On India

So while I'm sat in a Bangkok blues bar listening to a big band, I'll endeavour to offer to make a few observations on India.

Of all my stops on the 11 month trip the two months in India is the longest stop in any country and as such I feel it is worthy of some summation.

Before I arrived pretty much all of the stories I had heard from travellers were negative, but I (fair obviously I thought) decide to approach it with an open mind. I found out later that isn't the general approach!

1st The people...

The common perception amount the traveller community sealed to be that everyone in India was out to rip you off. I found this to be far from the truth.
Of course to a large of Indians you meet (ie those used to dealing with tourists) even a budget traveller is rich and so naturally they will try get what they can for their services. But I found once you got used to this and adapted to fixing a fair price everyone ended up happy.
Outside of those offering services the people were almost without exception warm and welcoming. A great example of this was the help I received on my train journey to Mumbai when my ticket wasn't valid. People who had no idea who I was were happy to give up space in there compartment for the entire 16 hour journey. Even going as far as sorting out my ticket!

2nd The cities...

Being a city boy at heart I always expected to enjoy the cities, that in spite of being told they were the worst places. My first observation was (in Delhi) is that the areas where traveller congregate tend to be a bit rough around the edges. Unless you venture out and make an attempt to understand the city you never will. A 2 day quick stop off certainly isn't time to do this.

3rd The Countryside...

I only spent limited time outside of the cities and that was primarily in Southern India, but to understand India first you must understand the villages. Again I always found villagers warm and welcoming. Even more so than the cities, they were willing to share whatever they had!

4th The beach resorts

As pleasant as the beach resorts ate they bear no relation to actual India. This should be obvious to people. But it wasn't always the case.

5th The sights...

India is blessed with some of the most beautiful buildings and ruins in the world but they make a mixed use of them. Some were well maintained and some, scandalously, crumbling. I also felt the often lacked historical context to help people understand them which was a shame.

6th The politics....

I found the political set up fascinating, particularly the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and the role that caste still plays. Primarily the corruption is still doing the most damage in holding India back from it's rightful place at the top table as a world superpower. That said India's time is coming no doubt about it!!
I would recommend India (along with China) to anyone that really wants to understand the direction the world will take in the next generation...

7th The sport...

Cricket that is all! (Although I did attend a football match with a decent 7000 + crowd in Kolkata)

To conclude....

Even though I'm still not half way through my trip, I doubt very much I will find anywhere that comes close to matching India for the sheer experience!!!