india, the wrap up

our thoughts and observations of india:

• indian people are friendly, engaging, and interesting people to meet. with minimal to no language barriers (many indians speak excellent english), we enjoyed meeting and conversing with numerous locals.
• indian people are curious about travelers. they love to shake your hand, pose for photos, and ask lots of questions. the most common questions are: what is your good name? what is your country? what is your job? are you married? do you have children? do you like india?
• we've met and conversed with more people (locals) in india than in all of the other countries combined. we had the most interesting and engaging conversations with people we met during long-haul train journeys.
• india is hot…best described as being in an oven. our first night in calcutta we stayed in a non a/c room and david dreamt he was baking bread.
• the head bobble…took us a while to get used to it…we finally understand it…
• we're over the spitting…again
• i'm over the squatting…again
• in india you need to make things happen. otherwise, they may not…
• the norm in many budget hotels is fans with one speed and water with one temperature.
• can a stone wall be a stone wall for the sake of being a stone wall? no - in india it must be painted with advertisement for concrete, jewelry, or wedding saris.
• in india there is no mercy for pedestrians. on our first day in new delhi, three pedestrians were killed by three different speeding city buses. while on a tour of varanasi, our cab driver side-swiped a young boy on a bicycle. i looked back to see the child laying motionless in the middle of the street. without hesitation, our driver continued speeding along to our next destination. i was absolutely horrified.
• wifi…hard to come by outside of the large major cities in india. we went for weeks unable to upload photos.
• the rubbish, pollution, and filth is like no other we have ever experienced. local attitudes regarding littering are not of the "earth-friendly" variety.
• when it comes to being loud, the indians give the chinese a run for their money.
• only in india do babies wear eyeliner…cute as can be…
• we finally got dysentery. number of days sick: 8
• often times i wondered: just how long do you need to stare at me? in my opinion, a lot of indian men have a MAJOR case of the staries. in addition to making me feel uncomfortable, i found it incredibly rude. i thought everyone knew that… unfortunately, i often felt my feelings were completely disregarded - a very disappointing aspect to deal with for the two months in the country.
• with beautiful silk saris, gold jewelry, bangles, and nose rings - indian women dress absolutely beautifully.
• we realized quickly that when you live with a billion people, there tends to be a fair amount of pushing and shoving with minimal niceties or apologies. we found ourselves in a few rather uncivilized/stampede-like situations simply walking through doorways or stepping onto escalators. again, we had size and weight on our side and i found the "straight-arm-across-the-chest" stance worked rather well in situations of guarding my chest or guarding my life. guarding my chest became standard after noticing the numerous "accidental" feel ups…another disappointing aspect about the men that was upsetting to deal with.
• the in-your-face poverty was overwhelming at moments and very saddening. we did become accustomed to dealing with the beggars. we gave to some, and didn't give to most. we never gave to child beggars.
• traveling in india presented some challenges. it definitely tested our endurance, patience, health and good humor. at moments we did feel there was a lot of effort for just a little bit of pleasure. it was almost like a love/hate relationship. it was easy to hate the same things we loved so much about the country.
• we love vegetarian food! with a largely vegetarian population, india offers some of the best vegetarian cuisine we've eaten.
• without beef on the menu, mcdonald's india offers quite a unique experience. instead of the big mac, they have the chicken maharaja mac. other items included paneer wraps, fish sandwiches, aloo tikki burgers, and my personal favorite…the mcveggie burger with cheese. yummy!
• we've received excellent service while dining in indian restaurants. we can count the "check backs" on one hand from our first five months of travel. indian waiters always check back and have provided the best service we've received on the trip thus far.
• beer and alcohol is not widely available throughout india and the majority of eating establishments to not have licensing to serve it legally. in such cases, many places serve beer "disguised" in coffee mugs or in tea pots.
• being in india for a while really makes you miss home. i listened to david carry on for days about mazzoni's rolled oysters and moby dick's fish sandwiches. one desperate moment he stated he would pay 20 usd for a chik-fil-a sandwich with waffle fries…
• 5 rupees here, 10 rupees there, 100 rupees occasionally, we were almost constantly overcharged. unfortunately, tourists are for the most part treated as human atm machines and it's easy to feel that you're constantly being ripped off. we tried our best to maintain a positive attitude and decided that it's just not worth it to get bent out of shape for what may total $50 bucks when it's all said and done. even with the jacked foreign pricing, india is still cheap and affordable to the western traveler.


what things cost in india:

• double ensuite non a/c room $10.00
• double ensuite a/c room $21.00
• internet service in a café $0.75 per hour
• an 8 hour unreserved train ride $2.75 per person
• a 23 hour 2 a/c reserved train ride $45.00 per person
• a short ride on new delhi's metro $0.12
• a 45 minute pre-paid cab ride $4.00
• a short cycle-rickshaw ride in new delhi $0.50
• a 3 hour jeep ride to darjeeling $2.00
• a 5 hour tour of the backwaters of kerala $14.00 per person
• admission to the kathakali theatre in cochi $3.75
• admission to the taj mahal $18.00
• admission to a movie $5.00
• popcorn and a coke $2.00
• a full day tour of new delhi $6.00
• masala dosa $0.45
• chola poori $0.50
• vegetable samosa $0.12
• banana leaf thali lunch in the south $0.75
• order of paneer butter masala $1.50
• nan $0.50
• roti $0.17
• vegetable biriyani $1.25
• a mutton kati roll $1.25
• a fancy thali dinner $3.50
• indian dinner for 2 in a nice restaurant $10.00
• whole tandoori chicken $4.50
• mcdonald's chicken maharaja mac combo meal $2.90
• a large chicken/pineapple pizza from pizza hut $11.00
• a bengali sweet $0.12
• a cheese omelet and toast with butter $1.00
• 2 liter bottle of aquafina water $0.55
• milk tea at a local café $0.25
• cafe latte at a trendy coffee shop $1.25
• 12oz diet coke $0.50
• a large bottle of kingfisher beer $2.50
• a lassi $0.80
• a fresh lime soda $0.50
• postcard $0.12
• postage to the usa $0.20
• a shave and a haircut $0.68
• a silk scarf $7.00
• a pair of garnet earrings $4.00
• a silver tibetan necklace $18.00
• the india mask $1.50


what's next?

we're currently in mumbai (bombay). tomorrow morning we'll take an 8+ hour flight to cairo, egypt via bahrain. goodbye (finally) to asia…hello africa. we'll see you at the pyramids!

onward!

alina

the taj

the taj mahal is a mausoleum built under mughal emperor, shan jahan in memory of his favorite wife, mumtaz mahal. also known as the "taj", it is considered to be the finest example of mughal architecture. in 1983 the taj became a unesco world heritage site and was cited as "the jewel of muslim art in india and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

we saved the best for last and visited the taj mahal during our last week in india. here are a few shots of the magnificent mausoleum…

alina

the india mask

kali or kalika is the hindu goddess of time and of the transformation that is kala, or death. also known as the goddess of dissolution and destruction, she is known for destroying ignorance and negativity and she helps those who strive for knowledge of god. as the supreme feminine manifestation of compassion, she frees us from the prison of our own ego. we located the mask in the area of calcutta surrounding the kali temple, one of calcutta's holiest spots - the city is said to be named in her honor. this is the mask from india - she is kali.

alina

our delhi day tour

after enjoying a few days of urban life in new delhi, alina and i took a day tour of the city, organized through the indian department of tourism. it was a low maintenance way for us to see all of the sites, without haggling with auto rickshaw drivers, tour guides and souvenir touts. we got a chance to see a couple unesco world heritage sites, including the imposing minaret at qutub minar and the old city's red fort. the bahai house of worship, an enormous white marble lotus flower shaped temple, and the rajghat, where mahatma gandhi was cremated, were also standouts for the day. here are a few photos of the sites. david.

in the clouds

himalayan views, darjeeling tea and hospitable nepali and tibetian culture made darjeeling a perfect escape from the oppressive pre-monsoon heat of the north indian plains. we spent 10 days enjoying the views of mt everest and the himalayian mountain range from our rustic corner suite at the bellevue hotel at the top of darjeeling. at about 6000 ft elevation, the daytime temperature rarely exceeded 65 degrees - a nice change from the 105 degrees of varanasi only days before… here are a few pics from our room. david

tea anyone?

we're in darjeeling - it’s a surprise to us too, and a complete last-minute change to our itinerary. trying to beat the heat, we left varanasi and took a northbound 12 hour overnight train that somehow turned into a 24 hour whole-day train!? following that, a three hour jeep ride up the mountains deposited us at the beautiful hill station of darjeeling. at over 6,000 feet elevation and nestled in between nepal, tibet, and bhutan, we're enjoying the 65 degree temperature (a 40 degree drop), and our lungs appreciate the fresh air. surrounded by mountains, tea estates (yes…darjeeling tea), and smiling tibetan people, its really the perfect place to recover. unfortunately, we're on the mend from the dysentery we both acquired while in varanasi. there's nothing like a good food borne illness to shave off those few unwanted pounds…luckily, we are armed with antibiotics from the travel doctor in hawaii and hopefully the nasty critter is dead. we're both feeling much better…and looking rather trim…

for (only) the second time in india, we actually have access to wifi and are able to upload photos and bring the blog up to date. check out flickr for new india pics. i've really only spent time in the room for the last three days - so i don't have much to say about darjeeling, nor do we have any photos yet… i can say that the view from our corner suite at the rustic bellevue hotel is absolutely magnificent. we're here for a few more days and do plan to get out to see some sights…so we'll keep you posted!

alina

the ghats at varanasi

from bodhgaya we easily made our way to varanasi, or the city of shiva, one of the holiest cities in india. the old city of varanasi is situated along the western bank of the ganges river and is lined with many bathing ghats, or "stairs" that lead down to the river. hindu pilgrims come to varanasi to wash away a lifetime of sins or to cremate their loved ones. many priests and spiritual leaders line the ghats as well, offering their services to those in need. our private 5am boat ride allowed us to take some shots of the action…

alina