Impressions of India
Trip Start
Jun 29, 2008
1
49
58
Trip End
Nov 27, 2008
Delhi,
India
Monday, October 20, 2008
If I am to be honest, I was apprehensive about going to India. I was expecting it to be hot and crowded, and I was certain I was going to get a bad case of Delhi belly. As it was, I could only have the briefest encounter, and of course India is huge, so I'm sure there are differences throughout. What I can say is that I was shocked by the divide between the haves and the have nots. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in a gated community in Delhi where the family had servants (makes running a bed and breakfast easy work for the owners!). We only had the one day, and naturally wanted to visit the Taj Mahal. This entailed a 4hr drive (each way) on the crazy Indian roads where sacred cows wondered freely and using your horn was just as important as steering. There were plenty of cycle rickshaws, cyclists, motorbikes and trucks. The poverty by the roadsides was depressing. Young children would be sitting on the median strip unattended, covered in dirt and sharing scraps of food. At night on our return journey from the Taj Mahal, we saw large numbers of people simply sleeping on the sidewalks.
The Taj Mahal itself was definitely beautiful, especially on first site through the arched doorway of the entryway. The grounds are large, thus allowing large numbers of people without feeling overly crowded, except when going inside the mausoleum. Thus, I was surprised by finding the visit strangely peaceful, as we wandered around the outside by the river. I don't think it was a very busy day at the Taj, so this probably helped. We were there for sunset, an added bonus. Our visit also allowed us an experience with queuing in India - basically, they do not believe in waiting their turn and will cut in quite brazenly. And that includes people of all ages, men and women.
All in all, after our visit I was exhausted, as we had needed to get up at 4am for 2 early morning flights, and then had only got to bed at 3am on our day of arrival, followed by 8 hours of driving in a day and a bad night's sleep on a rock hard bed following. However, by only eating breakfast at the B&B and one meal out where I stuck to cooked vegetables, I was able to get away without Delhi belly. Perhaps if I visit India again in the future, I could be a little more adventurous next time..
The Taj Mahal
