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Stalked, Trapped, Harassed In India's Hotel, Says US Travel Vlogger

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Bhana Bisht
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US-based travel vlogger/Youtuber Jordan Taylor could not have imagined that her trip to India will end up in a nightmare. She has made a video about her traumatic ordeal and recounted how she was stalked and harassed in a OYO-partnered hotel in Delhi's Paharganj area.

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How it started

Jordan, who goes by the name ‘Travellight21’ on social media, recounted in the vlog multiple instances where the staff allegedly harassed her, trying to get her to open the door of her hotel room. She said random men groped her, and one even said "he wanted to fuck her", even in the presence of Livio, her boyfriend. She narrated that the harassment peaked after Livio left, four days before she was to leave India. By this time, the couple had checked into the OYO hotel on Main Bazaar Road in Paharganj, Delhi.

Feeling already a bit uneasy due to the groping and sexual innuendos she faced, the couple decided to create an impression that Livio was still there. However, Livio's departure was noticed by the hotel staff. Jordan's horror began soon after. She recalled how the staff members started behaving weirdly right after Livio left. She was stalked. The phone in her room rang repeatedly. Once when she picked up, someone said "Hey baby!". On another occasion, she heard noise of sexual activity.

The nightmare

For two days, due to fear, Jordan stayed inside her room. But the men didn't leave her alone. One of them banged the door, asking her to open it. When she refused, he threw something heavy at the door. Someone switched off the AC and said she should open the door for him to fix it. They disconnected the WiFi, too. Men used one excuse or another to harass her. "He was right outside my door. There were more people who came. They would knock and say open the door. Then they shut off the WiFi and said the same story -- that they need to come in and fix the Wifi," she narrated.

In the video, she mentioned that although she ran out of food and water, she could not leave the room. To give an idea of what she went through, she inserted a clip in the video which showed people crowding her door. Her biggest fear was them breaking the door open. She knew if they succeeded, something terrible would happen.

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Finally, she left for the airport at 3 am after the men stopped harassing her. Even though she escaped, the incident shook her. "I couldn't even get on a plane, because I felt like I would be trapped again," she said.

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Action taken

Within 24 hours of uploading the video on Youtube, the hotel was shut down. Reddit posted Jordan's video on September 9. Taking note of the matter, OYO promised strictest action against the partnered hotel.

Jordan also said she was unable to do what she describes as her “dream project” with a company in India. She said it did not make sense for her to release this video and at the same time release videos of adventure and fun with the company she was supposed to be working with.

She even talked about being frustrated and angry about the situation, thinking about what she could have done differently. “I was covered up, even more than the local women sometimes. Even my elbows weren’t showing,” she said.

Jordan ended the video, saying she did have a good time in India before all this happened. She said she does not want her India vlogs, which she will release in the future, to have a negative implication. She said she will visit again, but after a while.

View this post on Instagram

Lately in my travels... I have felt massive amounts of guilt and stress over letting you guys down. I have only uploaded 2 videos in the past 4 or 5 weeks, and I feel guilty and as if I am wasting time, that I need to be more productive. In India, I felt that it was the very first place I failed to capture on film. I will talk about my mistakes in a video, but basically because of how I chose to travel around the country, I went through cities too fast, didn’t really make any new friends, and felt as if I was failing every day at filming. Wifi would be out, so I wasn’t always able to upload... but then when it was working, I would think: Should I spend 30 hours shut inside my hotel editing? Or go explore? I need to film, I want to explore... but I need to edit and upload videos too! I went from India to Guatemala, where the balance was more of the same (to film / enjoy the trip or to hide out somewhere editing?) and then came to Florida to see my family. On my birthday earlier this month, I promised myself that I wouldn’t touch a camera or answer emails or edit at all, but I felt guilty, like I’m letting you guys down. On my Mom’s birthday, I tried to do the same, but footage needed to be sent, companies spoken to, videos edited... Filming is such a positive for me, and I genuinely love it and am so very happy to be making a living by doing what I love. But I need to give myself a break sometimes. Thank you guys for all of the support and for understanding! * * #travel #traveling #india #jaipur #palace #jodhpur #india_gram #amazingindia #doors #traveller #travelgram #travelersnotebook #photography #travelphotograpy #destination_wow #agameoftones #wearetravelgirls #roamingwomen #girlslovetravel #darlingescapes

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Jordan later posted an update on her video, saying, “It came out that this has happened to other women who stayed there in the past as well! NO MORE. Action has been taken!”

Watch Jordan Taylor's full video &feature=youtu.be">here

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