I wrote this piece back in 2022. Since then, I've been regularly traveling to India every few months to spend time with my mother who lives there, and the price of most things I wrote about have gone up - some significantly and some moderate. Strangely, that hasn't changed my spending in USD. That's because US Dollar has been steadily rising against Indian Rupees for the last few years. Between now and then (when I wrote this piece), USD has gained about 16%, shielding my purchasing power there. It's funny how things play out in the financial world. Here's a recent addition to the original article: Five thousand dollars was the price-tag for a family vacation with my wife and daughter in the state of Rajasthan for 12 nights in peak season. It was arranged by a regional tour operator and covered a fulltime private SUV with driver, premium hotels in 6 cities, safari and other recreational experiences, guide, entry-fees and many extras. This tour has been on my wife's bucket-list for many years, and I'm glad that our priceless experience was so affordable.
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I wrote this piece back in 2022. Since then, I've been regularly traveling to India every few months to spend time with my mother who lives there, and the price of most things I wrote about have gone up - some significantly and some moderate. Strangely, that hasn't changed my spending in USD. That's because US Dollar has been steadily rising against Indian Rupees for the last few years. Between now and then (when I wrote this piece), USD has gained about 16%, shielding my purchasing power there. It's funny how things play out in the financial world. Here's a recent addition to the original article: Five thousand dollars was the price-tag for a family vacation with my wife and daughter in the state of Rajasthan for 12 nights in peak season. It was arranged by a regional tour operator and covered a fulltime private SUV with driver, premium hotels in 6 cities, safari and other recreational experiences, guide, entry-fees and many extras. This tour has been on my wife's bucket-list for many years, and I'm glad that our priceless experience was so affordable.
Post: Relative Affluence
Link to comment from May 20, 2026