India - one month on

Ok, so we have been in India for one month. Have our perceptions of this country changed? Do we like it here? Who knows but we wanted to make a list of things we didn’t want to forget about this incredible country.... A lot of restaurants don’t have a license to sell beer, so on the receipt it says banana lassie! Cars are supposed to drive on the left here, the same as in England. So why, even when you are on the motorway, do some cars (and lorries) drive on the wrong side of the road? Travelling around. The Metro really cheap & clean. In Delhi anyway. Its only about a year old and everyone seems to respect it. We went from the centre of Delhi all the way to the outskirts for the Grand Prix, and it only cost us 28p each! Smells...India is full of smells. You get hit by the horrific stench coming from a street urinal one minute, then as you walk a bit further, the sweet smells of incense waft over you, as shop keepers are saying their morning prayers before they open, or you stumble upon a street shrine, or pass by a temple. The beautiful food smells are everywhere and surprisingly there is one smell here you don’t find... the smell of people’s B.O.! Nobody in India seems to suffer with it and the train journeys or packed Metro is so not smelly because it’s not there. The heat. When we first arrived in Delhi the heat was overwhelming. We spent two weeks in Rajasthan, and on our return we found the temperature much more bearable. Probably about a warm 25 degrees during the day but it gets quite cool at night. The food has been a bit mixed really. There are so many restaurants in India that you are spoilt for choice where to eat. However, because you may chose a popular place, it doesn’t mean the food is that good. We have often been disappointed with the curry so much so Jody turned to Italian food for a decent meal! We will definitely be making a visit to JITC (Jewel In The Crown - our favourite Indian restaurant back in Swindon) on our return. You know as soon as someone falls into step along side you and asks you “hello, where you from?” that they are trying to sell something. You answer their questions politely as you don’t want to appear rude but your mind is racing to work out what it is they want. We have visited many countries now but believe you me, India has the most persistent people in the world. They will walk a mile with you if they think they can break you. Its exhausting! We catch people stopping and staring at us & many try and take sneaky photographs of us. This was common in China too as white tourists believe it or not, are not that common. Many of the younger ones will just ask and we always oblige (so far we haven’t charged anyone either). But if we see someone trying to take a sneaky pic, then we do admit to sabotaging their photo. Having said that, many of the poorer people here, especially out of the cities, do not own a camera. Even their mobile phones (if they have one) are the old type that do not have cameras on. So people here like you to take their photograph. And what they love is to see it on the screen on your camera. We have on many many occasions drawn a crowd, especially of children, pleading “take my picture” “no take mine” “please take mine”. We have also seen the huge disappointment on the faces of groups of children (and adults) as tourists stop people for a photo & then just walk off. Just a few moments taken to stop and show them the picture is such a big thing for these people, it really does make their day. Cows in the streets - we love it!!! Oh we wish we had cows in the streets in England. The streets here are full of litter which during the day gets worse and worse. All types of things are thrown on the floor, from paper, broken pots, old clothes, and food like chapatis, curry & rice, leaves from vegetables & old rotten fruit. Then during the day the cows come around and eat all the food cleaning it all up. Whatever they don’t eat, the dogs (of which there are very many) finish it all up at night. Then in the morning, first thing, the man comes along with his cart and sweeps up whatever is left. It seems like a very efficient system but it is funny to see cows eating naan bread! The caste system is so prevalent here that it really shows. We have got better at spotting it as the people that sweep the streets have a certain look and are so skinny and short. The ones with money have a lighter skin colour and are fat. The worst we saw a naked man walking down the streets, head down, looking as if he was lost, not sure if he had a mental issue or he was the lowest of the low in the casts system but no-one tried to help him. It seems to be related to the type of work they do too and it seems some people can never expect more than they already have. There is a great level of acceptance of this and none seems to push further than their caste decrees. One of our guide books sums it up and says as Hindus, they accept their position and just hope to be born into a better caste in their next life. Sometimes the people here show great kindness. To us and to animals and to each other. Other times they show a huge lack of regard for others. We have seen ladies with tiny children (clearly poor and of a lower caste) begging being chased off by men of authority. Most times people have been very helpful to us and some go out of their way to help you find something you are looking for. But how do we treat (Indians especially) in England? As a country not as individuals are we any better? We do believe we have been shown more kindness here than Indian people can expect from the average white person in Britain. This again maybe down to the caste system though as white people here have status above most Indian people. The men here are so lazy, especially the higher up their position at work and it really hinders their progressiveness but they don’t see it. For example; we phoned reception to order some food to eat on the balcony of our hotel. The manager answered the phone but wouldn’t take our order “I’ll send the boy up”. So up comes The Boy but he can’t write so what happens? we don’t get the correct order! The women work very hard here, you never see them serving in shops, hotels or restaurants (well rarely). The Hindu society says that women stay at home and look after the house and the children. They are not allowed to socialise with men or in public. They gather in homes to meet with other women of their village or family and you do see them shopping for food or clothes. All the hotels we have stayed in are cleaned by men, the food is cooked by men, served by men, men are everywhere! So you can just imagine how filthy everything gets. When we were in Rajasthan, we saw women working the fields, digging roads, carrying bricks, carrying huge bundles on their heads or backs, fetching water from the river, washing clothes. You name it the women did it and often with a child on their back too. So what were the men doing? Often just sitting around socialising with other men. India is NOT a very equal society. Do we like it here? I think the answer is yes but lets wait and see what the Southern India holds for us :-)