Incredible India - not same same, but totally different

I thought I had travelled in Asia before, and I believed I had seen and experienced a lot.. Thank you, India for teaching me a lesson and leaving me so humble again in this regard! I was told India would be different, intense, and overwhelming; but still I did not expect such a trip 😆

Starting my trip in a very hectic phase of my year (business, changing flats, and a medical incident in my family) I had very little time to prepare my travels. Arriving in Delhi in the middle of the night, the lack of preparation lead to the first issues.. the local sim card I bought was only activated 24h later, the metro was not running at this hour, and my hotel pickup service didn’t show up.. so using my common sense I went for a pre-paid taxi (to avoid being spun around the city several times); unfortunately, this is the type of taxi that will stop in the middle of the city, road blocks ahead, and stating that the area my hotel is in wouldn't be accessible due to some street festival. 3 AM, no internet or GPS, being tired from the flight and only aiming to get some sleep, I was taken to a tourist agency that was supposed to help me out. They called my hotel for me (well, they talked to someone on the phone), confirming I cannot get there and then arranging an emergency solution for me. When they started laying out an itinerary for me for a week in Northern India and showing me the different options, I understood what was going on and insisted on being taken to their hotel. Conveniently, the hotel’s WiFi was down that night and I was told I had to pay for the hotel at the agency, so back to that place in the morning where the price of their ”private tour“ had magically been reduced by some 100 Euros. It was still too fishy for me, so I left and took the next tuk-tuk to the city centre only to be questioned by the driver where I was from, where I was going, etc. and then being dropped to ”an official Indian government tourist agency“ (there is no such thing!). They showed me a similar itinerary, quite a bit cheaper and kept stressing how difficult, dangerous and inconvenient - due to the lack if time - it would be to travel individually and I remembered also how my Indian colleagues recommended to not travel on my own. A bit jet lagged and tired of people dragging me to decide, I went with their option and hired a private driver/tour guide for a week to ease my mind and have a more relaxed trip. The hotels included where lower standard and not really central in all places I have visited. And turned out I still overpaid by >300€ probably, and finding out about it did not create an atmosphere of trust between me and the driver. After he kept stopping at super overpriced tourist traps (i.e. restaurants, tailors), I started challenging every single price I was told and was pleasantly successful with it; I was offered discounts on restaurants menus, refused to pay taxes on bills, and got student admission to monuments and tourist attractions without being asked for student ID ;) 

Be that as it may, I was not appreciated about every single person trying to take advantage of me, also the melting pot that is Delhi with all its massive traffic jams and (honking) noises as well as excruciating smell, rubbish dumped everywhere, and locals irritatingly coughing and then spitting on the ground was overwhelming on all senses. Being pushed around in the masses, I found it difficult to relax, have a quiet moment and enjoy the undoubtedly existing beautiful places on my first two days. On a positive note, most vehicles in Delhi are running on gas these days, so at least the smoke stemming from traffic was much less than expected. Some people might be thriving on all this (over-)stimulation, but I could not wait to leave Delhi. A few impressions though:

Enough of the ranting, after Delhi I have seen and visited amazing places beginning with the pink city of Jaipur and it`s diverse architecture and rich history. Learning from experience I told my driver exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see. I still almost snapped when being on a small street market when a bunch of motorbikes drove through the narrow passage with blazing horns 😜Here are some photographic impressions of palaces, forts and temples in Jaipur. 

A rather disappointing excursion to the Ranthambore National park later, where there is a slim chance to see Bengal tigers - I haven‘t seen any and actually there is more wild animals (i.e. cows, monkeys, dogs) on the streets of the cities than in the park - I was on my way to Agra and the Taj Mahal. The white marble mausoleum itself is monumental of course, but moreso I admired the captivating history behind it - built between 1631-1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal, about 20.000 people worked day and night to finish this monument of love and nowadays UNESCO world heritage site. If you ever visit, make sure you go to the opposite river side where it‘s comparably peaceful and quite and you get a super view towards the Taj Mahal.

I seemingly had adapted a fair bit to India by now, I even enjoyed another half-day in Delhi exploring the bustling neighbourhood of Chandni Chowk with its famous street food (no Delhi belly for me though) and markets before jumping on a night train to Banares. The train ride was one of my favourite parts of this trip; I was travelling first class, the service and comfort was great and for the first time in India I had met two people who didn't seem to have any negative intention in mind talking to me - one of them even gave me a notebook as a welcome present to India. I arrived in Banares, one of the world‘s oldest settlements and most spiritual places, felt like being in the middle ages... There I experienced one of those moments where India can leave you speechless: it had been some years since in school I first heard about and seen photos of Hindus bathing and cleansing themselves in the Ganges river. Up the river dead bodies are cremated and every evening there are spiritual ceremonies called Pooja taking place; unlike anything I have ever seen in my life, very intense and magical to witness the spiritual chanting, fire plays and bells ringing while being on a boat on the Ganges river. On my second day in Varanasi I fell for the spiritual vibe even more and visited an ashram to practise meditation.

