After traveling through South America for over a month, I started to see a lot of the same in the general culture of all the South American countries. This led to believe that India might just be another foreign country to me, but boy was I wrong. As many people say, the first thing I noticed when I came out of the Mumbai airport was the smell. Quite interesting, a mix of auto fumes and sewage...not something you'd want to smell.
On the taxi ride to my friend's house the different India became even more apparent. We passed by some places (usually near water) where the smell was almost unbearable and I was trying to hold my breath. Traffic was also the worst I've ever seen. There are practically no rules, and everyone honks all the time. I mean all the time. Never in my life have I heard this much honking, and if you're a pedestrian it's right in your face. The traffic lights are sometimes followed, but sometimes people just go, honk a few times, and the other people have to stop anyway to avoid an accident. On turns everyone is cutting everyone off so it's not even a big deal.
Oh yeah, and they drive on the left side of the road. I have to remember to look the other way or I'll get run over. After being here a few weeks I think I've gotten it down, but it really threw me off for the first few days. Even as a pedestrian I can actually walk across the street whenever I want. People may honk at me but they'll stop nontheless, usually drivers are more on the lookout for this kind of stuff. Of course I don't try to do that, although I've been in a hurry a few times and it works like a charm. There are also very few sidewalks, and if they're there it's usually so crowded many people are walking on the street anyway.
I've come to dread being on the street in any form. Walking is stressful and loud, sitting in a taxi is also stressful and loud if I'm looking at the road because I see all the near misses as they swerve through traffic. The only way to avoid it is to close my eyes or get distracted with conversation.
Another problem with the street, at least in more popular tourist areas, are all of the beggers. They look old and frail or young and helpless, sticking out their hands and begging for food or money. They have followed me down the street continuously asking me for money like I'm going to change my mind, it can be quite hard to shake them once they see you come out of a nice car or looking at a nice smartphone.
Pollution here is also the worst I've ever seen. When you're in a big city like Mumbai or Delhi you can't see the blue sky unless you drive out of town. Yes it's that bad. It looks like there's constantly a light haze over the entire city. You can also see it from a distance, it's freaky.
There's also such different clothes for everyone! Especially the women who are usually dressed up in what I think of as a costume when it's really just regular clothes here. In America the only time people wear that is during halloween or a Bollywood performance.
By the time of this writing I've already been in India a few weeks, and I have a few other posts to add as well, but internet is a little harder to come by here in India. Not many public places or hotels/hostels offer wifi, even though India is now a huge software engineering hub.
On the taxi ride to my friend's house the different India became even more apparent. We passed by some places (usually near water) where the smell was almost unbearable and I was trying to hold my breath. Traffic was also the worst I've ever seen. There are practically no rules, and everyone honks all the time. I mean all the time. Never in my life have I heard this much honking, and if you're a pedestrian it's right in your face. The traffic lights are sometimes followed, but sometimes people just go, honk a few times, and the other people have to stop anyway to avoid an accident. On turns everyone is cutting everyone off so it's not even a big deal.
Oh yeah, and they drive on the left side of the road. I have to remember to look the other way or I'll get run over. After being here a few weeks I think I've gotten it down, but it really threw me off for the first few days. Even as a pedestrian I can actually walk across the street whenever I want. People may honk at me but they'll stop nontheless, usually drivers are more on the lookout for this kind of stuff. Of course I don't try to do that, although I've been in a hurry a few times and it works like a charm. There are also very few sidewalks, and if they're there it's usually so crowded many people are walking on the street anyway.
I've come to dread being on the street in any form. Walking is stressful and loud, sitting in a taxi is also stressful and loud if I'm looking at the road because I see all the near misses as they swerve through traffic. The only way to avoid it is to close my eyes or get distracted with conversation.
Pollution here is also the worst I've ever seen. When you're in a big city like Mumbai or Delhi you can't see the blue sky unless you drive out of town. Yes it's that bad. It looks like there's constantly a light haze over the entire city. You can also see it from a distance, it's freaky.
Everybody here loves Cricket! They have big parks (which they don't actually call parks, parks are only for small grassy areas) where everyone just plays this sport.
And here you can get a taste of the poverty. There are people sleeping on the street everywhere.
And even on stairwells...
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