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!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Wednesday, December 8, 2010


I just arrived at George Bush Intercontinental airport, and was fortunate to move through security without issue or slowdowns. Anup’s aunt Shefali was not so fortunate. She was patted down and searched for a good 5 minutes

When we were boarding the plane to go to London and were in the tunnel that takes you to the plane, all of a sudden a security officer came to me and the 5 people in front of me, and asked us to step aside. They put us in a separate line and put all of our carry-on luggage into a pile. They brought a drug sniffing dog over and walked it near the bags. All of a sudden the dog seemed to go crazy for this one guy’s bag, and the dog jumped on top of it. But apparently he was just excited and it was not cause for alarm. I guess if he smells drugs he barks.

I was not able to sleep at all on the plane, and I learned on this trip that this was going to be my permanent fate on planes. The plane was empty enough that I had 3 entire seats to myself, and so I laid across them in order to fall asleep. I wasn’t necessarily tired, but I was paranoid about having jet lag on my trip. I was too tall and wide to really be comfortable so no sleep came. It was even more frustrating to see everyone around me asleep.

Rather than be frustrated about my lack of sleep, I decided to watch movies. The British Airways plane I was on had a ton of movies to pick from. I watched “Salt”, and next I watched “Inception”. Let me tell you, NEVER watch Inception after you have been awake for over 24 hours. It messes with your mind. Great movie though, just too trippy for my tastes.

Dinner and breakfast were served on the flight. Dinner was ok, breakfast was awful. It was like a muffin with processed bacon stuffed in it. I wanted to vomit after one bite, so I just didn’t eat.
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1 comment:

  1. Chris and RachelMay 25, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    "I wanted to vomit after one bite, so I just didn’t eat."

    You're such a little food snob!

    ReplyDelete

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