India Impressions

What can I say now that I am back from India and Nepal? Many people knew I was going so upon returning I was asked the question many times, “What did you think?”, some curious because they had been there and wanted to know my perspective, some because they were planning to go someday.
I never really wanted to go to India. I always had the impression that it was a crowded, dirty place and that I would not be comfortable. However, Aya wanted to go for our honeymoon and since she deferred to me and let me take us to Australia for our honeymoon I owed her the next trip. So we went to India.
Over the past year I had grown on the idea and actually became somewhat anxious to go. I read a lot about the various places in India and it just so happened that my 6th grade classes studied the area and made history projects about India right before I went. I watched a number of movies as well and finally decided that it might actually be interesting to go. India does in fact have a long history, full of interesting adventures, and really is currently in the midst of another adventure as its population begins to surpass that of China and becomes the highest in the world as well as having one of the fastest growing economies.
When we arrived my first impression was, “dirty”. We arrived at night and the haze was like a blanket. I thought living in Shanghai was bad for air pollution, and if you look at a map of air quality you will see that it is, but its nothing compared to New Delhi. My second impression was, “cheats”. Within the first hour of landing someone had ripped me off. We paid 400 rupees for a driver to get us from the airport (it should have been 250 or so) and when we arrived at the hotel he asked for a tip (he shouldn’t have) and when I gave him a 100 and asked for change he claimed he didn’t have any (I saw later that he did). We were also cheated again right after that by our hotel, but that is another story. My third impression of India was, “damn crowded”. The next day as we began to walk around it became clear just how crowded India is. There are people everywhere.
It was for those reasons that I really didn’t like India. I felt like I was constantly on guard, I could not relax. I had to always watch my bag, be skeptical of anyone who approached me (because people would appear to be helping you when in fact they were trying to cheat you), and always bargain bargain bargain. I hate bargaining. I always lose. Even if I get “a good deal” its not a good deal because the vendor would certainly take less if my skin was a different color. Everyday was more about planning how to see what sites we were interested in while minimizing getting cheated than they were about relaxing and having a good time. There were people everywhere which made it very difficult to enjoy any peace or any moment alone with my wife. It is also the crowded condition that leads to the filth that permeated India. Trash was everywhere, just about everything had a layer of dust on it, and people pissed and shat everywhere along with all manner of beasts on the street. Pollution choked the air and garbage choked the rivers. One thing pictures and movies never convey is the smell which was generally acrid with a tinge something smelted.
This is also why it was a relief to get to Nepal. Nepal shared a lot of those characteristics. It was dirty, touts everywhere, very crowded, but there was something a bit more relaxed about Nepal. When you said no to touts the people backed off. In Indian people grabbed you. People bargained, but there were not as many people trying to cheat us and there were places were you could buy as a local buys. It wasn’t hard to pick out people who were genuinely trying to help us from those who were just out to get us. There was a lot of filth in Kathmandu, but not as much in the countryside and that was also different.
I also don’t mean to say that we never met people we liked. We met a lot of people we liked. Our tour guide in Nepal was especially nice and the man whose family we had a homestay with was really sweet. We met nice travelers and store owners along the way, had some great conversations on the trains, and some of the best food I ever ate (besides the food that made me ill for a week). There were enjoyable things, but if I were to answer, “What did you think” I would say, “Dirty, crowded, full of cheats. Don’t go there. Your money is better spent seeing somewhere else in the world.”