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Published: September 2nd 2006
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Well, I thought it was finally time to update everyone about our time in India, especially since Jackie and I have been back in Bangkok for a week now. It's not because I've been lazy that I haven't updated my blog in nearly a month, it's just that India takes so much out of me that I didn't have the energy to update. And it's taken nearly a week to get the energy back.
Now, the trip wasn't all bad. We had some great experiences, especially our time with Euan and Heather in Bangalore and on our two-day drive to Goa with them. That was probably the best of our time spent in India. We also saw and bought some incredible things (cheap handicrafts and laundry are the two things that India does really well), but I think any more than a month would have killed us or had Jackie and I killing each other.
Anyway, I'll start from where I left off in the last blog, which gives me lots of ground to cover in a short entry...hopefully. After Delhi, we went to Agra for the obligatory visit to the Taj Mahal, which really is worth the highly
unequal tariffs for Indians and Foreigners. As people told me before the visit, the Taj Mahal is smaller than the photos make it look, but the artistry and beauty of the building are not diminished for that. We were lucky enough to get there before the bus loads of tourists from Delhi arrived and were able to get some really nice shots...with out crowds of people in the way.
I may have mentioned that our original plan was to spend two months in India. It was about the time we left Agra, maybe even earlier, that we decided to cut that time down. I guess I should get my criticisms out of the way before going any further. Our problems with India are varied, but they come down to two things. I really don't want to stereotype, but it's difficult when the same things happen day after day. Firstly, the men...almost without exception, the men are rude and predatory, at least in their actions towards Jackie and I. The method and manner of their staring was something neither of us had experienced before and this comes from an inter-racial couple living in Korea. And it wasn't just staring. Many
men would cross in front of us and intentionally run into Jackie in an attempt to cop a feel and I hate to say it but I was nearly in a number of fights by the time we got back to Delhi and left last week. The other criticism is just a general feeling about the country, garnered from our tourist experience and that is that the country is basically just "second-rate." I don't think my expectations were too high, but perhaps they were. I just think that if you pay $40-50 per night for a hotel, you should get a certain level of cleanliness and amenities. That was never guaranteed in India, where you might have to pay twice that for a hotel room to get hot water on a constant basis or a bed that was an actual double as opposed to two twins pushed together. The same went for food. To get good quality food, of any nationality including good Indian food, required spending quite a bit on a meal. I realize that it is a poor and developing country, but we were not paying prices that one would expect in a poor and developing country, say
like Cambodia or Vietnam, where food and hotels were reasonably priced for what you got, and should you decide to fork out $50 per night on a hotel, you'll be living in the lap of luxury.
OK, enough criticism. After Agra, we went to Gwailor to visit a fort that was captured by the British during the Raj period of India. From there we went to Jhansi and the town of Orchha which had a lovely old maharaja's palace and some temples. We then caught a bus to Kharajho to see some temples that were supposed to have been built with the Kama Sutra in mind, but had few of the "erotic" carvings that the books comment on. Plus, this was the point were Jackie was sick with either Delhi belly or food poisining. She rarely left the room for the 3 days we were in the town. We left to head back to Jhansi, so as to catch a train down to Chennai (Madras). There we spent a few days, mainly shopping and seeing only a couple of sights, which we didn't even take pics of. That was actually the start of doing very little in the area
of sight-seeing in India. By that time, neither of us was feeling very comfortable, so that became our main goal in our travels.
Luckily, our next destination was Bangalore and because of the generousity and hospitality of Heather and Euan, we spent the best week we had in India. They generously put us up in their lovely house and entertained us for a few days, before we headed south for Mysore. There, we visited a palace and an old fort of the Tippoo Sultan, which, being a fan of the Richard Sharpe books, plays a prominent role in one of the books. Unfortunately, the fort left a lot to be desired and little to see.
After Mysore, we went back to Bangalore and were met at the station by Heather and Euan, and then were off to Goa in their SUV. Euan expected a single day drive to Goa, but it turned into a fun and bumpy two days drive through beautiful forests and plains of central Karnataka province. We then spent a few days eating and living well in Goa, before Euan was unexpectedly called back to work and we went our separate ways. I can't thank
them enough for their generousity.
From Goa we went to Mumbai (Bombay) which quickly became our favorite city in India. The atmosphere, architecture and attitudes all seemed better in Mumbai. We again saw little of the sights and did lots of shopping, but that's kind of what Mumbai is about. From Mumbai, we caught a train to Ahmedabad, with plans to catch another train to Udaipur in Rajastan the next evening. However, we ended up getting stranded in Ahmedabad (Gujurat) for several nights as there was flooding in Udaipur. It's unfortunate, because Jackie and I were really looking forward to the city. We finally caught a train to Jaipur and had one very fun day in Jaipur, seeing the sights and spending way too much money on gifts for family and ourselves. I also asked Jackie to marry me that night.
It might have been somewhat romantic, maybe just a smidgeon of romance as I lacked the setting I was planning on (Udaipur) and anything sparkly (hard to find a ring when she's always with me) to give her. However, all the romance went out of the moment when less than an hour after I asked her, I
had a severly high fever and was incredibly sick with food poisining. So, while her answer was "yes," I have some romance to make up for in the future...and I think it's gonna cost me quite a bit.
So, that's the biggest news of our time in India. Jackie and I are engaged and could be getting married in Singapore, depending on how some other things work out.
Anyway, we are much happier now, being back in Bangkok, which feels like a third or fourth home to us now (after the states and Korea). It feels like a positive oasis after India, although I'm starting to get a bit restless and I think we're both ready for some beach time and scuba lessons.
I hope everyone is doing well and having fun.
Love,
Joel
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