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Published: January 11th 2006
What I have learnd in India .... all in eleven days!
Right hand - left hand ... let's eat!
The emphasis put on eating with the correct hand, i.e. the right one because the left one is used for cleansing unmentionables, is not adhered to very closely....in fact I ate with a muslim and he did not even wash his hands before he delved into his dinner. When at the house of a muslim we had tea and buns and these buns were torn into by everybody in the room with both hands. Maybe very orthodox muslims do better....have not met any of them yet.
...WM... green texas garbage trucks ... come&get it!
The garbage everywhere is garbage in public areas. The houses in India are all behind a tall fence with a gate. Behind that gate all is clean, refreshed sometimes three times a day. Out on the street there is not one sign of a trash can, the garbage bins are troughs for cow, donkey and dog and little evidence is present that a street sweeper has been by. Here in Dharamsala there is not such a great problem but there is still much garbage evidence. Because of the steepness of the terrain plastic bags and other refuse can be seen clinging to the branches of trees probably washed down the spillway during runoffs. We climbed, by road to 1807meters today .... and still found refuse! It was a public road we walked on.
The splendour of the trains is over-rated!
The much lauded trains, those which I was so looking forward to when reading about them in books from times gone by, are a big disappointment! I hate to admit this. There are around 14 to 19 different classes of train. I knew that. We have travelled once from Jammu to Amritsar by A1/AC supposedly the top of the regular from here to there train as opposed to a specialty train on the level of Orient Express. Well... the berths were blue plastic, the little table between the berths was in dire need of disinfection, the floor had been swept but was long overdue for a wash, the bedding looked clean but we had seen how they had been sorted for the laundry on the don't-ask-what-kind-of-condition cement platform, the pillows I took a picture of because no one will believe what was inside the pillowcase, and the blanket, camel brown I used to sit on. I did not remove my clothes to sleep that night and it was not because we were arriving at 04:30. I will not be removing my clothes on any of the overnight trips. We have one trip that will take us from Kolcatta to Mumbai ... 40hrs..2 sleeps .... I will be in one set of clothes that whole time too!!!
Haggle,Haggle,Haggle
Every price you are quoted needs to be haggled over ...except in government shops where prices are fixed. Every price you are quoted is very much inflated and you are probably still paying more than the thing is really worth. Is this news to anyone who has been anywhere? Sometimes you do find a gorgeous something or other that you do not care how much you pay for. GO for IT!!! If you show too much interest i a thing forget about getting away cheap. If you walk away you usually get the price you want. If you are no longer interested stop touching the thing and be on your way.
Never drive in India!
Driving here is one great game of who will give way first. The sixty year old autorickshaw driver we had in Amritsar was the best advocate of if-you-push-through-without-blinking-an-eye-you-will-make-it, I have ever seen. We went through traffic as if it did not exist. He just stuck out his hand and kept going wether it was a car, a bus, a bicycle rickshaw or pedestrian. We had some close shaves and it was all we could do from shouting out! To say the least each vehicle we have been in has been an adrenalin charged expierence. The size of the road bed would save a lot of ashphalt and road maintanance costs in Canada. Busses and trucks seem able to pass each other on roads that seem hardly big enough for two cars. The white line in the middle of the road is always broken even in hairpin curves. The horn is as often if not more in use as the brake. It is actually encouraged on the back of each truck, bus and rickshaw to blow the horn when thinking of passing.
Avoid giving attention to Beggars
Do not make eye contact and just keep walking. I have watched people who live here and they do the same thing. We saw a man in Delhi who had no legs and was rolling around on the street. A bowl of money was beside him. He could not walk. He had to have someone overseeing his progress in begging. Here in Dharamsala there are shoe shine boys. They all come from Rajistan, all have a parent that has run away and they all need milk for a little sister. Sad to say but I think the beggers have managers.
Eat only if you can find clean hands.
When eating from a street stall look for clean hands, running water near the stall, and preferably a small crowd in front of the stall meaning the food is good. These indicators help in making a decision. Only eat if you are of a strong constitution and are truly too hungry to wait for a proper restaurant.
Do not look into the kitchens of restaurants.
I avoid looking behind the door of the kitchen. If I look into the restaurant kitchen I may never eat again. Also do not watch as dishes are wiped or what they are wiped with. I watched one man wipe the dishes with a rag that is too dirty to wash my deck.I am religiously swallowing my wild oregano oil and taking charcoal pills!!
Do your own laundry
Sending the dirty laundry in a plastic bag will find the clean laundry returned in the same bag. I have yet to see a clothes pin here. The laundry is draped over banisters, fences, road medians, balconies, everything but a clothesline. I did see one clothes line but it was beside a busy road... no chance of being unpolluted!We have sent out our laundry three times. Once in Dubai and it came back smelling sweet. Once in Delhi where it came back a bit damp because we decamped rather quickly and once in Amritsar where it came back clean but in the same dirty laundry bag.
There are no pregnant women here.
We have not seen one pregnant woman. It could be that the flowing garments hide the condition but ..... . Maybe women do not come out while pregnant. Will have to investigate this.
There are clocks everywhere.
In the mosques, in stores, in the Golden Temple, in the homes, in the ofices, in the stores, in the street, clocks, clocks, clocks and more clocks.
Yet time is not relevant; trains are not on time, airplanes leave when ready, heaters get turned on hours late in freezing weather, appointed times are approximate, ten minutes or even 40 either side of the hour, and breakfast/lunch/dinner is always served way past the agreed apon time. So why the clocks?
Toilets... need I say more?
The smell of piss is everywhere. Men stand up against any wall and if there is no wall a tree will do and they use their right hand ... so much for the righthand lefthand issue!!!. Pissiors are common. Public toilets smell from far away. Toilets with footpads and holes are more hygienic, Some places you pay for toilet paper. Pray you don't have to go too often. Roll up your pant leg to avoid soakers. If you sit down on an unpaperlined toilet seat you're on your own. Half of my toilet paper goes to lining the seat before use. Here in Dharamsala the town is small enough so we can go back (sometimes run back) to our hotel-room to use the facilities. A rolll of toilet paper here costs Rs25 and it is on sale everywhere. Because of the great number of tourists I think the locals are making a huge profit on toilet paper...of course this is pure speculation as I have not yet seen, anywhere else in the small provisions shops, the sale of toilet paper... of course I have been in India only eleven days!
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Gail McPhee
non-member comment
cleanliness
Think maybe you are too fixated on the clean? Unless someone has left a streak of shit across the seat what are you expecting to catch? Mentholatum for the nose sounds like a must for travllers. I do pity your poor cold feet.