NEW DELHI, India, May 7: An American travel vlogger has reported falling seriously ill with a severe respiratory infection after a 15-hour train ride in India. Nick Maddock, a travel content creator with 200,000 Instagram followers, said he was hospitalized in Bhutan after traveling in a third-class AC compartment of an Indian Railways train. This class is the second-lowest available on Indian trains, just above the general Sleeper class, which has no air conditioning.

Maddock traveled from Varanasi, a northern city in India, to New Jalpaiguri in the east, before arriving in Bhutan. In a post, he shared a picture of himself wearing a hospital oxygen mask and described the train journey as “one of the grossest things I have seen in my six years of traveling.”

“I love India. It has warm and generous people, endless scenic landscapes, and a rich and sacred history,” he wrote on social media. “But I can acknowledge that while also saying that my 15-hour train ride in 3rd class AC from Varanasi to New Jalpaiguri was one of the grossest things I’ve seen in my 6 years of traveling. No higher class was available. It doesn’t have to be like that.”

Three days later, in Bhutan, Maddock was diagnosed with a severe respiratory infection. While he is on the mend, he acknowledged that his recovery would be slow. “It came to a point three days ago, when I entered Bhutan, that I just collapsed. I was so fatigued that I could barely move, talk, or function,” he said in a video. This was his first time requiring hospitalization abroad during his travels to over 120 countries.

Maddock was uncertain whether his illness stemmed from the 15-hour train ride or from a week spent in Varanasi, where he witnessed bodies being cremated along the Ganges River. However, he emphasized that his symptoms did not begin in Bhutan. “But either way, these lungs are toast,” he remarked.

Maddock did not specify when he had taken the train journey or visited Varanasi, a city famous for its cremation ghats and religious significance. His video quickly went viral in India, triggering mixed reactions. Many users disagreed with his broad criticism of hygiene standards in the country.

One user wrote, “The majority of tourists go to the poorest and worst areas in all of Asia and then proclaim the entire country is like that. This happens because these travelers are not financially able to visit better areas and then whine about it.” Others speculated that his respiratory illness could have been caused by Bhutan’s high altitude or his own low immunity, rather than the train journey itself.

However, some users shared their own negative experiences on Indian trains. “Last year, I had to take the train from Agra to Kolkata for a work trip,” one user recalled. “I took 2AC, obviously not the sleeper, but guess what, I almost got hospitalized the very next day after arriving in Kolkata due to severe allergies and high fever. Even as an Indian, it was too much for me. The trains, unfortunately, are that depressing.”

A French tourist also recently warned foreign travelers about long-distance train trips in India. In a 43-minute video, YouTuber Victor Blaho shared his own challenges during a 46-hour train journey through Mumbai, Varanasi, Agra, and New Delhi, explaining that it had been a tough experience under a tight budget.