Eventually I made it to Kolkata, the main reason for this trip to India being a colleague and friend of mine getting married. While I had seen a few wedding processions with a horse or an elephant on the street already and passing by some more where I could see the lights and hear the blasting music, it sure is different if someone you know is involved. I was extremely happy to meet some familiar faces, exchange travel stories and learn that others also struggled with the very same issues in India, also having mixed feelings. It was time to forget about the stress in my first week and prepare for the wedding experience, i.e. go shopping for traditional Indian wedding garments. 

Also, we had an organised city tour to explore the colonial style architecture and to my feel quite green Kolkata with a local guide. The city seemed cleaner, less touristy and locals more friendly than the places I had been to before; what remains are the large distances and  heavy traffic leading to long rides in buses or taxis. 

Although the wedding was quite organised and we were handed an agenda even, for me as a German I was still lost at times when ceremonies just take much longer or start a lot later than announced - meaning I was usually too early ;) And there were many ceremonies and steps to follow and witness, starting with the henna and engagement on day 1 and ending with a gathering of the closest friends late night after day 2 because the wedding couple was supposed to stay awake until sunrise and then follow some more traditions. Overall it was a very colourful wedding, fancy dresses, blasting music and wicked dance moves, amazing food, a lot of good chat and laughter, as well as little sleep; I loved the experience and am very grateful for having been part of it and getting an insight in the Indian traditions and cultural aspect of weddings.

Last but not least I visited the amazing Mumbai, the only city in India I actually had some expectations for as one of my favourite books - Gregory David Roberts "Shantaram" - had introduced me to some of the neighbourhoods and places years ago. And Mumbai did not disappoint! I didn`t even mind the 1.5h taxi ride from the airport to my hotel in Mumbai... Knowing and loving Shantaram the obvious choice to stay was Colaba of course, and I started exploring the surroundings such as Gateway of India, Colaba Causeway and Marine Drive; lovely energetic vibe, very modern and developed city and even the (still massive) traffic felt not as aggressive to me. I must say that a lot of buildings in Mumbai don`t only reflect the colonial style but are also iconic, i.e. the train station Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Also worth indulging in the Mumbai street food if you dare, the wada pav (a sort of veggie burger) I can highly recommend. 

What I also noticed in Mumbai was many more foreign tourists; whereas in most other places I sometimes had the feeling I was one of the few western tourists - but that may be due to the sheer number of India`s population and locals on the streets, so a few hundred foreign tourists might not stand out as much as much. I had a sunset stroll by te bay at  the beautiful Marine Drive, then went for a beer at the famous Leopold`s Cafe before heading back to my hotel and trying to catch up on sleep.

Second day in Mumbai I took a guided tour through the world`s largest slum, Dharavi, which is much more like a business with the well-organised plastic recycling, pottery, diyeing clothes and a set minimum daily wage. On the way I had the Indian local train experience, where it was important to force yourself close to the exits before arriving at a station - the train didn`t stop for more than 22 seconds. But also local cabs where convenient and - when run by the meter - cheaper than uber or ola cars. I spent some time in Bandra and the late afternoon shopping at the local markets, buying souvenirs and checking local street art. For the sunset I found Mumbai Love, from where I could see the sun sink into the sea behind the impressive Bandra-Worli-Sea link.

On my last day I seized the opportunity to have a city-getaway and took a one hour boat ride to the Elephanta Caves. The caves and ruins there are nice to see, but even more I enjoyed the peace and quiet from the city noise out there. And observing monkeys stealing food and drinks from unaware tourists was fun, quite interesting was the monkey that took a closed water bottle from a little girl, twisted open the cap and then held the bottle to his mouth to drink from it. Before heading to the airport, I made sure to get a full treatment at one of the local barber shops - hair cut and shave for as much as 250 Rp (approx. 3.5 Euros).

To sum up, I still have mixed feelings about this country India that seems more like a continent than a country due to its massive size and population, different cultures and languages. I had know about the British influence beforehand, but seeing for myself was definitely different, as well as constantly being reminded of the stark contrast between the extreme poor and absolute wealthy. I did not enjoy my time during my first week as much as I would have liked to, but even there I have been learning so much about the culture and values, the educational system (go watch Super 30) and also how to squat on public toilets. And as mentioned before among all the struggles, there are definitely those magical moments that leave you speechless. And I had more of these in my second week, so overall an intense and valuable experience. If I´d was to go to India again, I`d carefully consider my itinerary (i.e. Darjeeling, Kerala, Goa..) and prepare just a tiny bit more.

Yours,

Sebastian