There is litter everywhere, pavements and streets are broken, the cities have crazy pollution, traffic is beyond crazy, the roads in many places are broken and dangerous, there are freeflow powerlines stretched everywhere, there are no rules on the road, people stare at pale skins until you flash them a big smile, nothing is ‘western perfect’, nothing is ‘western clean’, beggars and touts are hard to get rid of, some places stink and there is noise everywhere.
But as long as you;
But as long as you;
- aren’t a clean freak (don’t get me wrong - all my hotel rooms were clean, just not western clean or 100% maintained),
- can cope with less than hygienic food preparation,
- like a bit of spice and are careful where you eat,
- can eat with just your right hand,
- are happy to try new foods and are ok not having your homely favourites,
- don’t mind being intensely stared at all the time,
- are ok tripping over or treading on cow dung on the sidewalk,
- do not expect people to give way make space or move just for you,
- do not mind taking your life in your hands each time you are on the road,
- are ok having a low/no meat diet for a while,
- are ok not drinking water out of the tap (not even to brush your teeth),
- don’t mind waiting for the hot water (if there is any) to come to temperature before you can shower
- can cope with rodents popping out of a hole in the footpath to say good morning.
Outside dust is everywhere, everything looks grimy, cars and tuktuks are often held together with tape, hotel rooms invariably have a wee corner or so that the cleaners forget, some street food and casual eating places would not be allowed to exist in other countries, public toilets can be ‘enter at your own risk’ and bring your own paper.
But that stuff exists in most third world/developing countries. It’s part of the big picture. It’s what makes them fun and different to home.
The worlds second most populous country is full of colour, wonderful flavours, generous and kind people. With so much history and with so many people of different and extreme beliefs it makes it a fascinating place.
The caste system may be gone but there is still a very strong social hierarchy where the rich are obscenely rich and the poor beyond my comprehension. The poor aren’t necessarily just from the lowest caste (the untouchables) and not all the untouchables are poor.
I went to the slums and I saw horrific living conditions; we keep our animals in better places. But then a few streets over were massive mansions with top cars in the driveway. Go figure.
I went to the slums and I saw horrific living conditions; we keep our animals in better places. But then a few streets over were massive mansions with top cars in the driveway. Go figure.
One of the waiters in the hotel told me that they like foreigners over domestic tourists as the domestic tourists treat wait staff like dogs and expect them to jump to attention with a click of their fingers. I heard the way some people spoke to these guys and it was awful.
For some reason I had always thought caste had something to do with skin colour but I have learned that is not the case. Lighter skinned people come from the north and the further south you go the darker the skin.
Caste separates people into four original but basic groups. You are born into a caste so despite being say in the highest caste you could be doing a menial job.
The Brahmin (educators, holy people)
Kshatriyas (rulers, warriors),
The Brahmin (educators, holy people)
Kshatriyas (rulers, warriors),
Vaishyas (landowners, merchants)
Sudras (servants),
And then the untouchables - the dalit who are the people that are uneducated and that basically do the worst jobs, street cleaners, cremators etc. People like the cremators work terribly hard in awful conditions but I was told get handsomely paid for what they do.
Sudras (servants),
And then the untouchables - the dalit who are the people that are uneducated and that basically do the worst jobs, street cleaners, cremators etc. People like the cremators work terribly hard in awful conditions but I was told get handsomely paid for what they do.
Hindi is the main religion here but significant Muslim, Sikh, Jainism, Buddism and Christianity all have their followers. The Hindi people in particular openly demonstrate their adherence to their religion and follow age old traditions without question. Pilgrimages to Varanasi are like the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and the strict adherents follow strict traditions each and every day. Their lives revolve around their faith in a way that I cannot conceive, nor want to.
Most people that have been to school speak a level of English, most of the others will know a sprinkling. Its not a country where you can’t get by without the language. Knowing Hindi is no help either as there are hundreds of different languages/dialects spoken here so that English becomes the predominant.
Despite the dust and sometimes dirt I came all the way to India to experience, for the first time, toilets being cleaned and disinfected after each use, floors to be swept under my feet, massages like I have never had before. It’s not all dust and grime.
Who would have thought that in this crazy country where people jump on and off moving trains, where 3 seater tuktuks are regularly seen with 10 or so passengers hanging off the sides and where many of the busses are a health hazard that there would be spotlessly clean and well organised airports with clean, tidy planes that have cattle class seats that have more leg room than our premium economy.
You can buy food on board; things like Maggi (instant noodles) and Momo (instant Nepalese dumplings) which they fill with hot water so you can eat them fresh. Most anything costs $2.00. Got to be better than a bloody cookie from AIRNZ.
Although I am totally over curries and looking forward to a steak I can’t deny that the majority of the food was great, not necessarily to die for, and there were few things I would not want to try again. A few things had me wondering about but all in all I enjoyed the flavours, the diversity and the variation between regions. Less curries and more variation in texture would have been better.
Like most places India does a really bad job of western or non-indian food (except for fries) and on the few occasions I ordered some was bitterly disappointed.
It was hard to find street food that I knew was fresh and so when out alone I avoided it. Having seen some of the cabinet food in even smart places reinforced my rule never to eat anything that was not freshly made. Kolkata had a huge variety of street food but that was the exception. Elsewhere you had to search for it.
It was hard to find street food that I knew was fresh and so when out alone I avoided it. Having seen some of the cabinet food in even smart places reinforced my rule never to eat anything that was not freshly made. Kolkata had a huge variety of street food but that was the exception. Elsewhere you had to search for it.
I think my favourite street food were the kachori that we had a couple of times and the chaat I had once and went looking for more.
Queues and please, thank you and excuse me do not seem to be part of the vocabulary. People are very polite and welcoming but there is no concept of personal space or yielding for anyone or anything (only for cows). Don’t get offended if you get pushed out of the way.
The traffic is beyond insane. There is no such thing as a one way street. Its like all other streets, if half of you fits then go for it, even if everyone else is going the other way. But now I am home again I have to admit they are much better drivers than our kiwis who can't drive to save themselves and as for fitting into half a space most drivers can fit their biscuit box into a space big enough for a sherman tank.
It’s different but in a good way and you have to experience it to understand. Apart from the insane traffic it is all quite docile and lacks the warmth and frivolity of many countries. Religious practice and tradition take the forefront in the lives of most people and to an extent far greater than I had ever understood.
I am really glad I went but sad that despite a month of travel and hearing an overload of historical facts it was only until the very end that I felt as though I had, to a very tiny extent, experienced India. When I’ve done the rest of the world I might cone back and plonk myself in Kolkata for a bit.
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