India
Prithvi Park

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    • Day 24

      Delhi

      August 6, 2023 in India ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C

      This was our last stop before heading home and what a treat it was. Our hotel was a beautiful building in the Diplomatic Enclave, wide quiet streets and forests nearby and lovely staff and food.
      We went to the Delhi Cathedral for our first English mass in months.
      In the morning, we started with a guided walk through old Delhi which certainly awakened all our senses! We visited a Hindu Jain temple and then walked through the Hindu area, tasting some samosas and Jelibee. Then we walked towards the Islamic section near the magnificent mosque. Our guide was Hindu but had a great respect for all religions so we learned a lot. She also took us to a Sikh temple (one on each day) and saw how they provided meals to anyone, 24 hours a day. We were able to walk through the kitchens too. An amazing service they offer. Some 30,000 meals are served daily and everyone who helps in anyway are all volunteers.
      We walked through the spice markets with a huge selection of spices, chillies and things we’d never seen before, all surrounded by crazy traffic and horns honking. The city is so alive! The evening market, Delhi Haat, was much more sedate and calming.
      Our guides in Delhi were so knowledgeable and balanced so we had great discussions about religion, politics and anything else.
      We said goodbye to Mr Singh, our amazingly patient and caring driver who made us feel safe and comfortable all the time.
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    • Day 26

      Indian Reflections

      August 8, 2023 in India ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

      This final post is motivated by the questions we got when we returned home and the reaction to the answers so they may be worth sharing. The question was “would you go back?” Answer “yes, absolutely”. Reaction “ Why? It is interesting that this would have been our reaction before going too.

      Before arriving in India we were very apprehensive and probably a bit unsure whether we would enjoy it or not. This was mostly driven by perceptions and the fear of the unknown. We had been warned about so many things, getting sick from the water and the street food, the spicy food, the dangerous driving, the lack of personal space, crowds, being hassled by beggars and vendors trying to flog something you didn’t want, “baksheesh” or the art of seeking tips, pickpockets, the cows in the roads, the rabid dogs, the lack of English, etc. So, it is no wonder we entered with apprehension.

      By the end of our visit we were quite comfortable with our surroundings and were a lot more adventurous. Looking back we can see that while all the risks may be present at a point in time, and while we needed to be aware of them, they shouldn’t stop us from seeing the local life through a positive lens and manage the risks accordingly . This was made a whole lot easier for us through knowledge gained, understanding and allowing time to acclimatise. As a first visit to India, we appreciated staying with people we either knew and people they knew so they could be trusted. When we didn’t know people, we stayed in good, safe hotels where we could have our own safe space, and we had a driver taking us everywhere and visiting major sites and shopping with a guide. I’m sure we could be more adventurous on future visits. We were fortunate to see so many aspects of Indian life, from the poorest of small villages to the large bustling city of Delhi, accommodation from the basics, with cold water and buckets to bath and noisy fans to the luxury of air conditioned 5 star hotels to spoil ourselves.

      We had a wonderful time overall and we’re grateful that our experiences were all so positive. India is a vibrant, fascinating country with warm and friendly people. Well worth visiting!

      Some specific insights and reflections

      Driving
      The first reaction to driving is that it seems highly dangerous and chaotic. Cars, busses, trucks, motorbikes, auto rickshaws, people, dogs and cows all coming from different angles with the constant sound of horns making it feel like an accident is going to happen any any time. Lane markings seem like guidelines.
      The reality is completely different. Somehow, all these users manage to move around with some strange sort of harmony and maintain and flow without accidents. Their mindset is different. If we tried to have that many cars and users in the same space, the traffic would just come to a stop as there is not enough space. We would wait for a gap that would never appear and we would constantly be cursing others for cutting us off.
      Here, they don’t need a gap, they make one movement and then others around adapt. They weave in and out knowing others around them could move at any time. They expect to be cut-off or shepherded to one side. Towards the end we were quite comfortable and even crossed busy roads on foot by moving into spaces. It is not chaotic, but deliberate and moving in a co-ordinated manner. I’d love to see some drone footage - a bit like synchronised swimming maybe.

      Cows
      We knew cows were considered sacred so just couldn’t understand why they would allow them to wander wherever they wanted, often in dangerous situations where they could be killed at any time. It is not unusual to see a cow lying in the right hand land or middle lane of a 3 lane highway, or on a busy street or roundabout. Our guide told us it is not dangerous for them as people will stop or avoid them. People will actually come and leave grass or food for the cows on the street. We asked why they were sacred and one explanation was that linking a new rule to a religious belief was often more likely to be successful that just changing a rule. Cows were not always sacred but became a currency. His story was that way back in time, cows were becoming short in number and they feared extinction. Cow milk was valuable for humans due to poor nutrition levels when mothers could not produce enough milk for their babies as they grew and cow milk was the only milk babies could digest. So, they wanted to encourage people to look after cows.

