All Eyes On Me...
I have been spoiled by the benefits that come with having well educated & loving parents, being raised in the US, and having the mental & physical fortitude to provide for myself. Over the last couple years especially, I have appreciated these factors more and more. I have always felt pretty darn lucky and blessed.
India is an extremely impoverished country. One does not just see poverty in India; one smells, feels, and practically tastes poverty. The intense smell of defecation and urine, the taste of impurities and toxicity in the air, and the touch of many hands at your ankles begging for money...
Tourists are definitely eye-tagged; the locals' drastic efforts to grab your attention are a matter of their survival. One man vacated his vehicle to catch up to and follow us down the street as we headed toward a market, asking us incessantly for us to use his car. About half dozen train-spotter types followed and walked around us as we searched for our train platform, in hopes we would remove our grip from our bags so they could offer theirs as assistance. There is no wonder there is an estimated 400% increase for tourists on everything from bottled water to taking a taxi or city tour.
I write these thoughts as I watch a cockroach head towards Dan's sock-covered foot and sit awake in the first of two trains on the 10-hour journey to Shimla.
I share my sleeper cabin w/ three other passengers and a multitude of cockroaches. I cannot rest or feel comfortable and am humbled by Dan's acceptance and ability to sleep.
My eyes are wide open...
posted by Tara Shay @ 3:57 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
I did not want to tell you before you left the smells of the GZ about how there would be another senerio of a totally different nature. Makes that Embassy Estate look more like a palace every day. You even had a palace nearby!
Good luck!
\DAD
The first thing I've noticed about every single country I've been to is the smell. Sometimes bad, sometimes wierd, sometimes absolutely gag-a-licious. Rarely good. The expereince of getting off a plane, even one filled with unwashed masses, into a completely new atmnosphere... in a way I pity the first person who will ever smell the atmosphere of another planet- the wonder of the experience will probably be completely overwhelmed by the stench.
We do have expectations as Americans that are not realistic in many places of the world- I know you're traveled Europe before. I wish I'd had that expereince, but mine has all been Asia- some of those places pretty crappy.
I've put up with roaches and smells and grimy hands/smelly bods enough that I would be with Dan- the best refuge for discomfort is probably sleep.
Ummm, yeah, not a huge fan of roaches. I am afraid that I would have been wide awake with you on that train, and my feet would have to be up in the chair with me!
Ummm, yeah, not a huge fan of roaches. I am afraid that I would have been wide awake with you on that train, and my feet would have to be up in the chair with me! love Kaci
The real question: what is next mad adventure of Tara and Dan?
The more I read, the more I see ancient parallels. The reminescences of a youthful time.
Bet those cockroaches are much bigger than the ones I would pull out of the ears of people during a night ED shift. But, where are their babies? Sleep well!
I'm not trying to scare you, but with such poverty there are bound to be opportunist searching for rich tourist in weak situations. I don't know about the security of your sleeper car, but it was probably a good idea that one of you was awake. Stay safe. Love from P-town, Erik
I'm not trying to scare you, but with such poverty there are bound to be opportunist searching for rich tourist in weak situations. I don't know about the security of your sleeper car, but it was probably a good idea that one of you was awake. Stay safe. Love from P-town, Erik
I'm not trying to scare you, but with such poverty there are bound to be opportunist searching for rich tourist in weak situations. I don't know about the security of your sleeper car, but it was probably a good idea that one of you was awake. Stay safe. Love from P-town, Erik
I'm not trying to scare you, but with such poverty there are bound to be opportunist searching for rich tourist in weak situations. I don't know about the security of your sleeper car, but it was probably a good idea that one of you was awake. Stay safe. Love from P-town, Erik
Sorry, I wasn't trying to spam you. I just had some problems with the server
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