| Sonia leaving......boo hoo hoo. The lack of basic healthcare, education and provisions for the millions of impoverished and diseased people. The corruption. Everyone from the government down to post office workers lie and cheat - it is inherent in the culture, and honest people get nowhere in India. Indians have no one but their families to turn to in times of trouble, which may go some way to explain why the family institution is considered so very important. The police force. They are corrupt, lazy and cruel. The most upsetting experience of my entire trip was witnessing 2 policemen beating a cycle rickshaw driver who had accidently bumped into their scooter in the heaving traffic of Varanasi. The caste system. Millions of 'untouchables' own nothing and are given nothing. Even sadder is that most Indians who have 'something' believe that others lower then them deserve nothing. Even sadder still is that the untouchables and lowers castes expect nothing. The sheer number of people. India is huge, yet it cannot fit the 1 billion people that spill out onto its streets. The lack of interaction with women. Women are very much second class citizens : their education is limited and unused, and the home is where they stay, so it is very difficult to meet and become friends with women. Nostril hair erosion due to the all too frequent smell of piss. Toilets on 2nd class carriages of trains were particularly bad, and a vicks inhaler inserted into each nostril was the only way to prevent heaving. Landing at the Andaman Islands - the cloud was very low, the runway very short and the pilot very new. The plane attempted to land 5 times, each time coming in to the runway, and shooting back up at the very last minute. Sonia and I were in the emergency landing positions after the thrid attempt and looking forward to a ride on an inflatable yellow slide. Brown pants. Evil Kenieval Sonia flying off her scooter and shimmying across the gravel on the Andaman Islands. Nearly melting in our beds in SE India. There was a nighttime power cut, we were stranded on an island in intense humidity, sweating our souls into a dirty mattress, trying to ignore the various unidentified droppings that lay around us. Forcing down a breakfast of tapioca root dipped in oil for breakfast to save causing offence to a guest house owner. Bleeuuuuurrrgggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh. Going to the movies, seeing the worst film ever (The Last Warrior), and getting grief from some drunk Indians (although Sonia's fiery Italian side sorted that one out nicely). Visiting the Taj Mahal for sunrise afer a VERY strong bhang lassi the previous night. Managed to circle the momument once, and could not even muster the energy to take a photo. Seeing a huge sea turtle tied to a fishing boat on one of the Andaman Islands. Poaching is against the law, but this big fella was off to be sold illegally and killed for its valued meat. Very upsetting. Brushes with death. The closest I came was when taking a cycle rickshaw with an Aussie friend in Varanasi. As we turned a corner, the electricity on the street from which we had been cycling down only 2 seconds before, completely blew. Pylons fell, wires fizzled, sparks flew, fires started and many people were badly burned. Our most awaited roll of film was taken as we galloped on camels through the desert in Jaisalmer with our pink turbans. Handed the reel into the photo developers, yet were told upon collection that their machine was broken and they were unable to develop our pics. We got on a long bus journey to Jaipur, gave the film in again, and found out the basterds in Jaisalmer had wiped our film. Am still angry. BASTERDS. |
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