India - the good, the bad and the ugly

This is my last post in India, and I wanted to write about the things I've noticed and learnt along the way, although there is so much that I'm sure I'll miss something:

1. Indian men are often sen walking hand in hand and arm in arm - in fact they are not gay (apparently), it is just the way. Homosexuality is actually illegal in this Country although Mumbai is leading the fight against this law.
2. A country of contradictions - Indian people are known to brush their teeth for 20 minutes or more. They are actually incredibly hygienic in the way they eat and share food and drink, never touching the mouth of a bottle with their lips. However the streets are their landfills, and the rivers their sewers and many people have luminous orange teeth.
3. In some regions of India, widows are complete outcasts of society. It used to be that they were burnt to death and some say that this still happens although it is rare.
4. If you are born into a low Hindu caste, and you get sick, you might refuse treatment and put your life in fate's (or the gods) hands. I learnt this from a Spanish girl who was working for MSF in the Bihar region after the floods this year.
5. In Delhi (and elsewhere), people tap into the electricity grid illegally, and if you walk the streets with your eyes to the sky you'll see knots and tangles of wires pulled in through people's windows.
6. Speaking of electrics - why are there SO many switches everywhere? Every room I've entered has a minimum of 6 switches, although only 1 light and 1 fan.
7. People advertise their children in the local papers (in Delhi) for arranged marriages. Similar to a lonely hearts column.
8. Indian salesmen are the best in the world.
9. A camel costs from 10000-20000 rupees (GBP 130 - 250)
10. During Diwali, thousands of Owls are sacrificed - tortured, mutilated and bled to death as a sacrifice to bring wealth and fortune.
11. As urban growth accelerates, so do pollution levels. For the past 15 years the Indian Government has been procrastinating about introducing a high capacity bus system that allows buses to run in dedicated lanes where no other vehicles can enter. It is cheap as it doesn't require new road space to be constructed. This has been proven to work in South America and other countries, yet still hasn't been introduced anywhere here yet. At times in these cities you can barely breathe or see past the smog, and no-one seems to care to do anything about it.
12. The poverty. I was naive and stupid to think that it wasn't that bad. I thought that, although India is a developing country, the economy was catching up rapidly with the west. Now I'm not convinced. I can understand why global warming is not high up on the agenda when the majority of people are just surviving on 100 rupees a day. Last night I walked back at night, past the men sleeping in their taxis, or on the pavement amongst the giant rats and stench of urine. If I hadn't looked down I may have stood on the small 2 or 3 year old, wearing nothing but a vest curled up asleep on the road. I wanted to take him home but then what about the other children, mothers and babies? There doesn't seem to be a refuge for them. I can buy a big bag of rice that will last a boy 4 months, and maybe some milk so that a mother can feed her baby, but then what? And what about the others? At first it was a challenge, and then there was pity and frustration, and then a certain numbness to it all. And now I feel tired and very sad.
    

Although I feel relieved to be leaving in a way, I also feel a horrible guilt to be turning my back on these people. Ghandi would be disappointed in me. Maybe I should take a leaf out of his book and give up my material life and devote myself to the poor. But I know I'm not going to. I'll go straight back to my nice flat, with my nice clothes and expensive food and moan about the weather in England.

I think I understand this country less now than I did before I arrived. It's such a massive, unique blend of history, culture, character and religion and to get to the heart of it would take a lifetime. One thing I do know for sure is that I will definitely be coming back - Bollywood beckons.

Do you want to be a Bollystar?

Quick recap - Sam and I travelled from Delhi to Goa last week, visited a few sunny beaches, explored the capital, Panjim, and then headed to Mumbai for our last few days. There's not much to tell when it comes to Goa - perhaps it's because I'm from Jersey and have been spoilt with beautiful beaches my whole life. The difference in Goa is that there are more beach huts, stoned hippies (debatable), palm trees, and people selling fresh pineapple. Also, the sunset seems to be bigger and more red. In Goa I felt like I was cheating slightly, and had actually left India - although it's the same continent it really does feel like a different country.

