Reflection After my First Trip...

Indiadancer

Hello IM...It's been a while since I posted cause my access to the internet was limited while I was in India. I wanted to write to say a few things. First of all, thank you for all the advice you gave before I left. That said...to those who are panicking about their first trip to India and worrying about every tiny little detail I would say: chill out. All the advice in the world won't quite prepare you for how you will handle India. When you pack, reduce whatever your initial load was by half. You can buy everything in India....even decent bras and underwear. So mainly just relax, read some decent novels by Indian authors and laugh at the funny stories on this site...but don't obsess over details. And for women...the clothing issue is pretty much a non-issue. Not that I didn't fret about it. But I was in Tamil Nadu, the most notoriously conservative sate, for 5 months and I found that I had a lot of fun wearing Indian clothes but it was OK to wear conservative western clothing too. And even the Indian girls don't always wear scarves. Fun beauty tip: coconut oil is amazing for the hair, and vaseline is a cheap and really good way to keep your skin from drying out. Anyway...I'm rambling cause I am so full of post-India thoughts. But I'll say this...I'm definately going back and the sooner the better

Darmabum

How great to hear such a glowing first-timer's report. There are so many trips to be had in India, we hear so many horror stories, not enough good ones. "Chill out" is indeed a good message to keep at the top of all the concerns some people have before going.

Indiadancer, I wish you the best of luck with "finding your place in the world."
Namaste
Scott

Sama

yup, that's exactly what I said in my first post from the "indian interior" -- lay everything out that you think you're going to take then reduce it by half. In fact, I'm taking a smaller bag with me in March.

and the only makeup I'm bringing is mascara (maybe) and lip gloss -- liquid foundation? forget about it.....

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Aussie 5

How right you are Indiadancer - it is all a matter of handling new experiences in a calm way. In the beginning it can be a bit daunting as everything is new and different. But all you need to do is just hang in there for those first few whirlwind days and keep cool while you acclimatise to the new surroundings!

For me I noticed that the drive to Mumbai airport at the end of the trip caused me no concern (even though our taxi driver had a small accident), while the drive the other way a few weeks earlier had left me white-knuckled!!