The India confusion

kalbarri

but i am definitely more anal retentive this time around.

dn

What an excelent post! Made me smile all the way.. 5*****

sankars

I must admit that its one of the best eye-openers about travelling to my country , India. Its quite comprehensive and highlights almost everything that a traveller needs to know. I agree with the author with 'almost' everything. After growing up in India for 25 years, india is still a mystery even for me. But onething for sure, If you have not visited india in your lifetime, you definitely have not lived a complete life.

kalbarri

sankars...here! here!

zerostress

Absolutely true!
I'm leaving in 2 days for my 7th India trip!

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My friend Goo

what a great read. And so true

indiaprof

What rocks most about India, for those of us foreigners who keep coming back, is:

1) It's challenging: you rise to the occasion, overcome problems that would freak the daylights out of folks back home, and feel a lot more confident. You extend the limits of what you're capable of dealing with.

2) You learn the Indian trick of remaining calm in the midst of what only seems to be confusion. You learn to discern the hidden order in the chaos. You learn to value the real chaos for its liberating effects.

3) India is dangerous, and that's a thrill for a lot of us who have to lead unnaturally sheltered, safe lives at home. Every time I go to India, something happens that nearly kills me, and I love it! I get to have bragging rights when I get home.

4) You can have 10x more fun in India than you can in Europe. I measured it. It's true.

Nick-H

What do you do? Picnic in the middle of a highway? Tease bullocks? Involve yourself in politics or gangs? Go on drinking sprees in slums and chat up the big man's wife?

I'm astonished: I have never heard any other traveller claim that India is so dangerous that they have come close to death on regular occasions. Certainly not me, over ten years, three of which has been spent living here.

It is true that India is dangerous, in the sense that many of the things that are taken care of in other countries by custom, education, legislation, and a "health-and-safety" regime that has become manic, are utterly neglected in India. It is down to the individual to ensure that they do not fall down holes in the road, walk into head-level sharp objects, or stumble into 3-phase, 440-volt distribution cabinets that the guys couldn't be bothered to close, let alone lock --- but near-death?

The traffic is the worst, and accident and death rates are high. Not too many tourists get killed, though!

Ten times more fun? I'm not going to argue with that one!

indiaprof

Ok, let's run down the list:

1. Almost fell under a moving train while trying to board.
2. Almost hit by a bus, several times.
3. Almost fell through a rotting hole in the floor of a 16th century gopuram.
4. Caught in a riot.
5. Mugged by railway porters with knives at VTS (It was VTS back then). I was saved by some gallant fellows from Hyderabad.
6. Serious dysentery in Delhi. May be not life threatening, but seemed that way at the time.
7. Serious dysentery in Hyderabad. Ditto.
8. Food poisoning in Pondicherry. Ditto.
9. Bus ride across Karnataka. Probably the most frightening thing of all.

There are others, of course. And I was attacked by a bullock once, in the bazaar at Vellore, but I swear I didn't tease him! My wife tells me I have the worst luck of any person she knows.

foggers

If you were truly unlucky, your wife would turn out to be a man.

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Life itself is only a vision. A dream. Nothing exists, save empty space and you. And you... are but a thought.

Nick-H

And you enjoy this?

Whoa!



Chennai buses, by the way, killed 144 people last year. 44 passengers, 44 pedestrians, the rest were other motorists. Yes, buses are lethal things!

indiaprof

Not only do I enjoy it - it's my job. But I have a good life insurance policy, and take comfort in the realization that I'm worth more dead than alive. :-)

I think about 50 Americans get killed every year in London, trying to cross the street. They look the wrong way - blam! That's probably more than the entire death-toll among foreign tourists in India over the course of several years.

Yeah, the country has rough edges and all, but it's still fun and, statistically at least, probably safer than Europe. Most of the foreigners I've heard of who died in India either drowned while swimming or overdosed on drugs. Those sorts of things could happen anywhere.

palerider

I know this is off topic, but
When the olympics were in Sydney, the local council printed the words"LOOK RIGHT" on all the curbs, so Americans wouldn't get skittled going for a walk.
Makes sense when you think about it.

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indiaprof

I'm not surprised. It is hard for Americans to learn to look right because we get used to looking left automatically.

One nice thing about India is that even though people are supposed to drive on the left, they actually drive wherever they can put their vehicle, which (oddly) makes it a little safer for Americans.

You realize you shouldn't look either left or right, but everywhere at once.

Nick-H

If America had chosen to drive on the proper side of the road, they wouldn't get killed in London!!!!

But yes, seriously, I know the problem, because I often nearly got run over in Mainland European cities --- especially Netherlands, where the bicycles are silent.