The Wrap on India

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  Kochi, India
Sunday, February 19, 2006

As our thoughts start to turn to the final leg of our trip and returning to New York, it's surreal to have spent a month in a country that could not be more different than home. On the other hand, perhaps it makes sense afterall as India, just like New York City, has a way of getting under your skin. We have heard it said a hundred times and now we can attest to the fact that India is an all-encompassing experience full of challenges leading to equal if not greater rewards. More simply, as we wrote in our first entry from Delhi,"India is hard work but it's worth it."

It's hard to summarize our time in India but we'll do our best.

What We've Done
We've traveled from Delhi to Kochi by plane, train, boat; bus and car; we've eaten as many different types of Indian food as we could including the Mughali food of the North and the spicy food native to the South; we've run the range of emotions from rage, disappointment, disbelief, amusement to joy and beyond on a daily basis; we've experienced both kind and opportunistic Indian people; we've had our fiercest autorickshaw battles here in India and finally learned how to tell a driver in no uncertain terms that we will NOT be visiting any of his friends shops so he can get a kick back; we learned as much as we could about the spiritual side of India (most notably Hinduism and yoga) and developed a deeper appreciation for this current which seems to run beneath all of India. India is such a huge country with so many different cultures within it, our travels and experiences here have most of all helped us be better at adjusting and keeping our minds open to the cultural differences we discovered at each new stop on our journey.

What We Haven't Done
We never really got as good as we wanted to be at bargaining but we tried really hard; we were never really stopped in our tracks by intestinal problems although we did succumb a few times for blessedly short periods; we avoided a visit to an Indian hospital thanks to the some fabulous British physicians we met in Kochi (FYI - Kristy's sprained ankle is now officially on the mend just in time to browse the souqs of Dubai); we could never really understand some of the more illogical traffic patterns and regulations of India; we never got used to the rock hard beds at almost all of our hotels (except for Master Paying Guesthouse); we have not become Hare Krishna's. While I think we can pat ourselves on the back for keeping an open mind as we traveled through this difficult country, it's an overstatement to say we've mastered the zen of India. I think a few more visits to this fascinating place are definitely in order.

Well, you know we love lists so here's a summary of our Indian highlights:
1. Visiting Delhi (especially spending time with Matt's family at Master Paying Guest House and taking Avnish's Hidden Delhi Tour).
2. Relaxing in Goa (fishing, yoga, just laying around).
3. Seeing the elusive tiger in Mudumalai National Park
4. The beautiful day hike through forests and tea plantations in Ooty.
5. The crazy six-person rickshaw ride we took home from dinner to our guesthouse in Ooty (we are still waiting for that photo!).
6. Finally eating pizza after a very long time in Kochi (who cares if it was Pizza Hut!)
8. Hearing the way indian people use an odd tense when talking, ie - "You are much liking your dinner?"


Budget-wise we did pretty well in India. We stayed within a reasonable range of our estimated $90 a day budget although India can definitely be done for less. We met a couple from Canada who were doing it on 1000 rupees a day, which is about 20 dollars US. Not our style for sure, but incredibly it can be done.

On the Topic of Food

India can provide some of the greatest dining and some of the most tedious. We have had some delicious meals, especially in Delhi at places recommended by Avnish, and some thoroughly bland meals, especially in the South, which is ironic since the food is reputed to be so spicey. And we can say for sure, that there really is nothing worse than bland Indian food. Luckily, even your mistakes don't hurt too bad, at least on the wallet, a common amount for a meal for two was in the range of 4 Dollars US. And amazingly, aside from the pizza hut, and the delicious (though notorious) meal at the Imperial in Delhi, we ate nothing but Indian food during our whole time here. That's a feat we did not achieve in any other country we've visited.

One last issue that has amused us to no end: The Indian Head Bobble. It's a bit hard to explain but Indian people sort of waggle their head from side to side sometimes while talking to you or each other. We have not quite figured it out, but suspect it is sort of like a nod of agreement or perhaps ambivalence and sometimes dismissal. We have found ourselves starting to do it a bit, but still can't fully explain it. We guess it's just one more mystery to solve on our next visit.

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