I’ve had a love affair with India for years; up to now it’s been all about butter chicken, Sachin Tendulkar and that time Anil Kumble took 19 wickets in a test match.1 The sub-continent has been high on my travel agenda for a while, but somehow has eluded me up until this year. I’ve been dreaming of veggie thalis, being able to play street cricket at the drop of a hat, riding around on a rickety old enfield and getting laughed at trying to speak a bit of Hindi.
And so it begins, after a solid stint of being stuck at home, I’m embarking on my first lengthy bit of travel. Up to now I’ve managed to see parts of Europe and circumnavigate the Banana Pancake Tour but I’ve never been out of Australia for more than 6 consecutive weeks. After a few years of envy directed towards the like of Earl Baron2, Matt Kepnes and the serial customs declarer Chris Guillebeau3, I get to dust of the old passport for more than a few months.
The Travelling Twit(terer)
This will be my first trip where I’ve been active on social media platforms, writing this blog and regularly taking photos.4 I’ve enjoyed reading twitter for travellers and will be using some of the tips in there to meet up with other travellers throughout the year. I’m finding that social media and travel make fantastic bed fellows, and most of the tips in twitter for travellers can be used in your own backyard to meet visitors to your home city.
India, of course, that’s what we were supposed to be discussing so that you could offer up your suggestions, leave some sort of envious comment below or send in your hate mail. I’ve become a bit jaded by travelling to poorer5 countries, aren’t we just exploiting our Western position in the world by going somewhere cheaper, taking our photos, bargaining hard for a faux-ralph lauren polo and tipping the tuk-tuk driver at the airport before boarding a plane back to our Western World bubble?
After battling through the 900 odd pages of reading ‘Shantaram’ I’ve found myself longing to head to the slums to experience something off the beaten track and to forgo the option of an air-conditioned room that I could have at home. I’m looking to see the real India, not that I can put a finger on that just yet. While a visit to Paris would be inconceivable to not swing by the Eiffel Tower I’m leaning the same way with India; it’d be foolish to not visit the Taj, the palaces of Rajasthan or the backwaters of Kerala.
Not Available in Lonely Planet
There are some pearls of wisdom that you can only pickup from other travellers. While kicking back and enjoying a bia hoi in the Old Quarter of Hanoi a good few moons ago, an American guy filled me in on a bit of wisdom about his recent trip to India:
“Man, there are two types of travellers that come out of India…. Those that ate a mean curry and didn’t make it to the toilet in time, and those that are liars.”
I’m still undecided as to what this trip is about. Experiencing a new culture first hand is always a bit of a thrill, new food, new language, new customs. Some unreal photo opportunities, being able to wear flip-flops for more than two days in a row on the weekend, an escape from the office cubicle or a Western world detox? To be confirmed.
What is your experience with travelling through India? I’d love to learn from them.
- For those who don’t know what I’m talking about re: Tendulkar or Kumble, slap yourself, then read up on Indian Cricket over here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_national_cricket_team ↩
- Earl has been travelling continuously for years, and has been a huge help in planning my Indian adventure so far. ↩
- Chris Guillebeau is a master of frequent flyer points espionage (all legal!) He may also be one of the nicest people in the world. ↩
- I’m going to try my best to keep up with the #3652012 photo challenge that’s being co-ordinated by Nick over at http://3652012blog.wordpress.com/ ↩
- You can substitute ‘poorer’ for economically challenged, ‘adventure’ holiday or corrupt. ↩
30