What Has Paris Got To Do With India?

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Within 3-days of arriving in India, I was ready to fly right back out. It was not so much a particular moment that overcame me, as it was a general uneasiness that became unbearably overwhelming. When psychologists began to regularly encounter traumatised Japanese returning from their “dream” holiday in France, their distressed condition was apparently caused by the gulf between their romanticised expectations of Paris and the abrupt reality of intimidating, rude Parisians, dirty streets and handbag snatching. Psychologists dubbed this, “The Paris Syndrome”. Could this be my prognosis here in India? We have just paid for a 10-day tour of Rajistan! Is “Paris syndrome” covered by our travel insurance?

Our hotel in Mumbai was booked before we flew from Sydney - it was a good strategy to have somewhere to go before we exited the relatively safety of the airport before shoving through the throng of taxi touts and rickshaw wallahs gathered outside; there to greet each new arrival. Then there was the immediately clear breakdown in communications between our taxi driver, so we were practically chanting the hotel’s name repeatedly over the din of the traffic noise, only to be barely understood. Finally, we spotted a hotel’s sign that matched the name that we had scrawled in the notebook. The hotel seemed good value at the time of booking but after we checked into our marginally clean, small double room, we found it was located quite some distance from most things of interest in Mumbai. This meant a long, slow and expensive taxi into Churchgate or braving the local trains.

The train carriages have separate ladies only carriages and as the train pulled into the station, Leanne and I had to spot each other squeezing through the doorway, into the carriage to be sure we were actually boarding the same train. It was not clear what made this carriage “first class” as I squeezed between the packs of sweating commuters. I desperately clung to the handles swing from the carriage roof so not to be swept off the train as it drew into each station’s platform. Equal effort was required to resist the incoming swarm as the train drew away. Sweat pooled in the moulded recesses of my Birkenstock sandals, filling them completely before the 40-minute journey ended at the Churchgate Terminus. Apparently Leanne enjoyed much more personal space in the ladies carriage.

Despite the public transport sauna that was Mumbai trains, I was still not quite prepared for heat of the city. We caught a taxi to the Gateway of India Landmark to become fresh targets for the touts, tour operators and sadus. The prospect of a tour in an air-conditioned car for the afternoon became immediately appealing despite the tourist price tag and it would take the guesswork out of navigating this city. This way, Mumbai was compressed rather neatly into one afternoon that took us to Colaba; along Marine drive; past Chowpatty Beach; to the Jain temple; past the Parsis tower of Silence (where Zoroastrians leave the bodies of their dead to picked at by the vultures) and the grand Victoria Terminus. Of all these, the Gandhi house museum was by far the most interesting. It had dioramic displays of significant events in the life of MG. It had letters he wrote to world leaders and cases with his living and working articles preserved. The Nobel peace prize was never awarded to MG and only recently have they admitted this was a mistake. Having visited this house and understanding a little more about him, I tend to agree.

The next day we decided to head out to Elaphanta Island where there are caves and rock carvings relating to the stories of the Hindu god Shiva. Not much is known about the origin of these carvings which are about 1500 years old the most impressive of these is the three giant faces of Shiva depicting him as the destroyer, creator and preserver of the world. The other striking panel depicts an exquisitely carved face of absolute serenity on a multi limbed Shiva as he danced the world into existence whilst simultaneously crushing an evil dwarf - they really didn’t like dwarves from the stories in these carvings. This trip also marked the first tourist scam - despite being extra cautious - we actually fell victim to. The ferry ticket tout suggested buying the guidebook from him, as it is cheaper than buying upon our arrival to the island. We resisted until the moment before we boarded then gave in and handed over 250 rupees as we stepped onto the ferry. Pulling away from the dock, the tout shouted to his mate on board in Marathi. We were soon approached and he explained our guidebook was well out of date. The superior edition with maps and revised descriptions could be “upgraded” for additional 150 rupees. All up it was an $11AUD sting - but it’s the principle!

The colony of monkeys are well used to the visitors and it was amusing to watch them chase tourist who had food in their back packs. Some island guards would blow their whistle to alert the unwary tourist, which by time they turned, the monkey stopped and sat innocently. As they turned back to their path, the monkey resumed their pursuit until the whistle sounded again. The time on the island and its 40-minute journey across Mumbai’s litter strewn harbour water was welcome respite from the city. We also managed to avoid peak hour on the train back to our accommodation and sat in relative comfort.

After 3-nights in Mumbai, I had began to find a little confidence but it was time to move on and we had a overnight train booked to Delhi. A blow by some sort of projectile launched from a passing train quickly knocked out most of that confidence. After rail porter duped us for 150 rupees too much and a beggar passing through the train persistently harassed me for money with his stumpy leg, I lost my cool. The kind intervention of some fellow travellers calmed the situation and me so I would reach Delhi without losing it. If you had a bingo card made up of every tout scam described in the Lonely Planet, within a few minutes, you would have all boxes marked and shouting “House”. We were chased across platforms to be misinformed and confused by the touts to give in to their ridiculously overpriced scams. Leanne let out a “back off” as she searched for the uniformed security to direct us toward the pre-paid auto-rickshaw stand. Although shocked from our tiredness by the risky prospect of becoming part of the Delhi traffic chaos we were glad to be recluse in our hotel room for some rest.

