Travels In India
INDIA IS COLORFUL
The millions of beautiful Indian women in their saris milling all around us, are breathtaking and
mesmerizing.
The Buddhist monasteries, the Hindu temples, the Monks in burnt orange. The Lamas in dark red,
the constant Indian head bobble, the many local food carts, the golden intricate art in the temples.
The most incredible merchandise markets bursting at the seams, every single truck decorated to the hilt wherever you look. The women are riding sidesaddle on the back of motorcycles in their
saris with no helmets. The varied horns are trumpeting loudly and often. The millions of cows,
chickens, goats, horses, sheep, dogs, yaks, ducks and cats standing in the middle of the road, next
to the road, in the adjoining fields, in the middle of the city, EVERYWHERE. (Could you remind
me NOT to reincarnate as a dog in India?)
If you have ever wondered where free-range chicken comes from, it's India.
This list just goes on and on and on....
INDIA IS RELENTLESS
Just try to cross the street, I dare you.
Indian cars, buses, taxi's and auto rickshaws do not want to hit you but if you get in their way,
whose fault will it be if your foot accidentally gets run over?
The honking is non-stop, 24-7. I'm passing! You can pass! What's happening? Wake up! Honking
means so many things that sometimes I stop even hearing it.
How many times can we be over-charged because we are white tourists? Every single day, that's
how often. By taxi drivers, bus drivers, the guy that sells you the peanuts and Chai, the rickshaw drivers, the train conductor, you name it. This morning at the Kolkata airport, we paid 90 rupees
for 3 cups of Chai. Then we went through security and went to buy three more cups of Chai near
our gate. This Chai guy asked Dale for 180 rupees. Dale said, "What? I just spent 90 rupees 15
minutes ago at the same shop over there. That's highway robbery." The Chai guy responded by
smiling broadly and saying, "No, thees is open robbery."
Yesterday we went to the Victoria Memorial, a smaller version of the Taj Mahal, in Kolkata. The
price of admission for 3 Indian Nationals was 50 cents total. The price for 3 Foreign Nationals
(us) was $14US total, go figure.
INDIA IS ABOUT SURRENDERING
Surrendering to the garbage everywhere, to the rice fields burning this time of year, creating the
mass smoke in the air. Surrendering to the urine smells, to the hagglers, the beggars and the noise.
India is raw meat served to you on a platter with a smile.
India is about surrendering to our learned expectations of how it is "supposed to be." Such as why
can I not EVER show my shoulders or knees, but Indian woman in saris frequently expose their
abdomens? Why are there no traffic rules? Do you take your lane down the middle? Where are
the women's public restrooms? I have had to surrender to significantly reducing my water intake
otherwise I will have bladder issues down the road.
India grows on you in profound ways. I initially thought that staying one month was perhaps too
long in India. But now I see, it was barely long enough.
India is all about opening up your Heart Chakra and allowing India to penetrate you completely;
the positive, the negative, the challenging, the magical, and the beautiful.
INDIA IS CHARMING
In this past month, 98% of the time we have met the most incredible, caring, fun-loving, helpful,
genuine people in all of the world.
From Shiela and Manesh, the very knowledgeable and passionate couple in Guwahati where we
stayed, and their chef, the best in all of India.
We met an Indian couple from Mumbai there, at their guesthouses, which were so friendly and
fun, and the staff there is exceptional.
From Avito and Lovi and their entire church congregation, who welcomed us entirely on
Christmas Day, which was quite an experience, especially in local intestines cuisine.
From Tuophema, where Dale and Chani took a jungle hike, and we met Claire and Len, two
teachers living in Melbourne, Australia. We are looking forward to visiting them next spring
around Chani's graduation day.
We loved the magical elephant rides in Kaziranga Wildlife Preserve at 5 am, riding into the mist
to see over 60 one-horned Rhinoceroses and many wild elephants. Bike riding on old funky Hero
bikes on Majuli Island was spectacular, followed by the mass quantities of pictures taken of us for
the locals' enjoyment.
From Nameri where Dale taught our newfound 12+ friends Pirate Farkel, and the next day river
rafting with them. Joining their picnic and singing and dancing in the taxi together were worth the
trip to get there. We also met some cousins in Nameri who shared Indian desserts and tea with us.
From Pram, our funny, competent 7-day driver who took us into Arunachal Pradesh, spitting
distance from Tibet and Bhutan. He took us to these gorgeous mountain villages, and I never had
to embarrass myself by puking out his window from car sickness or 13,700 foot elevation
sickness, although I tried a couple of times. And when I say competent, I mean it. It would have
been very easy to make a wrong move and just drive us off a cliff on the 180-degree switchbacks.
Think driving 18 hours one way on the Hart's Pass road in the Methow Valley, and you get the
general idea. Of course, this never crossed the minds of my adventurous two traveling partners.
We are so grateful to Mr. Wange from Bomdila. He booked our hotel room after we traveled for
12 hours that day over some huge potholes the size of large livestock. He gave us great advice
about our itinerary up north as well as found and hired our guides to take us where very few
tourists have ever gone before.
From our two guides in Tawang and Dirang, who took us WAY off the beaten path to see how
the locals grind corn into flour, using water wheels and make millet wine in their campfire huts.
They introduced us to their various sisters and "cousins." And huge thanks for taking us to the
end of the road in Zemithang, where we later learned we were not allowed to go as tourists. We
had to forfeit a copy of our passports and photos, for that misstep but never received any verbal
slaps afterwards, which was good.
From all the most amazing Buddhist monasteries in the far north of India, especially the one still
being built called Toksom Darjeeling, that the 14th Dalai Lama named in 2009. The Lama
overseeing the project walked us through the monastery's future classrooms and temple. And he
toured us through the future waiting room, meeting room, bedroom, bathroom and courtyard for
the current Dalai Lama when he frequently visits them. An incredible experience, to say the least.
From the excellent staff of the Magnolia Hotel in Tezpur, that I still think of like the Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel.
We were so far off the beaten path; we did not have Internet for a month and have seen a total of
exactly 12 tourists in the 30 days we've been here.
From seeing Mahesh's dream become a reality in his paper factory. He created a business to
change the way Indians, and the world populations view the poaching of Elephants and Rhino's.
He makes paper from their dung, giving the locals good jobs, in order to promote them wanting to
protect these majestic animals instead of killing them. In the process, they make gorgeous lamps,
gift bags, and business cards, wine bags, journals, photo albums and any other thing you can think
up. Expect to see us promote this fabulous business in order to help save these animals.
Stationary anyone?
And finally, Kolkata. I did not expect to love you as much as I do. Sometimes you are irritating
but mostly you are just so damn interesting.
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