Australian travel YouTuber Luke Damant has sparked intense debate online after calling Delhi the “dirtiest city” he has ever visited, claiming the Indian capital left him overwhelmed by trash, stench and unhygienic street conditions. His blunt remarks, shared during a recent podcast, have since gone viral across social media.
Damant, known for travelling through South Asia on a budget, was asked to list the top three dirtiest places he has visited. He began with Kampala in Uganda, moved on to Old Dhaka in Bangladesh, and then named Delhi as his number one.
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According to him, “people are spitting everywhere,” street drinks are made with “ice dragged on the ground,” and “the food is usually contaminated,” claiming he fell sick “so many times” during his stay. He alleged that the city has “trash everywhere” and that the “stench… is terrible pretty much everywhere you go,” even though he acknowledged that Delhi does have “nice parts.”
His comments immediately split the internet.
One user agreed, writing, “Delhi is nasty and filthy.” Another took a more balanced view: “Delhi may be dirty but it has literally everything a city should have.”
Others pushed back strongly against Damant’s sweeping generalisations. A traveller who recently visited Uganda argued that he had exaggerated conditions there, adding that Damant “makes it sound like the whole country is a dump” despite many areas being beautiful and clean. Another user suggested his harsh take might stem from his travel choices: “This guy probably went on a very low-budget holiday and only saw the worst.”
Amid the reactions, one Instagram user summed up the sentiment with humour: “This guy hasn’t travelled to many countries, or he doesn’t know what dirty is. One more feather in our cap.”
Damant’s comments have now triggered a wider discussion on how subjective travel experiences can be, and how visiting only certain parts of a city can shape one’s perception fairly or otherwise.
Sofia Babu Chacko is a journalist with over five years of experience covering Indian politics, crime, human rights, gender issues, and stories about marginalized communities. She believes that every voice matters, and journalism has a vital role to play in amplifying those voices. Sofia is committed to creating impact and shedding light on stories that truly matter. Beyond her work in the newsroom, she is also a music enthusiast who enjoys singing.
