that would be difficult to find at most good hotels in India.
The second example she gave was transport. According to her, a 30-minute ride in a BMW cost them around Rs 600.
Finally, she talked about food prices. Swati said a plate of authentic Chinese noodles cost them only Rs 170, though she did not clarify whether it was purchased from a restaurant or a street vendor.
“‘China is expensive’ – heard this a hundred times before booking the ticket. Every myth broke the moment we landed,” the travel vlogger wrote in the caption. Summing up her experience, she added, “China isn’t expensive. China is embarrassingly affordable.”
Watch the video:
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The clip quickly went viral and triggered a wave of reactions from Indian viewers, many of whom shared their perspectives.
An Instagram user explained, “Because their economy is run down model. Companies are fighting with each other on prize basis to provide the best services at prices lower than the competition. It keeps the prices down and is subsidised by investor’s money. That is not the case with India.”
Another user commented, “I don’t know about other reason but luxury is cheaper there because they made in bulk and now there real estate market is decreasing.”
A third commenter wrote, “You may be talking about promo prices. I have been in China for years. China is 1.5 to 2 times costlier than India. Half letre water there is 20 rs. China is doing great in infra, but definitely not economical than India.”
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A fourth user commented, “I don’t know who are those people who told you that China is expensive, in fact China is facing a deflation problem for quite a few years now.”
A fifth comment read, “Even Thailand has better taxis than India. The uber cabs in India are least maintained and reek of weed and gutkha masala. The interiors of these cabs look like they were hardly cleaned in the past 2 years.”
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