I [heart] India

When I left China, Heather and I, after a few long island iced teas, composed an as-yet-unpublished A to Z of why we hated the place. A few letters had multiple entries. (Really the list wasn't *entirely* fair but it was how we were feeling at the time, so...)

Since leaving India I have tried several times to put into words just why I loved the place so much. Many of the things that were on the A to Z of China exist in India - spitting, hassles, crowds, pushing, pollution, stray dogs. Truth be told I was quite nervous about coming to India, you hear it's difficult, dangerous, a hassle - especially for a woman travelling alone. And it can be all those things, but most of the warnings are completely overblown and with a bit of sensible caution (which I've been exercising all my life of course) 98% of the worries were unfounded. I realised that in some respects I had been 'in training' for India since March - Turkey for the haggling, China for the crowds and pollution, Tibet for the roughing it, Nepal for the cows on the street - and on arrival India just seemed to be a hyped up version of all of these places.

So...why did I love India...an attempt to articulate it

Adventure - A couple I met along the way described India as where experienced backpackers come to graduate. I'm not sure if that's exactly true (and I'm not looking for a degree in backpacking anyway) but it is the most full on experience to date. Sensory overload hits you the minute you emerge from you hostel, with touts and rickshaws and scams waiting to part you from your rupees. And a train journey in India...well...that is certainly a challenge (lock up your shoes in SL class). Navigating the country and dealing with the hassles gave me quite a sense of accomplishment though, alongside some great memories to go with it. You can't visit the country and not end up with some rickshaw journey story that involves an early morning arrival, aggressive bartering over the fare, being deposited at the wrong guesthouse so the driver can get a kickback, and finally making it to your intended destination. Because you do always get there in the end.

Forts and Tombs - I was not really that interested in forts, I just went because when in northern India - particularly Rajasthan - that's what you do. But my God does India have some breathtaking architectural marvels in Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jailsalmer - incredible heritage of the most elaborate forts and palaces. Translucent marble as far as the eye can see carved in to the most intricate detail. ...So India has made me a fort person (albeit a discerning one - I can take or leave the Alamo).

Food - what these people do with vegetables and pulses puts the rest of the world's cuisines to shame. It will come to no one's surprise that eating any kind of meat is a risky venture in most of the dining establishments I frequented, so for the first 4 weeks (until fish in Goa) I ate purely vegetarian dishes. Spinach, pumpkin, okra, potatoes, cauliflower, peas, paneer (oh! Paneer!), dahl, chappati, banana lassi, and sweet, spicy chai. I never tired of the food and I always regretted not having enough room in my stomach to try more.

Style - is there a more stylish nation? Sure, overall maybe Tokyo or New York can beat Delhi in a best dressed competition - but the rich and varied saris will stop you dead in your tracks, staring at the intricacy and vibrancy of the material. The salwar kameez is equally elegant and feminine whilst covering all necessary aspects of the female body. Between women's clothing and Sikh turbans every colour of the rainbow is celebrated in their brightest, most magnificent glory.

Any excuse for a dance - the Indian-Pakistani border closing ceremony stands in my mind as a quintessential Indian event. Where else on earth would you find tens of thousands of people gather, daily, to dance in the streets in preparation of a gate closing? And wave flags and chant and shout and sing? Indians just seem to embrace opportunities to express the joy in life. If you ever have a chance to go to an Indian wedding, jump at it. And bring your bling.

Chaos - once you get used to it, there is something a bit charming about a place that exists in seemingly total chaos. Amidst the traffic, the horns, the pushing in a queue, an attempt to get a train ticket there exists a sub-system of rules and ranking that foreigners cannot see. 6 classes of trains with tickets in Hindi, to confuse you before boarding amid a quick track switch that has you sprinting from one side of the station to another as the train pulls away (Darjeeling Limited- style) - and yet it all seems to work. I know one thing, on arrival in Thailand from Mumbai my first reaction was "Oh. It's so...clean...and...(sigh)...boring!"

Passion and Drama - Closely related to chaos, Indian society seems to exist on drama, gossip, intrigue, from the overblown Bollywood storylines to the obsession with marriage. Everyone seems to be completely preoccupied with sex, yet it's taboo to even hold hands with the opposite sex in public (Mumbai aside). No doubt this is why it seems like all unmarried (and many married) men are powder kegs. Their love of cricket takes the definition of fanaticism to a new level, from the display of irrational exuberance at a win, the depth of memory at every ball and every wicket in Indian test cricket history, to the worship of His Holiness Sachin. Life is lived to the absolute extreme here and it's fantastic.

Freedom - it is billed the world's largest democracy and though corruption is still rife and the place is definitely chaotic, I love that a country of such diversity and such population with so many problems can maintain democratic principles as the ideal. The visit to the Ghandi memorial cemented Indian respect for freedom and democracy in my mind, and it struck me how Ghandi linked the spiritual with the political in his campaign. I'm just saying, if it comes to war between India and China, I know whose side I'm on.

Spirituality - anything goes for religion here, some mainstream and others downright kooky (such as the hugging mother ashram.) I'm still not sure what zoroastrianism is other than I know it's not the worship of zoo animals or horse-riding bandits. Given how many billion people live in such close proximity, the freedom of and respect for religion - and the relatively peaceful coexistence of all the world's major religions - that exists in India is an incredible feat. But regardless of which one you are, without a doubt there seems to be a conviction that you should believe in something.

And it has the world's most amazing sunsets.

God how I loved the place.

Closing with the Hindi greeting meaning "I honor the god within you"

- Namaste.