Before we left for India we had to make travel arrangements in Bangkok: sorting out visas, buying wines, whiskeys, and foods for Ben’s friends that lived in Dharamsala. Ben, my travel-mate, had lived in India a few years ago he moved there when he was 23 from San Francisco on a whim. He was a waiter then and had heard about India and the Dharma from friends he met in the US. He said he was so inspired to live a different life internationally that he said he picked up the phone and literally called Tibetan refugee camps in northern India and days later he was on a plane. His story is actually very inspirational and one that really impresses many people. He speaks many different languages and that is only the beginning.

I was really fortunate to travel with Ben since he lived in India for a couple years and had everything under control, knowing how to deal with customs, what to bring, where to go, when to go, the language, the whole thing… I was really lucky.

Before In Bangkok

In order to go to India, you must have a visa which can be sometimes a process. The Indian Embassy in Bangkok proved its expected waiting times and confusing instructions, I didn’t know I needed certain things so I made a few trips back and forth. Also there is only a small window of time where you can get the visa processed and when you can pick it up. Everything about visiting the Indian Embassy hinted of ways of India, especially the unfamiliar scents in the air. It was like we were already there.

During our final hours in Bangkok, before we boarded the Air India flight, and rushed to the airport, Ben told me to run a few errands to buy gifts for his friends. I went to a wine store to buy wines and liquors. Then we went to Big C to buy some thai foods for his mates in Dharamsala. We had so much wine, that our Louisse’ Vouttons’ luggage were really heavy. I think his bag alone weighed more than 110 pounds and when we got to Delhi we couldn’t wait to just give it all away.

Smuggling Currencies

We left Bangkok on an evening flight on Air India. Ben was telling me to pay close attention to where they board the plane because they usually board flights to India off to the side of airport in ‘no man’s land’. And they sure did. We took a long bus ride to the Air India airplane which took off into the night. On the plane we were pretty much in India already, with hardly any Thai’s and hardly other foreigners… everyone was Indian. It even smelled Indian. The food was even Indian; curry and dahl.

And then… the bathroom even turned Indian.

Ben warned me… “you better use the toilet now because that room is gonna be stanky, you don’t even know”. Sure enough into the night, that bathroom was a mess and was avoided like it was a threat to my own personal health code.

When we landed into Delhi and walked through the airport it was just an interesting experience all alone. This was my first time being in a country of this kind and the intensity of people just made it an amazing experience. We walked into the customs area and witnessed a shorter line for the foreigners so it wasn’t as bad as I had expected, however the line for the natives was unbelievably long. We witness true line-cutting techniques and were a bit entertained how different their culture was just by something simple like standing in a line.

After customs we went to claim our bags. This was the nervous part because we knew we had some supposed “illegal stuff” on our hands like wine and whiskey. We had about 12 bottles of wine and 3 bottles of whiskey… way over the limit… oops.

So, we saw our bags sitting on the carousel tampered and locks cut off Ben’s bag. The people at the airport had already “sniffed” his bag out [and thankfully not mine]. They were just waiting for us at the checkpoint. As Ben approached they told him to step aside. He had to negotiate with them and pay them off and hand over some bottles. What they didn’t know was that I had most of the bottles in my bag and Ben had more of the bottles in his backpack… so they only found a few of our entourage of bottles. So as I walked away safely, he was getting inspected.

I guess Wine and especially Whiskey are like a currency in India, hard to come across and probably frowned upon. We brought our collection for his friends, especially Gupta G in Dharamsala who has been a long time friend to Ben and has helped us arrange many of our travel plans from the trains to cars through Himachal Pradesh. But also we brought some of the wine for our own consumption.

Demand & Supply

We met with Ben’s friend who lived in Delhi at the airport. We boarded his British car and he took us to city center where he showed us to the mid-range hotel he suggested. On the way to the hotel, we toured through Delhi at night while listening to Indian music. It was an welcoming experience. The traffic and the roads were by far very cool and not something I had expected. The way they drive pretty much started to stress me out and everything from that point, driving-wise, was gonna stress me out. Well when we arrived at the Hotel, we walked up 3 flights of stairs in a historic building to the top floor… the floor of the hotel. Well they called it a “Hotel” but it was more like a “hostel”, and a every expensive one at $30 USD per night. It was definitely an experience.

