India Photo Album
I left Vietnam on February 25 for another long, multi-stop series of no-frills flights for India. I am getting better at the very unglamorous routine of traveling budget airlines & finding ways to entertain myself in various airport terminals during incredibly long layovers. With my 6-month India visa in hand it felt great to be unencumbered by the series of 30-day visas I had in Southeast Asian countries. However, in Southeast Asia I was motivated to be on my way out before the really hot, humid weather was expected to begin in March. I had my sights set on the cooler weather in the districts northeast & northwest of Delhi; I figured I would see what I could see in about 2-months' time. I checked into Workaway volunteer options but the most common options for the eastern areas were yoga teacher or meditation guide - uhhhhh neither of those quite fit me. Other than farming, the options were limited.
I left Vietnam on February 25 for another long, multi-stop series of no-frills flights for India. I am getting better at the very unglamorous routine of traveling budget airlines & finding ways to entertain myself in various airport terminals during incredibly long layovers. With my 6-month India visa in hand it felt great to be unencumbered by the series of 30-day visas I had in Southeast Asian countries. However, in Southeast Asia I was motivated to be on my way out before the really hot, humid weather was expected to begin in March. I had my sights set on the cooler weather in the districts northeast & northwest of Delhi; I figured I would see what I could see in about 2-months' time. I checked into Workaway volunteer options but the most common options for the eastern areas were yoga teacher or meditation guide - uhhhhh neither of those quite fit me. Other than farming, the options were limited.
Realities of Traveling in India
My timing was not
great though as late winter is way too early for the northern mountains so I
knew that I would need to explore some more of the north eastern areas, south
of Himalayas, while waiting for the weather to warm & the roads to clear of
snow before heading to Jammu-Kashmir. I think of myself as an experienced
traveler, especially since in recent years I lived in Lesotho & traveled
solo & independently through parts of Africa, the Middle East, and
Southeast Asia. I felt I should be
prepared to wing it, but was I really ever prepared for solo travel in India?
I thought I was
getting off to a great start on the "new-in the last 9 years" Delhi
metro until I disembarked underground at the main central station…but then the
full frontal crush of India fell over me… so many meters below the city
streets. The volume of people, platforms, exits, & options was really
overwhelming. Not surprising it did not take long before a "friendly"
"station agent" offered his assistance to get me to the
rickshaws/tuk-tuks on the streets above. Though I'm used to touts &
tricksters that prey on tourists - sometimes I find it just makes sense to get
"caught" in their net & get pulled along, which in this case, if
I hoped to ever get to the street, I figured would be the best option. The sad
(but protective) thing is that I really can't tell, initially, if someone is
being friendly & helpful or trapping me in a tourist scam. The result is
that I'm generally distrustful of everyone.
But, better to be caught up & out of the metro than flopping around
like a fish out of water. It never ceases to amaze me just how wide the tourist
net extends. But, making it to the street was hardly any better than the chaos
of the metro station. It still bewilders me how people can function in such a
state of random motion & cacophony of sounds. The Indians just seem to take
it all in stride, seeing the logic & flow so that they can weave along to
their destination without much effort or angst.
My friendly
"agent" found me a tuk-tuk (no tip required!) & I presented my
hotel's address & directions - but the routine when a driver catches a
foreigner is to take the tourist directly, "do not pass go", to a
travel agent. Well, at least I was prepared for that & actually a bit
relieved… after the experience in the metro, the reality of solo travel in
India seemed daunting (just buying my metro ticket was challenge communication
& crowd control). The end of this story actually worked out well for
me. After a brief explanation of my
interests & timeframe I think the travel agent sized me up pretty well, or
maybe he just offered up what the stereotypical older, female, solo traveler is
looking for…a little bit of the "Eat, Pray, Love" experience. He took
into consideration the time needed to elapse before arriving in the far north
& he gave me a fantastic route that I would not have figured out so easily
on my own. Sure I paid a commission but we do say "time is money" and
for me it was "predictability versus chaos" and so far the itinerary
the agent worked up for me has been perfect. He solved the problem of
transportation by pre-booking my transportation on trains, buses, &
flights, station drop off & pick up, & hotels. I still travel independently & solo and I
don't have to worry about figuring how to get from point A to B. After 7, now 8 months of travel, it was easy
to accept a break from all that day-to-day planning & struggle, and that
was in significantly less chaotic countries (relative to Africa not Italy!).
