What I wish I'd known...and what I'm glad I didn't!

greenasgrass

Of course the point of IM is that us newbies are not taking such a leap into the unknown, but I was thinking about the what I would have done if I had wanted to plan a trip to India 15 (or even 10) years ago. How on earth would I have known to take blutack as there will be nothing to hang your mossie net from...? Good ol' Lonely Planet or Rough Guide can only help so much! I'm not sure whether I would have even contemplated going to India without doing so much research beforehand, but there is always a risk that you get too much information before you go and it makes you nervous

If you'd known then what you know now, would it have put you off? Or would it have made you get on that plane faster?! How (and how much) did India differ from what you expected?

Darmabum

I went for the first time in '82 . . . have been back for no less than four months each time in '89, '92, '99-'00 and 2006.

Before going for the first time it was suggested by 'the' guidebook to take my own fork and spoon . . . so I did . . . haven't done it since.

I truly expected nothing on that first trip, and got everything! I have adopted that "expect nothing" policy every time, and every time have gotten much more than I expected each and every time.

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Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure - Marianne Williamson

MrsC_772

The things I was afraid of in India before going (sexual harassment, getting totally stressed by the persistent touts, eaten alive by mosquitos, illness, being repeated ripped off) didn't happen.

The things I'd been looking forward to (architecture, seeing tigers, the food, handicraft shopping) were even better than expected when I got there.

So with hindsight, I'd have got on that plane faster.

mousourik

glad to know that my country can live upto (or exceed) non-Indians' expectations.

anyway, welcome to India (mike), GaG.

Ali-Monbeam

We went for the first time in 2005...but it was fairly insulated as we booked a package. When we got there we instantly wished we hadn't.......got a package that is - and now we do it all independantly.

There was nothing I was afraid of or worried about. (apart from the jabs before hand) Hubby didn't know we were going till we got to the airport, I organised it for a surprise on our 25th anniversary. (and the jab nurse was in on it too)
But he loved it from getting off the plane! (and me too of course) also we too would have gone much sooner and taken the children too, but money was a little tight in those days.

PeakXV

The 'value-added' to the 'shock & awe' of a first time experience may well be inversely proportional to the degree of preparedness and/or knowledgability you disembark with. How one can ever rate or apply a point system to this 'element of surprise' that one experiences probably hasn't been invented yet though.

My only resource was an older Indian colleague who had grown up in India and left for Canada as a young man. I'd asked him many questions to ready myself for the business side of the trip which although helpful - was all too brief & unrevealing to the stage, atmosphere & characters that I was about to witness.

The question is what would I still be unprepared for in seeing should I leave this Autumn (after 2+ years on Indiamike) instead of Autumn '95?

Certainly the smells, the colors, & the circus like feeling of it all is not impressionable nor easily describable via the internet. Specifically I remember seeing an early morning procession of men who appeared to be in bleached pampers or underwear one day ..... the oddest thing about it all(and this happens often) was that no one else was paying the least bit of attention to this strange parade of half-naked & over weight Indians marching down the center of the road. Although I believe them now to be Jains or somehow related to a Jain religious celebration - it would be events like this that occur often and out of the blue that are impossible to research and ready yourself for - even in this day & age.

I also remember wandering down Janpath(in '95) and thinking that I'd somehow gotten off track and entered the slum district of Delhi . I soon learned better but in my defence there were cows wandering, intoxicating incense burning, rusting metal, peeling paint, touts touting, hawkers hawking, a dollop of shit steaming on my shoe, & a dusty, smoggy glaze to distort it all not unlike tear gas in a protest riot. Even today with Indiamike and the plethora of photos & accounts on this site - I feel it would be hard not have the same initial impression of that area.

On the other hand Indiamike has taught me much about Indian Life and what to expect including Sadhus. I would not be as gobsmacked with their passing as I was on my first visit. Back then I was unsure if they were man or beast, or if they were a man raised by beasts - like mowgli was. Today through Indiamike's great photos & other internet portals I have learned the reason of their guise and why they go about living the life they live ....... which has finely demystified it all for me!

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We shall not cease from exploration and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started ...and know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot

Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

wonderwomanusa

Well, there were times, you know, before Blutax was invented and some of us survived in India just fine.

No bottled water, so we either boiled it, or purified it with iodine.

No guidebooks to speak of, so we got recommendations from others on the road and wrote it in our journals. For those of us who went by land from Europe, we needed info about Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as about India, so the journals were thick with info.

In those days, we carried our own blankets, because the railroad charged for a bedroll, and we were in 3rd class, anyway.

Those trips to India were a lot more mysterious in many ways; it was easier to make mistakes, and maybe we had to be a bit more creative when hanging a mossie net though I dunno, because I've never carried one.

India was everything I wanted, though it didn't always behave the way I expected it to. And ya know, it still doesn't always do what I expect it to do! And I'm still happy about that!