Final Word: Tips for Traveling in India

Look for STD phones in internet cafes rather than standalone STD booths, the rate will be much better. For example, in a booth the rate was 25 rupees/min. I found an internet café with a rate of 1 rupee/min, meaning I could call the US for 1 hour and pay only $1.50.

Do not eat cold food for any reason, unless it’s your last day and you want to chance it.

Always ask for drinks without ice.

Ask for things 30 minutes to an hour before you actually need them. 5 minutes =30 minutes in India.

Do not make jerky movements when crossing the street in traffic. Drivers here are trained to weave around people and cars, and you will be fine if you calmly walk in a straight line, even if cars are coming. Be careful not to bring this tactic back home, or you might get run over.

Brush your teeth with bottled water, do not open your mouth in the shower.

If you can check 2 bags for free, pack everything into 1 bag, and fill a second bag with 50 pounds of bottled water. Indian bottled water is less reliable and also has a strange taste because it has no fluoride.

Avoid traveling in India during summertime or monsoon season.

Don’t wear a fanny pack, it makes you a target for theft. I used a money and passport belt that went around my waste underneath my shirt.

Never attempt to drive in India, always hire a car.

A small water boiler might be a good idea to bring.

If you are easily car sick, I would not travel in India. The jerky movements in Indian traffic will make you very sick.

Don’t come to India with the mindset that comes from watching American charity commercials, like “Oh look how these poor people live.” The people for the most part do not desire much more than they have, and are content. If anything, leave India with an appreciation for what you have been blessed with.

If you don’t want to be hassled by shop owners, keep your eyes straight ahead as you walk, do not look at them, their shop, or their merchandise. Do not stop walking when they approach you.

For the most part, don’t think you will get amazing deals in India, that was back in the good old days. Quality is quality and you will pay for it.

Bring mouthwash. I didn’t and I paid for it.

Check every piece of something for quality and part substitution before you buy it.

Pack a pair of shorts if you go to Mumbai. This is really the only city where it is appropriate to wear them.

Do not come to India, go to all the tourist places, and think you have seen India. They are nothing like 99% of Indian people actually live.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 to Wednesday December 22, 2010

The next morning I woke up Anup was in the room so I asked how he was able to get in during the night. Apparently he knocked on the door while I was sleeping, and I woke up and let him in. I have zero recollection of doing that.

Anup told me that the Hindu event he went to with his family in New Mumbai had 3.5 million people, and the temperature was 105 degrees. I can’t even fathom what it would be like to be in a field with 3.5 million people.

Anup's picture of event....endless people

We got a late start today. There isn’t a lot sightseeing wise to see in Mumbai in my opinion, and the heat and traffic make traveling difficult. Mumbai has the worst traffic of any city in the entire world, and it was like a biblical plague of cars and exhaust. Despite this, we ventured out around noon to see this beach side street which was supposed to be similar to The Strand in Galveston, with shops and a nice walking area. Turns out it was just a street with apartment complexes on it, with a view of this really rocky beach area where people were washing their clothes in the ocean water (not sure how murky salt water can clean anything).

Some people just live out there

Interestingly we saw a lot of couples here, displaying their affection for each other. This is the first time I’ve seen this in India. It is very much taboo to be anything but modest in public, something I was beginning to enjoy. Even in the movies the actors do not kiss in the “sex scenes”, but instead do this weird necking thing where they are touching but awkwardly. Many of the girls holding hands with their boyfriends had their faces covered. Some were obviously Muslim, but others were not, meaning that some of the girls did not want to be seen holding a man’s hand, especially one that is not their husband.

Next we went to a large market, I did not catch the name. It was very crowded and every shop seems to sell the same stuff. I’ve noticed that a lot in India, how it seems like every person is trying to sell you the same stuff. It makes me wonder how anybody can make a profit when you are choosing from 3 shops next door to each other with the same product. I suppose this is why everyone stand outside their shops screaming at you to get you to come in. Whoever is more persuasive sells the most. I bought bangles for Rachel’s sisters at this market.

Market

The heat was beginning to be so unbearable and we were so covered in sweat, that Anup, Lopa, and I went back to the hotel around 6 pm. I packed up my bags to head to the airport that night to head back home, took a shower, and ate dinner at the hotel. Anup and Lopa sat with me while I ate, and the food was fantastic. A song came on the radio about going home and we all laughed at the irony.