Since I have several overnight trains, one of the best features is that someone
will meet me at the train station to take me to my hotel & again when I
leave, I am driven back to the station. Most of the transport between station
& hotel is quite far & mostly pre-dawn & late evenings. I'm not
following the backpackers ethic but heck it's such a treat to be relieved of
having to find & negotiate everything every day. The upside/downside of the particular budget
hotels that were arranged for me is that for the most part I am staying in
hotels more typically used by Indian tourists & not in the usual
backpacker/independent traveler hotels
that can be found in Booking.com & HostelWorld. The good news is
that I meet a lot of Indian travelers - they are super friendly & love
being tourists & traveling about their own country, the bad news is that I
sometimes miss the socializing that comes from staying in backpacker places
offered up in the commonly used Booking & HostelWorld hotel booking
websites.
I'm now one month
into my two month+ journey. I have managed to figure out the train stations
fairly well - even when the electronic board listing trains & platforms is
not working (not infrequent); the trains - knowing which end of the very long
train my assigned coach will be located (the trains are super long); and the
sleeper berths - how to manage sleeping in the top or the bottom bunk (the top
always seems to sway more), & that I actually won't get sick if I order a
chai (tea) with milk and a dinner that will be picked up along the way by the
coach attendant. I have also managed to refine my techniques for ignoring or
putting a stop to touts, tricksters, & hawkers.
The street beggars
are a different story & I think I'll never feel untouched by the many poor
souls I see. It's possible, in many cases, to distinguish between the
professional beggars who live on the street from those who seem genuinely
destitute, hungry, often disabled, & in need of a handout - there is more
than you would imagine of each. There are just so many street people here
without the family structure in place to care for needy relatives. Wheelchairs
are rarely seen - it's not only an impossible expense but the streets &
buildings just are not set up for them. I can't get over seeing the disabled
who are incapable of walking due to injury or birth defect, scooting themselves
along the ground using only their hands. Only rarely have I seen fortunate ones
who have a little wheeled trolley to help maneuver themselves about. The elderly & mothers with their tiny,
skinny little babies are especially heartbreaking for me. I try to give a little
something or a lot depending on what the circumstances are. For every
"yes, I'll help", there are so many more that I have to say
"no" to. Certainly I know that
there are many beggar scams - fake wounds dressed up in bandages covered in
fake blood & children sent to work for money, & alcoholics just asking
for change to "eat". But
really - seeing a little child that is clearly undernourished - well, that's
something just too impossible to ignore.
The mothers who beg
for their children, especially the babies & toddlers, will ask you to buy
milk not just give a few rupees; they are so aware that we tourists are
skeptical of scams. There was one mother & child so far, likely there been
more, who particularly touched me. I did not quite understand at first - but
then once she made it clear by coaxing me to follow her to a street vendor to
point to powdered enriched milk - I realized I could help her at that moment on
that day. The vendor tried to sell me milk for a child over 12-months. I looked
at the child & said no way - you must give us milk for a baby under
12-months. A passerby stopped to help & asked the mother how old was the
child - over 1 year said the mother. I could not believe this scrawny little
baby could be that old - wasted little body, light as feather, thin little face
with big eyes. Heartbreaking. I bought the milk, the mother thanked me kindly
& we both wandered off separately. I
did not know if that mother would sell the milk or give it to the baby - but I
had to hope she would do the right thing. A little later the mother found me to
show me that she had prepared the milk & the baby was drinking it from a
small bottle. I believe she really wanted me to know that her need was genuine
& that she was a good mother.
