a hui hou kakou

I was in and out of India from June until August 2007, and once again for a week in February 2008. Many people seem to either hate or love India. I don't really feel either. It is a place that tires me out immensely. The food is wonderful and diverse. I met some wonderful Indians. Generally though India has the most unpleasant culture of any place I have been. People have no respect for anything. Women are treated horrendously. It is very much an in your face place. I didn't like how my behavior changed during my stay. I became much meaner. That being said there is a lot of beauty, in nature and architecture. It made me romance for the period of the British Raj. I escaped the illness that hits most westerns in India for many weeks, but when I got sick it was hard. That is when I left. I think I will return to India eventually. When I went in February 2008 it was only to relax on the beach in Goa for a week. It was nice to contrast this with my experience in Goa the summer before.

Emblem of India

Emblem of India

Map of India Gorakhpur train station. June 2007. Morning in Uttar Pradesh. June 2007. Benares along the holy Ganges River. Benares is now known as Varanasi but I prefer the old city names in India. June 2007. Post office in Benares. June 2007. The lovely Vishnu Rest House. 50INR for a dorm overlooking the Ganges. The cool wind cutting down the heat. June 2007. Benares. June 2007. Burning the dead. June 2007. Benares train station. June 2007. Benares train station. June 2007. The plains of north India. June 2007. Village in north India. June 2007. Indian train slowing going across the plains. June 2007. Toy train near Darjeeling. June 2007. Darjeeling is a cute town with a lot of British architecture still in evidence. June 2007. Darjeeling is full of paths. June 2007. Darjeeling is green. June 2007. Flowers. June 2007. Flowers. June 2007. Clock tower in Darjeeling. June 2007. I met Fiona at the train station in Mughal Sarai. We explored Darjeeling together for a couple days before going separate ways. June 2007. Misty and green, coming down the mountain from Darjeeling. June 2007. A Bhutanese bus to take me to Jaigon. June 2007. Highway in northern West Bengal. June 2007. Tea plantations in northern West Bengal. June 2007. Road in northern West Bengal. June 2007. Communist Party headquarters in Jaigon. Communists are everywhere in India. June 2007. Guwahati train station. July 2007. Brahmaputra River in Guwahati. July 2007. Guwahati, Assam. July 2007. Interesting apartment in Guwahati. July 2007. Near the railway tracks in Guwahati. July 2007. Hotel Bob in Guwahati. I didn't stay here but I thought the name quite funny. July 2007. Some houses in Meghalaya. July 2007. Warbah restaurant along the road in Meghalaya. July 2007. House in Meghalaya. July 2007. Countryside near Shillong. July 2007. Countryside near Shillong. July 2007. Restaurant along the road in Meghalaya. July 2007. Bus I took from Guwahati to Agartala. July 2007. Bananas for sale in Tripura. July 2007. Gateway to the Ujjainti Palace in Agartala. July 2007. Ujjainti Palace. July 2007. Ujjainti Palace. July 2007. Salvation Army Guest House. Where I spent most of my week in Calcutta (Kolkata). Nice place but I left because of the beg bugs. July 2007. 80INR for a dorm bed. Nice wall detail in Calcutta. July 2007. Park in Calcutta. July 2007. Park for horses in Calcutta. It was interesting to see these big parks in the teeming cities of South Asia. Parks just for horses and riding horses. July 2007. The beautiful Victoria Memorial in Calcutta. July 2007. The Victoria Memorial. July 2007. Going down to the metro in Calcutta. July 2007. Calcutta metro. July 2007. Calcutta metro. July 2007. Calcutta metro. July 2007. Calcutta is one of the few places in the world that still has human powered rickshaws. July 2007. Main post office in Calcutta. July 2007. The chai in Calcutta usually came in disposable clay cups. July 2007. Cup of Calcutta chai. July 2007. I went with Lucy to a Mother Teresa house to help disabled kids. It was a hard day. July 2007. Howrah train station in Calcutta. July 2007. Monument in Calcutta. July 2007. Khalique Restaurant in Calcutta. I really liked this place. The food was excellent, cheap and I was always the only foreigner there unless I brought more with me. It was very close to where the foreigners stay but on a side street. For a week I ate here almost every day. I kept trying other places but always came back to this one. July 2007. Along the eastern coast of India. July 2007. Along the eastern coast of India. July 2007. Along the eastern coast of India. July 2007. Along the eastern coast of India. July 2007. Along the eastern coast of India. July 2007. Along the eastern coast of India. July 2007. Madras (Chennai) train station. July 2007. Botanical garden in Pondicherry. July 2007. Hindu temple in Pondicherry. July 2007. Catholic church in Pondicherry. July 2007. Train station in Pondicherry. July 2007. Statue of a former French governor of Pondicherry. July 2007. Catholic church in Pondicherry. July 2007. War memorial in Pondicherry. July 2007. Gandhi statue in Pondicherry. July 2007. My friend Hema in Pondicherry. July 2007. Town near Pondicherry. July 2007. Coast near Pondicherry. July 2007. Coast near Pondicherry. July 2007. Boats