      Dogs
      There are street dogs everywhere. They are not sacred and also seem to survive. They have amazing Road sense. Again, a traffic hazard that I’m sure will need to be resolved. Because the Hindu religion believes in reincarnation and karma, all animals should be treated with respect as they could be ancestors in another form.

      Shopping
      Shopping can be a stressful activity, mostly because you have no idea of the price of an item and you know it could take longer than necessary to complete the transaction. It was made harder when we were taken into a co-operative on our tours, where some sort of artisans were at work, either making block print textiles and clothing, paintings or artwork, gem stone cutting, etc. the drill is that they show you how they do their trade and then take you to the warehouse. You feel obliged to buy something but often don’t want it. The guide was probably getting a cut from the sale too. Towards the end we tried to buy from market stalls. Having a local with us at times certainly made it easier.

      Beggars
      Indians do not encourage giving money to beggars. They are very generous with people trying to earn money and there are several places to get a free meal. If you give one something, you will be quickly surrounded by others. Some of the young kids are used to beg for the parents from an early age. The gypsies also appear to be poor but apparently can be quite wealthy. However we certainly didn’t see as many beggars as we expected. Ideally we should have had food with us to give.

      Tipping
      People are generally very happy to help with whatever you need. This is helped by the practice of giving a small tip for almost anything, posing for a photo, a magic trick, carrying your bag, providing a clean toilet, pointing out a great photo spot, anything. It works very well and there is a sense that they are at least trying to earn a living. Having a pocket full of small change is essential.

      Language
      Most people can speak some English because local language changes from state to state and often a few dialects in a state. Hindi is the most common language spoken.

      Religion
      There is freedom of Religion and generally everyone is very accepting and respectful towards all religions. 80% of the population is Hindu and the balance is Muslim, Sikh and various forms of Christianity. Politically, there is more religious tension and a concern that there is too much active conversion to Muslim or Christianity. Only 1% of the total population are Christian and these are mainly in the South, where it is as high as 35%. When we were there, we noticed a huge Christian presence but very little further North. In the South, there is concern that if the present Hindu government wins the general election in 2024, they may put a ban on conversions and any international funding. The government is promoting the concept of India as a the only place which could be called a “Hindu Nation”. Watching this space will be interesting.

      Food
      We tried so many new dishes which varied based on what was locally grown. In the South, where the rice is grown, everything is about rice and a huge variety of rice breads, buns, cakes, noodles, etc. in the North where the wheat is grown it is more of the breads, Naans, Roti, etc, all served with a variety of curry dishes, mostly vegetarian and chicken. With the ocean close by there was plenty of Fish in the South. We also had some lovely desserts made with rice, milk, fruit, honey and beautiful spices like cinnamon and cardamom. They accommodated foreigners with medium spicy food and we did not have a single bad reaction to any food in the 4 weeks. The masala tea was delicious too.

      Hospitality
      The Indian people were warm and friendly and genuinely grateful that we were visiting them. The tourism and hotel staff would always greet you with a warm smile and nothing was too much trouble. The tour operators that organised our last 8 days would check in daily and would phone the hotel and local tour guides to ensure everything was perfect. They were genuinely delighted when we chose the local option, either food or drink and then went out of their way to explain it to us and to make sure it was perfect. They loved it when we wore their traditional outfits too.

      Government / politics
      The politics is very interesting and very different depending on who you talk to. The next election is early in 2024 so it was quite topical. The majority of people we spoke to in the North were Hindu and well educated. They gave a balanced view of the politics. Giving examples of good and bad but the overwhelming perception was that they liked Modi because he was a man of action and got things done. The stories of rapid infrastructure development and make their living better were common, improving the provision of basic services. They also had a sense of hope that India was moving forward on the international stage and they were important. They also believed he as doing a good job in reducing corruption at the central level and with issues that impact the poor.

      The South was a different story as the Modi party is not in power in those states. Development has been much slower there as the states and central government argue on priorities. The view there is also that the central government is clamping down on other religions poaching their people by actively converting then to Islam or Christianity and they give examples of where good Christian activities are shut down by government or drowned with administrative red tape, including not granting visas to visitors from other religions or preventing money coming in to support other religion activities. This is political only as the people on the ground from various religions work together for common good.