Following that though came the next plea - she tugged at the babies
dirty t-shirt, the only thing he was wearing - would I buy him some
clothes. At that point I had no problem
- "let's go". She pointed to a clothing store. We started to enter
& the shopkeeper shouted at her to get out (whether it was because she was
a beggar or a lower caste - I did not know). I had to show him that she was
with me. Our clerk was rude but we managed to pick out an inexpensive top &
shorts for the little guy. Both mother & baby were smiling - again we went
our separate ways, only I was followed by yet another mother asking for milk,
but this one I did not help. It's really hard to order a cheap lunch or snack
when I think about the hardships people here face. But - it’s all the more easy
to offer some of what I buy, an orange or a snack, to someone looking like they
would appreciate it. I do see a few
people giving money or food to the beggars - maybe they are less fearful of
being scammed or robbed, or because they see, there are just too many & the
need is so great.
This type of poverty
is far less than I have seen in other countries; in India the volume is just so
overwhelming & the level of need so deep; the truly needy, mothers with
infants, elderly, disabled, may just be faced with no other alternative but to
beg. It is an aspect of traveling in India that makes the inconveniences of
travel here pale. It's something one just has to accept as part of the
experience and we each have to find our own way of making peace with it. The
poverty & disability people suffer is a fact of life here - it is not
invisible, nor are the people. I find that as difficult as it is, I have to
accept it as a condition of India - it's this sprawling stifling majestic dirty
impressive colorful magical tragic place that draws you in & pushes you
away all at the same time.
~~~~~~~~~~
Pilgrim's Trail
I can characterize
my first month in India as the Pilgrims' Trail as I have visited some of the
many sacred & revered Sikh, Hindu,
Jain, & Buddhist sites in this part of India. Each place has offered some
unique opportunities to learn more about India & its people, but I'll try
not to make this any more of a travelogue & just mention a few of the
particularly interesting events that I encountered.
New Delhi
Sikh temple & center for learning. Interesting for me to learn that the devout come to honor & listen to the words of their prophet, Guru Nanak, that are contained in books that are at the center of the temple. The "word" rather than icons, images, or statues are revered. The prophet's teachings are read aloud every day & the devout come to listen & contemplate.
Orchha, Madhya Pradesh
Ancient Hindu temples & tombs. This small rural town is an important site for weddings & people flock to the Hindu Ram Raja Temple to get married. On some days there was a steady of weddings from morning until dusk. There is a great deal of fanfare for each wedding; family & friends create a procession, drumming & dancing all the way to the temple & afterward until the early morning.
Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh
Jain temples & tombs famous for intricate Kama Sutra carvings (yes some of which are those sex & sexually charged poses you have heard the Kama Sutra is famous for!). There is a lovely park at the main temple site.
After visiting all the temples, I spent the day reading in between frequent interruptions by Indian families wanting "selfies" with me (this happens all the time!). I always wonder what the heck they do with those photos. Khajuraho is surrounded by beautiful farmlands & small villages.
The owner of the hotel where I stayed invited me & another hotel guest to his home for dinner. He made an incredible fresh chutney of minced ginger, green onions, & green mango to go along with the home-cooked all veg dinner. One of the other guests was his friend, also a hotel owner who ended up befriending me & taking me on a couple of motorbike tours of the surrounding area, his family's farm, & the small village where he grew up. In the village he showed me examples of the types of homes associated with the different castes & we had a long visit with a family who farms his land. The homes are made of mud & dung bricks that are plastered over by a smooth dung mixture that is painted white. Each home has an entry that opens onto a small terrace bounded by work areas to dry grain, weave, & create tools; small rooms; & a cooking area. Every week it’s the job of the females to resurface the flooring of the terrace & rooms. They coat the flooring with a dung mixture, smoothing it out until is as slick as a tile floor & then painting decorative edges in white. The walls & flooring don't smell at all & they create a smooth heat resistant surface to help cool the compound. While the rest of the family are working n the fields or gathering water, the matriarch & perhaps one nursing mother will remain at home to work. They seem always busy - drying & sorting grain, preparing meals, & cleaning & maintaining the compound. On another day, one of the staff of my new friend's hotel invited me to his sister's wedding - an incredibly lively celebration with drumming & dancing & great food. The partying starts in the evening & goes on before the wedding which takes place in the wee hours. I skipped the ceremony so the family could party on without worrying about me.
