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Published: January 20th 2008
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Trivandrum - Zoo
Huge vulture.. looked rather bored. Would have liked to see the size of those wings. Only 1 night before I fly out of India. I realised yesterday that, even though I have really had it with all the energy draining hassles here, I do feel a like I am leaving behind a country with a very intriguing culture. One that we (westerners) can't really understand, and unique in the world. I was sitting in a bus from Kovalam beach back to my hotel room in Trivandum (=Thiruvanthapuram, but everybody calls it Trivandrum, a little easier to pronounce), looking out the window. The street scenes have become almost normal to me, a daily reality. The bright colors that suit the Indian women so well, the beggars, the cheating and spitting street vendors, the garbage everywhere (although the South seems to be somewhat cleaner than the North, or is that just my impression because I have gotten so used to it?), the Shiva and Ganesha images in rickshaws, the Hindu shrines and temples, the Hindu people worshiping the statues of their preferred deities, the Aarti's and Puja's, the sadu's, the fumes in the air that will give you a sore throat within less than an hour, the fact that Indians seem to be dissatisfied when a sound producing
Trivandrum - Zoo
Bats do not live only in dark places! device is not turned up to the highest possible volume, the "Inglish" accent and even the sight of westerners dressing like Indians. It feels strange to be lying on a beach and swimming in the sea wearing a bathing suit, and seeing other western women do the same, while all around us, the Indian women bathe only in the undeep parts and completely dressed. I had to remind myself of how different our world is. You wouldn't see 20 Hindu Indians standing bare feet on the pavement praying while attending a puja ceremony. You wouldn't see half naked men on the streets wearing only a cotton cloth around their waists. You wouldn't see people squatting, lifting their dresses to drop their *you know what*. And yet, even though many of the things that make India what it is can irritate and frustrate a person (even natives) beyond words, and even though the people have a very different way of thinking, it grows on you eventually. Not in the sense that it stops being irritating, but it doesn't seem so shocking anymore.
Yes, I did find it a difficult country to travel around in as a single woman, but I
Trivandrum - Zoo
The empty cage of the animal called "government employee"? Do not feed ;-) also feel I have learnt a lot from it. Certainly learnt a thing or 2 about the Indian culture, but also about myself and how I react in stressful situations. The best assertivity training one could think of.
I will look at the Indian workers in Europe with a different eye now probably. They will be less alien to me. I will finally understand the way they shake their heads and twist their right hand. I have started doing that myself now, and I have seen some other westerners who are doing it as well.. amazing how we take over habits like that so easily. Don't worry, I'll lose the habit before I get back to Belgium ;-)
I also feel that as a backpacker, you are more likely to meet the struggling class of Indians, so inevitably the chances are bigger that they will try to cheat. The Indians who were nice and were not after money, were all middle or higher class. Those people were very hospitable and genuinely curious about what life is like in the west, and they showed me that not *all* Indians are cheaters.
So that was India. Had to spoil myself
on my last day here, so I went back to Kovalam to get an ayurvedic massage from the ayurvedic specialists themselves, in the province which is famous for all sorts of ayurvedic treatments. A full-body massage, body peeling, face mask, face massage, and the oil dripping on the forehead-thing, and even *being* washed by the massage lady afterwards.... Pure pampering, for less than a quarter of the European price. In a few hours, I am going to see some more Kathakali dances in Trivandrum. There is a festival starting near the zoo there today. Perfect way to spend my last evening here.
Tomorrow morning (Monday 21st), I will wave India goodbye for now and find myself in food and shopping paradise some hours later. An evening and a full day in Singapore, time enough to indulge in all sorts of things my eyes and tummy will like. I might need to buy an umbrella though. The weather reports seem to be showing a monsoon-ish weather pattern.
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Christian
non-member comment
after 5 months!
Dear Sabrina, After five months I think one is glad to get rid of India, but leaves it somehow with a little tear! Take care! Christian