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
Sunday, December 19, 2010
After breakfast at the hotel, we went to the National Ghandi Museum. The place was pretty awesome. They have a walk through history of Ghandi's life, tons of photos of him and his travels, and even personal items that he owned.
Anup and a bust of Ghandi
Indian money after the India-Pakistan split
A display of some of Ghandi's things
Lopa and a life sized Ghandi
Next we headed out to the Gate of India. It’s nearly identical to the India Gate in Delhi, but it is a different memorial. It is right next to the Taj hotel, the site of the terrorist attack in 2008. You can no longer enter the hotel unless you have already booked a room. Interestingly, the terrorists who attacked the hotel actually stayed as guests the night before they attacked, so I’m not sure of the strategy there. There are broken down metal detectors all around, installed in 2009 right after the attacks and unfortunately shortly abandoned as soon as the memory of the attacks left the minds of the people.
Me, Anup's family, and Rahul's kids overlooking the Mumbai beach
After we had walked around the area and taken some pictures, we left to drop off Rahul and Shefali’s two sons at Rahul’s parents house, who live in Mumbai. It was a very long drive because our driver in Mumbai is not very good.
The 1 billion dollar house (the tall building in the background)
Mumbai is so incredibly hot. It is December, which is winter time, and it is as hot and humid as Houston in the summer time. I am simply wearing a t-shirt and jeans and I’m sweating like a mad man. Apparently it gets to be about 120 degrees in the summer time with 100% humidity. Couple that with that fact that air conditioning is still a luxury in India, and I have huge respect for the people who can live here. We took a rickshaw ride to Rahul's parents house, it was quite an adventure (see video below).
We ate at Rahul’s parents house, and played monopoly with all the kids there. It was Indian monopoly, which is essentially the same as the American version, but all the property is from London and the money is in rupees. I guess since India does not have a lot of developed real estate they decided to use London as the location.
The heat was so unbearable we decided to go back to our hotel and rest in the A/C. We did not leave the hotel again until night time.
Around 6:30 pm we left the hotel to go into downtown Mumbai for an anniversary celebration for Rahul and Shefali. It was at some random building with 4 floors and an open roof. I think it was actually a restaurant that was rented out. It was the first time most of Rahul’s family was able to celebrate their anniversary with them, and also the first time most of his family had met their children. The celebration consisted of a few games, which were narrated entirely in Hindi so I just sat down and watched, and a lot of dancing.
Rahul tearing it up
Anup is the man
Callin em out
I tried not to dance because I was the only white person and also tall and awkward. I succeeded for nearly the entire event, despite nearly twenty different people trying to pull me out of the chair, but towards the end Anup’s grandma came and told me to dance. You don’t mess with that woman.
Looks like the floor cleared out...
When I jumped into the fold everybody went crazy and loved it. I’ve learned that it’s best to build up the suspense when you are in a foreign country, that way everything you do is cool. We ate a buffet style meal which was good. Then we left the place and went back to our hotel.
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