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Ghats (broad step structures that extend for blocks along the river bank), crematories, & Hindu temples along the sacred Ganges (Ganga) River. This large city is amazing but over the top!! I limited myself to walks along the narrow cobblestone lanes just along the river in the oldest part of town. The number of cows, bulls, & dogs that wander along these narrow streets (wide enough for one motorbike in some places) is incredible; people just step over or around the animals & all that they leave behind (watch your step!). This is a very important religious site & hosts thousands & thousands of pilgrims. Life just happens along the river. In Varanasi, wealthy noblemen & rulers built impressive gates & multi-stories temples & palaces along the riverbank. Along the ghats people are praying, bathing, shaving their heads to mourn their dead relatives who will be cremated at the river's edge, attending sessions with gurus, meditating, eating, celebrating, oh and doing laundry, eating, boating, all of life just happening on the riverbank. I had a sweet little room with a window looking out on the Ganges - fascinating from dawn to dusk.
Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
Located north of Varanasi, also on the Ganges, the center for teaching yoga & meditation in northern India with dozens & dozens of ashrams & schools. It's a lovely (as in Indian-lovely) small town with lots of foreigners, many on a spiritual quest. I participated in daily yoga sessions that were held at my hotel. I happened to be there during the last week of a month long teaching event by the Guru Mooji Baba - Moojiji for short. A native of Jamaica, he lived much of his life in England but now has a center for teaching & meditation in Portugal. He has a large & growing following and his daily sessions in Rishikesh were attended by over 2,000 people. The sessions were quite comfortable & personal in spite of the number of people; I attended 3 days of 2-3 hour sessions - all very interesting. His message comes from a holistic perspective incorporating many religions & spiritual sources. At its simplest is (as I interpreted it) - let go of those things that are interfering with your happiness & ability to live at peace: jealousy, insecurity, hate, fear, narcissism, pride. Be in the moment with a clear head & heart. Easy message, common sense - hard work! He is a very charismatic teacher with a simple straightforward style of communication who appears genuinely interested in helping people achieve a more peaceful, "awakened" state of mind. It was great to see this amazing little town that brings so many people together who just want to make a better life for themselves - some wounded, some recovering, some actually enjoying life (I put myself mostly in that later group).
McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala,
Himachal Pradesh
Set in the foothills (6,000 ft. in the "lowlands") of the Himalaya, it's the home of the Dalai Lama & the spiritual & administrative seat of the exiled Tibetan Buddhist community. Such a fascinating place! McLeod Ganj, just outside Dharamsala, is the center of the Tibetan community & a small town clinging to some very steep mountain cliffs. The general area brings lots of Indian tourists - more than foreigners - who come from all over India; perhaps because it is relatively easy to access the cooler temperatures of the Himalayas. There is an important, very old, Hindu temple honoring Shiva, the Buddhist monastery, & a waterfall but not much else. Most people come for one night & then move on. I was here for a week so had plenty of time to make a routine of visiting the Dalai Lama's monastery where I could enjoy the sun & the mountain views while reading my book. I felt so lucky as one day I was able to see the Dalai
The first half of my trip has taken me across 1,300 miles. The second half of
my trip, another 1,700 miles, will take me northward & deeper into the mountains!
Kullu, Himachal
Pradesh > Manali, Himachal Pradesh > Amritsar, Punjab > Srinagar,
Jammu-Kashmir > Leh, Jammu-Kashmir.
