Hello to all! My name is Chris Rendall, and in December of 2010 I went to India for 2 weeks with my friend Anup and his family.

The purpose of my visit was to see as much of India as possible, and to learn as much about its culture and people. It had been a dream of mine to visit India for quite some time before the opportunity to go actually came up. I had become quite obsessed with Indian music, and once my wife began cooking Indian food, I was hooked! When Anup, a friend of mine since childhood, told me in mid 2010 he was going to India in December (he is Indian so he and his family make regular visits to India), I jumped at the chance when asked to tag along.

Of course I had some initial reservations (despite the fact that not even a year before I had practically begged Anup to bring me along if the opportunity ever arose), such as the financial cost, medical and hygienic concerns, concern for person safety and wellbeing, and also the hardship of being away from my wife for 2 weeks. But in the end my desire to see India overwhelmed all my concerns.

This blog is a collection of my daily writing while in India, from the time of my arrival to departure. Knowing how bad I am at remembering details of things that I have experienced, I decided to keep a journal of my thoughts and experiences. I kept a paper journal, and then typed up my writings when I returned home (I didn’t want to carry my laptop to India). Because of this, this blog is not being updated real time, but was rather posted all at once after I had finished editing my writings. The purpose of these writings are threefold. First, for my own recollection. Second, to share with my family, friends, and others the things that I experienced and felt while in India. Third, to give information, advice, and inspiration to any who would consider venturing to India.

While the trip to India was an amazing experience, no trip is ever without its hardships or difficulties. I did a bit of editing, but I also tried not to censor times that I was feeling particularly upset or down. I think it will help those who have unrealistic expectations about India, and also those who want an authentic experience from the point of view of an American who has grown up in a somewhat sheltered life in comparison with the rest of the world.

I hope you enjoy this blog, and feel free to leave comments!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Monday, December 20, 2010


Today is essentially a free, lazy day for me. Anup and his entire family went to this Hindu celebration/conference that will take up their entire day. So I’m alone at the hotel.

After everyone had left, I went out to the beach that the hotel sits on, and sat in the sand to read. It was nice for about 30 minutes, but the heat and constant harassment by beggars and peddlers sent me right back inside. When you are in a car, it is easy to ignore beggars because you can focus on something else until they leave. But when you are sitting on a hot beach and an old woman stands over you only an inch away and with her hand out and constantly saying “Please please please”, it is unbearable.

I went back to my room and read and watched TV for quite awhile. I watched a lot of cricket because it is pretty much the only thing in which I can understand what is going on. I got a bit restless and decided I was going to walk around Mumbai, staying nearby the hotel. It didn’t take long before I realized that leisure walks do not exist in India, and especially in Mumbai. You get outside and it’s all of a sudden hot, humid, smelly, and dirty. When you step out of the hotel complex you are pretty much in a ghetto. I didn’t want to get jumped or anything since I was a foreigner and alone, so I started to head back. Also if you walk around and don’t look like you know where you are going, which obviously I don’t, taxi drivers will constantly follow you around asking you if you want a taxi, even as you constantly ask them to leave you alone.

I looked up Mauli Dave, a woman I went to high school with, on the internet. I overheard our driver talking with Anup about her, and all of a sudden I was like “Mauli who?” My first thought was, surely out of a billion people this cannot be the Mauli Dave I knew from Clear Brook High School in Houston. But it was! The amazing thing to me was that in high school I remembered her as being very friendly but quiet. Now I look on Wikipedia and not only did she win Miss Teen India Texas 2007, she is now a Bollywood Star.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauli_Dave

I read until 7:30 pm, then got onto gmail chat with Rachel, which I was on until about 11 pm, besides eating dinner. When I went to sleep, Anup and his family were still not back, and I was wondering how Anup was going to get back in the room without waking me up since I had the keycard.
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