India

I woke the next morning fairly early to start my day. Immediately after leaving port, I was picked up by a kind and friendly police officer who dropped me off at a museum. I was really interested in finding food, but thanked him none the less and waited for him to drive off before searching for a rickshaw. I soon found one and hired him for the day at 100 rupees. The exchange rate is ~50 to 1. I spent roughly two dollars to be driven around the entire day. The man took me to eat, where I did buy him lunch for his services.

Afterwards he took me to four shops, which I didn’t want to go to. I knew he was getting a kickback from the shops, it turned out in the form of clothing, but I didn’t mind the brief detour in my day. I certainly wasn’t going to buy anything. Afterwards he took me to the market where I did buy some stuff. I bought a shirt and three cashmere scarves. The cashmere scarves were twenty dollars each, an incredible price. The markets were very interesting, and of course everyone wanted to sell me everything, nothing quite like being a walking dollar sign, but at this point I’m used to it. Besides that India is unquestionably the most inexpensive place I have visited thus far. If the rickshaw doesn’t exemplify that I don’t know what will.

I spent the rest of the day similarly walking about and shopping. Walking around India is an experience. The people, the smell, the filth, everything. It is unquestionably the most crowded place I have ever been, almost a billion people in a relatively small space – compared to the United States at least. The poverty is extreme and beggars abound, but you learn to ignore them quickly. The experience is very different. You learn quickly to accept and go with whatever the circumstances bring. Leave a minimum of an extra hour for anything you plan on doing or anywhere you need to be.