Just for the record......
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2005
1
116
129
Trip End
Sep 29, 2006
Pushkar, India
Monday, August 28, 2006
I think this issue deserves a little more explaination.....first on the issue of indian men. Of course we have only been in north india and this region is known for its sexist chauvanistic men. Maybe the whole country isnt the same but unfortunately I can only speak of what I have seen. From day 1 in india men contiuously tried to bump into my chest, it was made to look accidental but it isnt. It took me a few days to figure out a way around this. You know how when youre trying to pass somebody on a crowded street,the side that they are approaching, you usually tip that shoulder back, and pass face to face. this is the polite thing to do. And this is when indian men take the opportunity to not turn at all and walk, arm and chest, straight into your now exposed "breast" area. The way to avoid this is to make no attempt to turn at all until they are so close they cant take evasive action and then quickly turn that shoulder, 'towards' them NOT away. Thereby turning your chest away from them. They can either walk straight into your elbow and hard shoulder or they can do the decent thing and turn. Most of them will hit your shoulder so you have to brace against them, they really dont like you doing this but then I dont like them banging into my tits thank you!!!! Regardless of how modestly dressed you are, how much you respect the local culture and try not to offend they will still treat you like this. Now that I have figured out how to protect my chest and adam always walks behind me to guard my ass :D I feel alot more in control. Women are an oppressed group in india and I do feel very sorry for them. Unfortunatley the women can suffer from as many annoying habits as the men. They are just as likely to be overly assertive in their begging strategies . In all, India is full of very, very ,very poor people. They have to eak out a living however they can and this involves try to extract money from any tourist they see.They are rude, hostile, persistant,insulting and generally, in my opinion, embarrasing to themselves.We have even had shop keepers from whom we have made a purchase, try to beg from us, as we are leaving the shop.Every single interaction with an indian person so far has been them trying to get money from us. Not one single time has it been genuine friendliness or curiosity,we are disapponited to have to say that. We now do have very thick skins and look for the good wherever we go, but hand on heart we are not seeing much good coming our way in india.Thats not to say that india is utterly horrible,its just not for the faint hearted!!!!! Their soceites norms and behaviours are so utterly different to ours and seeming devoid of social graces that it is very tiring to be exposed to it for any length of time.
2ndly the lieing ,cheating and conning, is certainly on a par with south america.The golden rule is never assume anything.Always ask questions and always expect them to lie. Following this rule we have not been disappointed. But even we still get caught out. Not very often now, but occasionally.They are ingenious in devising scams to extract cash. The funny thing is they seem to think its okay to cheat someone for a small amount of money they dont even seem embarrased when they are caught! Like when we went to a restaurant and ate a very nice, mid priced meal and asked for the bill. We were going to tip, but they short changed us. When we asked him about the discrepancy he just stood and smirked.He refused to give us the rest of the change (as usual claiming they didnt have it) so he didnt get his tip which was going to be 4 times what he stole.This is totally normal in india.They are very good at asking for a tip and very bad at earning one!! :D
We do not hate india. But its certainly understandable to us to hear stories of people arriving for a 3 month planned trip and leaving after 4 days. Nor is it a suprise to speak to very decent female westerners who freely admit to resorting to screaming and swearing at Indian men, just to get through the day :)
Lastly the filth. Its really no exageration to say this place is an utter hole! Its the filthiest place ive ever seen. Because no one ever cleans the shit away, it gets dried and blown about, so its all over the buildings...everywhere. The whole place is covered in shit! And it stinks! Every bloke in the country seems to have an aversion to toilets. They piss where they stand. You can imagine how that ends up smelling when it never rains to wash it away. Its hardly suprising the hygiene standards are non existant. How can anything be hygienic when its covered in shit! You have to wash your hands constantly so's not to poison yourself.
To answer your question Tracey....it is as bad as we describe, we are NOT making it up, we are being completely truthful. However, its probably not affecting us the way you would imagine it would. Weve seen filth before and met many con artists. A lot of it we can take in our stride now. But i doubt you could Tracey....you'd be up on a charge of murder by now :)
Now for an update on our activities. We are still in Pushkar and have been shopping again:)
The market here has stuff from all over India,...its a touristy place after all ;)
Weve bought leather stuff, fur stuff (yes rabbit, but after buying alpaca in S america, we cant see a moral difference)and cushions, woolen stuff, dangly chimes...all that Student union tat, this is where it comes from :)
We wandered up to the brahma temple, but were told we 'must' give our shoes to some guy outside before being allowed in. Tourists shoes are usually held for ransome or stolen, so we always carry ours in our bag. He wouldnt allow it, so we didnt go in! As we walked away he tried to beg my fags...honestly, they're all at it! Then we walked down to Gandhi Ghat. The place by the lake where Gandhi's ashes were sprinkled after his cremation. Its just as filthy as all the other Ghats . People wash everything there. But we took a pic and avoided the contant requests for money as we walked out. We didnt actually go down to the water...far too nasty looking. all those semi naked bodies bathing :( Urgh!
Adams been for another cut-throat shave. It cost 11 pence after haggling. The man wanted 22 pence!!!!!NUTTER! :)
Weve found a nice place that does pizza :) So were heading off there now.
