So I thought I would take a second and share some final thoughts on my trip to India now that we are in Nepal. To me India is a country confounded by collisions. It sits at the colliding point of the ancient and the modern, three major religions, wilderness and metropolis, extreme wealth and extreme poverty. You can't go anywhere without being cofronted by these things. To borrow a phrase from a fellow traveller, "For me to speak about India beautifully would require a lot of editing.'' I am pleased that I visited and do believe that there is no place like India on this planet, but it is a place I found difficult and often unpleasant. Interestingly enough, the things I firsat thought would pose the greatest difficulties for me; poverty, crime, noise did not turn out to be the things that were the greatest challenge. While those things are present, it was the general treatment toward women that made me the most uncomfortable. Just watching how men were with Amber as well as females from their own country was alarming and difficult and I can only imagine what it feels like to be the subject of such treatment. I don't want to come from a place of judgement because I would be the first to admit I know very little about Indian culture, but from a personal standpoint it was something I have no interest in experiencing again. I don't want these observations to take away from the great things that I was able to experience in India. Holi will be an experience I will always cherish and Amber and I had a marvelous time, but unfortunately I think the previous blog will be equally as memorable in my thoughts of the country.