Enough about Goa, Mumbai is much more interesting. The home of Bollywood and the Gateway to India. Bollywood. Sam and I both were offered the opportunity to be Bollystars for the day - 13 hours on set for a massive 500 rupees (GBP 6). Miles away, beyond the shanty villages, are the Bollywood studios. Apparently much of the filming is carried out in western Europe, and when the budget is tight, they relocate the sets to the North Mumbai studios. Because the majority of the films are shot in western Europe, they require western actors to fill in the studio sets to retain the balance. It seems so odd to me but it's the way it works. Apparently light skin is a hit - there are even skin-lightening creams advertised on tv (for men and women).

Back to Bollywood - originally we were excited, but that wore off after 5 hours of sitting around, being told conflicting information, and being dressed up like stupid dolls. Fortunately I got away with it and it was only Sam who had to act (actually ACT!), as the maid. I watched the filming and the shouting and the chaos unfold, relieved to be allowed to sit and read my book whilst poor Sam suffered. Finally it ended at about 10pm with Sam on the verge of tears after being bullied and misled for most of the day.

This morning I was accosted by two more scouts asking me to be an extra in Bollywood. But thankfully I fly out tonight.

Do you like spinach?

After Jaipur, we caught another bus to Pushkar, where we had heard they were holding their annual camel fair. We arrived at the hotel Sony had recommended us which was hidden in the backsteets of the town. On arrival we were held up by the manager for a long time on the roof, as he explained to us the sights of Pushkar. We soon found out that he was trying to stall us whilst tapping into the electricity line, so that we wouldn't find out about the lack of power. It didn't matter, we stayed as it was clean and cheap enough.

Pushkar surround a holy water lake lined with Ghats - on finding the lake we were immediately accosted by some self-proclaimed priests who instructed us to wash our hands and face with the illuminous green water and pay stupid amounts of money for a string bracelet and our families safety! I have never felt so cheated and angry in my life.

However, we weren't there to find enlightenment and good karma, we were there for the camels. And they were incredible. For as far as the eye could see, camels and nomads with brightly coloured turbens were scattered across the dusty landscape. We stayed watching for hours and it has to be one of the highlights for me so far.

I have to show you a picture of a dinner we had in Pushkar - I asked the waiter what he recommended and his response was: 'Do you like spinach'? I said yes and went for the spinach and veg curry, whilst Sam went for the stuffed pepper. However, we both ended up with this:

The Indian sales technique

Just to let you know that I've finally managed to put a few pictures on and added some Taj Mahal pictures to the last post. It's been a crazy week and so much has happened. From Agra we caught a bus to Jaipur where we were driven high-speed around the city by Sony, our friendly auto-rickshaw driver. He took us to the Maharajah's palace which was amazingly beautiful, and after that he took us on a tour of his mates shops! This is where I learnt about Indian Salesmen, and why it is they're the best in the world:

1. Pay rickshaw driver commission for bringing the unsuspecting tourist to your shop.
2. Tell customer to take off their shoes when they enter - makes it feel special for them, and also makes them feel at home.
3. Drug customer with Chai.
4. Show customer how product is made.
5. Tell customer it is the only place in the country where you can find such quality.
6. Bring out every type of product you have and put it in front of the customer. This takes time, and customer feels bad that you have gone to such trouble.
7. Emphasize quality, beauty, and uniqueness.
8. Be persistent and don't let them walk out of the door until they have seen everything there is to see, heard everything there is to hear, and spent everything there is to spend.

Dirt, Smog and the Taj Mahal

This will be a short post as I'm feeling very tired and smogged out today. I now have a travelling companion, Sam, although in her short time in India she has already been suffering from a nasty sick bug which kept her head in the toilet for the majority of last night. We spent the day on a very crowded (by which I mean that half the passengers were travelling on the roof) bus from Agra to Jaipur where we've got lucky with a nice hotel near the centre.

Yesterday we were in stinky Agra for the day and visited the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Unbelievably foreigners get charged 75 times that of Indian residents to get in but it was worth it nevertheless. The Taj is actually a tomb - Shah Jahan had it built for his wife when she died giving birth to her 14th (or maybe 12th) child!

I'm afraid there are to pictures to post yet (although I took about 100), as I haven't got the right cable, so I'll keep this a short and dull entry. Rajestan is a tiring place but hopefully tomorrow I'll wake up with a new lease of life and some much-needed assertiveness...