Just as I was heading out the door for the airport, I decided to check my email one last time and check for flight updates. I did this because throughout the day my flight time for Mumbai to London had been changed multiple times by British Airways, without notification or warning. As I refreshed my email inbox, I saw the email I had been dreading. My flight from London to Houston had been cancelled due to snow at Heathrow Airport in London. The email simply said the flight was cancelled, and offered no refund or alternative flight or arrangements. I decided that there was no way I was getting stuck in London for Christmas, which had been the fate of many poor families this year. My heart goes out to them. While my situation was now much less than ideal, I was fortunate to still be in Mumbai and I have options.

The British Airways re-booking website was down, and all their phone lines were busy. I decided the only way to figure this out and get home was to go to the Mumbai airport directly  and deal with the British Airways clerks in person. This took me away from any safety net or translators, I was completely on my own at the airport, one of the worst places to be in India. Anup’s parents told me to play ignorant of the flight cancellation so that way they would be forced to help me. What amazing advice that turned out to be. Anup’s dad was also kind enough to lend me a cell phone that I could call him with, and to let me borrow cash in case I got stuck in London or somewhere else. I hopped into a taxi to head to the airport.

I arrived to the check in area at the hotel around 10 pm. Nobody was waiting in line at the counter since it wasn’t going to be open to check bags for another 30 minutes. I wanted to be first in line since I know that would give me the most available options, since most of the other people on that flight would end up being in the same situation as me. Rather than sit with everyone else and make a break for it when it opened. I just saw in the line on top of my luggage, all by myself. I was determined.

The booth didn’t open until 10:50, typical India. The British Airways clerk was very stressed out when she saw my flight was cancelled. I acted very surprised and distraught, but stayed calm and polite with her. She kept trying to put me off to the side so she could help people who didn’t have connecting flight issues (which weren’t many), but I stayed firm and kept requesting her help. Eventually she found me a flight directly from Mumbai to Newark, on Air India. Then she found me a connecting flight from Newark to Houston on Continental Airlines. I was so happy and thankful because I had felt so desperate to be home. Although the flight was 16.5 hours, I was so thankful to be going home and skipping the nightmare that was London.

When I finally boarded my Air India flight, I was expecting a small, old plane. Small because not many people were at the gate, old because India is not known for its top notch travel accommodations. I was pleasantly surprised to walk onto a very large plane with personal TV screens in each seat. It was also quite empty, so I was looking forward to stretching out my legs and relaxing on this long flight. About 5 minutes before takeoff, the other two thirds of the ticket holders showed up. In typical Indian fashion, they flooded the plane in a chaotic manner, brought on too much carry-on luggage, messed with other peoples carry-on luggage who made it to the plane on time, and delayed take off by 30 minutes.

I have learned so much patience during my time in India. 16 hour flights aren’t fun, but it’s really not bothering me. It just is what it is, and I’m going home. I think before I came here that would have driven me crazy. I also can deal with hunger much better since I haven’t been eating regularly.

There are American movies and Bollywood films to choose from. Bollywood films are all so similar, its just a bunch of wealthy people in confusing, drawn out love stories, always with a happy ending. Always. We hit some crazy turbulence early in the flight. I felt like I was going to fall out of my seat. I drank a whiskey and coke on the flight. I read most of the time, and did not sleep at all.

I got to Newark after the extremely long flight. Best feeling I’ve had in the past few days was turning on my cell phone and using it to call Rachel.

A few re-culturing shocks right off the bat. Restaurants with meat, drinkable water, couples making out, black people, and efficient movement.

My first meal back in America? Grilled chicken sandwich from a café with a McDonalds ice cream cone.

It's good to be home!

 I hope you have enjoyed my blog about my trip to India. Thanks for reading and good luck on your future world travels!

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.

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.

Eating dinner

Saturday, December 18, 2010

I went to an STD phone booth first thing after breakfast and called home. Then I went to an internet café and talked to Rachel on gmail chat for awhile.

Anup and I walked around downtown Jaipur for a few hours to check out the markets and to kill time, since our flight to Mumbai was not going to be until 9:30 pm. We had a tour guide who took us to the various attractions in Jaipur yesterday, and apparently he took us to all of them. Anup’s dad told him to spread it out between the 2 days we were here, but he did not get the message I guess.

