gear / india / lomo01 / lomo02

New Delhi:

New Delhi, the only gateway to the world, has the sole international airport in India. So it was the place that we arrived at and left from. Things are too standardized in western norms. It has no Indian-ness in this capital and, later, I found out that New Delhi probably has the highest concentration of beggars in India. Along the roads lie a lot of squatters. On the roads, there are always cattle and sheep. Sometimes, I had no idea what crops were grown in the field. Many of them are left barren. After all, I don't perceive any authentic Indian flavour there. The place is only considered as a transit stop.

Jaipur:

This is a genuine pink city. Following the traditions of the royal family in the past, all the buildings in the city are painted in pink. Though, there is no strict standardization in the colour. The overall outcome is well maintained. You can always feel the culture and flavours upheld by the people. Everyone likes stories and romantic stuff. I think Jaipur successfully achieves its aim. After all, a city is a city. Beggars and businessmen know their ways well. In front of the major tourist spots, there always clustered a lot of shops and beggars.

Agra:

Taj Mahal was the only thing that I knew about India. I longed for this trip just to see this splendid piece of architecture. After the arrival, I was amazed by the huge contrast of the built environments of the rich and the poor. The site covers a large piece of land and the buildings are decorated in the finest marbles and stones. The symmetrical arrangement of the establishments highlights the importance of the place. The people and the authority respect the place so much that certain areas are restricted against access with shoes.

I had a strong feeling that people coming here with respect. However, something changed my mind. One guy approached us and began his expert-like explanation about Taj Mahal. We thought he's a staff or something. He seemed to be well educated and told us the relation between the architecture and the chapters of Koran. After the tour, that guy said "So you are happy?" I started to realize what was going on and I whispered, "shit... how much... 20 rupees?"

Kashmir:

If it's not Eunice insisted in visiting this place, I would probably miss this must-see paradise. It's one of the places that people should visit at least once in their lives. After the trip, I considered Kashmir the best place among all the destinations. Unfortunately, it lies on the border between Pakistan and India. There are sometimes guerillas and terrorist attacks made by the radical terrorists. Since my departure, I always browse the news about Kashmir and I can always encounters tragedy news. The place somehow kept my heart since I arrived.

The weather, the people, the food and many other things in Kashmir make it stands out from the mainland India. It makes me forgot the heat India normally has in summer. The splendid lakes in Srinagar may be the heart of focus in Kashmir. Our accommodation is the "luxury" boat-house resting beside the lakes. In any time of the day, just a glance on the lake can become a best moment in your life. I admire the lives of the two businessmen, Sheffy and Happy, who run our accommodation as well as other business like the selling of carpets and pashmina. Their lives can be as enjoyable as sitting at the end of the boats and telling us with smiles, "aaarrgghh... the scene of the lakes changes different times of a day and seasons... ". I am so jealous of such kind of lives. I suspect they are the top rich men around Srinagar.

No tour can be so down to such a local contact with this one. We just walked along the narrow streets near the lake and began to explore the town. I had no idea why kids in India are so good at English and why they always request us to give them some pens. But we were so enjoyable in chatting with them and riding their bikes. Some of them even invited us to their homes.

I have no idea if Marco Polo had visited Kashmir before. But one day, when we were choosing the carpets and the pashminas in their house. I suddenly thought of how the Polos traded the goods? Did they make it in barter? However, in nowadays Kashmir, Sheffy and Happy reminded us that they welcomed credit cards, US dollars and rupees...