DO'S & DON'TS OF TRAVELING IN INDIA

1. DON’T BREATHE. If I could put the stench that is India in a jar and bring it back for all of you to smell I would. It was not uncommon for all of us to be walking around plugging our noses because the smell was so foul. There was constant smog too because the air was so polluted. And everything was covered in a layer of dirt. Everywhere you looked there was trash littered about. But the main contributor to the rank smell was the common practice of public urination in India. A toilet is a rare gem so it is perfectly acceptable to just start peeing right on the side of the wall, in front of everyone! It was truly gross. Needless to say I threw away my shoes at the end of the trip.
2. DO LEARN ABOUT THE HINDU RELIGION. Over 80% of India’s population is Hindu and their religious beliefs permeate almost every aspect of their daily lives. Varanasi is considered the religious capital of India and while we were there we got to witness one of the most sacred Hindu religious ceremonies. The river Ganges is considered holy water and Hindus from around the world travel to Varanasi to bathe in the water. It is believed that the water will release them from the cycle of rebirth. So at sunrise we piled into a boat and floated along the riverbank to observe the ceremony. As the mecca for Hindus, many elderly come to Varanasi to die so that their bodies can be cremated on the banks of the river and their ashes spread in the water. From the boat we could see three public cremations. It was surreal. We also saw people bathing, swimming and even drinking the water, which was slightly gross because the water was a murky green color and clearly polluted.
3. DON’T EAT THE FOOD, DRINK THE WATER, OR EVEN BREATHE! If you don’t like spicy food, then India is not the place for you. Foods I never thought could be spicy were spicy in India. Our theory was that because their food is so gross they cover it up with intense spices that make it impossible to taste anything. Luckily, a majority of our meals were at nice hotels as I think it would have looked poorly on semester at sea to bring home a bus full of sick kids. The grossest part of it was their lack of sanitation. We would pass by markets with people selling fruits and vegetables and they would be covered with flies and other bugs. And because India seriously lacks clean water, nothing is washed or boiled beforehand. We had to carry bottled water everywhere with us and even that tasted funny. I think I lost any extra weight I gained in India from starvation.
4. DO SEE THE TAJ MAHAL. An obvious highlight of the trip and an absolute must for visiting India. And while it is as beautiful in person as it is in pictures, it was a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Nonetheless, it was so incredible to see and I could have spent all day sitting on the garden just staring at it. Inside was beautiful too; we got to see the tomb of both the Queen Mumtaz Mahal and her husband/builder Shan Jahan. It was such a beautiful love story. I hope one day someone builds me a great monument of love.
5. DON’T GIVE TO THE BEGGERS. It will break your heart to do, but its necessary. Sadly too much of India is corrupt. Our tour guide informed us that many of the children and people with disabilities begging are all part of organized crime rings and that very little of the money will actually go to them. Much like on Slumdog Millionaire. It’s heart breaking to pass by but there are literally hundreds of homeless people on every street corner. We took the train to get from New Delhi to Agra and I would almost break down crying every time. Endless children would pull at you and motion to their mouths for food. A few students decided to buy the children some food at the vendor instead of giving them money, but as soon as they gave the three kids muffins, 50 more kids all begging for muffins swarmed them. We learned in class that over 40% of India’s population lives on only a dollar a day. This was absolutely visible everywhere you looked.
6. DO TAKE A RICKSHAW RIDE. Because the streets were too crowded, our bus wasn’t able to drop us off right at the riverbanks, so we had to go in pairs on almost 30 rickshaws down the main street. A rickshaw is a little carriage like cart that is pulled behind a bicycle. Our 15-minute ride though, was one of the best experiences of the entire trip. We were sure that we were going to crash or tip over, but it was incredible to see the bustling city center. There was just so much going on. It was the first time I was absolutely sure that India had 1.1 billion people living in it. There were cattle being herded right down the middle of the street. Endless kids playing along the shops. So many beautiful saris. My pictures will do this experience more justice than my words can.
7. DON’T SAY YES TO TAKING PICTURES WITH THE LOCALS. One of our stops before the Taj Mahal was to Agra Fort, where the king lived. It had been a long day so our tour guide just let us go off by ourselves to get pictures and then we were to meet up at the front at a particular time. Wondering around, Alisa and I found a great spot to get a far away shot of the Taj, but as I stood for the picture this group of Indian women asked to take a picture with us. Being polite we said yes. Then another group saw us and asked to take pictures with us as well. At first it was kind of funny and a little flattering. People were handing me their babies to hold and pushing their children in pictures with us. Finally freeing ourselves, Alisa and I decided to venture off to another part of the fort. Within in minutes we were approached again for pictures by a large group of men. Not really knowing how to say no, we just went along with it. We took a group photo, and then each guy wanted his own individual photo with us. It was 100 degrees out and these sweaty, B.O. guys were putting their arms around us and making weird faces for the photo. Kind of fed up, I tried to tell them that we had to go meet our group. But as we tried to leave, the guy waiting for the next photo held on to us. Sensing our discomfort, the security guard near by came over and asked if we were ok, I asked if he could just tell them that we had to go meet our group. So the security guard angrily scolded the guy holding on to us in Hindi, but instead of letting go the man talked rudely back to the security guard. I don’t know what was said, but the security guard looked pissed, then got right in the guy’s face and slapped him as hard as he could across the face. The blow was enough to make the Indian drop his grip around us, so I grabbed Alisa and we took off running out of the fort. It was probably the scariest experience I have had so far and needless to say we said no to every other person after that asked to take a picture with us.
