Best & Worst

Best and Worst of India

Best:

The Lohri celebration: going with a small group on cycle rickshaws to a local market. We navigated the tight streets to small shops to get traditional clothing for the party. Once we got to the party there was a huge tent, elaborate decorations, variety of food, music and dancing and very friendly people.

The presentation and Q&A with the CEO of HCL. He was a great speaker with interesting view points.

Shopping at Chandni Chowk. While the main strip is loud, crowded, and fast paced, the small maze of narrow streets on either side are a bit on the slower side making it easier to shop. I did haggle down a scarf to half the price offered, but apparently I still got ripped off! Im not upset though and am viewing it as a learning experience. I still have much more to buy and will start much lower next time.

Stopping to watch the wedding procession in Jaipur. The procession leads the groom, on a horse and decked to the nines to the brides house. There was a huge parade of family friends of the groom, marching down the street with staffs of neon lights and music. We just wanted to watch when the group go past, when the father of the groom stopped and drunkenly invited us to the wedding saying we were all like daughters to him. Unfortunately our group was too big to crash the wedding… A real missed opportunity.

Pretty bangles, scarfs, boxes, shoes, purses, saris,

Worst:

Having some stomach aches, digestive issues, and the lack of toilet paper!

Stray dogs everywhere- starving, crippled and cold.

Beggars that follow you, yell at you, and touch you.

Being embarrassed by classmates rudely taking pictures of people/things without asking.

Feeling the need to stay dehydrated because you don’t know when you will be able to find time to use a restroom.

Really really spicy food at every meal, even breakfast.

Very little free time

Random Observations of India

Transportation:
Indian drivers use their horns instead of their brakes. When coming up to an intersection instead of stopping or yielding they beep a few times to warn traffic and pedestrian they are coming through. If two vehicles are coming through the biggest one usually wins the right of way through a game of chicken.  They also beep constantly on the road while passing people.  This is relatively amusing to me. But other on my trip are constantly complaining “Why are they beeping so much? Is so rude, I’m really annoyed!” I can’t think of a greater waste of energy than to be annoyed at this.  This is how things go in India, no its not like what you are used in the US but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Its very draining to be pissed all the time.

There are innumerable modes of transportation here.
Bicycle rickshaws
Auto rickshaws ( three wheel covered mini-car thingies)
Motorbikes
Cars
Buses
Horses (I have seen one on a highway)
Camels  (towing carts)
Trucks
Trains

Lane markers are simply suggestions. Two line highways can easily have 4 abreast.

Indians will cram as many people they can in a vehicle. I’ve seen 5 people on a motorbike, 10 on an auto rickshaw

Animals

It’s a common Indian pastime to feed pigeons. Which obviously is counter intuitive to Americans especially new yorkers who know you never feed pigeons… Then they just keep coming back!

There are stray dogs everywhere. I mean everywhere. In the city, in the country, in the tourist sites like the palaces. No one feeds the dogs though. Indians don’t really care for dogs. It breaks my heart to see them so skinny and injured. It also makes me miss my dog Bogart

The animal selection is pretty diverse. We have seen dogs, cats, cows, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, wild boars, and squirrels in the city. I the country we saw peacocks, antelope, jackals, and two different kinds of monkeys.

Other

Indians are constantly taking pictures of us.  When we gather for a group shot, any Indian standing by will also take pictures.  I have been asked by many groups of guys to take pictures with them. I don’t really mind so much when they ask- I always say yes. But tis annoying when people don’t ask.  We’ve even had people taking videos of us.  Its very bizarre to think of myself as that interesting. 

There is dirt, I mean piles of dirt everywhere. Everything is covered in a layers of dirt. Sometimes plants looks almost brown instead of green. Halfway through everyday my throat is sore from all the dirt and dust I inhale.  

At all the tourist destinations we get a tour guide.  Often times other visitors at the site will follow around our group to listen to the guide and to watch/take pictures of us.  Sometimes they stand a little close but mostly they are harmless. Again other people in our group get extremely agitated and upset about this.  They yell at people and complain about how offended they are.  I don’t really understand why they get so upset. Wasting energy on negativity just diminishes the experience for themselves.

