Blondes- to dye or not to dye? & women's wear, women's safety etc

Aishah

I'm asleep when you guys are posting! I see Mach spotted it first - LOL, Nick - I thought 'bear arms giving bear hugs'??!
Tough luck, Karuna, my heart goes out to you... How do these people get to hear of this stuff anyway? You might have been bored out of your brain by the reality of it all, so don't worry too much!
Me too, YogaGal but not quite as mod as you!! No spaghetti straps for me - sleeves down to the elbows, and very loose!

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"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

fox

In India, every tourist, whether male or female, whether blond or brown or now hair at all, will be constantly stared at.

That's my experience at least.

capt_mahajan

sorry, couldn't resist

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Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
Indiamike moderating team ..ich bin ein oneliner

kristinm

Especially with no hair at all!

puchoo

yep...bald is gonna get a lot of eyeballs....!!

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Cheers!

Sidharth

puchoo.wordpress.com

indiadreamer

LOL. Fabulous. How did I ever miss this thread!! My thanks to YogaGal for the link from the newbie thread. I think it is so funny that this topic made for such a long and convoluted thread. I have often wondered what ingredients in a topic make a thread that gets such a long and full life. It really is fascinating. Thanks everyone for such a lively discussion.

As for me I have traveled blond to India and have worn SK in both India and the US and have had no untoward problems.

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drmr

reneeautumn

The answer may be buried in this thread somewhere, but I don't remember reading it.

I plan on buying a salwar kameez soon after landing. How versatile will this be? Can I wear it to do yoga? Can I wear it to an arts performance?

What *is* proper dress code at an arts performance? Can I get away with a decent looking t-shirt and an ankle length Indian-style skirt? I pack the bare minimum in clothing when I travel, but I don't want to be disrespectful or stick out b/c I'm obviously too underdressed.

PS How easy will it be to handwash my SK and dry it in, say, my hotel room? Or is it common that a hotel can do some laundry for me for a fee?

Another unrelated question but the acronym made me think of it. What does PG stand for? It seems to be something like the British term 'bed-sit' or the American 'studio apartment.' Thanks!

My packing list so far: one pair of baggy cargo pants. One pair of black exercise-type leggings/yoga pants/pajama bottoms. Three t-shirts. One very thin long-sleeved shirt for mosquitos/further obscuring of body. One bra, maybe four or five pairs of underpants.

Then I think with one SK and possibly one ankle-length skirt I should be all set in terms of clothing.

machadinha

Most any hotel will provide a laundry service yes (the so-called dhobi-wallah, that is the person who does the laundry. A "wallah" is someone [usually male I think] who performs a given function, or is from a given place: Hence your rickshaw-wallah, Delhi-wallah, etc.) You pay per item of clothing and according to its size, it's usually very cheap (as in a couple of rupees per item, if it's still like that, with underwear or a T-shirt obviously the cheapest and say a pair of jeans the more expensive, yet still very reasonable), and even your underwear is returned crisply ironed Count on a day or so for them to be returned, or hand in in the morning, receive at night, kind of thing. Be aware your clothes will receive a good thrashing, so some people would rather wash clothes with fancy buttons and stuff by hand. They also tend to wear more quickly that way. You're bound to run into the dhobis doing their thing at the riverside at some point, so you can watch the proceedings with them banging the dirt out of the clothes on some rocks.

With the weather, it's usually not difficult to dry your clothes after washing them yourself no. There'll usually be a bucket or something, or you can ask for one. Sachets of washing powder you can buy locally. Drying becomes more difficult in (the northern) winter and during the monsoon of course. Note that drying in the sun, the colors tend to fade swiftly Try to find a shaded spot. In your room, you can put a fan on them. Since an SK is light, I imagine it would dry swiftly. Jeans are obviously a pain, let the dhobi wallah take care of them. Bringing a good length of rope by way of a washing line is handy btw. Some people carry a universal plug (in the hope that it's actually universal, I guess...) for use in the wash basin, which often won't have one.

Maybe more upscale places would have washing machines, I wouldn't know. It won't be a problem in any case.

PG = Paying guest. I think this normally refers to staying somewhere long-term, renting a room in a family's house, possibly with (half-) board.

What clothes to wear to an art performance or similar I don't know. I don't think you'd need to be overly fussy about it, a decent shirt and long skirt or pants should be just fine I think. I agree on the not overpacking, so I think you'll be alright If you find you need anything more, just buy it over there. I find since you tend to want a rest at least every few days anyway, if you have that covered, you can take care of your laundry then.

