Thursday, September 18, 2008

crooked teeth

We made it to India with no problems.  And surprisingly we made it out of India with no problems.  Out of all the places we've seen on this trip India has been the most intimidating place.  I know that this has a lot to do with our choice in lodging as budget travelers, as we stayed in probably the most poor neighborhood in Delhi, Paharganj.  We spent our time in this neighborhood dodging tons of people, beggars, cows, cow poop, dogs and motorcycles.  It really was disturbingly fascinating.  When you first see the streets I got this sense of compassion and sadness that people live like that.  But then when I had been immerse in it I became numb to it.  It becomes habit to just ignore the begging children and persistent sales men.  We even witnessed a terrorist bomb that went off a few blocks from where we were staying.  We were hanging out on top of the roof and heard what sounded like a cannon going off.  It was loud and piercing but didn't really distract us as the entire city is loud.  It just seemed like another weird sound coming from the streets below us.  It wasn't until later that we learned from somebody on the street that it was a bombing.  5 bombs went off that day- all in public areas.  As horrible as India seemed it was actually really cool.  I guess on the surface it was intimidating and unwelcoming, but we had a lot of amazing experiences in our short time there.  Maybe we just got lucky, but if you get below the surface it can be very enjoyable.  For instance, most of the people were rude and money-hungry, but we found a few guys who were really genuine when we least expected it.  When we were on a train to Agra this random older gentleman with his family started talking to us.  At some point in the conversation he decided we were like family to him and he called his buddy who managed a local hotel to give us a good room at a cheap price.  Now, everybody in India has a "good room" at a "cheap price" but for some reason we actually listened to this guy and trusted him and everything worked out great.  The city was kind of the same way- if you looked hard enough you could see really cool and beautiful places.  The obvious example is the Taj Mahal.  But what you don't see in the pictures is the town and streets leading to it.  You walk through a filthy town, down some alley where you pay a guy 750 rupee.  Suddenly you're looking at one of the most beautiful buildings, or sites rather, in the world.  30 seconds ago I was stepping over cow poop, dodging motorcycles and trying to explain to a homeless kid that I had no money for him, now I'm looking at the Taj Mahal!  I'd say that sums up the India experience for me.  It was probably one of the most memorable places we've seen so far... still a ways to go though.

I know that this all probably seems a little like a sob story, but it's not.  We had a great time in India.  Just sometimes it's not like being on vacation all the time but just as amazing and refreshing.  For more on India you can email my new friend Gajendra Verma, who after befriending us on train now wants me to help expand his health clinic in America!  I knew he was up to something.  Stay tuned for stories from Germany.

4 comments:

Aunt Di said...

Wished I knew when and where you were going to be in India...my good friends the Khannas are from India and have family all over that I'm sure would have been welcoming. But you really got to see parts of India most tourists would have avoided, and that's also great. Anyone I've know who has gone to India, especially those who went on semesters abroad, all say it is quite an eye opening and life changing experience.

patD said...

its one thing to read/hear about what you're seeing in india but its a different story to witness it first hand. it's encouraging to hear that you both are able to take a step back and look at the big picture instead of the end result (for instance the process of getting to the taj mahal)

i love reading about your adventures, cant wait to hang when you get back

BV Nguyen said...

oh my friends, wait till you get to germany. talk about a good time....

Anonymous said...

Eric and Nick:

I was in Agra in the mid 90s and really wanted Nick and Tyler to see the Taj and the Palace in Agra but I couldn't imagine subjecting anyone else to the problems of traveling in India. Glad you had a good time. Be safe.