28 years old and scared of the dark

I arrived back in Delhi this morning at 4am after having just had my first Indian adventure - one that I doubt I'll ever forget. I went to Rishikesh on the advice of my friend Katy. Unfortunately I didn't follow her guidance on how to get there and had one of the worst travelling experiences of my life. Clare's driver, Sunil, dropped me off a Delhi's central bus station in the morning a few days ago - on the way in the middle of 5 lanes of traffic, was an elephant meandering along the road. I've decided it was an omen.


At the bus terminal I was immediately followed by a number of men through the station and there wasn't another traveller in sight. I can't begin to explain what the station is like - suffice to say I was eager to leave after about 30 seconds. A man approached me and told me there was a 'deluxe' tourist bus (lie number 1) to Rishikesh (lie number 2) which took 6 hours (lie number 3). The bus was full of Indian people and there was one seat available right at the back in the middle of the aisle. Before I knew what was going on my bag was on the bus, and I was on my way.

We drove for a few hours slowly as the traffic was bad due to Divali on the weekend. More people got on and stood in the middle of the bus. I was glad they were there because they blocked my view out the front window of the bus. A man on the bus asked me if I was searching for my spiritual guru in Rishikesh. When I said no he looked at me like I was the devil and didn't speak to me again for the rest of the journey.

By the time we get to our final destination (not Rishikesh) it was dark. Everyone was turfed out onto the street which I later found out was just on the outskirts of Haridwar, 25km from Rishikesh. After a few more Rickshaw journeys, and being thrown out onto the street in various random places, I arrived in Rishikesh. I was dropped at the top of a hill and the driver gestured ahead into the darkness. I walked down a long windy road in the pitch black, found the bridge which Katy had told me about and, on the verge of tears at this point, I found a hotel.

The next two days were completely magical days. I met some wonderful people, did lots of yoga classes, walked along the River Ganges and witnessed the Divali festival. You have to dodge the street fireworks but the atmosphere is electric.

I have decided that it's been a good thing to have such a bad introduction to travelling in India alone, because every day since has been a wonderful surprise. I now feel completely energised, and although I didn't find my spiritual guru, I did find a strength I didn't know I had and a respect for the Hindi people who can be so kind and generous, and can party harder than I thought was possible in the absence of alcohol. Speaking of which - Andy's left me a beer in the fridge - time to go.

Delhi - magic and mayhem

I don't think anyone can prepare you for the sights, sounds and smells of Delhi. I'd spoken to a few of my hardened traveller friends about what to expect, but this place goes beyond anything that my imagination could handle. Yesterday I arrived in the morning and was picked up by Sunil, my good friend Clare's driver. He was expecting to pick up two people - 'Gilly' and 'Challinor' - so it took a short while to persuade him that I was travelling alone. He kindly reminded me that I was not allowed to sit in the front seat and drove me to Clare and Andy's beautiful apartment in Sector 15, Noida, on the outskirts of Delhi.

The smog, dust and mass of contruction work going on is astounding. I have never been a place so polluted as this. And I now know why my friends have a driver because there is a very particular style of driving in India that would astound even an experienced Italian driver. The road markings are completely futile, and the car horn takes the place of indicators. Apparently there are 1000 more cars on the road every day in Delhi - it's a wonder the traffic moves at all.

Yesterday afternoon I tried to brave the streets of Delhi - my mission was to go into the centre and buy some mosquito repellant. I didn't get far. Delhi is so spread out so I knew the only way was to get a motor rickshaw. But after spending 15 minutes trying to cross the road, and another 15 trying to stop a rickshaw, I gave up. How pathetic!

Today was much more successful - mostly because Clare took the day off to show me around. We went to a mesmerising Sikh Temple, wondered around the streets and markets of Old Delhi, and got escorted out of the biggest mosque in Delhi. It was because I was filming in the courtyard and hadn't paid for the privelage. I'm learning.

I have approximately 43 mosquito bites, and a very sweaty back, but I'm feeling much more relaxed and happy than yesterday, mostly thanks to Clare and Andy. Tomorrow I'm braving it alone. Although I'm beginning to think that you're never alone in India.