No matter how much I haggle and how cheap I get the prices, I’m still pretty sure I’m paying too much.  I bought a handmade silk scarf for $3 but my professors who are from India think it was a little overpriced! 

There are plants everywhere. Lots of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Even the most meager houses have dozens of potted plants outside.  I love it!

!

Random Observations

Transportation:
Indian drivers use their horns instead of their brakes. When coming up to an intersection instead of stopping or yielding they beep a few times to warn traffic and pedestrian they are coming through. If two vehicles are coming through the biggest one usually wins the right of way through a game of chicken. They also beep constantly on the road while passing people. This is relatively amusing to me. But other on my trip are constantly complaining “Why are they beeping so much? Is so rude, I’m really annoyed!” I can’t think of a greater waste of energy than to be annoyed at this. This is how things go in India, no its not like what you are used in the US but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Its very draining to be pissed all the time.

There are innumerable modes of transportation here.
Bicycle rickshaws
Auto rickshaws ( three wheel covered mini-car thingies)
Motorbikes
Cars
Buses
Horses (I have seen one on a highway)
Camels (towing carts)
Trucks
Trains

Lane markers are simply suggestions. Two line highways can easily have 4 abreast.

Indians will cram as many people they can in a vehicle. I’ve seen 5 people on a motorbike, 10 on an auto rickshaw

Animals

It’s a common Indian pastime to feed pigeons. Which obviously is counter intuitive to Americans especially new yorkers who know you never feed pigeons… Then they just keep coming back!

There are stray dogs everywhere. I mean everywhere. In the city, in the country, in the tourist sites like the palaces. No one feeds the dogs though. Indians don’t really care for dogs. It breaks my heart to see them so skinny and injured. It also makes me miss my dog Bogart

The animal selection is pretty diverse. We have seen dogs, cats, cows, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, wild boars, and squirrels in the city. I the country we saw peacocks, antelope, jackals, two different kinds of monkeys, elephants, camels, and snakes.

Other

Indians are constantly taking pictures of us. When we gather for a group shot, any Indian standing by will also take pictures. I have been asked by many groups of guys to take pictures with them. I don’t really mind so much when they ask- I always say yes. But tis annoying when people don’t ask. We’ve even had people taking videos of us. Its very bizarre to think of myself as that interesting.

There is dirt, I mean piles of dirt everywhere. Everything is covered in a layers of dirt. Sometimes plants looks almost brown instead of green. Halfway through everyday my throat is sore from all the dirt and dust I inhale.

At all the tourist destinations we get a tour guide. Often times other visitors at the site will follow around our group to listen to the guide and to watch/take pictures of us. Sometimes they stand a little close but mostly they are harmless. Again other people in our group get extremely agitated and upset about this. They yell at people and complain about how offended they are. I don’t really understand why they get so upset. Wasting energy on negativity just diminishes the experience for themselves.

No matter how much I haggle and how cheap I get the prices, I’m still pretty sure I’m paying too much. I bought a handmade silk scarf for $3 but my professors who are from India think it was a little overpriced!

There are plants everywhere. Lots of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Even the most meager houses have dozens of potted plants outside. I love it!
!

Random Observations

Transportation:
Indian drivers use their horns instead of their brakes. When coming up to an intersection instead of stopping or yielding they beep a few times to warn traffic and pedestrian they are coming through. If two vehicles are coming through the biggest one usually wins the right of way through a game of chicken. They also beep constantly on the road while passing people. This is relatively amusing to me. But other on my trip are constantly complaining “Why are they beeping so much? Is so rude, I’m really annoyed!” I can’t think of a greater waste of energy than to be annoyed at this. This is how things go in India, no its not like what you are used in the US but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Its very draining to be pissed all the time.

There are innumerable modes of transportation here.
Bicycle rickshaws
Auto rickshaws ( three wheel covered mini-car thingies)
Motorbikes
Cars
Buses
Horses (I have seen one on a highway)
Camels (towing carts)
Trucks
Trains

Lane markers are simply suggestions. Two line highways can easily have 4 abreast.

Indians will cram as many people they can in a vehicle. I’ve seen 5 people on a motorbike, 10 on an auto rickshaw

Animals

It’s a common Indian pastime to feed pigeons. Which obviously is counter intuitive to Americans especially new yorkers who know you never feed pigeons… Then they just keep coming back!

