Im afraid.......am I alone?

lobo

I have been to india for a month in january this year and I went through the whole spectrum of fears and culture shock the new traveller gets.
I really liked it and am planning on going back this october for 2-3 months with my girlfriend.
We want to go north to shimla , manali, dharamasala etc and then go where the wind blows but the nearer it gets the more im scared.
Mostly silly fears of getting wromg trains/buses and ending up in the middle of nowhere lost and scared etc etc.
Stupid I know, but it helps when i read stuff written by beach and other veteran travellers .
So I was kind of hoping to get loads of replies saying "its ok we are all scrared"!!!!!

freenote

my knees will be knocking next winter(third trip) Hav fun

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eyes ,eyes that have seen all , come back to the white chrysanthemum (Basho)

lobo

ah a sweet voice in the darkness

Merchant

The game isn't big enough if it doesn't scare you. You'll be fine. Enjoy overcoming your fears.

freemanx

im scared to death!
havent been traveling for years. last long time trip was '91
have just done some short trips since then, like 4 weeks in SE asia.
and now its only 25 days and im of to india for 6 month. OMG

one day i feel terrible, and the next totaly exited.
sounds like im alive again

Shannon

I was there for just under a year three years ago, and still got scared when I went back last winter.

Sometimes, though, the things that dont work out exactly as planned end up being the best parts.

Be smart and safe, and you'll be fine

lobo

Its comforting to know that most of us are scared!!!! Makes me feel better.
I agree that the fear lets you know u are alive and doing something different rather than your usual routine.
I also have days when im totally psyched up for it and days when i think "what am i doing????".
Ah the sweet uncertainty of it all.

steven_ber

I was puzzled at the fear I was feeling in the run up to my last trip, especially on the aeroplane.

I am sometimes guilty of seeing India through rose coloured spectacles, in addition to this I built up this trip so much that I was worried I could be disappointed, would India really be as fascinating as it had been in the past? Would Delhi be as bad as some people suggest?

Then I saw Delhi from the plane window, I got so excited, as we approached the airport, I could smell India, I started to get frustrated as we touched down, it seemed to take forever to taxi round to the gate, then they wouldn't let us off the plane immediately, I was getting angry, it must have been the longest 10 minutes of my life.

I was met at the airport by..... (guess who), then taken to New Delhi station, from there I abandoned my plans, found the first hotel I could remember from this website, checked in, put my backpack in my room, turned around and went for a walk, it was about 5 in the morning, I headed back to the hotel at about 11, and was so pleased to meet my first tout that I took him for a beer (on condition that he didn't try to sell me anything).

I knew from the moment I smelt India that it was going to be a great trip, though there were a few more times on my trip where I felt a strange kind of fear, all turned out well though.

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How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.



Train information.

guerik

Nice one, steven_ber!

I'm always afraid too, but anything bad is just as likely to happen at home (with the possible exception of delhi belly)

fuzmiq

if you stay away from the dairy, no worries about delhi belly

AllanM

I found the adrenaline rush that you get from the fear that first time is incomparable. I've been trying to get that feeling ever since. Savor it!

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Me fail English? That's unpossible!--Ralph Wiggum

guerik

fuzmiq - I think it was the curd that kept me from getting it (delhi belly) last time!

bijapuri

never have gotten it
get it every time I have to go to southern California tho . . .

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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.
Barack Obama

lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/

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

Shikari

Hi Lobo
In my experience the second trip to India is much easier than the first in that respect. You've been through the culture shock, had time to chew it over in your mind and are much more psychologically prepared for it the second time.
I was also quite nervous before my second India trip but in reality, when I got to Bombay I was bouncing along Colaba Causeway at 6am without a care in the world.

Arun

I was very gung-ho about my first trip - even though I went alone.

I only started to have 2nd thoughts when the plane dipped below the monsoon clouds over Bombay airport. Rickety shacks - "slums" - covered every inch of ground below me - including some very steep hills. I would have taken a picture if I hadn't been so shocked.

I got over it in a few minutes.

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Jai Hind.