This is a dense destination for which you must be very well prepared. India has the power to arouse strong emotions for some and a certain discomfort for others. A huge, overpopulated, chaotic, noisy, colorful, spiritual, spicy, strong-willed, almost scenographic country with a lot of history to tell. In the midst of this established chaos, some love and others hate the idea of visiting India. What group do you belong to?
I am passionate about India because I love exotic and unusual destinations. And India is different in everything. Starting with food. Did you know that most Indians are vegetarians? That’s right. Cows are sacred and highly respected for religious reasons. They are out of the question when it comes to food. Still talking about the habits at the table, they usually eat with their hands and use hot sauce so nobody complains. Be warned even when ordering your dish without hot sauce. India is to be digested little by little.
Another interesting issue is the division by caste. Well, they say that by constitution this kind of discrimination is no longer allowed. However, in practice this is not exactly what you see. Society continues to separate people into four groups. Brahmins (priests), Shariahs (warriors), Vasshas (merchants) and sudras (cleaning services). In addition to these four, Dalits are also classified as a lower category than the others. Whoever is born in a certain caste stays in it for a lifetime and even to marry you must respect the caste, and many marriages, even today, are arranged by parents. Somewhat peculiar.
And the chaos in traffic? Cars everywhere honking nonstop, loose cows, dozens of monkeys, bicycles, rickshaws, camels, pedestrians, and occasionally an elephant strolling along a busy avenue. Bizarre. Don’t even think about driving. You can’t! In addition to the cars having English driving direction, rental companies only release rental cars to Indian drivers to avoid problems because where only two fit there are always three or four vehicles circulating.
So what? Is India for you? It’s worth leaving the comfort zone and venturing into different cultures to see life from other angles. That’s what traveling is all about!
I wish you all a week full of beautiful challenges and good news.
XoXo and see you next week.