On the streets of Jaipur

Walking through an archway

After walking around and going into various stores and walking through neighborhood alleyways to see what people were up to, we went into another internet café. I hadn’t had enough time earlier in the morning to properly respond to all the emails from Rachel and from my family.

One of the better internet cafes I've been to here

We next went to Seema’s apartment. Seema is Anup’s aunt whom he had never met until today. She lives here in Jaipur with her husband and son, and Anup’s dad had called her up and asked if we could stop by. Her husband works as a salesman for Heinz ketchup. I had no idea ketchup required salesmen, I thought it was one of those products where if you need it, you order it. We were with her for about an hour, had some tea and food, and then left for the airport. 

Seema's house

Unfortunately we had really lost track of time and not noticed how little time had actually passed. When we got to the airport we realized it was only 2:30 and we still had 7 hours before our flight. Anup was pretty distraught over having to wait so long in one place, but I needed the time to write since I hadn’t been keeping my journal up to date in the last couple days, so I was happy to have the time.

We arrived in Mumbai at 11:30 pm, and were taken to our hotel.

Friday, December 17, 2010

I woke up around 8 AM and went to breakfast. It was the best breakfast so far in India for me, maybe my favorite breakfast all year. The hotel buffet had everything you could want, even American food. I stuffed myself, and so did Anup and his family. Like I mentioned before, you really have to stuff yourself at breakfast when you travel in India because you will rarely find a safe meal when you are out during the day. I had pastries, fruit, yogurt, an omlette, a dosa, chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, hashbrowns, coffee, and fresh watermelon juice.

One of the Jaipur city gates

After breakfast we went to the Amer Fort, also known as the Amber Fort. It was so breathtaking from the outside. We took an elephant ride up to the fort. It sounds exciting, but it actually wasn’t. When we were about to get on the elephant I was having second thoughts because the price was high and I wanted to walk, but also because I hate the exploitation of animals. After we took the elephant up to the top of the fort, we explored it for about an hour.

Driving up to Amber Fort

The elephant waiting area

Texting on an elephant, just to say I did!

Looking down on the water garden

This is the lady I was making fun of while fake texting, she actually is using her phone...on an elephant

The picture they take when they make the elephant pose.

Finishing our ride on the elephant

Inside of the Amber Fort

Reflecting....

We really like these light filtering walls

Another cool shot by Anup

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

Everyone wants a handout in the tourist heavy areas. Many of the local people in these areas have the notion that, because they exist, I’m required to support them. I have compassion for them and their need, but I cannot support that idea nor their laziness. There is always something else they could be doing, even if it made less money than begging. I hate to say that because I know I’m an American and our culture is to be self sufficient, but it’s just true. When Anup and I had finished our elephant ride at the Amer Fort, the elephant driver put out his hand and said “tip please.” There was literally a sign 5 feet away from us that said ““DO NOT ENCOURAGE TIPPING.”We very kindly said no, but he said “Please, my kids have to eat.” 

First of all, he is breaking the rules of his own employment. In many of these tourist areas you will see signs that say “DO NOT ENCOURAGE TIPPING.” These signs were put in place by the Indian government due to complaints from tourists of being constantly harassed by beggars. If you work for the government, which the elephant drivers at the Amer Fort do, you make a fixed salary and it is illegal to ask for tips. If truthfully his kids were suffering hunger, since his salary is fixed, and he was aware of the amount of money he would be making, why did he start a family? I know that they do not think this way, in fact it is as if the thought never crosses some people's mind here, but perhaps some self control would have been prudent until he was financially prepared for children. I do realize that it is possible he fell on hard times, or perhaps it is the social norm to marry early and have children regardless of circumstance, but I say that to illustrate a mentality that exists in some places in India (and the US for that matter). It is very much “God will take care of my children, so it doesn’t matter how many I have.” Listen, children are a blessing, whether you have 1 or 20, and it is the right of all to procreate. But for the sake of the children, please be prepared to care for them properly so they don’t end up hungry or on the streets begging. What seems to be happening here is that when the family can no longer afford the children they are having, they are sent out to peddle and steal to bring in more income, and then as adults peddling and stealing is all they know how to do.

On our way out of the Amer Fort, we saw the Jal Mahal (Water Palace). It seemed like something out of a medieval romance novel. I wish we could have taken a boat out to it, but unfortunately it was being renovated by the local Jaipur government.

