what did i think of india

Captain caveman · Jan 5th, 2007, 02:10

I think maybe we should have a thread... what did i think.

just got back from a month in India... boy was i shocked

I loved the things that i got to see... but there were definite drawbacks to India.

i can honestly say that i didn't LOVE india but i didn't hate it. I won't miss being treated the way i was and i certainly won't miss the cow/human excrement on the streets and men with bladders the size of a pea taking a pee on every street corner

my favourite place was Udaipur and second was Jodhpur, my least favourite was pushkar (just hated it).

funniest moment - too many really but one was trying to get up the busiest platform at midnight in Delhi with my pack on in what can only be described as rush hour... i seriously thought i was going to end up on the line

scariest moment - being dumped in the backstreets of Delhi at 2am by the 2nd tuk tuk driver who claimed to know where my hotel was and didn't

the biggest surprise to me was the level of dishonesty in everyone that i met. I got to the point where i didn't trust anybody and became very cynical of even a "hello".

i feel like i achieved much on my trip, perhaps thanks to india

thanks to all users on here... the help was invaluable in getting me around india and home in one piece.... shame my luggage didn't get the same treatment

wonderwomanusa · Jan 5th, 2007, 02:57

So you were in India for a month... where? Delhi and Rajasthan?

Friend, you were on the main tourist trail, and yes, it's easy to feel like a "target" in those places.

I hope there will be a "next time" for you. Get off the beaten path and go places where you may not see a fellow traveler for three or four days. I guarantee that you'll be treated well and have a much better time.

blue_lotus · Jan 5th, 2007, 04:43

I am so sorry that you had some bad time in India. I haven't been to the area you were, so I can't comment on that. But I had a trip to south India of 2 weeks recently (Bangalore, Mysore, Cochin, Madurai, Munnar), I had almost totally opposite experience. I certainly miss the way I was treated in India. Those are trourist places, so I had plenty of encounters of aggressive vendors, but most of the time people just came up to greet me without any monetory agenda. When I was in Bangalore botanic garden, a group of senior citizens doing yoga showed me some special trees in that park, in Madurai people in the neighborhood near the big temple invited me to their ritual, in Cochin I made good friends with a rickshaw driver... Those are just a few examples of what happened to me everyday. I felt like an honored guest of this big family, people always smiled to me and made sure I was OK, when I was simply looking around, someone may ask if I was lost...

Of course India is not perfect, for example, I don't think it's a good idea for people and animals to so closely to each other with all the waste... But I just can't wait to go back.

I sincerely hope there is a next time for you, and it may help if you get away from the most tourist area...

ddevadatta · Jan 5th, 2007, 06:36

This is a surprising conclusion Captain in my own experience. Either people love India or they hate it. I have seen that for 25 years and I can honestly say that yours was the first I ever heard of neither loving it or hating it. You have blown my perefct record keeping.

Take a break from India and perhaps some day when things sink in, if they ever do, it might be another opprtunity to visit India. Thanks for sharing your experience...

goangoangone · Jan 5th, 2007, 07:05

I think you enjoyed your visit.

ranjan154 · Jan 5th, 2007, 07:32

Hi Captain,

I think you will have to come again here, to atleast decide whether you really liked or hated

beach · Jan 5th, 2007, 15:22

Sorry to know that...

There is a post by me somewhere here that calls itself "The India Confusion". May be you would find some solace there....

machadinha · Jan 5th, 2007, 15:31

The India confusion!!!

Nick-H · Jan 5th, 2007, 15:44

Mach... How do you do it?

IndiaMike Librarian of the Year!

Captain caveman · Jan 5th, 2007, 18:06

thanks beach.... i read that with interest.

i can't believe how relevant it was

. I did enjoy my time in india but i must say that it took me at least 2 weeks to deal with all that it threw at me. I returned to Delhi after 3 weeks to have a totally different experience to my first few days... i think this was because i hadn't found the "financial place" the first time i went and i didn't know how to take the constant battering of touts, taxis, hawkers, tuk tuks etc.etc.

i think one of the biggest cultural things that unnerved me was the staring. I tried to work out if they were staring because i was female or that i was just foreign. I think sometimes it was both but you could sense a difference in the nature of their staring. I think culturally this made me uncomfortable because by western standards it is rude to stare

but they had no concept of this

I found Pushkar really bad for this even though they must see hoardes of tourists there.

