Delhi, India Recent Trip

It's on my list, but not very high.

My wife and I have been to India twice, in 2010 and again this past Feb./March. We've been to Bombay, Gokarn, Hampi, Hyderabad, South Goa, and Varanassi/Sarnath. We've tavelled India by car (with driver), train, and bus. I prefer the train, because you have more contact with the locals, and the food in the train is great. Plus you can go between cars and open the doors to smoke...

This last time we attended my buddy's wedding in Balgaum, which is not a tourist town, so we got more of the day to day experience. And noone does weddings better than Indians. A wonderful experience.

What can you say in a post about India? It's the most in your face place I've ever seen. All the good, bad, rich, poor, beauty, ugliness, all at once. I've seen corpses being burned in an alley in Bombay and of course on the Ganges in Varanassi (24 hours a day on the river bank). We've had drinks in the Taj Mahal Hotel across from the Gateway of India, site of the massacre in 2008. We've been to Leopold's (which is now just a tourist trap) and seen the bullet holes in the wall from the same attack. We've cruised in the middle of nowhere on motorcycles in Hampi, checking out the monkeys and water buffalo. We've met extremely interesting people from the West, as well as native Indians in the cities and countryside. We've had the Delhi belly, and I caught Dengue fever in Sarnath. As a Westerner, you're going to either hate it or love it. If you don't hate it, there will always be a longing to return, despite all the negatives. I can't wait to go back.

As for "Shantaram", I wholly recommend it. An Indian friend told me it was the best description of Bombay in the 80's. Bombay has changed a lot since then, but the places are still there and of course the slums. The sequel, "The Mountain Shadow" is almost as good, and well worth reading.

went for a few weeks several years back, when I was young enough to bounce around for weeks in a backpack. a lot of this could be vary well dated info, but we went west from Delhi to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Amritsar to the Sihk golden temple, and up to Dharamsala. the blue city and Mehrangarh in Jodhpur were amazing, but there wasn't much to the town itself. but I actually kinda liked that. the golden temple was cool to go to. but Dharamsala was the highlight for me. being in the 60s/70s after being in the desert heat was great in and of itself, but that town was beautiful. and it is so different from everything else in India with the Tibetan culture of it that it was nice to break it up a bit. sat with young monks, just shooting the shite, waiting for the Dali Lama to come back from a trip abroad. Would go back there in a heartbeat.

I had been thinking that it is a place best visited while you're young and moldable. seeing a culture so vastly different can shift your perspective some. that's harder to do once you've aged and calcified. but I rewatched the Darjeeling Limited the other day, and I agree with the poster above, once you've been, you kinda want to go back. we saw so little of it. and I agree with him again in that it is almost overwhelming in that it is everything at the same time and constantly in your face bombarding you. nonstop color and noise and movement. the most squalid poverty and horror and the most beautiful things and history all in the same field of view. it's definitely unique

I've spent a total of about 4 months in India over 7 or 8 trips. Most time spent in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai but several more for day trips.

Taj Mahal is an impressive experience -- as are many temples in other cities. Santhome Church in Chennai holds the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle, is an excellent point of interest to visit.

But the road trip to Taj Mahal is one of the most depressing 3 hour drives you will ever take. The abject poverty is stunning and absolutely overwhelms anyone with a sense of humanity. Honestly, I did not enjoy the tour of TM because of the sensory overload from the drive.

Food can be very good and extremely bad -- over time, I have just learned to take the bad with the good. Even bad food can make for a very positive experience.

I also visited Auroville -- pretty sure this community is what John Lennon was singing about in his song Imagine. Great place to visit, but I also just found it amazing of the poverty just a short drive down the street.

The entire country can cause overload of every one of your senses and emotions.

A 10-day trip to India should be mandatory for every American college graduate.

Been there many times, mostly New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Kerala.

I always say this, my tolerance is 7 to 10 days max before I am overwhelmed by the number of people.

New Delhi - I would recommend the Red Fort while there you probably went to the sister fort around Taj Mahal. Also, really like Humayan Tomb as a visit. Lastly, yes, it will be crowded, but going to do lunch/dinner to Chandni Chowk Area near the big Mosque. Karims is famous but you cannot go wrong there.

Kerala - lots of my friends, coworkers love it...beach vibe but too hippy for me (and British hippies). Definetely a different vibe of inida as this was under the Portuguese rule and you can get beef dishes here.

Mumbai - besides the old India Gate and Taj Hotel, frankly not much historical to see here. But Mumbai has some of the best food and upscale bars and restaurants. If that is your thing, go.

I could go on, but I understand the feeling towards India.

quote:

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a somewhat since reading the book Shantarum (highly recommend)

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If I recall, that was mostly in Bombay. I've heard Delhi is brutal.

"Shantaram" was set 90% in Bombay. Gregory David Roberts wrote that book 3 times over 2 years in prison in Australia (where he had escaped and fled to India). The guards destroyed the manuscript twice - he was a hated man because he was the only one who had ever successfully escaped the reputedly most secure prison in Austrailia. The dude can flat out write.

Edit: he developed the idea of the book over 13 years and actually wrote it in 2 years in prison.

"The Mountain Shadow" is a continuation, with familiar characters, and reads just as well as "Shantaram".

Bombay was the wild-west and a turbulent place back then, as was the country as a whole, and that's the backdrop of the story of a group ex-pats in India for their own, mostly nefarious reasons.

As for Dehli, that's the one place in India I care absolutely nothing about. Calcutta? No problem. Patna? Bring it. But Dehli has no appeal for me.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

I also read another book called "Chasing the Monsoon."

I've been to India twice spending most of my time both trips in Aurangabad 20 years between trips, The increase in overcrowding between trips was shocking. Garden-lined county lanes had turned into scooter-packed wide roads lined with very dusty tire shops and garages.

More time was spent in Dehli on the 2nd trip. Hired a car with driver on call 24hr and lived in car rental company guest house. Our driver kept us out of trouble. He took us overnight to Agra. TM is stunning... not tourist hype.

Driver ran through 2 very official looking roadblocks telling us there were shakedowns. Guns were present but not fired.
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Both trips had food poisoning... alllow 3 days early in any trip for recovery. It matters nothing that your hotel is ultra-clean. The food supply chain in India has ubiquitous fecal contamination. Plainly put, farm-workers poop where they pic.

You will meet charming Indians and be stunned by the bits of beauty among the poorest.

Two trips were enough... but remain fascinated.

Thanks again for recommending "Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found". I just picked up an English version I ordered through our local bookstore (for 8 bucks!). I'm home with a summer cold and can't put it down.