Some Random Thoughts about Indian Travel

The following are a few thoughts that occurred to me during our trip.

1. Masses of People: If you like to be able to get somewhere to be alone, don't visit India.
2. As a slightly below average height Brit, it makes a nice change to be able to look over people's heads.
3. Temples: The philosophy behind Hinduism and Buddhism escapes me. There seem to be gurus scattered around the country holding little gatherings. The customs in temples with the giving of gifts of sweetmeats and the like, and the getting of daubs on the forehead, or squatting in a tightly packed group in front of a couple of monks clanging cymbals and bells remain a mystery to me.
4. Litter: It's hard to get used to the amount of litter everywhere. For example, meals on trains usually come on aluminium foil trays. Most of the passengers happily throw these trays out of the carriage door onto the lines!
5. It's self-evident, I know, but don't be surprised at what gets served when you order something Western, e.g. cornflakes with milk, or toast with butter (see journal entry for 10^th October).
6. Footwear: I would recommend footwear with no tread. The dog droppings which are around are not too numerous, but there are cows everywhere and at some point you're highly likely to step on a cow-cake. Cleaning soles having a tread without a scrubbing brush is a pain.
7. Reflectors: If you go out for a stroll after dark, it can be very dark. We have missed having a reflecting jacket or something equivalent on this trip.
8. Crossing roads: At first sight, this looks to be a problem because zebra crossings are few and far between, and are in any case not respected. But with practice it isn't too hard, at least in towns. One simply waits for a break in the car and lorry stream until there are mainly only auto-rickshaws and motorbikes to avoid, and starts walking. Keep a steady straight line and don't hesitate. Vehicles will hoot to tell you that they are there and have seen you, but will drive so that they miss you.
   
   We don't have any experience outside towns, where the speeds are higher. I should be very wary of using this strategy there.
   
   Rich Indians don't use this strategy. They take a taxi to go to a shop on the other side of the street, as we discovered in Jalandhar!
9. Earplugs: From our previous trip to India, we knew that it is useful to have earplugs always accessible in India, especially when riding on buses, where the noise from hooting can be painful.
10. Face-masks/Eye-Protection: Unfortunately we didn't have face-masks for nose and mouth with us. They would have been worth trying against the penetrating 2-stroke and diesel traffic fumes. Also, if like me you get to like travelling on the non-a/c buses, clear glasses as eye-protection against the wind could be useful.
11. Hooting: The level of car hooting was a shock on leaving the hotel on our first morning. On reflection, though, I came to the conclusion that it is not generally aggressive, as tends to be the case in Europe. I think it is used more in the sense of, "I am here; I have seen you; don't do anything unusual, like veering from your present course.". With this in mind, I found the hooting easier to tolerate. But see the note on earplugs above.