Paranoid about being cheated in India, Part II

(For Part 1 click here.)
JAIPUR

I was walking briskly through Jaipur’s Pink City when I heard a man frantically call out, “Hello miss! Hello!” I ignored him, because when you’re a tourist walking through a tourist area, lots of people call out to you. But this man followed me more than 100 feet, still calling out. I only stopped when he said, “I just have one question, miss!”

“One question,” I said. He said, “Why do all the tourists just ignore Indians when we try to talk to them?” I said, “Because it has been my experience that when someone calls out to me, they usually wants something from me, and sometimes I don’t feel like giving them anything.” He said, “But do you think all Indians are like this?” I said, “No, but it’s happened enough times that after awhile it gets easier to just not deal with it.”

Paranoid about being cheated in India, Part I

(See Part 2 here)

They say travelers either love or hate India. I’m leaning more on the side of “really like.” But I can tell you what I hate—the notion that I’m being cheated, that I can’t trust what I’m being told, or that someone has a hidden agenda. I hate to admit how much it colors my interactions with locals.

AGRA

I climbed a few stairs to one entrance of the Jama Masjid to be greeted by an old man with a piece of paper. He told me, “Donation for the mosque, for renovation,” and then showed me the paper, which had people’s names, countries, and a monetary amount written down, usually 500 or 1,000 rupees. Confused because my guidebook said nothing about an entrance fee, I dazedly handed him 100 rupees and added my name to the list. As I wandered around the mosque, I started thinking I’d probably been cheated. My realization was confirmed when I left the same way I came and the man was nowhere in sight. I took some comfort in the fact he looked like he really needed the money.

'Eve teasing’ -- AKA sexual harassment -- in India

“Eve teasing’ is the strange, light-hearted name Indians have for sexual harassment, according to my Rough Guide. I didn’t know if it would happen to me, but I certainly didn’t expect to get Eve teased by two boys who couldn’t have been more than 10 or 12.

It happened in Agra. I was walking from Agra Fort to the train station to book that night’s ticket when two boys started tagging along. “Hello rupees?” they said. I smiled and shook my head. They asked a few more times, with the same result. Then the shorter one started making light motions toward my genital area.

Move it or lose it on the bus

I was about to take an open seat next to a teenage girl on the bus today when an older woman suddenly appeared, said something in Hindi, and took the seat instead. Um, ok. I found another open seat, the last on the bus, and sat down. I'd been there probably three minutes when an older man came up and said something gruffly. I didn't know what it was, but his body language was unmistakable. I got up and he took the seat.

I'm hoping what he said was something along the lines of, "Move it, young whippersnapper," and not, "Move it, foreign devil."

Volunteering for Asha, a charity that works in the slums

A lane in Zakhira slum.

The reason I’m staying in Delhi for the next few weeks is to volunteer with a charity called Asha, which works in 50 slums across Delhi. I was drawn to Asha (which means "hope" in Hindi) not just because of its work, but because it was specifically looking for a volunteer who could help with writing, and I wanted to do something related to what I do.

More than that, though, I like that Asha actually seems to work. I can’t describe how many nonprofits I’ve worked with that just seemed ineffective (like the giant bureaucracy that is the Red Cross). After a week of touring the slums and talking to residents and health workers, I really do believe Asha’s model brings things like healthcare, empowerment, microfinance and education to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it. I know, I know—I drank the Kool-aid.

Living in Delhi

After two weeks in Rajasthan, I came back to Delhi about a week ago. The plan is to live in Delhi for a month or two while I volunteer. There’s the perspective you have from just being a traveler, and another perspective from actually living in a place.

Delhi was my first stop in India, and I didn’t have high hopes—a friend who’d traveled here mentioned that she just got a bad feeling from Delhi. And the city met all my low expectations. Pahar Ganj, the backpackers’ district, was dirty and filled with people constantly calling out to me. I also got majorly hassled by touts when I ventured to Connaught Place by myself. I was supposed to meet with the charity on Jan. 4, but I pushed back the start date because I had to get out of Delhi.

