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He described the moments that really surprised him. Skyscraper neighborhoods that “honestly felt like a different country,” and modern metro systems that were “clean” and “efficient.”
A Scottish man says he found Pakistan cleaner than India. (Image source: Instagram)
India and Pakistan have always fascinated foreign travelers. Two countries born from the same land, sharing languages, food, weather and human warmth, but offering strikingly different experiences to an outsider. For many travelers, the comparison is: India is vast, overwhelming and full of energy; Pakistan, despite the cultural similarity, is smaller and often more relaxed.
Now, the Scottish traveler, who spent months traveling through both countries, has found himself answering the most difficult question his followers have been asking: Which country feels more developed? Which one felt clean?
What he said next sparked a wave of controversy across social media.
‘Parts of India look like the West’
Speaking about India, traveler Hugh said in an Instagram video: “I feel like India is a little more developed than Pakistan… especially in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.”
He described the moments that really surprised him. Skyscraper neighborhoods that “honestly felt like a different country,” and modern metro systems that were “clean” and “efficient.”
He described India’s digital payments revolution as “on another level”.
“Locals pay via QR code even with small backstreet vendors,” he said, still amazed that digital payments were so deeply ingrained in daily life.
He described walking into certain areas of these cities and suddenly feeling as if he was transported somewhere in Europe or North America. “Some areas… honestly feel like a different country… and feel like countries in the West.”
He found public transportation confusing and irregular. “Most of the time I was in Pakistan, I had no idea where the bus was going… I found it easier to use public transport in India.”
Which is cleaner?
When asked about cleanliness, the traveler said: “Pakistan was cleaner than India… especially Islamabad. Absolutely clean.”
He talked about the reduction in litter on the streets, the cleaner street food stalls, the workers constantly cleaning the roads, and his biggest inconvenience in India. “Spitting is part of the culture. I have no idea, but it’s ingrained in the locals there unfortunately. You literally walk behind someone on the street and they go… [spit noises]It’s terrible. You have to step on it and walk around it.”
Many Indians were no different. But they explained.
Why does the hygiene gap exist?
“As an Indian, I will take it positively and try to improve myself further. Criticism must be accepted. Considering the huge population of 140 crore people, it is really difficult to judge but we will overcome the pollution and cleanliness problem,” a user wrote on Instagram.
Another said: “As an Indian, this is true.”
One said: “Yes as an Indian, I agree with you Hugh!! We definitely need to be on par with many other developing nations! Please listen to our guests and accept this as a healthy criticism.”
Pakistani cities are not only smaller in size. It is small compared to India’s urban giants.
The population gap: why are big cities more difficult to manage?
The population of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is about 1.3 million people. 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 National Capital Region (NCR). This means that Delhi’s area is 12 to 18 times larger than Islamabad. Managing waste, maintaining streets and ensuring cleanliness in a city of this size is a challenge on a completely different scale.
India’s largest cities dwarf Pakistan. The population of Mumbai is about 22 million people, while the population of Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, is about 18 million people. Kolkata’s population of 15.8 million is larger than Lahore’s population of 14.8 million, and medium-sized Indian cities such as Bengaluru and Chennai outnumber many urban centers in Pakistan by several million.
Pakistani cities are smaller and easier to maintain; India is a huge city that operates across entire countries. However, despite these challenges, Hugh still believes that India feels more developed overall.
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The team of writers at News18.com bring you stories about what’s buzzing on the internet while exploring science, cricket, technology, sex, Bollywood and culture.
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03 December 2025 at 07:00 IST
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