I also struggled to deal with the double standards in India. The images displayed are western, sexually orientated etc. yet i was shouted at in the street in Varanasi ? i had on jeans and a three quarter sleeved shirt that was not tight fitting

Like i said... i did enjoy my time in india but it did baffle me. There are other parts of India that intrigue me so who knows if i will return

machadinha · Jan 5th, 2007, 18:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

IndiaMike Librarian of the Year!

There's a couple of posts I'm very fond of I guess

So praise be to Beach-ji

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain caveman

I did enjoy my time in india but i must say that it took me at least 2 weeks to deal with all that it threw at me. I returned to Delhi after 3 weeks to have a totally different experience to my first few days... i think this was because i hadn't found the "financial place" the first time i went and i didn't know how to take the constant battering of touts, taxis, hawkers, tuk tuks etc.etc.

Very recognizable really, good description, it was exactly the same for me (including the joyful return!) Maybe we're not being negative fools then when gently trying to caution people looking to "do" the whole place in a first month. Sadly they are typically not the ones to call back in after their trip to let us know how they fared & that we can save the trouble of our undue worries in the future.

astaffy · Jan 6th, 2007, 09:53

Also just got back, was in India for 6 weeks for the first time, We were in Kerela, Goa, Bombay, Rajasthan, Agra and Varanasi, we had a unforgetable time, we loved everyplace we went until the last week where we went to Agra and Varanasi, these cities are so touristy that we felt so abused we were not treated as a person just a dollar sign, it is unfortunate we had to end our trip on such a sour note, as we could not wait to get home after our experiences in these 2 cities and before that we wanted to stay longer. If I can give anyone good advice it would be that you just stay in Agra long enough to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort and then get out, about 6 hours will do it, and also go to Hardiwar on the Ganges not dirty and touristy, wish I would have taken the advice instead of going my own way and hating Varanasi.

sbhikes · Jan 14th, 2007, 06:35

I, too, neither loved India nor hated it. I definitely was traumatized by it.

I have a recumbent tricycle at home (this is relevant I swear.) When I ride the trike I get a lot of attention. People stare and point and ask questions. When I got home from India I took my trike out for a ride. I just couldn't bear the attention. It was too much like India. I have put it back in the garage. Maybe someday I'll be able to ride it again.

Yesterday at the store a man behind me was looking at my money. That bothered me very much. Then he asked me if I could make change for his $20. I went ballistic on him. I still haven't gotten over how everybody wanted my money all the time and the lack of privacy and having people barge into your space.

We have a lot of hiking trails where I live. I feel like I've discovered them anew. America is an amazingly beautiful, clean, pristine, Wild place. It is not all covered with plastic bags and bottles. India's environmental destruction has made me love America more.

I may return some day. I like adventure. I like comparing the cultural differences. I like the way you learn about yourself and your own culture by visiting another. I loved seeing the temples and the beautiful ladies' clothing and the food. But the US is my home. It's likely if I ever return to Asia I'll go to Nepal again. For me Nepal inspired the joy and homecoming that I read about on India Mike, but India did not. And yet I didn't hate India.

almond · Jan 19th, 2007, 22:42

Even I as an Indian am incessantly stared at, I usually feel if something is seriously wrong with me. And I do not do anything different to others.

Yes, I get the feeling it is due to the fact that I probably do look 'fresh' or you can say 'unmolested' by India. Probably that stirs something up in people that leads to stares.

Norway · Jan 20th, 2007, 00:54

Hi,

I came home from Hyderabad a week ago. I neither love or hate it either. I just hated all the traffic and the noises. In one way I hated all the contrasts, but in another way, India wouldn't have been interesting without the contrasts either. All the poor people and the beggars was a bad experience, but it also gave me memories I will never forget. I gave a little girl sweets and buiscuits. I will never forget her eyes when I left her, they are burned into my mind.

Why did all the taxi-drivers said they knew where we were going, when it came out they didn't have a clue? They all nodded and said : "yes, yes", but in the end, they had to call a friend to ask where to go...

The food... Oh yes, I was a chicken, BUT the vegetarian food was SO nice. I just LOVE the food... and the naan - buttered naan... YUMMI!

Everybody treated us very well, still some school-children laughed at us at the Golconda fort.

I think they thought we looked funny...

I have lots of good memories from India and because I don't live there I can laugh about all things I didn't like. It's kind of "charming" after one week, but I don't think I would have thought the same after a month or two...

C.

