JC in India

The purpose of this blog is to provide an insight into the lifestyle I am experiencing in India and my reflections while being here. It isn’t designed to be a “yesterday I did this, and the day before I did that” format – although there will inevitably be some of this. However, the last couple of months or so have been a bit of a whirlwind of activity so it is worth capturing a few highlights. Plus it gives me an excuse to post some rather arty Taj Mahal shots!

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on the road recently due to both work and play. Work took me to Paris to meet the team based out of there (great trip, great team, and good to finally spend some time at the other “HQ”). And a conference in the U.K. also meant I had the chance to spend a few days at home, so cue McDonalds, Fish & Chips, and some teeth brushing straight from the tap! Ah the luxuries of life… plus an opportunity to spend a bit of time with my ‘boys’ 😊.

But the best part has been having my first visitor with Jen coming over and the tourist activities that ensued while she was in the region.

Anyone’s first visit to India is an experience to witness and I was excited to see her reaction to the sights, sounds, and all the other adjectives we can conjure up. It also gave us the chance to explore and be tourists…

Obviously my primary raison d’etre for being in India is to focus on my job and hopefully make a difference to the business that has brought me out here. But the side benefit to this professional focus is that in the down time I am in a place which has a wealth of sights to see, and experiences to savour.

Seeing India though is going to be a three-year mission (the length of my contract) given its sheer scale. Geographically Delhi is also a good gateway to get to other parts of South East Asia, and with direct flights linking the city to many interesting places makes travel around the region relatively simple and inexpensive – particularly now the world is beginning to open again. Definitely high on the list of spots that are generally close and in the ‘want to visit’ list are Kathmandu (a 1.5hr flight), Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and I’m fascinated to see the Andaman Islands – one of the last places where indigenous tribes exist that do not really know of the outer world.

But first it is time to get to know the local area better with all its charms and sights.

Delhi has some spectacular temples and history. So there was no better way than to kick off being a tourist by standing for 30 minutes in the blazing sun and 40-degree heat queuing to get into the Lotus Temple (Bahá’í temple). It’s nicknamed ‘lotus’ given its resemblance to the leaves of the lotus flower, and it seemed that every local tourist in India wanted to also visit it the day we went out and about tomb raiding in Delhi. Note to self: maybe avoid being a tourist on a public holiday next time.

During the pandemic, with international travel out of India effectively closed, a lot of the locals have toured India itself, and so popular tourist spots that would historically have a relatively high mix of foreigners and locals, have seen a real bias towards local tourism. It does mean that now the world is thankfully reopening this dynamic will change again, and there’s a huge pent up demand for Indians to travel overseas again, and vice versa. But for now until the air corridors are fully re-instated it does mean that being a Western tourist in such locations puts us in the significant minority (cue – lots of stares, and requests for photos…).

Another notable sight in Delhi is the Humayun tomb, which was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, and was thankfully much quieter (well, everything’s relative), than the Lotus Temple.

After an hour or so of exploring the grounds we ended up finding a driver who turned into our guide for the rest of the afternoon and drove us around the parliament buildings and embassies etc. of New Delhi. He also satisfied the desire to get up close and personal with the street monkeys…

One thing I am learning here is that you don’t really need a plan. If you’re flexible and seize opportunities, then actually things can weave together nicely. We started out that day with an Uber to one location and a rough idea of things to see, and ended up getting back later having visited tombs, parks, shopping districts and having a driven tour of the key spots. All without a detailed plan. It’s just another example of the “go with the flow and it will usually work out” style you need to adopt here.

We also managed to tie in a few days in Goa linked with a trip I had there on business. This resulted in being a proper tourist in one regard with the associated pools and beach activities. Even though the sun wasn’t shining all the time it was still hot!

We also went a bit off track with a 5K hike around the local Fort in the heat. This involved scrambling off track a little – well, who needs a proper road…

We took smug satisfaction in subtly telling the hotel lady what we had done afterwards, given she’d previously told us it was not possible and we’d need to get a taxi. She didn’t know who she was dealing with!

One sight on this walk though was stumbling across an impromptu area of discarded plastic bottles, and it’s fair to say all the way around there was a lot of rubbish strewn about. This is sadly common in India, and seemingly culturally accepted as being the norm. I can only hope one day this will change, but the heat and the arid landscape does make it challenging, so you can kind of understand why there is little attempt to keep things fully cleaned up in general.

And a special shout out mention to the cows who seemed to be on a mini stampede around the town’s streets later that evening. They went one way at a pace to the beach and then a few minutes later came trotting back out again. Cows on a mission 🤷‍♂️.

The less welcome side of that short trip to Goa though was the stomach situation that ensued following one dinner the night before I was supposed to fly to Mumbai for the day on business. Nothing too serious but enough for me to have to pull out of the trip, as a day on planes and cars between meetings wasn’t deemed a good idea at 5am when I was due to set off. The same situation occurred the night before we were to fly back to Delhi and at one point I was racing through ideas in my mind on how we’d have to change all the flights and plans etc., but thankfully managed to get through it all ok!

It’s bizarre that in the main I’ve been relatively ok with the food, but the two times I have had the most issues were from dining in a 5-star hotel reputed to be one of the best in Goa. But more about that when I post separately about food at another time. Something to look forward to…!

And of course no tourist is allowed to come to India without visiting “Tajy” – aka the Taj Mahal. I’d first visited it twenty or so years ago in my backpacker days, and it is truly spectacular.

Sadly though the staged impression of tranquillity is somewhat spoiled by the incessant hawkers trying to get cash out of you in various guises. Even at sunrise the place was full of them, and all sorts of cries of “please visit my shop you make me happy”, “just look don’t need to buy”, and “I don’t work here just want to help take photos make it nice for you”, do get annoying quite quickly. Although admittedly it was worth actually letting one chap “help” with photos (in return for a small payment of course)…

Additionally, it seems to be a thing to be photographed in selfies with some of the locals less used to seeing us western folks. At this stage I’m sure there are pictures of us all over various social media sites as “friends” of the people who were almost queuing up to have their photos with us. After a while that does get rather draining and the initial flattery wears a little thin. I feel for celebrities who must get that incessantly.

Putting all the negatives aside though it is of course a sight worth seeing, and first thing in the morning is for sure the best time to go. It is truly spectacular and lives up to the expectations of overall magnificence, and does fit into the ‘must see it once in a lifetime’ category.

Often the advance perception of what to expect when visiting India is tarnished by all the usual negative stories. In reality now though if you can adjust to the heat and the bustle, and can look beyond the occasional grime and lack of cleanliness, it really is worth the visit.

A lot of the stigma of old is better now. Actually the Delhi belly stories are less prevalent as health and well-being focus improves, and with right levels of caution it’s entirely possible to be fine. Yes it takes focus, and yes it is hard work at times, but it comes back to my overall philosophy here – embracing it is what is needed. Doing so allows you to enjoy it and be a part of it.

Only then can you really “see” India.