Challenges

Heat – We thought Thailand was hot but soon learned after arriving in India that parts of Asia can get even hotter. Temperatures of 100’ F or more were common and most buildings do not have air conditioning.

Difficulty crossing the street on foot – Being a pedestrian in India is scary. Refer to Jerry’s post about driving in India for more details.

Garbage and smell – Most of the cities we visited in India have not figured out a good way to deal with garbage and waste water. Garbage in the streets was a common site and cows (considered holy in India) freely roamed the streets and walkways. We learned to step carefully to avoid cow pies.

Constant pressure from street vendors, drivers, and children in the street to buy something – Most of the time just saying no or walking in a determined manner was fairly effective when we were not interested in their products or services. At the India Gate in New Delhi an older woman wanted to put decorative Henna dye on Eryn’s hand for a fee. Eryn said no but the woman rather forcefully grabbed Eryn’s hand and almost started to apply the dye. Fortunately the woman understood we were not interested when I rather loudly said NO and Eryn was able to pull her hand away. Hired drivers can often earn a bit of extra money if they “just stop by” a bazaar that sells souvenir-type items with their unsuspecting foreign passengers. They ask their passengers to “just have a look for a few minutes” before proceeding on to the originally planned destination.  We experienced this with two drivers during our stay in India. The first driver believed us when we said we were not interested in going into the bazaar. The second driver and some bazaar salesmen were more persistent, but finally got the message that we did not wish to shop there.  

Staring at white females – Many young men in India stared at Eryn and me, which was very uncomfortable. And because of Eryn’s age, they stared at her more often. In addition to staring, they would also take photos of us. They would pretend they were taking a picture of something else with their cell phone and then at the last second point the camera at one or several of us. Maybe famous actors and actresses are used to this, but it made me feel uneasy.

Favorites

Overnight camel safari

Delicious food such as garlic naan, mango lassi, and aloo ghobi

Intricate marble and sandstone carvings such as the Taj Mahal

Visiting the Bishnoi villages where we saw two schools and inside a family’s home

Beautiful colors of women’s clothing, tapestries, and towns. Jaipur is called the pink city because many buildings are painted pink, a color that absorbs less heat from the sun. Jodhpur is the blue city. Many years ago the homes around the fort were grouped according to caste.  The Brahmin caste, which is the highest caste, painted their homes blue. Now anyone can paint their house blue and quite a few of the residents have done so. Jaisalmer is the golden city because the rock used to make the fort and surrounding homes is yellow.