Now that I’m back, I’m realizing the city isn’t as charmless as I initially thought. When you go places that aren’t in the guidebook, you realize Delhi has big green parks, wide avenues, and night markets where everyone’s not calling out, “Where are you from? Japan?” It has a public transportation system that's far better than those in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., the last two cities I lived in. The metro is beautifully clean, cheap, and efficient, complete with a women-only carriage.

It’s only been one week, but I may just like it here.

Cost of 16 days traveling around India: just under $400 (and that's for everything)

So for 16 days and nights of travel I spent $390. Here's a breakdown of my top expenses.

ACCOMMODATION: Ranged from 200 rupees ($4) in Jaisalmer to 700 rupees ($14) in Jaipur. The higher price was an anomaly, though. Absent that, my accommodation averaged $5.67, mostly for a single.

FOOD: Ranged from 5 rupees (10 cents) for a street snack like a samosa to 300+ rupees for a fancier meal that included overpriced Kingfisher beer. Really, they burned us on the beer.

Monuments, forts, safaris and ziplining in Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan

Days 1-3: Delhi

Landed in Delhi. Had a drink with someone I met on the street to toast the New Year. Saw India Gate, the Rajpath and the Central Secretariat building where the government works. Visited the Gandhi Smitri to see the place where Gandhi died.

Days 4-5: Agra

Caught an early-morning train to Agra (Tues).Wandered around Agra’s Taj Ganj neighborhood. Saw the Taj Mahal, Kinari Bazaar and the Jama Masjid. Skipped Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri (the latter of which is apparently a highlight in India, so I may have to go back). Caught the 7 pm train to Sawai Madhopur, arriving at 2 am on Thurs.

Day 6: Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambhore National Park)

Went on a three-hour safari in the hopes of spotting tigers. With no more spots in the six-seater jeeps (“Gypsies”), I sat in a Canter, a 20-seat open-topped bus. We didn’t see any tigers, but did see antelope, deer, peacocks, crocodiles and birds (including an owl and a Kingfisher). Bookings can be done here or through your hotel for a fee.

16 days in Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan

For anyone interested in planning a Rajasthan trip in India, here’s how I did mine:

Days 1-3: Delhi
Days 4-5: Agra
Day 6: Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambhore National Park)
Day 7: Transit day to Udaipur
Days 8-10: Udaipur
Days 11-13: Jaisalmer
Day 14: Jodhpur
Days 15-16: Jaipur

(Note: I could have EASILY dropped a day each from Delhi and Agra, had my planning been better.)

Highlights:

• Marveling at the Taj Mahal.
• Going on a camel safari in Jaisalmer.
• Flying around Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur on ziplines.
• Relaxing in lovely Udaipur.

Lowlights:

• Getting sexually harassed in Agra by two little boys (more on that later).
• Leaving my Rough Guide behind in an overpriced coffee shop in Jodhpur.
• Arriving in Jodhpur at 4 am with no plan as to what to do until Mehrangarh Fort opened at 9 am.
• Arriving in Jaipur at 2:30 am with no hotel booked.
• Arriving back in Delhi at 1:15 am with no hotel booked (you’ll notice a pattern here).

Scenes from India, Part 2 (Agra)

My first train (to Agra). I love how they have names.

Indulging in some American-style chips.

Scenes from India, Part I (Delhi)

These have become my favorite chip flavor. Reminds me of home

After my 25-hour flight and layover, I made it!

Vignettes of Delhi

Anil says he’s walking with me to Connaught Place because he wants to practice his English, and I don’t know yet that he’s a tout. We talk about the police that were out in force the previous Saturday night (New Year’s Eve), trying to stem Delhi’s big drunk driving problem. “I like that there were so many cops out, since I’m always walking by myself. It makes me feel safe,” I say. He warns, “Don’t go out by yourself at night. The police would not do anything to help you.” I’m surprised. “Really?” He says cheekily, “Haven’t you heard of corruption in India?” I think, but don’t say, “I’ve seen Slumdog Millionaire. Does that count?”

