India
“An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind”Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
A country to be savoured - slowly. It doesn't pay to rush in India. The pace of life in cosmopolitan Mumbai (formerly Bombay) is as hectic and stress-ridden as any Western conurbation. And what with the extremes of temperature and excessive pollution, metropolitan Delhi is even worse! Add to these factors, the horrific levels of poverty and disease among the lowliest of the urban poor, and you will begin to appreciate the need to be less of a tourist on this continent. Out of the cities, and up in the hills, in the deserts and on the beaches, life becomes a little easier - especially if you have come for a short holiday. India has much to offer the tourist, traveller or backpacker, but if you've not visited before, come prepared...
India Tales: City Life | Film City | Can I Please Go Now? |
City Life
I met an old man in Tezpur who told me that he had once lived in Sheffield, in the North of England for a few years. "Did you enjoy your time there?", I'd asked him. "No, it was so damned boring!" Nothing like a little honesty. So my first morning in India, in Delhi, in Paharganj, I nearly bumped into an elephant walking down the street. - read this tale
Film City
I'd decided that Bombay was not my kind of town. For a start, there was that dreadful drive in from the airport. The stark, brutal comparisons between wealth and poverty are nowhere more clearly on display, than on that journey. Poverty, disease, and hunger are not limited to India, by any means, but the exaggerated difference between that kind of slap in the face desperation, and the horrible opulence that can be glimpsed, is truly terrible. The poorest nation always has its rich upper-class. To see them living side by side, barely seeming to acknowledge each other, is distressing. - read this tale
Can I Please Go Now?
The journey there was a bit of an adventure in itself as I flew to Delhi with Ariana Airlines, (the Afghanistan national carrier) from London, Heathrow via Prague and Kabul. On arrival at the check-in desk, there was a long wait of several hours and many excuses regarding snow-bound planes (this was January) before we were finally told that we wouldn't be flying today. We were, however, put up in a very pleasant hotel near the airport, where I took full advantage of all the free meals, hot showers and comfy beds: I guessed that this could be a long trip. - read this tale
Page last updated Saturday, 14th March, 2009