But apparently in Delhi, accommodations are very expensive because there is supposedly a limit on Hotel permits and therefore a limit on the supply of hotel rooms. So supply and demand equates to more expensive rooms. Our friend Joanna, who had arrived a few days prior was staying at the Marriot in Delhi and paid around $250 USD per night. Delhi hotels are extremely expensive and there aren’t many cute little backpacker hostels or places to stay (or at-least not during my trip there) where you can relax. Being comfortable is expensive and being uncomfortable is a rip-off, so it’s almost necessary to have a nice hotel… unless you’ve found something that’s cheap and comfortable.. please let me know.

Our hotel room the first night in Delhi was definitely one that I remember. I don’t think I used the shower or toilet.. we just went to sleep and woke up the next day. I will never forget the ceiling fan spinning at one setting of 400-mph like it was about to sheer my head off onto the side of the hotel room walls.

Trained

The next morning in Delhi was great, we went directly to the train station to change our tickets to Pathankot. Going to train station was a real experience watching the Sikhs carry bags, the kids at the train stations, the old British systems, the whole vintage decor of the train station and then… the trash on the tracks…. the scents of urine. This was India.

So we walked into the train office and met some westerners who had also been traveling and living in India, also a few Japanese travelers.

We only planned to be in Delhi for one night but our train times were different from our travel-mate Joanna so we flipped our schedule. I thought that changing train schedules would be a huge dilemma but it wasn’t such a fuss. Of course getting your way in India, requires some insiting and proving them wrong… but they respect you for it.

Around the train station was CNG rickshaws waiting to take people around and bicycle taxi men. Lots of people sitting around and surprisingly, unlike traveling to Cambodia, nobody bothered us. While in India I really expected beggars and hagglers but there was hardly any of that in Delhi or most of my short travels in India.

After we situated our train tickets, we went back to Rawj Chawk?, packed our bags and took a taxi mini-van to the Marriot to join up with Joanna. Joanna had arrived from Bangkok days prior and was relaxed as she treating herself to spa treatments and the like before her teachings retreat in Sherab Ling. We hung out at her hotel room for awhile and then went to lunch at Imperial Palace? hotel where I really saw how nice Delhi gets.

The Imperial Palace hotel is probably one of the nicest hotels in Delhi, and unlike my travel expectations of rough-on-a-shoe-string ‘National Geographic’ romp we went to lunch in a really upscale restaurant wearing shorts accompanied some of the best dressed Indians. The interior design really surprised me because I expected tribes-peoples and one arm beggars, and to see that Delhi too had its really nice touches actually changed how I think. The hotel lobby even had our Louisse’ Vuottons’ and a very nice art that trumped many hotels in Los Angeles.

Delhi’s architecture in general was very cute with touches from British days. It was almost like going to older English times with the British automobiles? on the streets, men wearing spectacles (glasses), the train stations, the language…. and even the Darjeeling tea.

Hindi Hits

One thing I noticed, and LOVED, was how Indians embrace their own culture. When you visit other countries they seem to pin-up or even listen to American music or American television. While in India, I felt that was not common, as they listen to their own culture and pride their own entertainment industry. While I was in taxis I heard all the top Hindi Hits and music that really set the backdrop for the ride around the city. They love their own music and it’s a beautiful thing to see that they listen to …their own music, and watch… their own movies. India was true to themselves, unlike other countries that tend to idolize american entertainment. They didn’t even know who Beyondce’ was… which was GREAT! But I’m sure they know Madonna!

High on Pan

While we were in Delhi’s city center, I saw a group of men get together in a circle to watching their dealer make Pan Masala. “Pan”, best described as a western tabacoo-chew, is a beetle-nut mixture that makes you feel buzzed and high. I wanted some but I didn’t want my teeth to look all crooked so I decide not to try. I probably should’ve.