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reneeautumn

Great advice, thanks! And now I totally remember seeing the phrase 'paying guest' in British novels. It's interesting to me the bits of slang I pick up from reading Indian novels (in English, of course) that I think link back to British words.

machadinha

Y'r welcome, as always There exist "homestay" schemes btw, designed for tourists to stay in a family place instead of in a hotel/guesthouse. Reports vary, and the scheme is better developed in some states than in others. I guess if the local tourist board is any good they should be able to inform you about options. You can search the web for it but it seems many places today advertize themselves as being a "homestay," simply meaning they consider themselves somehow rustic (and therefore want your money), so it doesn't tell you much. The actual thing can be but doesn't have to be necessarily cheap btw. Some people report really liking it as a more intimate experience; others report feeling somewhat stifled by an overdose of typical Indian hospitality and family life. I'm sure it just differs per family.

What made me think of this is it confusingly is or used to be also known as the "Paying Guest Scheme" I believe. In fact checking now, searching the web for this phrase may produce more reliable results. Many hits seem to be for Rajasthan, not surprisingly as this is where the scheme has been the longest established I think, but I believe some other states have been picking up on it.

Nick-H

I guess it is going to depend on the "art performance", which covers a multitude of possibilities and level of formality!

But, given that a Salwar can vary from very cheep to very expensive, you might, conceivably feel under-dressed if you turn up in polyester to find everybody else wearing silk, but you will not feel inappropriately dressed. It is decent and acceptable wear to just about any function.

Assuming a certain level of formality for the purpose of argument here: a tee-shirt might be ok with that skirt you mention, but a loose blouse or kurta-type top would be better.

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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Sama

depends...as nick says, some are cheaper cotton, others are more ritzy. I wore my cotton SKs for yoga in india -- and you can also wear the pants (the "salwar" part? ) with a t-shirt or other loose top in a yoga class....

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My India, 2005-2008

machadinha

Aye, yes, was thinking shirt (blouse) rather than T-shirt really I suppose no one will hold it against you if you show up in a T-shirt, you just may feel more like you blend in in a blouse.

I don't know, it never gave the women I traveled with much trouble in practice. Didn't attend any top-end occasions either though for that matter. I guess something nonchalantly modest and stylish but not overdoing it (i.e., something you'd feel comfortable in going to the theater at home or so & not being the guest of honor at a premiere) will do. A light scarf is always a nice touch I guess, called a dupatta, it comes with the SK. (Would it be foolish to wear one without SK? I guess not. They say it would be the other way around btw: An SK without the dupatta doesn't look well, at all, and will be considered funny.) Anyway, any other type of light shawl will be easily found there.

Nick-H

Yes, the salwar is the trouser/pants part.

I think Mach's analysis is spot on!

The SK might well be worn without a dupatta, by a modern youngster: she is showing off her figure, which is not really the 'done thing' but an increasing number do. There's a lot of mix&match goes on: a salwar top (the 'kameez' I suppose) worn with jeans, etc etc.

India is moving on. I stood in a modern Hyderabad store with Steven_Ber, and, seeing how many of the young women were dressed, we agreed that much of the stuff we post here about conservative dress will soon be completely obsolete! But for now, I think it is a case of being on the safe side and feeling comfortable.

machadinha

Always glad to hear I'm not totally off the mark Nick Ooff! It's true we're probably far more cautious than some local kids might be; would depend in what smalltown you end up too no doubt. Anyway one is a guest, and better to err on the safe side indeed I guess. Besides, the advice usually only comes up with people who apparently worry about it (or have the sense to wonder about it at least), so what other advice can one give.

(With these stories I'm always reminded of some women sunbathing topless on the -- non-Indian -- island where I grew up. No harm whatsoever came to them, just the police came to kindly enquire if they could dress up please, as construction work on the adjacent hotel had ground to a halt The incident such as it was earned a front page caption in next day's local newspaper even I reckon going topless there today at least lying down on the beach is perfectly normal btw.)

(On that same island us kids would habitually ridicule the tourists in their shorts and stuff btw, while we would proudly sport our jeans and don a sweater if temps would drop below say 28C.)

It struck me btw Renee will be going in high summer I think. Going through two sets of clothes on some days may not be unthinkable (e.g., you may want to change after a train ride and so on). Anyway, instead of anxiously overpacking, again you can get anything you may need over there, so just take what you listed and see how you fare.