I say another little prayer from my prime position laying down in the back seat with my eyes closed. It is raining and the same crazy driver who overtook on blind corners on the cliff side on the way up was to drive me back down. The special requests for a safe rather than speedy journey were finally listened to and the driver was easy on me.
At the airport my reward: coookiiiiies!!! Australian cookies!
Two cookies and a small cup of chai tea – 25 rupees (about 50 cents). Yes please! An hour later I am on the plane. Out the window I looked down at earth’s surface. Coimbatore is a small city by Indian standards yet the buildings, cars and smog cover every inch of its surface for as far as my eyes can see. It is ugly.
Humanity has hit puberty and is causing a horrible case of acne to break out on our poor earth’s skin. Our sun may be half way through its life but the lifespan of our earth has only just begun. From an innocent childhood where lifeforms lived at one with it, humanity has (particularly in the last 200-years) propelled it into adolescence. Our hormones are going wild, we are rejecting our parent’s wisdom, and using and abusing all we have been provided. From our egocentric position we put ourselves on a pedestal, expecting our universe to revolve around the big important “I”. Our egos are out of control.
Adolescence doesn’t last forever, but the consequences of these abusive years can have long-lasting effects on our minds and bodies. What does the future hold for humanity? Will we grow out of it and make it to earth in it’s twenties? I look out the window again as we land in yet another over-populated Indian city, and I wonder if we do make it through adolescence, will our acne clear up? What will earth’s new skin look like? I doubt it will return to the smooth baby skin of green forests but if we stop abusing our body, if we find ways to live without polluting it, might we use our collective conscious to revitalize our ecosystem like the Ayurveda retreat revitalized me? Can earth and humanity live in a state of connected mind, body and soul? How might humanity, as we move into adulthood, minimize the harm these days of innocent arrogance might cause?
With my mind in la-la philosophy land I step out onto the streets of Delhi. I have organised a friend’s driver-friend’s friend to pick me up, show me Delhi and drive me to Agra to see the Taj Mahal for 4000Rs (around $80). When a large older man in a blue uniform picks me up I think there’s been a mistake. He takes my bags. I farewell a new British friend from the plane, wish him luck figuring out where he’s going (he’s lost his phone) and get in the tiny dirty-white car.
“Can we go to the international airport please? I want to leave my bags there,” I request. Somehow I get talked into leaving them in this car so we can first do some siteseeing and that Mohan, my friend’s actual driver-friend, can take me from Agra to Jaipur and back to Delhi so to save me taking trains.
“You can see many things on the way – monkey temple and…” This option had it’s appeal of comfort and lack of hassle but I wasn’t sure. Travelling by train is the India thing…
“The only thing I really want to do in Delhi is see the museum at the place where Gandhi was shot,” I request.
“Ok, but first this monument and that monument and…” said the driver, rattling off a list of places he would take me to.
I reluctantly agree and pray he will still be in the car park with my bags when I return.
At the first random monument I find myself attacked by papparazi and fans – people wanting photos of and with the blonde white girl. I have more photos taken with children, adults and couples in this place than I did in two-years in japan. And that’s saying a lot.
I escape as fast as I can. Lucky my driver and bags are still there.
“Straight to the Gandhi museum please.” I order. Time is getting on and it is hot. Buildings are ok and the papparazzi thing kinda funny, but my friends told me they spent hours in the Gandhi museum: cheap books, inspiring pictures and ideas.
“Ok, but first I want to take you to…”
“No!” I exclaim. “Gandhi closes at 6.”
Eventually he agrees. Unfortunately his car isn’t happy with this plan. Ten minutes later smoke is coming from the bonnet. Air conditioning is turned off. Windows open.
“Oh no, oh no!” he says. Oh yes. I imagine the car blowing up, with me inside. The traffic stops. Ignition off.
As the traffic starts moving he runs beside the car. I offer to help but when my offer is declined I snap photos and laugh to myself. I clap when we start. He gets in. A hundred meters on we conk out again. Horns go crazy from the surrounding cars. Emergency lights on. Now I imagine being attacked by angry drivers, like in Shantaram. Thank God this isn’t Bombay.
The driver manages to get the smoking shitbox to the side of the road. A very cute (and very cocky) cop wanders over to save the damsel in distress. He introduces me to his crew and brings me a large cold bottle of water.
