India: a summary

Entry 2:

We decided to spend 4 days in India touring 3 major cities that make up the famous "golden triangle".

These three cities are very unique based on the famous things they have to see, but are not unique in their impoverished, filthy, run-down state.
The lack of infrastructure was mind-boggling considering that each of these cities house famous "world wonders" and huge cultural/historical sites.

From the moment we stepped out of the airport, we knew we had to be extremely careful and smart.
We paid for a "prepaid" taxi to take us to our hotel which was insanely cheap (like a 2 hour drive for $5-7)  It seemed shady because a man immediately approached us asking if we wanted a ride, and it was unclear if he worked for the taxi company we paid.  He spoke english which we assumed was normal, but quickly found out was not.  He said he had to "tell our driver" where to go... no gps was a little disconcerting, but what did we know?  Then it felt even stranger when another english-speaking person got in the car with the driver...  we had no idea why, but didn't argue.

Before long we realized these people weren't taking us to our hotel.  They asked random people on the street where our hotel was and no one seemed to know (Although they were speaking in hindi so perhaps he wasn't asking them anything about our hotel...)

They ended up taking us to a "tourist office" to "get directions"-- but we knew something was up when he told us to come in with him...
immediate bad vibes.

The guy behind the desk spoke brashly to us-- immediately talking loudly and eagerly informing us that our hotel is in a "shitty"--his words and unsafe area.  At this point since we hadn't even seen the hotel yet, we were not buying it.  He could tell I didn't trust him, and started getting aggressive with us, telling us to trust him.  They concluded we couldn't reach the hotel by the airport van we came in, so they told a tuk tuk driver where to take us (supposedly).

While in the tuk tuk we decided we did NOT trust anyone, including him.
We told him to take us back to the biggest thing we could remember-- the train station. (it did not in any way look safe, but at least we might find a fellow traveler or helpful person)

He insisted on taking us to a different tourist office which he showed us on his map and declared "the real one"... aka admitting he knew we were nearly scammed at the first one...
We went in feeling extremely skeptical of every person, and sat down reluctantly.
The atmosphere was different, and the guy behind the desk was an attractive young indian guy with a very clear american accent.   We told him what had happened and he said "yea people come in all the time telling similar stories-- don't trust anyone, not even me!"  at that, we were shocked and annoyed.

There was still a shady vibe as he promised he'd help us without trying to sell us anything.  He offered someone to walk us to our hotel and then shortly thereafter said actually it was lunch time... can we wait?

Feeling really frustrated and helpless we firmly asked for a map and a phone to make a phone call... after about the 5th time of asking he gave us both.  THANKFULLY we had a friend in the city waiting to hear from us and meet up before he left on a flight.  Within minutes he met us at the train station nearby and we felt 1,000 lbs. lift off our shoulders.  He walked us to the hotel in less than 5 minutes!  Yes it was down several dirt paths, and didn't look like a prime area, but it was close to the shopping and food area we wanted.  The room itself smelled of moth balls and had no ventilation or hot water whatsoever... but at least we were "safe" for now.  He also helped us find a tourist agency which organized our driver for the rest of the trip.  We were so thankful for him, otherwise our entire trip might of been spent inside a hotel room.

Things we were surprised about-- very few people spoke english.
literally "hello" and numbers (money) was all most vendors, hotel employees, and restaurant staff said.

The overall unsafe feeling you get from just simply being a tourist walking around, not to mention the fear of food and water being contaminated and getting you sick really wore on us. (we were very careful and still got sick).

The severity of the impoverished people and how it effected everything and everyone... it seemed like the overall culture was even influenced because it was common to see people publicly peeing on the same street corners they slept on.  Random cows and pigs walking down major streets, and mangy stray dogs EVERYWHERE.  The amount of garbage on the streets... even a literal mountain of burning trash at the entrance to the city Jaipur... it was just unbelievable.  The state in which they all lived in those cities ... even the wild animals like monkeys were hardened by the harsh lives they have in the cities and were known for being dangerous, stealing, biting, and eating trash...  The air is so contaminated in the cities, we both got headaches and just overall did not feel well by the third day.

On top of the aforementioned, the amount of children in rags or naked and begging-- sometimes with adults nearby telling them to... sometimes in a group with practiced "routines"... sometimes just asleep on a slab of concrete all alone... covered in dirt and fleas like the stray dogs... just heartbreaking.

Seeing a young mother trying to care for her tiny newborn wrapped in a rough blanket thick with dirt... the baby black from being outside in the sun constantly.  Other women with missing limbs begging for money-- shoving their disfigured body parts in your face-- and when that doesn't produce the result they want-- they go grab a baby and come back... begging.

The raw emotions we felt during those three days of touring (and one day of driving to the airport)... mostly i remember feeling scared and ashamed... ashamed that i felt scared.  ashamed that I assumed the worst of everyone.  ashamed that I had money. Ashamed that i didn't give it all away.  Ashamed that I have so many travel patches on my backpack-- what felt like a brag to most of these people who will never escape their lives in India.  Ashamed that i felt helpless.  Ashamed that I wanted souvenirs to take home and a clean soft bed to sleep in.  Ashamed that I was having a terrible time on "vacation" because I was so intensely uncomfortable-- and yet, acknowledging that i was far more comfortable at any given time than most of the Indians I encountered.  I also felt mad... mad that the people had to live like this... mad at the injustice... mad that I was expected to tip people constantly and then ashamed that I didn't want to...

We could be surrounded by absolutely stunning views of ancient palaces and historical artifacts-- and then the next moment, be stepping over puddles of human waste and trying not to make eye contact with starving kids...

I think the best way to finish this off is... A. nothing can emotionally prepare you for this kind of experience and B. going to such an impoverished place with the intention of "vacation" is wrong... it simply wont be a normal vacation... C. if I ever go to such an impoverished place again, it will be with the intention of service and finding a way to help.  There is simply no way I could ever feel good about being a "superficial" tourist in a country where the average person is homeless and hungry... That became very clear to us in India.

We did our research as far as food and things we wanted to see, and I think that it paid off.
To be honest, I just don't recommend going to the golden triangle... I hate to say that because obviously we saw some amazing things there... but I just wouldn't feel right recommending it when I NEVER want to return there myself.

I don't know enough about India's history and government to be able to make sense of how it is there, and I assume that different areas are much nicer... but I'll always be very hesitant before traveling there again.

I hope this was helpful, and not completely discouraging... just be VERY careful about every aspect of travel if you ever decide to book a trip there yourself.  I'm sure a travel company with a ton of positive reviews online would be extremely helpful resource to make the journey through india a more relaxing/enjoyable one.


Ps. I wrote a poem about india in the post before this, if you're interested.