‘No unnecessary honking, everyone is in their lane’: Indian creator compares Bhutan with India, says ‘no uncle staring at me’

An Indian content creator’s comparison of everyday life in India and Bhutan has sparked debate online after she highlighted what she described as noticeable differences in cleanliness, traffic discipline, road behaviour and personal safety. Neha Rana shared the comparison on Instagram during a recent visit to Bhutan, contrasting her experience there with conditions she said she had encountered in India, including honking, wrong-side driving, litter and traffic chaos. Rana said the trip, her first visit abroad in 30 years, made her reconsider how much of such behaviour had become normalised in her everyday life.

Rana pointed to traffic, roadside litter, unnecessary honking, wrong-side driving and men staring at her while showing the Indian side of the border. She then contrasted those observations with what she said she encountered after entering Bhutan.

“Now let me enter Bhutan, and now look, this is Bhutan,” Rana said while showing herself walking along a busy street. She said she felt “totally safe” and noted that there was no unnecessary honking and that the streets appeared clean.

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A post shared by Neha Rana (@finding.neha)

Traffic discipline and road safety in Bhutan

Rana also focused on the way traffic moved in Bhutan, saying that vehicles appeared to follow their lanes despite the absence of traffic lights.

“There are no traffic lights, but everyone is in their lane,” she said, before showing pedestrians crossing the road. She added that vehicles stopped to allow people to cross.

According to Rana, the contrast was not simply about infrastructure but also about how residents treated their surroundings. She said her intention was not to “put India down” and instead highlighted individual responsibility for public spaces.

“I realise ki yahan pe jo log hain na, woh apne surroundings ki actually responsibility lete hain. Aur India mein koi sochta hi nahi hai,” she said.

Rana added that Indian cities could also look different if people took greater responsibility for their surroundings.

Rana says Bhutan changed how she viewed everyday life

In the caption accompanying the video, Rana said she was born and raised in India and had come to accept issues such as pollution, honking, chaotic roads, traffic jams and safety concerns as normal.

“Until I visited Bhutan,” she wrote, describing the trip as her first visit to another country in 30 years. She said the experience made her realise “how different our everyday life can actually look”.

Rana said she noticed roads without what she described as road rage, less unnecessary honking, clean air and what she considered a safer environment. She also said she was able to walk alone at night without constantly worrying about her safety and did not encounter men staring at her without reason.

“And the strange part is that none of this felt extraordinary in Bhutan. It felt like the bare minimum,” she wrote.

She linked the difference to collective behaviour and responsibility, saying, “It made me realise how much of this comes from the way people collectively treat the place they live in and the people around them.”

“There is so much we can learn from Bhutan. Because I genuinely never thought the world could look this different until I actually stepped outside my own country and saw it for myself,” she concluded.

How did the internet react?

The video received mixed reactions online, with several users agreeing with Rana’s observations about civic behaviour.

One user wrote, “Just basic civic sense is all we need.”

“Every country is changing... Bhutan, Vietnam.. poor countries are progressing... but India is not... same infrastructure, same mindset... india is rich but still basics are missing,” commented another.

“I've only heard car honks in India, nowhere in any other countries,” wrote a third user.

“60% problems in India are civic problems,” said another.

However, others questioned the comparison and pointed to differences in population density, geography and the nature of the locations being compared.

One user wrote, “Strange comparison. Bhutan is like india in many terms, many parts of india with same square km have the same evrything.. please don't compare border town, india is highly dense and that point is a active transport corridor.”

Another commented, “Sabko india ke alwa sab Desh acha lagta h kyu sikkim seven sister jao waha bhi horn honking nahi hai.”