Me and Anup with the Jal Mahal in the background

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

Our next stop was Amir Carpets, a popular traditional handmade carpet mill. Jaipur is famous for its handmade carpets. We were allowed to watch as the laborers made the carpets from start to finish. It was pretty incredible to watch the process, and to witness the incredible skill and focus of the workers. Anup was allowed to videotape one of the workers building a carpet from scratch. The quickness and accuracy with which he worked was mesmerizing. I would have loved to buy a carpet for myself, but they were in the hundreds of dollars for even the smallest doormat sizes, which is perfectly reasonable considering they take months from start to finish.

After we left Amir Carpets, we went to the Jantar Mantar observatory. This was probably my favorite place in Jaipur, and it the full realization of the depth of the observatory didn’t hit me until a few days later. The observatory was built from 1727 to 1734 by Maharaja Jai Singh II. It is a large, open collection of enormous astronomical instruments, , that were used for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking the location of stars, and ascertaining the location and distance of planets. All of the instruments were made from local stone, and were built very large in order to increase their accuracy. The Giant Sundial, known as the Samrat Yantra (The Supreme Instrument), is the world's largest sundial, standing 27 meters tall. It is so large you can literally watch the shadow of the sundial move while you check it with your watch, which I definitely did. It’s pretty astounding.

A guy with a henna dipped beard and hair (common among Indian muslims)

Jantar Mantar

The world's largest sun dial

After we had finished and were standing outside the observatory, we saw a man playing a snake charmer’s instrument in front of a snake basket that wasn’t really doing anything. He was literally the most suspicious looking man I’ve ever seen, the moustache made him look like some evil genius who ties women to railroad tracks. Because Anup had regretted not buying one of these instruments back at the Amer Fort, I told him he should just ask that guy for his instrument and I bet he would sell it to him. Sure enough, when Anup offered to buy it the man was more than happy to not only make a profit off of his self-made instrument, but to not work the rest of the day. Unfortunately, since Anup and I look like giant dollar signs in India, he threw out a ridiculous price of 3000 rupees. We laughed and walked away to our car. About 5 minutes later he comes running after our car as we were pulling away, and says he’ll do 2500. We talked him down to 1000 rupees, which was still pretty high, and Anup paid him the money and took the instrument. After we had driven about 4 feet, Anup realized that the piece that allows you to change pitch was missing. Anup yelled out to the guy and he came up to the window. He said he would give back the piece for 100 rupees. I wanted to get out of the car and wring his neck, but Anup paid him and we drove off.

Anup about to get shafted

We went back to the hotel to rest for a few hours. When we had gotten back to our hotel, we realized that the snake charmer man had removed a second piece from the instrument. The piece was literally worth 1 rupee, and it was worth it to him to screw someone over who eagerly paid him a fair price for his homemade instrument. Unbelievable.

Around 5 p.m., we headed out for the Rajasthani food festival, a main attraction in Jaipur. It was a large, open, sandy area filled with food tents and stages with various attractions happening. There were traditional Rajasthani dancers, puppet shows, balancing acts, magic shows, and camel rides. I felt like I was in the movie Aladdin or the book Arabian Nights as I stood in the dark night surrounded by tents and lamplight and camels passing by me. We had been eating food from the tents, but there was a large dinner planned. We had been told you had to pay extra for the dinner, but it was unclear to us whether it was already included in our ticket or not. When dinner time came, I asked the person at the entrance of the dinner area whether we needed a special ticket. He didn’t really answer me but instead just shuffled us in. Anup was upset because he felt like we were stealing, I honestly wasn’t sure myself but it sure wasn’t worth trying to ask the question when nobody around you speaks English. The dinner was delicious. It was a multicourse meal of traditional Rajasthani food, each brought to us consecutively, eaten with your hands.

A guy performing a balancing act with his mouth

Rajasthani dancers

Camel.....pimp

Sitting down to eat

A view of my plate made of banana leaves

After dinner, we left the food festival to go to our hotel for the night.

Jaipur gives me some faith in India’s future. It is the only planned city I’ve been to in India, and it runs like clockwork. Every other city I’ve been to, while amazing in its own way, is essentially newer stuff stacked on top of older stuff stacked on top of yet older stuff, and so on as the need for more space and automobiles mounts. These types of cities do not seem sustainable.