Five years ago when I first visited Mumbai, I declared that I'd never do it again (someone came up with the clever acronym that India stands for I'll Never Do It Again - so right). Then during our backpacking trip in 2010, El Hombre and I put Rajasthan, Jodhpur and Agra on our itinerary but ended up canceling at the last minute. But I guess the universe wanted me to give India another shot, because last week I found myself there for work. I braced myself, even as the dread started building. The incessant honking, the traffic, the dirt, the dire dire poverty, the unhygienic standards, the inevitable stomach ailments, the heat, the humidity.
Maybe it's because I expected the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised to come away from the trip liking India a lot more than I expected I would. El Hombre pointed out that "things look a lot different when you're at a 5 star hotel" and also that things look different this time around because I'm coming from Hong Kong (where I'm used to having my senses assaulted and where I've gotten used to heat/humidity) whereas last time I was coming from mild, temperate SF. I think he hit the nail on the head. India does look different when you're doing it on an expense account rather than a backpacking budget.
Not to say that I lived it up that grandly since I was mostly spending days couped up in conference rooms, but having an air-conditioned car where I could roll up the windows and lock the doors helped - last time I took public taxis which don't have A/C and thus require you to keep the windows rolled down to avoid asphyxiation - when the car is stopped, beggars will come up to the car and jam their arms and hands inside the window, touching you and asking for money. You have no idea where those hands have been, and India also has a lepers' colony so you have no idea what kind of germs they are spreading by touching you.
Another thing that helped was having a friend/colleague there who knew all the best eating spots to take me to and took me on a culinary journey of Indian cuisine - from South Indian dosas to coastal fish curries to spicy Goan to hole-in-the-wall minced lamb kebabs (which came very close to giving me stomach issues) to fancy nouveau Indian to Chindian (Chinese/Indian - a distinct cuisine that mixes both flavors - my favorite was the dry chili lamb). I never knew how much I loved Indian cuisine until last week. It was so good it was worth all my clothes and suitcase smelling distinctly of curry and cumin even days after my return to HK. Although not worth the 2 pounds I put on of pure ghee. Now I know why a lot of Indian people have big bellies - their food is so carb and butter-heavy, which just sits in your gut!
I'd also been preparing for awful pollution, humidity and air quality and found that Mumbai has MUCH better air quality than HK (which is so sad), and while the temperature was hotter in Mumbai, it was much less humid which made it more pleasant than HK is currently.
All in all, my trip made me rethink India - I'd definitely do it again. There is no place like it - the utter gap between the rich and poor, the staggering lack of infrastructure, the diversity of classes, religions, cuisines and dialects (my colleague told me there are 28 or 29 official languages!), the juxtaposition of gorgeous jewel-colored saris against the backdrop of slums. It's fascinating. I'd never want to live there and I suspect I'd get extremely antsy if I stayed past a week, but it's an interesting place to spend some time.
One of the things that fascinated me - a lot of people in India shake their head incessantly while talking. The only way I can describe is it is that they look like a shaking bobblehead. I couldn't get over how exactly they do that - when I try to do it, it's not as bobbly - the way Indians do it it appears they have no neck joint. Why do they shake their heads? And how is it physically possible to do it like a bobblehead?
Maybe it's because I expected the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised to come away from the trip liking India a lot more than I expected I would. El Hombre pointed out that "things look a lot different when you're at a 5 star hotel" and also that things look different this time around because I'm coming from Hong Kong (where I'm used to having my senses assaulted and where I've gotten used to heat/humidity) whereas last time I was coming from mild, temperate SF. I think he hit the nail on the head. India does look different when you're doing it on an expense account rather than a backpacking budget.
Not to say that I lived it up that grandly since I was mostly spending days couped up in conference rooms, but having an air-conditioned car where I could roll up the windows and lock the doors helped - last time I took public taxis which don't have A/C and thus require you to keep the windows rolled down to avoid asphyxiation - when the car is stopped, beggars will come up to the car and jam their arms and hands inside the window, touching you and asking for money. You have no idea where those hands have been, and India also has a lepers' colony so you have no idea what kind of germs they are spreading by touching you.
Another thing that helped was having a friend/colleague there who knew all the best eating spots to take me to and took me on a culinary journey of Indian cuisine - from South Indian dosas to coastal fish curries to spicy Goan to hole-in-the-wall minced lamb kebabs (which came very close to giving me stomach issues) to fancy nouveau Indian to Chindian (Chinese/Indian - a distinct cuisine that mixes both flavors - my favorite was the dry chili lamb). I never knew how much I loved Indian cuisine until last week. It was so good it was worth all my clothes and suitcase smelling distinctly of curry and cumin even days after my return to HK. Although not worth the 2 pounds I put on of pure ghee. Now I know why a lot of Indian people have big bellies - their food is so carb and butter-heavy, which just sits in your gut!
I'd also been preparing for awful pollution, humidity and air quality and found that Mumbai has MUCH better air quality than HK (which is so sad), and while the temperature was hotter in Mumbai, it was much less humid which made it more pleasant than HK is currently.
All in all, my trip made me rethink India - I'd definitely do it again. There is no place like it - the utter gap between the rich and poor, the staggering lack of infrastructure, the diversity of classes, religions, cuisines and dialects (my colleague told me there are 28 or 29 official languages!), the juxtaposition of gorgeous jewel-colored saris against the backdrop of slums. It's fascinating. I'd never want to live there and I suspect I'd get extremely antsy if I stayed past a week, but it's an interesting place to spend some time.
One of the things that fascinated me - a lot of people in India shake their head incessantly while talking. The only way I can describe is it is that they look like a shaking bobblehead. I couldn't get over how exactly they do that - when I try to do it, it's not as bobbly - the way Indians do it it appears they have no neck joint. Why do they shake their heads? And how is it physically possible to do it like a bobblehead?
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