Absolutely fantastic time in India. The people are the loveliest and most kind we have ever met on our travels. I came to India with some trepidation because of the way it is portrayed in the UK. None of my concerns were experienced and everything has exceeded my expectations. We survived a whole month without getting the dreaded Delhi Belly even though we have eaten in some very questionable establishments!! I can confirm that curry in India is very spicy and often very hot. We have often been told in UK Indian restaurants that the curry in India isn't hot and they only make vindaloo hot curries in the UK because that's what we want. This is not true, curry is vindaloo hot in India!! Chicken tikka masalla is available all over the areas we have travelled so I'm not so sure it is a British invention as is often reported in the UK! Maybe just the addition of cream is a British thing because the tikka masallas in India aren't creamy. There aren't lots of beggars in India and there aren't children beggars everywhere. In a whole month only one child asked aunty (me) for money and there are generally less beggars in India than any UK city. Nobody is trying to rip you off. On a couple of occasions we have mistakenly given too much money and been given it back by the vendor. The people genuinely want to speak with you and there has never once been an ulterior motive. I felt very comfortable in India and all the men are very respectful. To give a balanced appraisal, on the negative side, most of India needs a really, really good scrub and a mega litter pick! Riding in any vehicle is hair-raising most of the time and downright terrifying some of the time!! The rule is to never look out of the front windscreen because invariably there will be a vehicle heading straight for you. No joke. I am so glad we didn't hire a car like we normally do. Working conditions are appalling by our standards. There is little or no protection for manual workers and often the work looks physically painful. There isn't always access to electricity and it often goes off. We experience power cuts for short periods very frequently throughout our travels. Indian people generally don't queue or follow rules, it's every man for himself. Which means you need to hold your ground or you'd never get over the road, on the train, served in a shop, to the buffet breakfast, through passport control, etc, etc!! In fact we've never made it in a queue with someone pushing in front of us!
An Indian lady we spoke to in first couple of days said we should experience India with an open mind and we would love it. She was right. Experiencing India without comparing it to the UK is the way to do it. Love India for all the nuances that make it India and you will love it!! We did.
Until the next adventure…….Dawn and Mark xxx
