Final thoughts on India (for now)

Now that I’m on my way out of India, there are still a few more experiences I wanted to share, but it’s less a post and more a collection of events and thoughts I had while I was there. Some of them might not make sense, but they all made an impression on me. 

From the beach in south Goa. I wasn't sure if the cows were official members of the lifeguard crew or not, but one thing is for sure: with cows on the beach, you have to be careful where you put your blanket down

My “Top Ten” list of things I liked about India:

1. The street food (coconuts, chai, panipuri, samosas)
2. The restaurant food
3. Confirmation of my beliefs about the need for strong sanitation and environmental enforcement
4. Not getting sick
5. Traveling via almost every form of motorized transport in just a couple of weeks (airplane, train, bus, car, tukuk, boat)
6. The colors of the fashions, religious sites, and food
7. The incredible overlapping mashup of cultures that somehow works together
8. Indian music videos - seriously, just the most over-the-top, goofy, fun energetic thing ever
9. The people
10. The beautiful tropical scene of the southern coast

Another day at the beach in Kochi, complete with kites, people wearing long pants and long-sleeved shirts, and an oil refinery flaring in the background

I was in India for almost 3 weeks, and I’m debating coming back after the Maldives to see more. As I've said before, it’s not exactly a relaxing place, but it is fascinating. I’m a guy that typically takes all of one day to begin to feel acclimated in a new country and get my feet under me in a new culture. India took me four days before I began to feel less stressed and off-balance, which might not sound like that much, but it’s a big deal when you’re trying to find your way around on your own. By the way, I think taking the train and the public bus system helped a lot with feeling more at ease, although they were tough in their own way because I stuck out like crazy, but they really gave me more of a feel of daily life and how everyone relates to each other here. So, after my short few weeks in India, here is my advice if you ever want to come: sight see in the North, but vacation in the South.

Sunset in south Goa

North and Central India seem to have most of the big name attractions that visitors want to see, but they are more crowded, more dirty, more expensive, and more stressful. The further south along the western coast I went, on the other hand, the most relaxed, friendly, and pleasant the journey got for me. Kerala, the state at the southwestern tip of India, for example, has the one of the highest standards of living and  literacy and education rates in India, and I found it to be cleaner and much more laid back than anywhere else. But Kerala doesn't have the same big ticket attractions, although they still have many worth seeing, just nothing like the Taj or Rajasthan. Since flying in India is dirt-cheap (most of my one-way tickets between cities ran about $100-120), it’s easy to quickly get around from place to place, so I think it’s best to head for the major attractions, sight see and gawk at North India in it’s frenetic frenzy, and then take off for the South to recharge, meet some really nice people, and chill out on some beautiful tropical beach. I think I would have enjoyed my time here far less if I had only stayed in Mumbai, Delhi, and the other tourist areas, but having this more relaxed time in Goa and Kerala also made me appreciate the whole of what I saw more, so don’t just limit yourself to one state. It’s a huge country and I feel like I just barely scratched the surface, but on the whole I enjoyed what I uncovered.

From the train going from Goa to Kerala. I think I discovered about 5 new shades of green that day

The streets in India, to my eyes, seem particularly good at producing eye-catching, random, sometimes unexplainable scenes that cause my head to whip around as I try to make sense of what’s going on. I’ve been keeping a running list of the best things that really caught my eye and made me chuckle or left me puzzled or just brought home how different India can really be from the US. For example:

• All the trucks have painted signs on the back that say "Horn OK please", because they either don't have rear view mirrors or can't see anything that is 6 inches behind them, which is how close everyone drives.
• Dressed up families of 4 riding on a scooter.
• Impromptu welding on a tuktuk by the side of the road.
• Businessmen in suits walking hand-in-hand down the street. Men hold hands with each other, and women hold hands with each other, but it's very rare to see men and women holding hands. 
• Cows lying in a garbage pile by the side of the road, chewing on garbage.
• A literal river of tras.
• A conversation I had with my driver one Saturday:
• "Do children go to school today?" 
• (Puzzled) "Yes, it is not a holiday. Saturday is school day."
• "Oh. American students only go Monday through Friday."
• "Only 5 days of school in a week?" His tone told me exactly how easy he thought American students have it.
• 2 men riding scooter, at night, holding a full-sized folding ladder upright between the two of them.
• "The Royal Lush Family Restaurant and Bar" -seems like a good place to get a drink
• Indian cities at night are somewhat akin to a cross between Blade Runner or Dante's Inferno: humid, smoky, dusty, smelly, full of strange loud machines that bear down on you out of the darkness. Not really the place to indulge my love of walking around.
• Speaking of walking, nothing causes the same level of consternation in the locals of some countries (India included), like voluntarily walking from point A to point B. Aside from the constant offers for a taxi, I also got many good Samaritans stopping to ask if I was alright or if I needed help or a lift. It almost causes more trouble than it's worth just to amble around the town. 
• Scaring little kids with the panda factor; I'd smile at them, and they would hide, or occasionally cry.
• Indian boys going to school in sharp gray suits and maroon ties as their uniforms, making the school look like a backdrop for the latest Justin Timberlake video. 

From the bus going to Kumily, near the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The landscape there is beautiful mountain terrain, with tea plantations scattered around. A great place to escape to when the coast gets too hot