So we have affectionately decided to call India, well mostly Delhi, the s*** show - sorry to all the young readers out there. It's fair to say that we hated India as much as we liked it, but we should also note that it was a short trip and primarily spent in Delhi. Bianca actually went to India a few days before I did - because of work - and met her college friend, Katie, in Hyderabad. From Bianca's account, Hyderabad was a bit different than Delhi.

Hyderabad is in the middle of India, and was a great way to enter India because it was less overwhelming compared to Delhi. Although Hyderabad had the crowds, the traffic, the dirt, and the poverty as Delhi did, it did not have them to the same degree. Overall, Hyderabad felt safe and manageable. Hyderabad is less visited by tourists, so when Bianca and her people (Katie, Katie's brother, Katie's brother's wife, Katie's brother's wife's sister, and Katie's cousin) would go sightseeing, they were approached for pictures like if they were celebrities, or maybe like strange blonde aliens. At one point Bianca was even given an Indian baby to hold for a picture. Other than that, Hyderabad had great food, many Muslim women covered in black dress (about 40% of Hyd is Muslim), and the classic Indian head waggle (which we came to learn could mean "ok" or an "ok, but I'm not happy" and everything in between). The most striking thing about Hyderabad was the women. Dressed in traditional sarees, the women stood out as bright colors and sparkles (from both the sarees and their bangles…which of course Bianca had to buy.) Delhi on the other hand, was a bit more…overwhelming.

First, a few negatives about Delhi, the capital city of the country:

Traffic! First let's set the stage - how about a huge roundabout, not only because it was common in Delhi, but also because it can allow for the most chaos to take place. The streets were real beat up and the side walks were even more beat up - sort of looked like it had recently been through a war. Now let's talk about what was on the road. There were things with 4 wheels, things with 3 wheels, things with 2 wheels, things with 4 feet/limbs/hooves, things with 2 feet/limbs, and things with a combination of all of the above - I'm talking wheels with feet, hooves, and anything else you can imagine. So that means that the roads, all roads, were shared by cars, trucks, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, trishaws, cows, buffaloes, pigs, dogs, chicken, horse drawn carriages, carts pushed by people, and regular pedestrians lurking on the edges, trying to avoid getting run over. Now let's talk about how traffic moved. Before I described Thailand traffic as get in where you fit in. That's also true for India, but in a much scarier way. Imagine that everyone is in a bumper car, and is desperately trying to make it through the roundabout. Although they aren't hitting each other, they slam on the brakes within about half an inch from one another. Most cars have scrapes along the sides when they decided to act like bumper cars. Also imagine that lanes don't mean a damn; most cars and vehicles go farther from side to side than they do forward because of how often they maneuver around each other and other obstacles, like cows. At first it was cool to see, but when temperatures dropped to about 35 degrees Fahrenheit - not so cool.

Dirt and poverty. We have been to dirty and poor places before, but this was like no other. Trash on the street, animals eating trash on the street, entire families living on the street, and people peeing and spitting all over the street were common things to see. I thought parts of San Francisco could get ugly, but Delhi was rough to deal with at times. Dirt stuck to everything. After a day of sightseeing we would have dirt underneath our fingernails as if we had been gardening. I had flies attracted to my shoes for days.

Oh yeah, and it was cold.

And never fly through Kolkata (Calcutta). Never. We spent my birthday there.

Now some Positives:

The monuments, like the Taj Mahal: Although the Taj is not in Delhi (it's in Agra which is about 3 hours away by train), most people visit the Taj in a day trip from Delhi. It is more beautiful and majestic than you could imagine. You would think that from all the pictures you've seen of it, that you would know what it would feel like to be there. Nope. As soon as you see it, it takes your breath away. The day we saw it, it was quite foggy so when the sun broke through it was really like seeing it at sunrise. It turns a neat orange color when the sun hits it in the morning. We were also fortunate enough to see it at sunset, when it turns a lovely shade of pink (this is now Bianca talking).

The Food: Would you like veg or non-veg? Hindus revere the cow and therefore it's quite common to find "veg-only" restaurants. For you meat eaters, don't be put off. The amount of scrumptious veg options they have is amazing. Paneer- which tastes like ricotta cheese but thicker was my favorite. We enjoyed everything- thali (the plate with all your favorite dippins), dosas (big pancake like goodnesses) , samosas (pretty common in the states-the triangular fried dough things with food inside), paneer, mutton (non-veg…it's lamb), dahl (chick pea and lentils), etc. No stomach issues.

Shopping: Although my shopping was limited due to time, let me just tell you…it was fantastic. If you like bright colors and sparkles, India is it! (For those who know me, you can just imagine how much I loved it.) They have bangles of every color and sparkle (yes, there are different types of sparkle). They have slip on shoes that are all covered in sparkly beads. And they have scarves with sparkly woven threads. HEAVEN.

The show: Despite our affectionate term ("the s*** show"), I do have to say that the overall show that is happening all at once in Delhi is pretty quite amazing. Every inch of every street seems to have about a million and one things going on- all of which are interesting, intriguing, or gross. People watching is an advanced sport and can probably not be topped by any other place in the world. Delhi is unique, that's for sure.