      The opposition parties (17 of them) have formed a sort of coalition for the next elections as they believe Modi will increasingly exert his power with a 3rd term in office. While some people believe that is not a bad thing they know that development and infrastructure growth will stall as no decisions will be made.
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    • Day 3

      INDIA PART 1

      March 23 in India ⋅ 🌩️ 34 °C

      Alright yeah sorry these are getting outta order really struggling to motivate myself to write Vietnam part 2 after I finished writing it and then it got deleted. Last minute India trip wasn’t initially something I intended to do, but thanks to Martin for convincing me to go with him. India was totally surreal. Crazy to finally go to the country I’ve heard so much about. We flew into Delhi and arrived in the afternoon. We took the train to Connaught place where we were staying which is when I had my first classic India encounter, an attempted scam. I had to pay something like 20 rupees for the train, and I gave the man at the kiosk 100. He was going to give me back 80 rupees in change (in 20 rupee bills), and counted it out in front of me, 20, 40, 60, 80. And he gives it to me after a moment and I walk away and when I go to count my change, the fucker only gave me 60 rupees back! I was furious, not because of the lack of money (it was a minuscule amount) but the principle of it. I hadn’t been in India for an HOUR and I was already seeing some of the stereotypes that people always say about India. Not a good look. Anyways I went back to the kiosk and told the man he gave me the wrong change and he sheepishly gave it back to me. He probably thought I wouldn’t notice. Anyway, that started me off on the wrong foot but it was a smooth sailing train ride from there. We got off and walked to our homestay and got harassed by random people asking us for taxis or “telling us which direction to go” which I didn’t really trust. We dropped our stuff off and grabbed our laptops and went to go look for a coffee shop. We had to find a place to do work so we could truly relax for the rest of the trip. I had a delicious biscoff milkshake. They love their biscoff over here and I’m all for it that shit SLAPS. After working we explored the centre of Connaught Place and watched a little water show at sunset and it was gorgeous. The massive Indian flag waving in the breeze was nice. By this point I’m feeling better about India. We got a recommendation from our very chatty innkeeper, which normally wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact check in took forever, so we ended up waiting even longer because of this dudes yap. We went to a less nice area but more authentically Indian for a place that apparently had some great naan. My goal was to eat as much naan and prata as I could and I’m happy to say that it was a success. We tried to order and I had to ask in my classic fashion if there was nuts in our meal, and we were getting nowhere, but luckily this young dude who was in university in Delhi who spoke great English and Hindi clutched up. We ate with him and chatted for awhile. Super nice guy! After we ate we explored the area for a bit but headed back to our inn rather early because we had to get up pretty early for our tour of Delhi. We woke up and had a small breakfast at our inn that consisted of eggs coffee and some ham. Solid enough, it was free too. We took an Uber (feels weird not saying Grab) to where our bus would pick us up. It was not what I expected, it was literally just an old public bus that was now being used as a tour bus. Our first stop was this little Hindi temple that was nice but nothing special. Next up was the Red Fort, an iconic place that was where the royals resided. It was very red, that’s for sure. I bought my Indian fridge magnet here (got one from every country except for Indonesia since I been there before). We explored it for awhile then hopped back on our bus. Not before taking photos with a bunch of locals though, they probably were excited by a Chinese and white guy travelling around together. Next on the list was Humayan’ tomb. Such a cool spot. Gorgeous architecture, and felt like a mini Taj Mahal. I believe it influenced the creation of the Taj Mahal, so almost literally a mini one. We even saw them filming the end of the French Amazing Race. Hella dope. By this point we needed some lunch, so we decided not to go into the next spot and instead find some food, and we made the right call because it was just this big spire thing. We had a nice coffee and sandwich at this surprisingly hip/nice coffee shop. Our next spot was this small little park that was dedicated to some famous Indian dude or something. Probably the least interesting place we went too, but that was alright because the next three places were all bangers. Next up was the Delhi gate, a massive champs élysées type vibe near the parliament buildings of the country. I got some much needed ice cream finally after being picky with everywhere else we had been. Probably my second favourite spot not including Taj Mahal. What one my favourite spot was next up, the Lotus temple. It was a modern spin on the idea of a Hindu temple and it was shaped like a lotus. I don’t really fuck with religious ceremonies but I would’ve loved to sit there for an hour listening to something like that. Would definitely recommend. We headed to our final spot of the day: The Akshardam temple. After a bit of a struggle getting through security we were greeted by an absolutely stunning temple of the likes that I have never seen before. There was a ton of elephant art around it that had little stories explaining how elephants were relevant in past India. Would’ve loved to stay longer but we were pretty burnt out after the entire day of travel. We arrived back at our inn and hung out for a bit before getting picked up for dinner my Joy. It was my first time meeting him! So cool. He took us to this restaurant nearby that me and Martin had walked by the day before thinking it was super fancy. What a coincidence. We ate some great food (the naan is the only part I remember obviously) and then grabbed some (mid) ice cream for dessert. Me and Martin headed back early to prep for our next day: a journey to Agra to see the muffackin Taj Mahal! We woke up early and hopped in our private car and started the drive to Agra. We made a quick pit stop and got some Indian Pizza Hut (average) and after a couple shows and a nap later, we met up with our tour guide, and BOOM Taj Mahal. Yea its as cool as it looks. Super beautiful and absolutely breathtaking. I was stunned. We explored it for awhile taking as many photos as possible then headed out for lunch, where, I can say I had the best naan of the entire trip. Goated spot. We had the option to check out the Mini Taj, but decided against it as we wanted to make it back to Delhi in time for dinner. Before we left, we went to a shop for a little demonstration on how they make art from the same material used in the Taj Mahal. The shopkeeper was super friendly and we both bought little trinkets. We took our drive back to Delhi and went for dinner at this hip little area that reminded me of Vancouver in a way. We ate, and then I had a glorious Alaska cheesecake ice cream sundae that was probably the best dessert I’ve had in Asia. Afterwards, we headed back to our hostel. And that concludes part 1.Read more

