Last Day in India


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Asia » India » National Capital Territory » Delhi
February 5th 2009
Published: February 24th 2009
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Last day in India and I'm back in Delhi. I didn't like Delhi the first time and the second time hasn't improved my opinion.

I still can't believe my 3 weeks here are almost over. It seems like I just got here yesterday. It also feels like I've been here a lifetime.

India, after such a time, has come to feel like home a bit. But not a place I would like to call home for a long period of time.

I've fallen in love with their patriotism and love for their country. I love all the bright colors everywhere I look and flowing saris on the women. I like the unrushed way of life (most of the time). Things are simpler here.

People here all seem to have faith, too. That's one thing China is lacking. I didn't realize how much I missed it. For faith, China is sterile. Or maybe I'm not looking in the right places. But here, it's all around me. Ganesh pictures above doors, bustling temples in all the towns and cities, people of all shapes and sizes coming to those temples to pray and give thanks and ask for blessings, while I watch feeling self-conscious and out of place.

People here seem to care about each other not out of pity, but out of humanity. Every temple helps the neighborhood and its citizens. People are fed daily, sometimes 2-3x. Indian people give money to the beggars. There's more harmony.


On the flip side, if you're white you're a walking ATM and can't trust anyone to not want to make you think you need to pay more for the same things. Sometimes it's subtle, like being charge a few more rupees for a bottle of Coke, sometimes it's blatent, like the sign saying Indians get in for 5 Rupees and everyone else is 250 Rupees or more.

Seldom is anything done to help without the hope or demand of a monetary reward. Of a certain value. This also includes random unsolicited acts of music (not always in tune) or tricks on the street while you wait in traffic. If I gave money to everyone who asked me for it I'd be running short everyday with my own meal money. I couldn't set foot outside my hotel or hostel without being followed and harassed for my pocket change. I realize that 10 Rupees can mean a lot to someone here who has nothing, but constantly being harassed and hounded (they don't always take no for an answer) turned me sour and and into a rude, uncaring, angry tourist.


Being a woman here is another story. I get ignored. Not being ignored is more noteworthy, since it happened far less. Unless someone wanted my money just because.
My opinion doesn't matter. A tuk tuk driver can ask if we want a ride, and I'll say no (loudly, since he's the 10th person to ask us in 2 minutes), and then he'll ignore me and ask Kent. I actually yelled at one for that yesterday at the Delhi train station. He was surprised and amused. And if my male friends ask me what I think about something, the salemen will look and talk to them like they're unmanly wusses since they can't just make a decision.

Many of the men here think we're stupid. By we, I mean women. I've seen it, I've felt it, I've swapped stories about it. We can bargain the hell out of something, getting no where near the price we want, and then a male friend can come along, say it's too expensive, and the price will be slashed by 1/3 to 1/2.
Some men just leer at Western women, like we're objects, perhaps out of lust, but they clearly think they're smarter. I'm not saying they can't possilbly be smart or that they're a complete idiot, but the notion doesn't cross their minds that I may be as smart or ever smarter than they. As a result, I am often ignore.

I've learned to take their "stupid" system to my advantage. Kent and I figured out that we both get treated better if people think we're a couple of some kind. We just don't bother to correct them. We can get each other out of sticky situations, help with shopping. "Having a man" means that what I say does carry some weight (don't want to upset "my man" do you??). So I am actually able to ask for some things and try to carry some of the weight. Besides, happy American couples tip more. Happy couples also buy more. It's sad that I think that's their mentality. But seldom have I been given any indication to the contrary, through their actions or words.


India, overall, has been a fabulous experience. I loved my time here. I would and will tell people to come here and see it before it changes to much to be recognizable. India is trying to do what China is doing and grow rapidly.
But this is not a journey for the weak or timid. You have to work to make it good. It won't just happen. If you show India you want her, she will come to you. And you will be rewarded.



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