The trip to India: part 1

We left New Delhi airport at 3:28am Monday. Over 20 hours later we arrived home in Seattle. It’s safe to say that whatever brain cells I still possess, they’re not working well.

That said, here’s the 3 bullet executive summary of the trip:

  • India is big. Really big. Like 1/3rd the size of the U.S but with 3 times as many people. So my attempts to describe to people “India was like…” are impossibly uninformed and unfair. I can understand now why when Europeans that do visit the U.S. (particularly ones that visit Las Vegas or Orlando) see it the way they do: how much can you understand about anywhere by being there for a few days, mostly in touristy places? While in India I struggled with the scale: the size of the cities, the numbers of people, the depth of poverty and the optimism about the future. But I only saw the NW of the country and mostly urban areas and some big tourist stops. So YMMV.
  • Chaos redefined. We stayed in Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur and I’ve never seen anything like what I saw on the streets and in neighborhoods. Motorcycles and rickshaws dominate the unmarked roads. I saw driving moves I thought people only did in video games (e.g. running through intersections the wrong way across 6 lanes of traffic). Sections of towns sprawl and mash up against each other, with patches of decay, construction, slum and promenade all rolled together. I found it impossible to get a sense of bearing in the cities: their chaos and scale makes Manhattan seem like a childrens park. From a Western and American perspective, these cities were aesthetically a mess. But they work, sort of – at least for the people in them. As much as I was dumbfounded by what I saw, I was equally amazed and how well people functioned inside these incomprehensible systems. Entire papers could be written on the agile methods and organic attitudes employed by dense, and largely poor, urban populations: they’re more clever and resourceful than the rest of us.
  • Amazement and Horror . During the trip I saw poverty on a scale I’d never imagined. We drove from Delhi to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, and for 200km each way we saw an endless roadside shantytown, one stretch of chaos after another, poor towns with shacks and village stores living off (one assumes) the traffic from the highways (We’d see more intense poverty early on in our train ride from Delhi to Jaipur). But every few miles, rising above the frey, were cell phone towers. Cell phones and internet access points surrounded by people without clean drinking water. I felt this kind of discordance many times in India – It seemed to be a country with everything, the good and the bad. Again and again there were dramatic contrasts, people living difficult lives in shacks, while next door is the most wonderous palace or temple I’d ever seen.

I’m still digesting what I experienced – once the brain cells are back I’ll have good stories to share. Thanks to everyone for their India advice – appreciated.


7 Responses to “The trip to India: part 1”

  1. PK

    Well, in few words Scott has described an experience that we live in everyday. It’s a huge country with such diversity their cannot be an escape from the chaos. Even for the people who live in it. Not easy to digest the extremes.
    Having said that, there is a lot more that’s unexplored, It’s a world in itself.

    Hope you experienced the warmth of the people though. Hope to see you in India again, if you come this time please visit the south, I will be glad to show you around.

    Reply
  2. Nesh

    Reading ur travel just projected the image many Tourist get from india but if u really travel down south and north east you might love the beauty and tranquality of the culture and places india got to offer. Its amazing and i know friends who have fell in love with india and people at first sight :)

    well hope to see u in india again and hope this time u carry more rich happy memories from here

    Cheers
    Nesh

    Reply
  3. PORTER

    So, if there was anything that you could change or make better of India, what would it be and what value would the improvement of India hold to you?

    Reply
  4. Carol Nichols

    Just thought Id tell you I liked your fotos and as a Photographer I have all the joys of India to experience. Would you say you had lost weight while there? and also as a woman will I have to wear all cover unstylish clothes. Would a< woman be able to travel alone? even if I have itinerary planned. Im writing from Spain and hoping to go in Jan is that time a good time or is it abit cold.? Going to read all about your travel. Thanks for info.

    Reply
  5. Trip to India

    We advise you not to wander on your own if you do not know the local language. you can ask for the regulation of interpreters and guides who speak your language to your tour operator. It is possible to prearrange the price for journeys, which makes it ideal for business trips when travelling by prepare is normally far more expensive.http://www.indiatoursvacations.com

    Reply

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