Time ticks on and eventually he excuses himself to get “back to his duties” and I lay down across the backseat of the car.
My mind is racing: this is not good. Not good at all. This car is supposed to drive me four hours to Agra, at 230am… And to make things worse I have zero cash because my bank card has been declared stolen (not by me) and is not working even though I told the bank I’m in India, and called them to assure them these withdrawals were mine. AND I still have all my bags in this car – more than half which are pre-prepared to be left at the airport allowing me freedom to jump on buses and trains and see sites as I please. Now I am trapped. Hostage.
I take out my envelope of contacts. A travel agency another friend recommended. Another friend’s friends who was an events organiser for an internation conference. Surely these contacts would be less dodgy than this dude with a stuffed up car. But I don’t have a phone. I consider asking the cop for his but before I do the driver is back and I’m loaded into his friend’s identical-looking car and told they will take me to a hotel in Delhi.
“I will bring a different car tomorrow,” he assures me.
“Can we first go to a bank and get rid of these bags?” I ask. Desperately wishing I hadn’t got myself into this mess I decide to go with it but only until I get to Agra. Then I’ll split – I’ll just suck it up and carry my bags.If I abandon this plan now there’s no way I can see all I want to see and be back for my flight in two days time.
Now I get told there is no left luggage facilities at the international airport because they are building a new airport, or something like that. I try various numbers in my guidebook to confirm this notion, but alas none of the numbers seem to work. Damn it!
I do get to a bank but my card still doesn’t work. I withdraw on credit card and hope the interest charges this will cause aren’t too huge. At least I have cash.
When I make it to the hotel my plans for dinner and internet fly out the window. I’m exhausted.
After a cold shower (not by choice) I take solace in the “Australian Network” with an ABC program on the muslim berka conflicts followed by an episode of my mum’s favourite tv show: Packed to the Rafters. The Australian accent sounded like music to my ears.
Sounds horrific yet extremely fascinating and unforgettable. Go Packed to the Rafters!
HI Juliet,
Greetings from Jaipur,India.
My name is Gurvinder Singh and I am friend of Mr Singh the hotelier from Jaipur(pearl palace).I just read your horrifying experience of travel in India the Golden Triangle.I think this was your first visit to India and that also a toooo… short one.India is lovely country with so much in culture and life style.Every state in India has a different language,different style of living,food,clothes etc.Its a big country and there is only one problem I feel that’s population somehow we have to control that and than education.Over here people are very helpful,emotional,caring.I think you should plan again but only in winter not in hot summer with a longer stay To feel and understand India and Indians more.
Best wishes
Gurvinder
Thanks Gurvinder! Sorry, I only just saw your message 2 years after you wrote it. Lovely to hear from you. India taught me a lot and I love Hindu and Buddhist culture. I would love to return to India one day, as I am sure it has much much much more to teach me. I just won’t go there alone next time…
All the best,
Juliet
Hi Juliet,
I read few pages of your blog and read the experience you had in Agra and this one in Delhi. Well as an Indian, I definitely agree and feel embarassed and sorry about some of the things you had mentioned and they are indeed true specially in Agra.
But somehow your blog shows India as a non livable, utter miserable country and inhabited by barbarians and thugs.
I guess it’s the cocky western attitude to any culture which is not white and different (you had also sarcastically mentioned about Japanese fascination to take photos with you). I guess, it feeds the ego of the western world and makes them feel they are a lot better. Well, I have travelled far and wide and it’s no different for us when we get the raw treatment as tourists in the west. In my own experience, I was treated very very shabbily by a waiter in Belgium, though I tried to speak to him in my little knowledge of french and tried the local walloon cuisine. He litterally slammed the food on our table and really treated us like shit (it really smelled of racism). I have moved on.
My folks experienced the same racial issue in Netherlands and Germany, when people in the queue behind them were served ice cream and no one looking or even bothering to ask them (only 2 Indian families in the queue and both experienced the same behaviour). There were many instances like that which myself and some of the people I know have faced in the So called “western world”. And this statistics of victims includes all colors of humanity…brown, black, yellow and even white…..
Yes India is not perfect, but it’s not miserbale either. There are lot of things which India and Indians do wrong but there are lot of things we have taught the world too.
