I think I never told you about an unforgettable character I ran into during my stay in India last year. His name was Baloo (yes, like “Baloo the bear” from the “Jungle Book” …you could even say they had a similar physical appearance!).
Well, Baloo used to work for my Australian flat-mates as a driver and from time to time I would get a lift to the NGO’s office where I was working as an intern. Thing is, that when Baloo found out that I had to leave India soon (and that I was heading back to my home country for the holidays) he told me that he wanted to drive me back home!
That is right, Baloo wanted to drive me all the way to Guatemala and was actually pretty excited about it: “Me drive to Guatemala!”.
For Baloo’s misfortune, I had to later show him Guatemala’s exact location on the map and remind him that unfortunately we also did not have any access to a ‘car-submarine-airplane-hybrid-kind-of-transportation-machine’ that would enable us to successfully drive to this far away destination. It was a kind and funny man, Baloo!
Despite the situation, he did drive me from Pune all the way to Mumbai’s airport with the usual nice Indian beats as our voyage’s soundtrack:
After almost five hours of various “Gopala, Gopala” songs I said my India’s last goodbye, which was to my buddy “Baloo the Bear” and headed back home.
Now it has been almost a year since; it is incredible how time flies!
This past Saturday I had to give a presentation of my internship and minor abroad experiences to a ‘very large audience’ (you can read this using a sarcastic tone!) during the end of a Fontys’ open day. As a consequence many things that were on the back of my mind were again brought up to life.
Due to the fact that ever since I got back to Fontys I have been asked several questions about India (mainly from Fontys students who are considering it as an internship/minor destination or others simply out of curiosity), I have decided that it is the perfect time for taking a look back and dedicating this post to answering doubts people might have.
I will write everything as if it was an interview, so perhaps the post’s structure is clearer and you are also able to choose what to read, in case you feel the post is too long. I will start with what has been the most ‘predominant’ question up to now:
Question 1: As a girl, how would you explain your experiences in India?
I can understand the why? of this question, due to the many (lamentable) cases of rape and women abuse in India which I have heard to be internationally broadcasted in the news; and I also do think it is an important topic to be informed previous to visiting India (I included a documentary on the end of this post in case you want to ‘broaden your understanding’ of this topic).
If you want me to be honest my knowledge about this topic before heading to India was quite limited and I did not put much thought to it.
I left home with two advices, one from my dearest mother and another one from a friend of one of my siblings who had been travelling there for a few months: (1) To be aware that you are in a completely different culture and so that men can interpret things (such as being kind or friendly) in a different way. (2) To avoid walking alone during night time and in ‘desolated’ places.
I think that by taking into consideration these two ‘recommendations’ you can get along fairly easily in India. I maybe have to add that one of the two times I broke the rule of following the 2nd advice was the only occasion I can say that I had a bit of, what you could call, ‘trouble’ concerning this topic.
In case you want to read the story, I wrote it for you (though you will probably have to click on the image to make it more readable):
Other than taking into account the 2 mentioned advices, you will probably notice that when walking the streets of India you will receive a lot of staring. Many times people just stare out of curiosity and so you do not need to feel uncomfortable about it! Other times it may be different; I remember that a friend said to me that some man in India might sometimes look at you “literally like a piece of meat”.
It is said a picture is worth more than 1,000 words, so here is one I took in Pune:
There are also cases in which they tell you funny stuff on the streets, like: “angel” and things like this. But I mean, come on… what to do? Just laugh!
Another thing that may happen, and you should take care of this, is that complete strangers may come to you and ask you if you want a lift somewhere. This happened to me only one day, but twice in a row: The first time a car filled with 4 guys, then just a few minutes later another guy in a motorcycle came by and asked me for an address (it was kind of clear that I was a ‘tourist’; who will ask a tourist for an address? DUH!) and then again was asked if I wanted a lift somewhere. Of course you can just say: No thank you! I enjoy walking (…and, in addition, I am not stupid!): Goodbye! Ciao, ciao! End of story.