Jan 5th, 2007, 02:10	#1
Captain caveman Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: West Yorkshire, England Posts: 16	what did i think of india I think maybe we should have a thread... what did i think. just got back from a month in India... boy was i shocked I loved the things that i got to see... but there were definite drawbacks to India. i can honestly say that i didn't LOVE india but i didn't hate it. I won't miss being treated the way i was and i certainly won't miss the cow/human excrement on the streets and men with bladders the size of a pea taking a pee on every street corner my favourite place was Udaipur and second was Jodhpur, my least favourite was pushkar (just hated it). funniest moment - too many really but one was trying to get up the busiest platform at midnight in Delhi with my pack on in what can only be described as rush hour... i seriously thought i was going to end up on the line scariest moment - being dumped in the backstreets of Delhi at 2am by the 2nd tuk tuk driver who claimed to know where my hotel was and didn't the biggest surprise to me was the level of dishonesty in everyone that i met. I got to the point where i didn't trust anybody and became very cynical of even a "hello". i feel like i achieved much on my trip, perhaps thanks to india thanks to all users on here... the help was invaluable in getting me around india and home in one piece.... shame my luggage didn't get the same treatment Last edited by machadinha : Jan 5th, 2007 at 15:35. Reason: moved to "only in india" forum

Jan 5th, 2007, 06:36	#4
ddevadatta Finger Licking Good Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 907	Suprising This is a surprising conclusion Captain in my own experience. Either people love India or they hate it. I have seen that for 25 years and I can honestly say that yours was the first I ever heard of neither loving it or hating it. You have blown my perefct record keeping. Take a break from India and perhaps some day when things sink in, if they ever do, it might be another opprtunity to visit India. Thanks for sharing your experience... __________________ Ayurvedic cure for an Indian headache

Jan 5th, 2007, 07:05	#5
goangoangone Monsoon Loon Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Goa Posts: 1,494	I think you enjoyed your visit. __________________ GoanGoan......here

Jan 5th, 2007, 07:32	#6
ranjan154 Amateur Photographer Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Greater Noida (India) Posts: 845	Hi Captain, I think you will have to come again here, to atleast decide whether you really liked or hated __________________ Rakesh Ranjan -------------- http://www.flickr.com/photos/travinfoindia/

Jan 5th, 2007, 15:22	#7
beach Lost in translation Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: India ! Posts: 2,233	Sorry to know that... There is a post by me somewhere here that calls itself "The India Confusion". May be you would find some solace there.... __________________ Hampi info

Jan 5th, 2007, 02:57	#2
wonderwomanusa Maha Guru Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Northern California Posts: 3,465	So you were in India for a month... where? Delhi and Rajasthan? Friend, you were on the main tourist trail, and yes, it's easy to feel like a "target" in those places. I hope there will be a "next time" for you. Get off the beaten path and go places where you may not see a fellow traveler for three or four days. I guarantee that you'll be treated well and have a much better time.

Jan 5th, 2007, 04:43	#3
blue_lotus Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 17	I am so sorry that you had some bad time in India. I haven't been to the area you were, so I can't comment on that. But I had a trip to south India of 2 weeks recently (Bangalore, Mysore, Cochin, Madurai, Munnar), I had almost totally opposite experience. I certainly miss the way I was treated in India. Those are trourist places, so I had plenty of encounters of aggressive vendors, but most of the time people just came up to greet me without any monetory agenda. When I was in Bangalore botanic garden, a group of senior citizens doing yoga showed me some special trees in that park, in Madurai people in the neighborhood near the big temple invited me to their ritual, in Cochin I made good friends with a rickshaw driver... Those are just a few examples of what happened to me everyday. I felt like an honored guest of this big family, people always smiled to me and made sure I was OK, when I was simply looking around, someone may ask if I was lost... Of course India is not perfect, for example, I don't think it's a good idea for people and animals to so closely to each other with all the waste... But I just can't wait to go back. I sincerely hope there is a next time for you, and it may help if you get away from the most tourist area...