Basically Pan is a mixture which is wrapped in a leaf. You place the contents in your mouth and keep it around your lower lips while sucking it and spitting the saliva juices that flow. I learned that some spit anywhere, however that there are actually designated places they spit this juice. When I walking through the city I noticed people spitting in particular areas that looked brown with bowel-like juices collecting in small puddles. It’s like someone had diarrhea on the wall, but don’t worry..it’s just Pan spit. Yeah, it was pretty gross, but it was very cool and very India.

Lots of people use Pan, especially one of our taxi drivers who was going the wrong direction and driving perty’ crazy. He looked about 14, young, and energetic, blasting Hindi Hits while singing to the songs, getting lost into his Pan high.

Returning To Delhi

Towards the end of the trip we returned to Delhi before departing back to Bangkok. Ben was really sick and had the shivers with about 105 degree fever. Trying to situate healthcare in Delhi was to be avoided at all costs, so he patiently waited to get back to Bangkok where some of the best healthcare in the world is available.

During the last days in India Ben decided he wanted to stay at a really nice hotel called Oberoi Maidens because he needed a place to be comfortable while he was very sick. Oberoi Maidens is located outside of the city center and has touches of old british times with antique lifts and a pool area that reminded me of flipping though LIFE magazines from the 1950s. This proved that when India wants to be nice and expensive, it is nice, expensive, historic, and an original to old times. Let me say that the breakfast was included was delicious and INCLUDED.

Most of the final hours in Delhi, Ben had been in the room sleeping while I made trips to the Pharmacy to get medications for a fever and pain. India’s pharmacy was also more accessible and easy to obtain drugs unlike America’s health care system. I asked the man at the pharmacy which drugs would be suitable for his conditions and he had suggested a few medications which I purchased. It costed pennies and to once again compare the cost and accessibility of medications in foreign countries versus in the US, really bothers me.

Well, Ben never got better with the medications and he was bed ridden the final days in Delhi. He suggest that I go see Delhi for the day because I still did not really see the city and the historic landmarks since when we arrived we had been rushed. So I took a rickshaw which took me to tourist trap shops before taking me to the Red Fort and the Old Mosque? where I could spend the day thinking and writing thoughts about my trip to India.

Sitting in these areas was really an experience watching a snake charmer with a dead snake and people sitting on the steps of the mosque. The little market next to the mosque had all sort of things I would consider junk for sale, old shoes, used goods, and used clothes. There were other foods like fresh bread and dahl, things that I just wanted to try.. so I had a few cautious dishes. Thankfully I never got sick.

I went to the Red Fort and just spent the whole day by myself thinking of all the great things I had experienced while in India and how this trip was only just an introduction. I met a few boys on the lawn who dwelled around the Red Fort area and wanted to ask me questions where I was from. I watched the sun set over the Red Fort and caught a rickshaw back to Oberoi Maidens where ben was still sicker than sick.

We left the next day on an airplane back to Bangkok. I will never forget Ben hugging a liter bottle filled with hot water trying to stay warm on the plane. He was shivering the whole time and it was getting scary. Thankfully when we arrived back to Bangkok we went to the hospital where they gave him an IV ran some tests and he was back to normal.

Departing Withdrawals

So many of the people I met while traveling, were in India for the maximum visa allotment of 6 months, some for the rest of their lives. They say that India is realest place on earth and I was definitely convinced from just this small 3-week trip that there is nothing like it. It is the definitive crux of hard core traveling and messes with your mind, body, and soul. It stresses you out. It makes you tougher. It opens your sense. It test’s your stomach and your health. It teaches you how SO many people can live together in a small space and learn to love and learn to live. It really touches your heart to visit such a place and I look forward to a longer 6 month trip. I recommend for anyone wishing to go to India, to go for 6 months because 3 weeks was not enough.

During my time in India I had a really hard time spiritually and before I left for India I was told that it will mess with you ‘inside’. Although I don’t believe that such a place can have a spiritual energy on your soul, I truly felt a spiritual tension while in India. It is hard to tell people how, because not many people will believe it or think you are a ‘crazy’ but there was something deeper than the surface of traveling and I understand how why people say what they do about traveling in India.

You have to do it and see what’s out there in what’s inside you. Can’t wait to go back!