That is pretty much it! I mean in the 3 and ½ months I did not had that much of a problem. By the end of it I did get annoyed by the staring and “telling funny stuff on the streets” though. I lost my temper the week before having to leave India with a guy who was driving a car and said something to me; I gave him “the insult of his life” in Spanish and from his face I think he got scared or confused (or both)!
As a conclusion I should say that there is no need to feel paranoid or scared and there is no need to be mean and unfriendly. Just avoid certain situations and be aware, be conscious when you do things and meet people. You can make it clear to some people that there is a limit in a friendly way, set your boundaries in case its is necessary… common, overall, just enjoy your trip!
Question 2: In general, do you think it is safe to travel to India on your own?
Regarding “safety” in general: I think this is a very personal “issue”. In my case I have to say that India felt quite safe. For instance, in my home country walking in broad daylight is “somehow a difficult task” because the probability of getting robbed or assaulted (at gunpoint) is “somehow high”. In India on the other hand during day time I would say you can walk completely normal and safely! Of course always avoiding the obviously “insecure situations”, such as walking in empty, deserted streets or areas.
[If you go to Mumbai take care of the buses… as I was told that bus drivers are allowed to run over 2 persons (…in other words, they are allowed to kill 2 individuals) without having any legal problems! A very ‘creative, but irresponsible method’ of ‘population control’ I must say!]
Also abstain yourself from “touching abandoned objects or vehicles”, because they can blow up! There were a few bomb explosions in Pune, one in August before I arrived; but common the possibility of this happening to you is probably low. So nothing to be really worry about!
Other than this, I give you other travelling tips:
- If having to move long distances within a city, you better take a taxi (rather than a “rickshaw”) as this is more reliable. You can easily call taxi places and they take your pick-up and destination addresses.
- For travelling short distances within a city where you are familiar with the way it is in general ok to use a rickshaw. Just make sure they put on the taxi-meter, otherwise they will take a lot of money from you!
- If travelling by train alone, or even in a small group, please do choose 1stAC (first class), 2ndAC (second class) or at least 3rdAC. These are still not so clean and perfect (you might have cockroaches as companions!), but they are all very affordable and you can travel more comfortable and safely.
When you travel by train it is also advisable to take a chain and lock to tie your things on to the train (usually train rides are slow in India and take a lot of time, so if you sleep you want to make sure your things are still there when you open your eyes again!).
If you go to the jungle, watch your step (and where you put your hands) for snakes! You never know; maybe you run into one of India’s Big 4. And if you stay for a night or some nights somewhere in the jungle, make sure to check all the corners in the house (and other potential ‘snake hiding places’) before going to sleep, as they quite often look for warm places to hide!
(These animals will not harm or do anything to you, unless they feel scared and threatened by you. As long as you respect each other’s space, there is nothing to worry about.)
While in my time the jungle we ran into two of the Big 4, the Krait and Russel’s Viper; one though was already dead on the road (maybe a bus driver from Mumbai, came to run over it! :D ) the other one was trapped by farmers and placed in a bottle to release it back to the jungle.
They are really beautiful creatures, but when poisonous… from afar is better (I shared a good documentary by the end of this post in case you are interested in snakes!).
One last thing: Mosquitos! Malaria (you do not want), dengue (you do not want either); so avoid mosquito bites by getting a mosquito net and mosquito repellent! In case of having a fever, let always someone know as a precaution and go to a doctor.
Question 3: How to communicate when in India, do people often speak English?
I believe there is not much trouble in India regarding communicating with others. When you travel you can take the address written down and show it to the taxi person, when going to a restaurant just say the name of the food; of course if you go to work in an office, it is expected that the majority of people around will understand and speak English.
In times when a person does not speak English at all, you will probably find yourself ‘transmitting information’ “in code” using key words and sign language and things like these! I do not know how, but it simply works in the end.
Question 4: What is it with Indian food? …and hygiene?
It is funny that before going to India this was the thing which was worrying me.
