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Other entries in Delhi

closing thoughts

I find it extremely curious the way thigns work out. the first day we arrived in India, we were taken advantage of by a "brahman priest" who rushed us through ceremonial rituals and then kindly asked for a donation which we naievely provided. we were unhappy. two weeks later, we still had trust enough to allow a total stranger (and a very sleasy looking one at that) to venture out into the city of Agra with our money to procure a train ticket for us. we were a little doubtful of his abilities and motives but the price was small enough that if he was legitimate, we would save ourselves a bunch of time and trouble. long story short, he came back after many failed attempts and got us tickets just in the nick of time. so he singlehandedly restored our faith in the average indian and in a great way, left a positive taste in our mouth just as we leave this country. so thank you, random sketchy dude.

we are in delhi right now. we arrived yesterday afternoon to find this place massive, hectic, and filled with all kinds of culture. we dropped anchor in a touristy part of town because the price was right and it was near our desired hang outs. our immediate goal was to procure a Eurail pass for myself since a combination of things led to my inability to get one until India. of course, they were availible in Bombay but i didnt get one (the reasons are a mystery to all). so with only 3 hours to get one in Delhi (everything is closed today Sunday and we leave in about 12 hours making the narrow store hours of saturday my last hope). so we went from travel store to travel store looking for vendors and of course found none. eventually a nice lady refered us to a place that did sell them and naturally, we had a hard time finding it. when i finally did locate the store, it was closed but a nice gentleman said he would stay a few minutes after to help me out. so i got the Eurail pass at literally the last minute and now i have no worries about my continued travel. im an idiot.

unfortunately, or perhaps not, we are not going to be seeing many sights here in Delhi. david is feeling pain in his abdomen, not from the food though, he says its just a sharp pain like he pulled a muscle. regardless, it is enough to hinder us from sight seeing and with our otherwise low motivation to do so anyway in the short period of time we have here, we wont be seeing much in this city. theres probably not much to see anyway cause this town's only a few years old.

this being my last post in India, i guess it would be appropriate to give some summizing thoughts. this leg of the overall journey has definitely been love/hate. this country is filled with so much culture and history that it is impossible not to be mesmerized by it. ive loved learning about the different dynasties and civilizations that have at one time ruled over this land. their lasting imagery and structures truly make my jaw drop and the ferver with which the people understand and promote the varied history really amazes me further. the random people ive met and actually had a conversation with have given me great impressions about the individuals in the country. ive found that if you can make it past 4 minutes talking to someone without them bringing up you giving them money or you coming to their shop, then they are genuinely interested in talking to you, learning from you (and teaching you some things as well), and spreading the "friendly indian" image. ive gotten personal opinions from a few different people but some say that the ratio of good, honest Indians to bad, dishonest ones is about 80:20 and others say its the opposite. regardless of their opinions, my experience tells me that generally, Indians are very friendly, helpful, and well-intentioned. but since we mostly spent time in touristy areas, doing touristy things, we are bound to encounter the creepy crawlies.

im not sure exactly why Indian beggars and touts got to me more so than their counterparts in other 3rd world countries ive visited. my thinking is that its part of many reasons. firstly, a person is influenced, whether he wants to or not, by his surroundings and peers. we met up with our friend Max after only 3 days in India and he had/has a very negative, distrusting image of ALL Indians. his experience has taught him that everyone is after his money, everyone is obnoxious and rude, and that every Indian isnt really on par with his expectations of civilized human beings. (this may be a little strong and i dont mean to put thoughts into his head but this was my take on his perception. max, feel free to correct me and ill write a follow up to this journal). since we were spending 24 hours a day with max and he was the "expert" on India at the time, we probably couldnt help but be influenced. i remember noticing a change in david about a week into our stay here. the touts and beggars are so everpresent that you find yourself almost constantly talking (or ignoring) the propositions. i found david becoming a lot more sarcastic and cynical with his responses which was much different than he had been throughout our journey and especially as recently as Vietnam where the touts are just as prevalent. before he would just say "no thank you" and keep moving even if the people walked with us. but here, the responses were a little harsher, a little rude, and he has even lost his temper on one or two occasions. i remember noting this a week ago and since then, ive noticed myself becoming a bit callow as well. so what is it about this place that brings out new emotions and jagged responses?

i think some of it is the unending presence of poverty. we know this is a very poor country and are on our guard because of it. Vietnam was poor also but everyone seemed to be doing alright with it. we didnt see homeless, we didnt find people sleeping in the streets, and the attitudes of the individuals was better towards us and towards each other. i also think the sheer size of population is a factor. whenever over 1 billion people encompass an area, there is bound to be some rubbing against each other. one example: the driving in India is just as scary as the driving in East Asia. there is swerving, squeezing, dodging, and lots and lots of honking. but in India, the drivers take everything personally and will stop to argue about it. i remember in Vietnam, where we witnessed a more hectic pace to the streets than our other experience, Thailand, when a motorbike would appear out of nowhere and nearly slam into a pedestrian or bicycle. neither member of the narrowly avoided accident would shout, gesture, or even say anything. it was a very impressive lesson on lack of road rage. but here, all that is different. just yesterday when we got off the bus and into a tuktuk, two drivers nearly got into a fistfight becuase we chose one over the other. the second thought he had claim to our fare and the first clearly thought the same. we had chosen the second guy because he agreed to a lower price and then the first agreed to the lower price but it was too late. so as we were getting into the tuktuk, the first guy came up and got in the face of the second and started yelling and shoving. at this point, we started yelling at the guy because this was totally out of line. the angry driver was so amazed by we two white yellers that he fell completely silent and backed away. but they nearly came to blows over a few rupees. (incidently as an example of the shiestiness (for lack of a better word) of some individuals over here, when we got out of the tuktuk and paid the driver, he asked for more money as if we had agreed on a higher price. we laughed at his feeble attempt to suck more money out of us and just walked away. you see, right there is another example of how ive become callow towards this culture. i just relayed how we laughed at this driver for trying to get 50 more cents out of us. but its just so damn prevalent that you have to develop a strong resistance to it. you cant feel bad about walking away when it was a dishonest act to begin with. i know they need the money more than i do, but my problem is not with the difference in strength of currency, its with the seemingly compete lack of class, dignity, morality, character, and ethics exhibited by many in this culture. the question i keep coming back to is this: at the end of the day, when these people go back to their families and children, do they look in the mirror and ask themselves if what they did (scam unknowing and trusting foreigners) was right. with my upbringing, i know it is wrong to take advantage, manipulate, lie, and steal from anyone. but so many people, and not just in the 3rd world, just dont understand morality or just dont care to adhere to the ethics of common decency. does the desperation of poverty drive people to do this? i think the answer is yes sometimes but definitely not always. look at the Enron executives; they stole from thousands of customers and were already highly successful individuals. and there are many other poor people in similar situations who do not resort to scams and stealing. so i believe that eventually, it simply comes back to parenting and lessons taught by your surrounding culture and influences. a child will always turn into an adult and carries with him the same ideas he had when he was younger. of course one can change, but its hard to teach an old dog new tricks. its much easier to mold the clay when its fresh and still maleable instead of later when its been hardened by age.

with all the negative aspects of this country, i would still love and plan to come back. there is still much to see and many great experiences yet to be had. i am in no way disappointed with this country or angry at its people. i simply feel ive learned a lot about human nature, desperation, and our (western) influence on developing worlds. but with that disclaimer laid down, i must say that im really looking forward to Greece and a hot gyro.

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