India is a truly fascinating place, although certainly not the easiest or most comfortable place to travel in. The sights and sounds (and smells!) can be pretty overwhelming but once you get used to it, the chaos of it all is actually pretty incredible.
Driving in India is not for the faint of heart. Traffic lights are only used during certain hours of the day. Horns, however, are used ALL day long. The drivers don’t use their rearview mirrors, so if you are driving up behind someone it is expected that you honk incessantly to make them aware. There are even signs on the trucks reminding other drivers to honk. As a result, it is a constant cacophony of horns (and they don't limit themselves to just regular horn sounds, songs and little dittys are fair game making the whole thing even more hysterical, and annoying!).
No matter how many times I go to India, the traffic is something that will always amaze me. The road is full of all forms of transportation - cars, trucks, camels, motorcycles (literally with families of four crowded on), rickshaws, bikes, cows, elephants, etc. Traffic in the US looks so orderly (and kind of boring!) after you witness India. What no cows? People are actually abiding by some semblance of traffic laws? Driving in lanes instead of all directions at once? Boooorrrinng ;)
As you are driving around India, it is impossible not to be struck by the poverty and hardship that is everywhere. There are so many people begging on the streets, run down and dirty buildings, trash everywhere. While I was in India there was an article in the newspaper entitled “Everday, 1.1bn poo without a loo” (Indian newspapers have a habit of coining rhyming and entertaining headlines). So, according to a 2008 World Health Organization report, there are 1.1 billion people around the world without access to toilets or other basic sanitary options. Of those 1.1 billion, 58% or 638 million are found in India.
It is things like that that really hit you over the head when you are in India – the difference between the way we live in the US and the most basic of needs that so many around the world live without. I guess that’s why I say India is not a comfortable place to travel. You feel dirty and guilty and sad all the time.
But, despite all the poverty and hardship, there are so many bright spots as well (literally and figuratively). Your eyes get used to the dirt and varying shades of gray everywhere. But then the beautiful Indian saris pop out against that background and remind you of the beauty of the Indian culture.
And the people are truly welcoming and open-hearted. They want to be your friend and welcome you in to your homes. I drank SO many cups of chai while I was there! Much like Greg Mortenson’s book, drinking tea is truly the way that you begin all meetings. Relationship building is so critical in the culture. As a result, things just take (muuccchhh) longer and the type A personality in me has a hard time with that sometimes!
Anyway, in general, an amazing but overwhelming place. So much to take in - smells and sights and sounds, I think that if I went back 5 more times, I would still learn a million new things each time.
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