Most embarrassing moment in India?

bijapuri

You realize, I hope, that you must return to Ma India to repay that poor man his 10 chips, Darth. At least that's what you can run by your boss, see if he gives you the time off- worth a try, isn't it

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Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
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lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/

Utube fuzzy logic:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

cyberhippie

A had a very embarresing one this year in Badami one which I vow to put right some time!!
My wife and I were bumping around the main market in Badami, when we spotted a Bel Puri stall, we looked at each other and though yeah lets.
So we went over and ordered two Bel Puri!!
The guy started mixing together puffed rice etc. We looked at each other and said to him "NO bel Puri......" He nodded vigorously and continued what he was doing, "NO BEL PURI" yes yes he replied eyeing the mixture in front of him.
After another two minutes of this we gave up convinced the guy was taking us for a ride!!
Only as the Indian members will probably already have guessed it was in fact Bel Puri he was making for us!!
By some freak of nature everywhere else we had been had served us Sev Puri (which is altogether different and very tasty) in the place of Bel Puri telling us that this was Bel Puri.
It was only when we talked to our taxi driver the howler came to light, the poor guy had only been serving us what we asked for and these two dumb tourists thought they knew better!
I'll have to buy ten of everything the next time I'm in Badami!

Wanderer22

That's quite a story Bij. I got one this past March in Chennai... Last stop on the trip.. Getting ready to fly home.... Mad scramble to buy gifts for GFs back home. Started by looking in yellow pages. Essential oils for arroma therapy... silks... gold. This was going to be an interesting shopping trip. Next step get a car and driver for the day.... First stop was the street of attar wallas. Looking out the window I noticed that we passed over several canals. Your nose picks them up about a block sooner than than your eyes do. The nose and all the senses get a real "work out" in India. Finally the driver stops and says "This is as far as I can go with the car sahib.. It's down that lane. I'll wait here" At least that's what I understood him to say. Unfortunately I did't use my little digital recorder to take down his directions... Got lost in a maze of alleys...Asked directions... Got lost again. Finally found the shop. It's locked up tighter than a drum! Dummy! It's noon time and everything closes. A shop a few doors down was open late so all was not lost. Went in and asked if they had what I was looking for? I asked about several oils and they had all of them. Next came a choice of quality. Asked what the best grade cost and was it REAL jasmine boof. If any of you are Tom Robbins fans and have read Jitter Bug Perfume you will know what Jasmine boof is. The stopper gets pulled from the bottle... Before I could jerk my hand away the scent walla dabbed the stopper on the sleeve of my last clean kurta. It's potent stuff indeed Damn! I'm 100% hetro guy and don't normally smell like this. Perhaps it will fade quickly?
Got everything on the list except the tuberose absolute... 22,000 Rps for half a litre was more than was needed and smaller bottles were not available. This one was in a sealed metal flask, so was probably even more potent than what was reeking on my kurta. Would not want to carry that much in baggage either. What if it broke? Paid the man and attempted to find the car. About this time I was wishing I'd packed a GPS, but that would have made it too easy. Got lost a couple more time. Got into traffic jams when cars and bullock carts tried to go opposite directions in the narrow lanes. Got lost some more. Finally made it back to the car trailing jasmine all the way. Good thing I didn't run into a band of hijras.
Next stops were in Mylapore for silks and some jewelry. Females are expensive.... They like to be spoiled... Are you listening Nick?
Back over the canals but this time was different. I'd found a use for the jasmine sleeve Picking out silks and gold was fairly straight forward, but was constantly aware of the aroma my shirt exuded and if the clerks (all guys) thought I was of indeterminate gender. Yes embarassing... But just the sort of thing that is normal when travelling in India. Guess I'll have to have to upload some of the photos shot while all this was going on? Perhaps it's a good thing smells can't be attached to messages here on India Mike?

Wanderer22

bijapuri

happy to let y'all in on my having achieved 20 years alcohol and drug free last week. Now you know just one of many, many reasons . . . . (thanx, Bill W. Saheb)

Wanderer22

Congratulations Bij. Just uploaded a photo to celebrate the event.

