Our thoughts about India

As it is our last blog from India I want to share my thoughts about this country, after spending 2 months here.
I have always wanted to come to India and I’m so glad I finally did. India is a challenge: not everything is easy. Not everything is made for travelers, you have to work extra hard sometimes.
The amount of people everywhere! It can sometimes be a little overwhelming, especially if you had the noise! Horn, people shouting, and the traffic which is one of the most extreme we experienced so far! The rubbish, there are some everywhere: don’t get me wrong, you can always see someone with a small broom sweeping in front of a shop or a house, but it doesn’t seem to have a lot of very regular picking up rubbish system, and it is badly needed.
Indian customs are different than ours: personal space is not understood here, liberties with children (I don’t know how many times, someone touched Andrew or Emma on the cheek or the head or the arm… I know it is meant on a friendly way but still!), understanding the meaning of no, and the stares, lots of them! All those I struggled a bit with.
The things I really didn’t like was some men’s behaviour toward Emma: a couple of time, old creepy blokes grabbed Emma’s hand and didn’t want to let go, or some looks she received, and I knew they weren’t normal look toward an 8-year-old girl. Or that guy who tried to take picture of himself with Andrew and Emma, despite them saying no and us saying no and moving in front of the kids to bloke the view, but they were still taking pictures… That really got to me.
The poverty around is intense. A lot of people are still living in very poor conditions, while others live in great wealth. Seeing the magnificent temples and palaces was amazing, but the disparity is extreme.
There are also some things that I will remember with fondness: the Indian head wobble to say yes: Indian people often when saying yes, will kind of wobble their head from side to side (we struggled at the beginning trying to know if they were saying yes or no!). The colours of India, clothes, decorations, the sarees women wear are always amazingly colourful, I loved that. Music! Drums, music coming from tuktuk or nearby weddings (with fireworks as well), music coming from temples: it seems there is always music coming from somewhere. Tuktuks, despite being extremely annoying in some places, I loved this mode of transportation. You can see so much more of the lives around than in a closed car. I love tuktuk!
The food!!! Indian cuisine can be delicious, it can also be soooo spicy that no taste is able to come through! But when the spices are right, the food is amazing. I am a vegetarian, and I loved that in India the restaurants are mostly Veg and sometimes also non-Veg. I like that in the vocabulary ‘Veg’ is the norm and if you are not veg, you are ‘non-veg’. It was so nice having entire menus where I could eat everything on it!!! I also discovered Masala Chai (black tea made in milk with spices added to it): I am going to miss a good chai so much. That is all I drink at the moment; I especially like the chai with a bit a spice quick to it. Some are sweeter, some not as spicy, I really like a spicy chai (well just the right spiciness).
One experience I really enjoyed was the Bollywood tour. I have always loved the industry of cinema and would have loved to work in it (not as an actor but maybe creating props or set or something along those lines), so seeing some of it was amazing for me.
The places that I really loved were Udaipur and Jodhpur. The history, the architecture, the streets in those cities were amazing. I could have stayed much longer just for the pleasure of taking pictures of all the amazing details you can see there.
The Taj Mahal was also one of the highlights of those 2 months in India. It is absolutely incredible.
If you have even just a slight inkling to come in India, do not hesitate! Yes, you’ll have some not so fun moments, but you will also visit some amazing place, see some wonderful smiles, eat remarkable food and learn so much about this wonderful country.
Mel

Here are my thoughts and feelings about India.
We had no idea what to expect, and I'll admit I was somewhat worried. India is nowhere as tourist friendly as SE Asia, everything is just more difficult here. The people, most of the time are incredibly helpful, but websites don't work and require you to have an Indian number to use, and then there are so many hoops to jump through just to visit somewhere. As I said, the locals are helpful, they know the system and what you need to do, you just have to trust, which can be hard. It's easy to feel ripped off, believe me we certainly have, lots of times. The price for foreigners at tourist spots is often 10 times the price for locals.
We have had all sorts of food, from various places. We have had some of our best meals from the most unlikely of places. Don't be shy to try, we were at the start because we had heard lots of stories about how careful you need to be here, and I think we definitely missed out on some good stuff because of that.
We had troubles in some places getting a Tuktuk, we relied on uber a bit at the start but eventually we learned how much it should cost and to negotiate, and how to get our drivers to understand where we want to go.
What do I think of when I think of India? A country going forwards at a tremendous pace. Motorways being built, metros being built, humongous buildings going up everywhere. Beside that, people living under tarps, with little to nothing, doing whatever they can to survive, barely. There is an absolute shit load of money here, I just wish it would go everywhere it was needed. I have seen disfigured people, that with decent health care, need not have been. Small children wearing rags and filthy, asking for money or trying to sell me something. Not what they should be doing, learning and having fun. Rubbish, absolutely, everywhere. Filth everywhere, open drains running past peoples houses running with disgusting water and rubbish. Emma slipped into one in Jodhpur, all I could think was, I need to clean her and apply antiseptic.
The bloody traffic and their bloody horns! Lunatics let loose with no seatbelts or sense of self preservation. Our last driver here was one of our best, took his time, picked his route and we never felt concerned at all. Even when he drove up the wrong side of the street. They do that a lot here.
This is a very long sum up, so I'll finish with one last sentence.
India has amazed me with its beauty and hospitality, it has also disgusted me with its lack of care for the environment and its people.
Kev

Now I’m going to do a little speech about what I liked about India. My favourite place in India has been Mumbai, it was our 6th stop in India, Mumbai had Bollywood, temples and lots of stuff I will miss. My favourite foods are Aloo Jera, butter naan, dosa, thali and curd, here is the list of stuff I won’t miss: tuktuk drivers, crazy driving, guides, mosquitoes, ATMs, rubbish and more. But I will miss more things than not missing them. Well Andrew india tour is done. Bye bye.
Andrew (10 years old)

I am going to tell you about what I liked about India, what I want to remember about India and what I did not like about India. I like how helpful people are, how kind people are and how cheerful people are. I want to remember how lucky we are, (some people here live in houses made from sticks, cloth, metal. Stuff like that.) the amazing time we had here and how much I love it here. What I did not like about India was how annoying tuktuk drivers can be, how many people live on the street and how the government isn’t helping. My favourite food in India is dal tadka. My favourite place in India is Udupi. I like how yummy the food is. I am sad we have to leave India but I am happy that we are going to Africa.
Emma (8 and a half years old)

Ps: those are pictures taken randomly in the streets of India during our 2 months.Read more