`In religion,
India is the only millionaire….the one land that all men
desire to see, and having seen once, by even a glimpse, would
not give that glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the
globe combined”. - Mark Twain (American author, 1835-
1910)
This is the
India we saw on our first trip...
Simply put, India was not
at all what we thought it would be. At first thought,
the images provided by the western and world media come to mind.
Abject poverty, beggars, street thieves, poor starving children
and families, sick and dirty people everywhere, intense slums,
you would think the the list goes on, but it doesn't.
Instead, what we found
couldn't have been farther from the images we had lead to believe
prevail in this country. Not to be misleading in anyway,
all those things I listed above are in this developing nation.
Like all countries, including the U.S., there are areas such
as Calcutta, border towns with Bangladesh (much like our border
towns with some areas of Mexico) and parts of New Delhi that
rival some of our decaying inner cities, but simply put, those
are not the areas we will visit. We would not take you to those
places anymore than we would take you to a blighted area in
Flint, Michigan where a recent plant had put thousands people
out of work and who live in the blighted conditions of public
housing projects.
Having said that, there
are distinct differences between our life here and the existence
of the people who live in the places where we will take you.
Life in India is crowded! Everywhere! With the second largest
population on Earth, it seems as though everyone is always on
the move going somewhere, at all times of the day and night.
Travel by road, which we will do a lot of, is slow, and in many
cases on winding dirt roads through the mountains. While it
makes for great images to see along the way, it can be tedious.
But the end destination always seems worth the journey. Though
we won't spend much time in the cities, they are crowded and
quite polluted, by any standard in the world. However, the mountain
air of the Himalayas and the country air of the small communities
we will visit more than compensate for the time spent in the
cities.
For what you have seen and read,
it is true, there are sacred cows everywhere, and they wander
unfettered where ever they please. The people and their culture
are overwhelming welcoming. Though many are subsistence farmers,
they are quick to invite you into their meager abodes and offer
chi (tea) and open conversation. The women in the bright colorful
sarries seem to work tirelessly without complaint, while the
money changers and less ambitious men seem to focus on conversation
and solving local problems. India is the largest democracy
in the world.
Our travels will take us by car,
minibus, plane and train to visit some of India's most important
historical and beautiful places. We will also spend a great
deal of time seeing and experiencing what most visitors will
never see in this great country. We will spend lots of time
with local residents and share our lives with together. Below
is a small image gallery of some of my (Gene) favorite images
during my visit there. Please click them to see a larger image.
As well, to the right of each page of this site are smaller
images that will provide you a cross section of life as we saw
it during our trip.
As India continues to become a
more and more popular tourist destination, we hope that you
will take this opportunity and Come Walk
India With US!
Your Friends in Travel
Gene & Jo Ann
