Sunday, February 19, 2012

Visiting India

We just returned from a month in India. We visited a number of cities and towns including Jodhpur, Jaiselmer, Jaipur, Udaipur, Agra, Goa, Rathanborgh, Delhi and Mumbai. It was an amazing “bucket list” trip. I was told India stands for “I’ll Never Do It Again.” I’m not sure I totally agree although it was among the most “exotic” places we’ve ever been. There are fascinating issues to explore and stories to tell, which I intend to do, but I thought I’d comment on a few of the lighter surprises today. There are really no street signs in India; they navigate by monuments and landmarks and by asking nearly anyone and everyone for directions. “Go to the clock tower and take the second turn after that” kind of thing! Interestingly enough, everyone was willing to stop what they were doing to give directions, every time we asked. We had a driver for the four of us, but few people venture far enough away to be comfortable and familiar with each of the locations so they just stop and ask, and invariably get accurate directions willingly given. On one stretch of road, from Jodhpur to Jaiselmer, which is on the historically significant “silk road” and close the Pakistani border (close meaning about 15 miles) we drove on the typically slightly expanded one lane road, which is predominant in the country with only a few exceptions. On the several hour drive we shared the road with: goats, sheep, dogs, donkey’s, monkey’s, cows, water buffaloes, camels, elephants, camels pulling carts, people walking , tuk-tuk’s, other cars, buses and trucks. Wow! There was no discernable speed limit although we rarely went very fast because we’d honk at a cow who was largely disinterested in moving at all, so we’d steer around him and continue on--