    • Day 16

      Our last day in Delhi 🥲

      November 7 in India ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      On our last day in Delhi/India we did nothing special. We just got our last bits and pieces and went to a huge shopping centre for killing some time. Aaaaaaand we got about 4.5kg of Indian sweets 😅 anyone around, who wants to try?

      In the afternoon, we got some rest and prepared everything for flying back home.
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    • Day 3

      Inside the old town

      March 31, 2023 in India

      We continue our tour of Delhi and of course we cannot miss the tour of the old town also known as the seventh city. Narrow streets, tangled and messy cables, markets and women in colourful clothes blend perfectly into the city. Of course we couldn't miss the tuktuk ride, so off we go!Read more

    • Day 44

      Empieza la vuelta

      October 12, 2022 in India ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      Después de terminar de recoger mis cosas y del desayuno, mi amiga de la escuela y yo hemos puesto rumbo al aeropuerto de Jaipur para coger nuestro primer vuelo dirección a Delhi.

      En el aeropuerto han sido bastante lentos con la entrega de las maletas, y después el vuelo llevaba un poco de retraso, pero hemos estado juntas así que se ha hecho más ameno.

      El vuelo ha sido una hora aproximadamente, pero la sorpresa ha llegado, cuando esperando las maletas, la de mi amiga no ha aparecido…
      Ha empezado la odisea para averiguar dónde estaba, y resulta que se la han dejado en el aeropuerto de Jaipur porque en teoría llevaba un mechero en la maleta, y en India no se puede llevar en los viajes,
      Por lo menos le han informado que llegaría en el siguiente vuelo y le daría tiempo a no perder el suyo.

      Es grande la desesperación que se crea en situaciones así y más en un país en el que cuesta bastante entenderse… pero mi amiga me ha enseñado a no perder la calma y a aceptar las situaciones como vienen.

      Muchas horas de espera en el aeropuerto, pero una vez entregada la maleta, he podido comer, entrar en las tiendas, pasear y las horas han pasado un poco más rápidas.

      A la 1:50 de la madrugada ha empezado el embarque, y cuando ya estaba encima del avión he podido cambiarme de sitio, en una zona con menos gente donde he podido estar en una fila para mi sola y acostarme.

      Y después del despegue y con casi 10 horas de vuelo por delante, voy a intentar dormir un poquito.
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    • Day 1

      Arrive in Delhi

      February 18, 2018 in India ⋅ 🌫 23 °C

      -Arrived in Delhi at 8am
      -passed cows and lots of honking traffic on the way to the hotel
      -Sandeep met me at the hotel and we went to the Lotus temple; Bahai faith temple, very cool structure like the Opera House, took off our shoes and went inside
      -drive to Gandhi Smitri; memorial for Gandhi in a huge garden area, very nice!
      -spoke to mum and dad
      -had some coconut water straight out of the coconut!
      -went to Connaught Place and had lunch/dinner at Townhouse Cafe; had kingfisher beer, spinach kebabs, bunny chow paneer, dal and paneer tikka marsala
      -walked through Pilaka Bazaar; an underground market maze!
      -most Indians are vegetarian because they believe animals have emotions whereas vegetables don't and so they are not harming anyone by eating them
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