"I am not enjoying India as much as I think I should"...and what came after

I love my India -- the person who started this thread has already gone back and people still advising him and others to enjoy India.

The best part is I too had posted a message.

This happens in India only. When in India life like a Indian

ever wonder why villages in punjab, which are the most affluent ones in India are the ones which contribute the largest number of migrants and not the much more impoverished villages elsewhere ?
please don't tell me they haven't heard of the west, in today's India that is simply not true. it only tells me that you have only 'heard of' the rural folk, not actually met many of them.

they don't and I am the last person to romanticise poverty. but please don't assume they all want to emigrate either.

I would say you are confusing chaos with poverty and underdevelopment, the two may not be as synonymous as you think. it's not just about trains either. (speaking of which, barring special circumstances like fogs or political disturbances trains today are remarkably punctual. at least compared to a decade ago, say. in my last 2 years of crisscrossing India on trains, even for 36 hour journeys, never has a train been more than 5 minutes late)
even when the living standard improves considerably, India will always be more chaotic than a corresponding western or SE asian nation. I like to think in terms of natural order, aka chaos and imposed order.
digressing slightly, if you are aware of modern mathematics and/or science you will know that what we call 'chaos' has an amazing degree of order that is not apparent to usual methods of observation and analysis. India is somewhat like that.
even if said developed country is not India ? I think not. I believe you are simply projecting your own wishes to to other people, the majority of whom do not think like you.
why would they ? people emigrate primarily for economic opportunities, unless India offers better ones they don't have much of an incentive to return. and frankly, Indian economy is not there yet.
in the same vein, how many immigrants from europe in america returned to their ancestral lands, even though many european countries offer comparable or even better standards of living than US ? and many do retain connections and identity. I hardly think this is a good metric to pad your argument.
even while accepting that India has massive poverty, one can easily punch a hole through the data you are using. but it would be off topic for this thread.

p.s. If you haven't read it already, I would strongly recommend VS Naipaul's India : A Million Mutinies Now. as objective a glimpse of India as possible, yet with a very compassionate heart.

as a matter of fact the rat race in India is more intense in some ways, especially in student days leading up to a job. many more people competing for a relatively small number of seats in select institutes leads to a situation where students (and their parents !) start preparing for a single 3 hour examination 5 years in advance ! the only other country I have heard where there is similar pressure on young folk to perform is south korea.

Yes, it may take time for you to warm up to India. What you need to learn in India is patience and tolerance - this will help you in ways you can't imagine. It will also make your stay much more pleasant. I see Westerners getting frustrated over small things that should matter anyway, but what about when you are misled at a train station and your train leaves because you were told to wait at the wrong platform? That happened to me once, but I already then had learnt to be patient and so I wasn't upset at all. So patience and tolerance really helps!

the OP has already adjusted and enjoyed his trip.

btw, I can certainly understand what he was going through since I was in delhi at the same time. the fog situation in north India in those months anyway play havoc with train and airline schedules. the gujjar agitation in rajasthan stalled rail services there, the very route he was expecting to take. NDLS had twice the normal number of passengers, which is saying something ! trains to north and west from delhi were delayed or canceled, leading to passengers waiting in the station for hours on end.
did mention I missed my train due to a malfunctioning electronic display board and had to wait a whole day for the next train ?

I am the OP and am still amused that this thread still has life and seems to have morphed into something else.

Yes, I really did like India and went back for Round 2 after my first trip. Hopefully there will be a third trip sometime soon. Do people in India want to migrate to the West or the USA? Sure. Lots do. I talked to many who would. Many also are very happy where they are. I don't fully understand why this thread has turned pretty contentious and way off what it originally was. With all the talk in the USA about how things are bad and our political system is a wreck and we are going down the toilet (some of which is true) there are many people who would do anything to join the USA. Just like some do not want to leave their lives in India. It is probably easier to move up the economic ladder in the USA than in India, based on caste and other things.

As far as me, yes, you do have to adjust to India. Having two visits to China under my belt, I thought I was ready and prepared, but I was not. I dont think you can be fully be prepared for the chaos that is part of India, but the chaos, culture, food and everything else is what will drive me to get back there (and other countries). Even on my 2nd trip, I got totally frustrated when I gave myself a 2 1/2 hour cushion to catch a train, but my intercity bus was delayed for five hours, causing me to take a thirteen hour bus ride the next day. But, the richness of the culture and the interest in seeing a totally different world did make up for it.

A few posts commented on the poverty/chaos and everything else. Of course people don't want to be in poverty. Who would want to be in an overpacked train each day? Just because it is interesting to see does not mean that the people over there want more comforts in their lives. We are all programmed to want something better for our kids.

Based on my very casual observations, it seems like the biggest difference with the USA and India is the value of life. It seems (not sure if it is true) that life is more expendible in India. Of course, I am in a small town in the USA. Perhaps in a place like New York City where there are people everywhere and more congestion, I would also think that folks there have less of a value on life than where I am.

It well take some time to get settled here .......and dont worry there are many things & spots in India which can change your mood .definately you will enjoy more .

Hey !!!
We have less value for other people's money Psst! Want some facebook stock ? I give you for Original IPO price ...want some senor ? We are King of all touts, cons and scams, but....

Life we value. If we kill 'em we can't sell them CDS

I'm so glad I ran across this thread a few days before arriving in India. Actually I ran across another thread that linked to this one and the suggestion was to get out of Delhi, and you'll be able to adjust more quickly.

I've been in India one week now, and am having the time of my life. Although my first day in Delhi was quite miserable. Probably the number one problem I had was the heat. I have heat strokes quite easily, and despite the research on temps, Delhi was much hotter than I had expected (in the mid 90s).

On top of that, my first three conversations I had, I was told that my neighborhood wasn't safe. This came from: 1. My driver (who was commissioned by my hotel) 2. The hotel owner, and 3. The first of countless touts.

I was staying in Pahar Ganj, and frankly, I didn't think it was dangerous at all. But it did take me all day to find the train station, and then find the tourist office in the train station. But I did find it, and I got my ticket out of town. I had a lovely train ride, despite 1 tourist getting injured and an Indian who committed suicide on the tracks. It was on the Himalayan Queen. I spent several wonderful days in Shimla, and now I'm in Mcleod Ganj.

Indian people are wonderful. I've experienced amazing hospitality. I've eaten superbly. The scenery is spectacular. It's everything I hoped for.

I've got 25 weeks left of my journey. The first week was great!

My advice to someone travelling to India for the first time (particularly if you're staying in budget hotels) is to think of it as a camping trip.

hi,

See every country has its own issues and culture. you might have expected something from india, and maybe it didnt come to you liking as you expected. Many times you travel if you are solo or in group you tend to not like the place as you are away from family and friends. However to kill that feeling you can make new travel partner from places like india mike..then twitter helps a lot.
In India, you should learn to be more comfortable with difficulties and new experiences as it comes. The more you run away the more you not gonna like it.

When i went it to Italy and Swiss I was dieing to see that place crazily but when i was there i just hated the place. Then I tried adjusting to culture .. new experience and now i Miss that place.



Regards

Rutavi Mehta

When you planed 6 months to stay in India, then you must be having some plans to do. If not you can stay in delhi and make a list of places that you would like to visit.
Once you made you list than you will have all the fun that you missed in your country.