near Pondicherry. July 2007. Houses near Pondicherry. July 2007. Madras bus station. July 2007. Downtown Madras. July 2007. Cow cart in traffic. July 2007. Different countries put different things on billboards. In India the two most common billboards I saw were advertisements for competing brands of structural steel (re-bar) and concrete. I couldn't get over feeling this was a bit odd. One Indian said it is probably because there are many people building their own houses. I guess that makes sense. Also there really isn't enough wood anymore in India for home building. July 2007. Restaurant where I had lunch. I liked that it said "Madras" on it's sign instead of Chennai. July 2007. Ernakulam Town train station. Near Cochin (Kochi). July 2007. I was traveling through India during monsoon season. In Kerala was the only place where it really felt like it. The whole time I was there it rained and rained. July 2007. More of the rain in Ernakulam. July 2007. Warship seen from the ferry out to Cochin. July 2007. Ferry in Cochin. July 2007. Fishing net in Cochin. July 2007. Catholic church in Cochin. July 2007. Catholic church in Cochin. July 2007. Catholic church in Cochin. July 2007. Countryside in Goa. July 2007. Church in Goa. July 2007. Road in Goa. July 2007. I was in Goa during the off season. I read and heard that the difference between the tourist season and off season is dramatic, and it is. Most of the places were closed and there were very few other foreigners around. This is Vagator Beach. July 2007. Vagator Beach. July 2007. Vagator Beach. July 2007. I found this room in Anjuna beach for 100INR. July 2007. Church in Panaji. July 2007. Church in Old Goa. July 2007. These Cathedrals are impressive. They are pretty much all that remains of Old Goa. They sit by themselves in the middle of nowhere. More of Old Goa. July 2007. Inside a Bombay (Mumbai) train station. July 2007. The architecture of Bombay is amazing! July 2007. More Bombay. July 2007. India Gate. July 2007. Me and my friend Heather on a night out. July 2007. Heather's kitten. July 2007. Rajasthan. July 2007. Camel cart in Jaipur. July 2007. Gate in Jaipur. July 2007. Jaipur was my least favorite place in India. The people were even more unpleasant than elsewhere. These two followed me for a while until I told them to get lost. July 2007. On the upside Jaipur did have elephants. July 2007. Elephants in traffic. July 2007. Nice little temple in Jaipur. July 2007. Camels in Jaipur. July 2007. Jaipur train station. July 2007. Taj Mahal in Agra. July 2007. Delhi metro. July 2007. Delhi metro. July 2007. Inside the toy train to Shimla. July 2007. The toy train on it's way up to Shimla. July 2007. Shimla is another nice mountain town with British architecture. July 2007. The main square in Shimla. July 2007. On the road to Manali. July 2007. A nice British boy I met had fire sticks. Here he is with them. He showed me how to use them a bit. July 2007. Temple in Manali. July 2007. A beautiful little stream in Manali. August 2007. In the park in Manali. August 2007. In the park in Manali. August 2007. In the park in Manali. August 2007. Amritsar near the Golden Temple. August 2007. At the Golden Temple headquarters of the Sikh religion. August 2007. Me at the Golden Temple. You must cover your head. August 2007. Indian and Pakistani guards at the border. August 2007. Sunrise at the Bombay international airport. February 2008. Church in Goa. February 2008 Beer in Goa. February 2008. I went to Goa for a week with my friend Namrata. February 2008 Curious cat. February 2008. Arambol beach. February 2008 Bridge to the parking lot at Arambol beach. February 2008. Countryside in the north of Goa. February 2008 Querim beach in the very north of Goa. February 2008. House in the countryside in northern Goa. February 2008 Elephant walking the street in Baga. February 2008. Baga River while I was walking from Baga to Vagator. February 2008 Sun going down over a beach shack on Vagator. February 2008. Trees holding the hammock I used at Vagator. February 2008 Boat near the Chapora Fort. February 2008. Me at the Chapora Fort. February 2008 Ant at Chapora. February 2008. Chapora Fort. February 2008 Sunset at Vagator. February 2008. Sunset at Vagator the next night. February 2008 More sunset at Vagator. February 2008. More sunset at Vagator. February 2008 Shack and hammock where I spent a lot of time. February 2008. Guineafowl at a restaurant in Anjuna. February 2008 Namrata on a motorcycle we rented for a day. February 2008. Brahmaputra river in Guwahati, Assam, July 2007. Ujjainti Palace in Agartala, Tripura, July 2007. At the Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, West Bengal, July 2007. Hooghly River, Calcutta, West Bengal, July 2007. Vagator Beach in Goa, July 2007. Vagator Beach in Goa, July 2007. Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, July 2007. Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, July 2007. The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), Punjab, August 2007. The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), Punjab, August 2007. The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib), Punjab, August 2007. India/Pakistan border at Wagah, Punjab, August 2007. Arambol Beach in Goa, Feb. 2008. Passport Stamps |back to travels |