***

My New Year's Eve in Delhi

Well, it wasn’t the most exciting New Year’s Eve, but at least I wasn’t curled up in a little ball crying like I worried. Actually, the more likely scenario was that I’d sleep through it entirely because the jet lag was so bad. But at 10 pm I forced myself out of bed. “You’ve got to do something because you can't spend New Year’s Eve in Delhi in bed,” I told myself groggily.

I pulled on my going-out clothes (jeans, V-neck, soccer cleats, and a green hoodie—yeah, I was super hot) and tried to go to Connaught Place, the main commercial district. While it has many bars and restaurants, I just wanted to see if there’d be crowds celebrating outdoors, like we have in so many American cities.

Then Khan started walking with me. Even though I figured he was trying to sell me something, I was by myself on New Year’s Eve, so I decided to accept the bad with the good. Plus, he seemed clean-cut and had better English than the other guy who had approached earlier. Khan kept trying to convince me to go to a local bar in the Paharganj neighborhood where I was staying, but I insisted on walking to Connaught Place.

My first tout in India

For me, the most difficult touts in India are the ones you don’t realize are touts. The guy waving a paper at you, declaring, “Hotel room, 400 rupees!”—I can deal with him. But the guy who comes up, all smiles and, “Can I help you, miss?” or “Where are you from?”—he’s the one I have to be careful of.

I met my first such tout when I exited the New Delhi Railway Station the afternoon I arrived. I was looking for the red-shirted porters that my notes said to ask for directions to Paharganj’s Main Bazaar, the backpacker district. Seeing none, I asked a few people standing around for directions, but they didn’t know. That’s when Viki came up. I saw his “Employee of India” badge and felt assured, despite the fact my Rough Guide specifically says, “assume that anyone who approaches you here—even in uniform—with offers of help…is up to no good.”

The Main Bazaar is literally just a few meters from the entrance to the train station. Thanks to Viki, it took me almost an hour to find it.

India is a trip

There was a point during my first day here in Delhi when I thought, “India’s kinda like Vietnam. They’re both noisy, crowded, and have crazy traffic. It’s not that different.”

And then I saw the cows eating complacently in the middle of the street and thought, definitely not Vietnam.

It’s Day 3 of my trip. I’ve felt frustration (at the touts), pleasure (at my first great Indian curry—took three attempts to find a truly good one), giddiness (because I got a little drunk on New Year’s Eve), relief (whenever I escape to my room, high above Delhi’s Paharganj neighborhood), and more frustration (at more touts).

Well, I said I wanted a challenge. India is certainly that.

Some notes/impressions

• The Airport Metro Express is so clean and shiny.
• If one more man tries to sell me a Srinagar (Kashmir) tour package, I can’t be held responsible for what I do. I told one such man, “I don’t want to go there now, I read that recent temperatures are below freezing.” He asked, “Where did you read that?” I said, “The news.” He said, with scorn, “Oh, the news.” I agreed, “As if they know what they’re talking about."
• I’m not entering any more tourist offices to "take business cards." Both times I walked into an office for that reason, I got offered a seat, a cup of chai, and would I please look at these pictures of Srinagar? I declined and beat a hasty retreat, to looks of annoyance that I wouldn’t play along. Fool me twice, shame on me.
• One man said I should buy a Punjab outfit because touts might think I’m Tibetan and leave me alone. Then he directed me to a tourist office claiming it was a government one, but it wasn’t.
• I’ve been twice asked, “What is your good name?” I did not say, “My good name, dear fellow, is Pauline.”
• I haven’t taken a shower yet because my current shower seems to be a cold water faucet and a bucket. The plan was to find a new hostel, but since I’m leaving tomorrow for Agra there’s no point now. Good thing I have dry hair shampoo.