Neighbors here in The Netherlands who were travelling around India for some months told me that the food was not so nice; that it was too spicy. A cousin of mine who was there for merely a week said he lost several pounds because the food was very bad and he did not want to eat at all!
…for me: The food was perfect! One of my favorite parts of the day when in the NGO’s office was lunchtime, when going to eat to either one of the two neighboring (very cheap, very spicy but very good) restaurants!
Chicken Biryani, Palak Paneer, Chicken Tikka Masala, Malai Kofta and many others; mmmmm (now I am feeling hungry)! So good, you cannot ask for more, really!
Now, about the hygiene… make sure that whatever you eat comes out hot (boiling hot) and I would suggest to never drink tap water!
India does not have such a good reputation with regard to hygiene, and this has its well-argued reasons. It is the only place where I have seen waiters walking barefooted all over the restaurant (including when going inside the kitchen to pick up the food)!
For those with a weak stomach, please take medicine for when you get sick, because chances are that you will! Also include tissue or toilet paper (take it wherever you go in case you travel) and I would add hand sanitizer.
Question 5: What about the people?
“Our guests are our gods” is what an Indian lady told me when crossing the country by train from Pune to Kolkata; and I have no other choice but to agree.
I mean what better example than that of Baloo’s story in the beginning of this post?
You will probably notice that whenever you meet someone in India they will offer you tea or food (…when you least expect it you will be sitting on the floor enjoying yummy, yummy Indian food using your hands!):
…they will also offer you help with anything, or even… “weird ‘magic’ plants”!
Yes! I suppose I never told you about the day, during my stay in the jungle, when a ‘naughty grandmother’ gave me this plant for me to eat! She gave me this leaf with a sort of nut inside and a ‘white powder’ all over it (as shown in the picture)!
…I said: “Thank you very much, I will eat it later (sort of meaning “thank you for the ‘gift’, but of course I won’t put this into my mouth!”)!”; and then she said: “No! You have to eat it now after dinner, for your digestion!” (ALL OF THESE WITH A SORT OF ‘CODIFIED-SIGN-MIXED-LANGUAGE-WITH-A-TINY-BIT-OF-ENGLISH-ADDED-TO-IT!).
There was no way out with the ‘naughty grandma’, so I went ahead and ate part of the plant and then she was laughing! …half an hour later I understood why she was laughing before, because I found myself laughing on my own with myself before going to sleep! I have no idea what this plant had but… Oh, that ‘naughty grandmother’ she made me laugh!
Ok, my dear readers, I guess this is it for the “Flashback Booklet: India Behind Scenes”! I hope you enjoyed it and that it is useful if you are planning or if you ever plan going to India. It is a great place! Of course just like everything and everywhere it has its good and bad things (maybe in India it is perhaps more intense)!
A lot of people get scared and even if they want to go, they decide not to because they are fearful that something might go wrong! It is normal to be afraid of course (I myself got a small panic attack months before going to India), but you can always sit back and look at things in a different perspective.
I personally like to look at it this way: In the end, fear is not our enemy. We can see fear as a ‘visitor’ who is trying to protect us, based on what our past personal experiences have led us to consider certain situations as risky. It is only necessary to listen to what this ‘visitor’ has to say; thank it, say goodbye and let it go…
Anxiety, fear, depression all this feelings people in general consider as “bad or dark feelings” are just trying to say something. Once you listen, you can let them go. Once you let them go, you can continue with whatever you want to do; you can continue to be free. In the long run they become you faithful allies!
Bottom line: If you really want to do something (whatever this ‘something’ is) and if this something is good for you. If it makes you full inside and is good for people around you; go for it, just go at it. VERY ROMANTIC, aha.
Hasta la próxima!
PEACE OUT
Your writer,
Maria :)
P.S: I attach a very nice documentary from the Big 4 in case you are interested in the topic! I really like snakes (poisonous ones from a distance though), and by far this is the best documentary I have found:
I also include another documentary that shows the situation of woman in India in case you are interested (it was filmed after last year’s December ‘brutal’ bus rape incident in New Dehli); it basically explains the issues surrounding the problem of violence against women.
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