Jan 5th, 2007, 15:31	#8
machadinha Not Your Guru Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: yörp Posts: 10,505	The India confusion!!! __________________ 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

Jan 5th, 2007, 15:44	#9
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 26,749	Mach... How do you do it? IndiaMike Librarian of the Year! __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Jan 5th, 2007, 18:06	#10
Captain caveman Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: West Yorkshire, England Posts: 16	my god thanks beach.... i read that with interest. i can't believe how relevant it was . I did enjoy my time in india but i must say that it took me at least 2 weeks to deal with all that it threw at me. I returned to Delhi after 3 weeks to have a totally different experience to my first few days... i think this was because i hadn't found the "financial place" the first time i went and i didn't know how to take the constant battering of touts, taxis, hawkers, tuk tuks etc.etc. i think one of the biggest cultural things that unnerved me was the staring. I tried to work out if they were staring because i was female or that i was just foreign. I think sometimes it was both but you could sense a difference in the nature of their staring. I think culturally this made me uncomfortable because by western standards it is rude to stare but they had no concept of this I found Pushkar really bad for this even though they must see hoardes of tourists there. I also struggled to deal with the double standards in India. The images displayed are western, sexually orientated etc. yet i was shouted at in the street in Varanasi ? i had on jeans and a three quarter sleeved shirt that was not tight fitting Like i said... i did enjoy my time in india but it did baffle me. There are other parts of India that intrigue me so who knows if i will return

Jan 6th, 2007, 09:53	#12
astaffy Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Campbell River,British Columbia, Canada Posts: 31	Also just got back, was in India for 6 weeks for the first time, We were in Kerela, Goa, Bombay, Rajasthan, Agra and Varanasi, we had a unforgetable time, we loved everyplace we went until the last week where we went to Agra and Varanasi, these cities are so touristy that we felt so abused we were not treated as a person just a dollar sign, it is unfortunate we had to end our trip on such a sour note, as we could not wait to get home after our experiences in these 2 cities and before that we wanted to stay longer. If I can give anyone good advice it would be that you just stay in Agra long enough to see the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort and then get out, about 6 hours will do it, and also go to Hardiwar on the Ganges not dirty and touristy, wish I would have taken the advice instead of going my own way and hating Varanasi.

Jan 14th, 2007, 06:35	#13
sbhikes Diane Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Santa Barbara, California Posts: 60	I, too, neither loved India nor hated it. I definitely was traumatized by it. I have a recumbent tricycle at home (this is relevant I swear.) When I ride the trike I get a lot of attention. People stare and point and ask questions. When I got home from India I took my trike out for a ride. I just couldn't bear the attention. It was too much like India. I have put it back in the garage. Maybe someday I'll be able to ride it again. Yesterday at the store a man behind me was looking at my money. That bothered me very much. Then he asked me if I could make change for his $20. I went ballistic on him. I still haven't gotten over how everybody wanted my money all the time and the lack of privacy and having people barge into your space. We have a lot of hiking trails where I live. I feel like I've discovered them anew. America is an amazingly beautiful, clean, pristine, Wild place. It is not all covered with plastic bags and bottles. India's environmental destruction has made me love America more. I may return some day. I like adventure. I like comparing the cultural differences. I like the way you learn about yourself and your own culture by visiting another. I loved seeing the temples and the beautiful ladies' clothing and the food. But the US is my home. It's likely if I ever return to Asia I'll go to Nepal again. For me Nepal inspired the joy and homecoming that I read about on India Mike, but India did not. And yet I didn't hate India.

Jan 19th, 2007, 22:42	#14
almond Mike Myers Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 125	Even I as an Indian am incessantly stared at, I usually feel if something is seriously wrong with me. And I do not do anything different to others. Yes, I get the feeling it is due to the fact that I probably do look 'fresh' or you can say 'unmolested' by India. Probably that stirs something up in people that leads to stares.

Jan 20th, 2007, 00:54	#15
Norway Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 149	Hi, I came home from Hyderabad a week ago. I neither love or hate it either. I just hated all the traffic and the noises. In one way I hated all the contrasts, but in another way, India wouldn't have been interesting without the contrasts either. All the poor people and the beggars was a bad experience, but it also gave me memories I will never forget. I gave a little girl sweets and buiscuits. I will never forget her eyes when I left her, they are burned into my mind. Why did all the taxi-drivers said they knew where we were going, when it came out they didn't have a clue? They all nodded and said : "yes, yes", but in the end, they had to call a friend to ask where to go... The food... Oh yes, I was a chicken, BUT the vegetarian food was SO nice. I just LOVE the food... and the naan - buttered naan... YUMMI! Everybody treated us very well, still some school-children laughed at us at the Golconda fort. I think they thought we looked funny... I have lots of good memories from India and because I don't live there I can laugh about all things I didn't like. It's kind of "charming" after one week, but I don't think I would have thought the same after a month or two... C.

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