There are stray dogs everywhere. I mean everywhere. In the city, in the country, in the tourist sites like the palaces. No one feeds the dogs though. Indians don’t really care for dogs. It breaks my heart to see them so skinny and injured. It also makes me miss my dog Bogart

The animal selection is pretty diverse. We have seen dogs, cats, cows, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, wild boars, and squirrels in the city. I the country we saw peacocks, antelope, jackals, and two different kinds of monkeys.

Other

Indians are constantly taking pictures of us. When we gather for a group shot, any Indian standing by will also take pictures. I have been asked by many groups of guys to take pictures with them. I don’t really mind so much when they ask- I always say yes. But tis annoying when people don’t ask. We’ve even had people taking videos of us. Its very bizarre to think of myself as that interesting.

There is dirt, I mean piles of dirt everywhere. Everything is covered in a layers of dirt. Sometimes plants looks almost brown instead of green. Halfway through everyday my throat is sore from all the dirt and dust I inhale.

At all the tourist destinations we get a tour guide. Often times other visitors at the site will follow around our group to listen to the guide and to watch/take pictures of us. Sometimes they stand a little close but mostly they are harmless. Again other people in our group get extremely agitated and upset about this. They yell at people and complain about how offended they are. I don’t really understand why they get so upset. Wasting energy on negativity just diminishes the experience for themselves.

No matter how much I haggle and how cheap I get the prices, I’m still pretty sure I’m paying too much. I bought a handmade silk scarf for $3 but my professors who are from India think it was a little overpriced!

There are plants everywhere. Lots of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Even the most meager houses have dozens of potted plants outside. I love it!

Day 1&2 my third try!

Tap here to begin writing.I am now at the close of my second day in Delhi and have
discovered that my previous bogs were in the wrong place! But we go
with the flow here in India so I will repost and elaborate:) Some
observations for day one. While we were sightseeing at India Gate
there were several regiments of the military practicing marching
and playing music. As we continued walking and taking pictures we
ended up getting intermingled with some of the soldiers. Much to
our surprise, they pulled out their cell phones and began taking
pictures of us. At the time I didn’t want to be rude and take
pictures of them at such a close distance, but now I wish I had.
Not just because those pictures with the soldiers in their formal
dress would be way more interesting than pictures of India gate.
But also it obviously didn’t bother them one bit!

Day #2′s agenda
started with a visit to the Shiv-Murti Complex. This park had
several statues of Hindu gods and goddesses. The largest being of
Shiva who danced the world into being. This park was built beside a
busy highway used for commuter traffic. One of the most amazing
things I saw during this visit was commuters pausing for a brief
moment to pay respect to the gods while on their way to work. It
just confirms my comment in one of our discussions yesterday that
Indians don’t relegate religion to a certain day or season, they
keep religion at the forefront of their life in most everything
they do. Next up was visits to two companies-PWC and
Dunnhumby. I took a few observations away from these visits. The
first: I’m so glad I didn’t enter public accounting after
completing my accounting undergrad. PWC was just as cold and
impersonal as I remember them being during my visits in college. I
don’t meant to say that the information wasn’t valuable… It’s
just that it was a bit dry. And its not that the people were
unfriendly… They were just lacking engaging personalities.
Dunnhumby on the other hand had a warm eccentricity about the
office and the people. I found the presentation much more engaging.
However I noticed they used a good deal of business jargon, and I
wonder if some members of the class may have been confused. For
example, they touched upon IP or Intellectual Property issues. The
fact that I understood pretty much all of the business jargon has
lead me to realize I’m much closer to a real adult now than a
student. That brings me to my next point. Several of the other
students are having trouble adjusting to the pace of the trip and
suggest less company visits in a day. I on the other hand am
fairing quite well, and don’t find the schedule that taxing. But
the stamina to work a whole day (and in my case attend classes) too
will come to them in time. I don’t want to blow my horn too loud
here though… Tomorrow is another packed schedule ending with a
dance party at the Gupta’s and I suspect that I will be out danced
on the dance floor by my younger classmates!