Yes, In Asia people are not that pretentious, they are more candid in expressing their feelings or emotions. But that’s how they are.
I guess we should learn from the western world about cleverly masking and putting on a nice facade even though the mindset might be myopic. Trust me, no culture/society is superior than the other, they are just different. If western society was the only civilized society, then “white Australia Policy as late as 1970’s and stealing of Aboroginal kids from their families”, “Apartheid”, “Segregation in South US” and “Unethical and murderous Colonialism”, “Holocaust”, “Spanish Inquisition in Latin America and Annihilation of the natives” would not have happened in the so called “civilized” western world.
I know you feel lucky to be in the western world as you had mentioned, but I am not sure whether an aborginal person in Australia or Native American in US feels that lucky or gets the justice he or she or his community deserves.
I did not want to offend you any way but just wanted to give another perspective to your opinions.
Don’t get me wrong, I love west and the western culture ( just like I am open to any culture and see it’s positives) and currently live in the west, but I am not blind to it’s shortcomings just like I am not blind to the evils in the Indian society. I definitely think, the Indian Society has to open up and be more liberal and get rid of the evils which have dogged us for centuries, but then it also has some unique cultural refinements which needs to be higlighted. Every culture and society and nation has it’s flaws and it’s a continous improvement for the entire humanity.
By the way, India is not a banana reupblic and after 250 years of mass looting by the Colonialists, our young nation of 60 years has one of the largest pool of scientists and engineers, lot of women engineers/politians technocrats and doctors, has a woman president, has a very independent and robust space program, one of the biggest conglomerates in Asia and the world. Yes we have poverty and lot of people under the UN mandated poverty line and we have to work towards eliminating poverty. Hopefully you did not think the otherwise….
Hopefully, I did not offend you and hopefully if you travel to India next time, you have a good experience and something good to share about the country and it’s people.
Have a Nice day!
Hi Arka,
I apologise if my blog post came across as portraying India as miserable and “uncivilised”. This was not my intention at all. Please keep in mind this story was shared from amidst my emotion-filled experience in your country, and there were some tough times intensified by the fact that I was a single young white female travelling alone in a country so different from my own. I would hate it if you and other readers took away from this story a negative perspective of India, or to think I am feeding the West’s ego and considering it above the rest of the world.
I am very critical of the West for the situation our planet is in today – namely the destruction caused by exploitation of people and our planet’s resources. This blog entry made me a tiny bit less critical of the West, and a little less romantic about the East, but by no means does it change the fact that the culture that the West has exporting to the world is destroying an ecosystem that our lives depend on – which may make us the least civilised “civilisation” in recorded history..
I have utmost respect particularly for the Indigenous people of the countries which Britain and Spain invaded. Western culture is like any culture – full of both wonderfully creative and terribly destructive aspects. I lived in Japan for two years and was in no way making a negatively sarcastic comment about their photography habits. I love it. Ok, it did make me feel special that they wanted to take a photos with me, and I suppose there is some aspects of ego involved in that, but I don’t think that’s a Western ego per say – more the general human ego.. but hey culture is a big part of identity, and individualist identity of the West may make individualist egos a unique Western quality. You tell me!
To be honest I think the whole world is a bit racist and discriminatory in different ways, and we’re best to admit to that and laugh at it. The continuing of the caste system, for example, doesn’t exactly show India treating their Indigenous so well either 😉 I’m not defending the West, or having a go at you, just pointing out in good humour that no culture is perfect.
The West has more power in global society today, and tomorrow maybe it will be India or China – power is always shifting. I would love to see Brazilian culture take over the world, but that’s just because they seem to celebrate life more than any other culture I’ve experienced.
I think the best scenario for the world is to develop an East-meets-West-meets-Indigenous culture – taking the best each has to offer, and using that to battle the big problems that we collectively face now and in our shared future.
I hope to return to India one day, as my short time there didn’t allow me to experience even 1% of what India has to offer… though next time I won’t do it alone. Your spirituality, colour, people, yoga, scientists… India has so much to offer the world, and I hope to learn more about that next time.
Thank you for sharing your perspectives and putting this blog entry back in it’s place 🙂
Best wishes,
Juliet