Say No

I'm back on the wagon myself. Had several cool Kingfishers while in India without adverse effects, but often get quite ill from alcohol. Not intoxication, more akin to an allegic reaction. Must be my wonky liver.

W22

ChrisJ

Well done Bij,

I really admire you for that.

Chris

ChrisJ

Reading some of there replies makes me think of earlier times I had forgotten!

My first trip - I was only 18 and a bit "green" and had spent most of my time in Mumbai/down south.

We got an expess train from Chennai and ended up at new Delhi railway station.(first time I had been in Delhi) We were due to meet some guys at the hotel Navrang in the Main Bazaar. We got off the train and jumped in a cab: "Hotel Navrang please" I said in a confident manner - like I knew exactly where it was I needed to be

The taxi driver quite happily drove us all of 400 meters from the station carpark to the hotel (In the days when taxis were allowed into the Main Bazaar) and promptly charged me Rs 150. for the ride. I felt too much of a dickhead to argue!!

Ho hum. . .

whatsilliness

WOW!!!
i cant frickin' wait to get culture shocked out of my wits, get totally jipped by a rickshaw while being taken to a hotel that is also going to jip me off, all while being called "Friend" and then probably calling home (also) in tears! on how im a stupid impractical american girl and how india doesnt like me only to then find a little hole in the wall restaurant and eat some of the most delicious food in the world, people watch, and sweat buckets from the spice and heat, then wander out to one of the many temples and be amazed at the sensuality of the architecture and wonder how is it that humanity can have so many discrepancies between their art and ideals and reality, then turn around to see a man with a beautiful face offer me a mango from one of the vibrant bustling markets of the south! and to walk away with mango juice dripping down my cheeks only to be attacked by a monkey!
i cant wait i cant wait i cant wait!!

and if you think that was sarcastic-- it wasnt!

i feel like india will be a humongous whirlpool in which i will be simulatenously spinning faster then the entire world and yet standing stationary in the middle, in the quiet.
i cannot wait for india to break and remake my ideals in so many ways that i cant even image.

my flight is in 18 days!!

this is a great thread. it shows all of us' travellers incredible humanity.

machadinha

LOL *cough* yes reminds me of my first arrival at New Delhi Station. I got out at the wrong side of the station, couldn't find my bearings from what I'd been told and got a cab. The ride seemed to take quite a bit longer than what I'd had in mind and sure enough we ended up somewhere with the other side of the building in sight! Anyway not wanting to make a fuss I paid whatever the price was (not too inflated if I remember correctly) thinking OK this is the introductory rate. Only much later did I find out that at the time at least there was no direct way from the backside to the frontside of the station. The prepaid taxis were actually more expensive!

Ahh all those stories of oldtimers not to get ripped off do get at you don't they. To ease my mind I met up with a South African I believe later who had himself happily trucked around and put up in hotels for the first few days for what he believed to be very reasonable prices -- compared to his hometown yes!! Hey if you've got a buck to crack someone's gonna take it I guess, he wasn't any unhappier for it.

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Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

skell

That's great! Congratulations!

Indojingai

wow.. you people are fantastic. (Not to patronize or anything...)

reading this thread tells me 2 things:
- Not all the travellers are your ususal spoiled son-of-a-rich types.
They can handle the fact that India is largly a poor country, can see thru
the dirt and grime and manage to find whatever goodness there is.

- I have learnt things about India from this site, foreign travellers etc that I
never knew in living there for 25 years!!


Adios amigos.

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wonderwomanusa

Bij, congratulations -- and best wishes for many more clean and sober years!

edwardseco

Using the woman's section of the fields near "my" village and some things worse..

Dr Funkenstein

Rob's one rings a bell with me. I lost the plot completely in Hyderabad, too.

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Dr Funkenstein

LMAO at Bijapuri's story!

And congratulations on staying clean and sober. Nice one, mate.