Farewell My Foe: My Thoughts on India

I’ll be honest, I was nervous to travel to India. For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard about the poverty and garbage that are so prevalent in this country. I struggle to walk down any street in any city if there is a homeless person, so knowing myself, I figured that India might prove to be too much.

But, I also was nervous to travel to two other countries that we tackled on this trip: China and Mongolia. I was nervous about the cultural differences in China, mainly the lack of personal space and the spitting, and I was nervous about the lack of infrastructure in Mongolia. Yet, the cultural differences I was nervous about in China proved to be endearing and I left that country feeling bummed we couldn’t spend more time. Mongolia’s lack of infrastructure turned into adventures with our guide and driver as we all plotted ways to cross flooded roads, cheered as a winch saved us from a seriously muddy path, and watched a lackadaisical fist-fight between two drivers stuck in traffic in Ulaanbaatar.

Unfortunately, India just proved to be too much.

I think Ben summed up my feelings towards India really well, saying it’s mostly in “disrepair punctuated by grandeur.”

While we have lots of friends who have loved their time in India, and while I know there is a lot more to India than just the places we’ve seen, there are three main reasons why I’m thrilled to leave.

Safety

We met a couple American girls in China who had recently visited India and had mentioned feeling unsafe. However, I was hoping that since I was with Ben, I wouldn’t have to worry as much about it. I was wrong. I have been grabbed by a handful of men in a handful of different cities. One very eager old man was coming for a second grab in Bikaner when I told Ben and he literally stood between us as the man appeared to decide whether or not he was going to grab me again. There has only been one other time while traveling when I have felt unsafe; several years ago in Rome when Ben and I were followed by a man for many blocks before we found a police officer. Feeling unsafe and wondering if the person walking behind you or passing you is going to grab you is horrible. Worrying about who was near me distracted me from some incredible sights and that stinks.

Filth

I was expecting garbage and animal feces. I wasn’t expecting our car to drive through a city where the sewer was backed up and there was more than a foot of sewer water flooding the main streets. I also wasn’t expecting to have to maneuver through cow diarrhea on our way to lunch in Jaisalmer. That was a true adventure because not only did you need to watch where you stepped, but you also needed to avoid the tail that was continuing to paint the walls of the narrow alley. Neither of those stories even touch on the plastic issue. We’ve spent the last 18 months in Asia. We have seen pollution issues everywhere, but they don’t hold a candle to the tons upon tons of garbage that line the train tracks and the streets here. Add the fact that people go to the bathroom anywhere and you get a small taste of how dirty it is.

Angle

We’ve seen incredible poverty here and the children begging on the streets is a pill that I just can’t seem to swallow. I love kids and typically smile when I see a child no matter where I am. Here in India, I can’t do that. “At least 300,000 children across India are drugged, beaten and forced to beg every day,” for human trafficking cartels trying to earn a buck. So I knew I was supposed to ignore begging on the streets. It’s awful and heartbreaking. But I am not going to miss assuming that every child that says “hello” is soon going to pinch me or punch me if I don’t give them money.

I am also not going to miss the touts and the scammers who are more aggressive and persistent than we’ve ever seen. Everyone has an angle, and while some (maybe many) people aren’t doing it by choice, it makes for an exhausting time to constantly feel like you’re being taken advantage of, and never knowing who you can trust.

For me, India wasn’t a match. It’s a bummer because we did meet some incredibly warm people and saw some spectacular sights. However, it was guaranteed to happen somewhere and it will undoubtedly happen again.