Finally, we bravely ventured into the notoriously scam circle that is Connaught Place. A confluence of coincidences found us at a travel agent who seemed to have some experience with Delhi dizzied foreigners. I was ultra-sceptical by this time and they had their work cut out to convince me to be otherwise. Starting small - a good priced day tour of Delhi with our own driver would be the icebreaker before committing to a tour of Varanasi, Agra and into Rajistan. The next morning the driver was waiting for us at the agreed time. His name was Papu and his experience in negotiating the unpredictable traffic was immediately apparent. We would have the chance to be relatively protected from the undesirable elements of Delhi to take in some of the history of this city. Papu would also coach us on exactly what touts and scams to expect and how to avoid them before we exited his car to visit each site.

We crossed into Old Delhi to visit the largest Mosque in India: Jama Masjid. Its courtyard can hold 25,000 people. We visited the massive Red Fort built in distinctive red sandstone by the Mughal emperor in the 17th century. Its massive Lahore Gate is so called because it faces Lahore, now part of Pakistan. Every Independence Day, the Prime Minister of India (a Hindu) rather provokingly delivers an address to massive crowds from atop this structure built at the peak of Muslim Mughal dominance. We visited Mahatma Ghandi’s tomb with its eternal flame burning to mark the life of the most revered man in India. The India gate stands 42 metres tall to one end of a broad, clean avenue with the Indian Parliament buildings, a legacy of grand British colonial architecture, standing at the other. Huyamins’ Tomb is called the mini Taj by Delhi locals and was the design precursor to the world wonder in Agra.

The Bahai Temple is a modern building that depicts a lotus flower in bloom with its petals, clad in Greek pure white marble, reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House sails. The Bahai faith is a reputedly all-encompassing religion that incorporates the doctrines of the main religions. It does require belief in scripture written by some modern martyrs and does still smack a little like guruism to me. Our last stop was Qutab Minar - an impressive 72 metre high, tapering victory tower (15 metres diameter at the base and 2.5 metres across at the top) built from 1199 (completed in 1368) marking the fall of the last Hindu kingdom. The light of the sunset gave the red and white sandstone intensely contrasting colour. The surrounding ruins of the first mosque in India (called “the might of Islam mosque”) had keyed stones with ornate carvings randomly placed in amongst the plainer stones, which made up its walls. This is explained by the translation of the description over the east gate that stated the mosque was raised on foundations of a Hindu temple and from materials obtained by, “demolishing 27 idolatrous temples”.

Our Delhi day complete, we signed on for the tour and we were catching an overnight train to Varanasi the next day. We anaesthetised ourselves a little with Kingfisher beers over dinner that night. I took a deep breath and managed to suppress the urge to fly to get a reasonable night’s rest. Before we departed on our train, our driver and Indian culture coach Papu warned us, “Be careful in Varanasi. There are very many cheating people. For Indians, Varanasi is number one cheating town. Don’t trust anybody!”

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Here is the India tour company information we used when we traveled there:

For New Delhi, Varanassi, Agra, Jaipur, Pushka & Udaipur - we used:
United India Tours & Travel
103 Scindia House, Janpath, Connaught Place, New Delhi 110001
Phone: [phone] (011) 41514549 Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]; [e-mail]

We spoke with Ashok. He really delivered on all promised services (and sometimes exceeded our expectations). We felt our driver Papu was a big part of our good experience. If making arrangements in advance, request him! He has 20 years experience, is honest and maintains his car well. We still felt we needed to be careful when negotiating our tour. Insist that everything discussed and agreed to is written down in the contract form before signing or paying. This includes seemingly small things like driver food, driver accommodation, parking fees, road toll, petrol and transfers). They were, admittedly, quite good with this, but it pays to be diligent.

In Kerala we used:
Kerela Greenery
Phone: 0471 - 2327701 / 2 / 3 Extn #23 Fax: 0471 - 2327703
Email: [e-mail] , [e-mail]
Website: www.keralagreenery.org

Very professional company - check their website. They are flexible with any of their packages and can tailor a tour to suit you.

In Rishikesh we stayed and made Tour arrangements with:
Garhwal Himalayan Explorations Pvt. Ltd.
Kailash Gate,Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh-249201 (Garhwal Himalayas) Uttaranchal India
Phone: [phone], Fax: [phone]
Cell No. + 98370 55578 / 94 120 50478 (Rajeev) + 94120 55399 ( Seema)
E mail: [e-mail] / [e-mail]
Visit us : www.thegarhwalhimalayas.com & www.rishikesh.org

Great feeling about this place, family run with really good accommodation and loads of traveler services (internet, food etc) close by on high bank. Hassle free haven!

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Photos

Gateway of India, Mumbai
The main meeting point ... where touts, taxi drivers, tour operators, sadus and street vendors all annoyingly greet the traveller.

Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai
Overlooking Chowpatty Beach

Elaphanta Island
Leanne on the steps of carved rock cave dating from over 1500 years ago.

Old Delhi's Jama Masjid
This is the largest Mosque in India and its courtyard holds 25,000 people.

The India Gate, New Delhi
Not to be confused with the "Gateway of India" - a monument errected by the British - in Mumbai which is not as nationally significant to India as this gate is.

Hanuman's Tomb, New Delhi
The second Mughal Emperor and often refered to as "the mini Taj". Considered the design precursor to the World's wonder in Agra.

Bahai Temple, New Delhi
The modern temple of New Delhi. Designed to represent a blooming lotus flower - looks like the Sydney Opera House on steroids.

Quitab Minar, New Delhi
A tower to mark the defeat of Hindu empires by Mughals in the North of India.

Elaphanta Island Monkeys
This cheeky monkey stole a watter bottle, deftly unscrewed the lid and drank the contents.

Quitab Minar Tower, New Delhi
The tower of carved red and white sandstone stands at 72m tall - is 15m wide at the base and 2m accross at the top.