8. DO TRY ON A SARI. Anyone in my group will tell you that I got a little obsessed with these things. In India all Hindu women wear a sari which is a long piece of fabric, usually silk, that is wrapped intricately around in kind of a toga like fashion. Every woman I encountered was wearing one; I didn’t see a single woman dressed in western clothing. And while I still think they promote sexists values and must be miserable to wear in the heat, they are the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen. They tend to be bright colors and some have beautiful designs. I snapped a ton of pictures of women wearing them. I got so intrigued that I even bought one. We were at a silk factory and I was just looking at all the beautiful fabric when a man asked if I wanted to try a sari on. It sounded like too much fun so I said yes. But let me tell you, Indian women have my complete respect now because putting on a sari is no simple task. You have to fold it, tie it, and weave it in so many different ways. But when he was done, it looked beautiful! Aware that I really had no idea what I was doing, the man also gave me a step-by-step guide for how to put it on again. So when I get back, be ready girls, I am going to want people to practice on : )
9. DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE SELLERS. From the minute we stepped off the ship sellers constantly swarmed us. The Indian salesman is a persuasive one and pretty persistent too. They would never take no for an answer and sometimes would follow us for 15 minutes just saying “nice jewelry, nice jewelry, I give you good price.” We would also walk through markets where there would be hundreds of shacks all lined up with people selling various crafts and clothing. Many children work along side their parents and they learn at such a young age to be relentless. The funny part is that a majority of them are all selling the same kind of things. There were a few times when I would have considered buying something but they were so aggressive and so insistent that I always ended up getting frustrated and leaving. A few of my friends however, did buy the trinkety, touristy stuff they were selling. One guy friend bought a Taj Mahal t-shirt that was folded and in a plastic covering. The tag said size large but when he got back on the bus and held up the t-shirt it wouldn’t have fit a fifth grader it was so small.
10. DO BE AWARE YOU ARE A GIRL. Never have I been in a place where I was so aware of my gender. Though we tried to cover up as much as possible, it was obvious that we were the only females in tight clothing and showing any skin. Men would endlessly yell catcalls and stare at us. Also in India, men and women are kept very separate. There is no PDA and no dating done before marriage. I would get dirty looks for just standing close to a guy friend. Women are very submissive in India and thought to be the property of men. Though no man said anything directly, I could tell they were offended or taken aback when I, a woman, would speak directly to them. On one occasion I was supposed to meet a guy friend, he was late and when he arrived I scolded him for making me wait. An employee of the hotel standing nearby let out a huff, he seemed to be disgusted that a woman was reprimanding a man. There were endless things like I hardly encountered a woman who was fully literate, while most of the men were or when I would ask a question the person would speak back to the male with me instead. It was demoralizing and super frustrating but made me more proud than ever that I am an American woman.
11. DON’T FORGET YOUR BUGSPRAY. A nice hot and humid climate always brings one thing, BUGS. I came home with about 15 mosquito bits. We went to see a prayer ceremony near the Ganges river at sunset and I thought I was wearing honey near a beehive. We sprayed our bug spray and deet like it was our job but it didn’t do much good. All the locals would laugh at us as we danced around trying to swat them away. There is also hundreds of flies in India, and we would see people just covered in them it was really gross. They would swarm all the food in the markets and since the streets were covered in trash, they attracted them even more. Luckily none of us got Malaria so I guess my daily pills are paying off.
12. DO GO TO A HOOKA BAR. Don’t worry mom, I didn’t actually smoke any hooka. A group of us decided to venture out one night and we came across a cool looking hooka bar. It was also a coffee shop, so us girls just ordered desserts and coffee while the boys smoked the hooka. We quickly learned though, that hooka bars are the cool places to hang out. There are tons of coffee tables only a foot off the ground and you sit on pillows around it. It was such a cool atmosphere. We got to meet some locals and finally see how the younger generation of India hangs out.
13. DO WEAR A RED DOT. Even after having spent almost a week in India, I still have yet to understand what the red dot means. I heard everything from it symbolizes the God Shiva’s third eye to it’s a female accessory to it indicates your married. Either way every woman I encountered had one on. When we would enter the hotels they would “dot” us and when we went to all the religious places we got “dotted.” One student was even handing out stickers to the kids at the train station. She was putting them on the tops of all of the kids’ hands but within seconds all of them moved the sticker to the center of their forehead. It was quite comical.

INDIA

Incredible India! That is what all the advertisements read. But after traveling there all I could think was that India was incredibly poor, incredibly dirty, and incredibly traditional. Still being pushed outside my comfort zone and seeing things so incredibly different was what made India so interesting to me.

My SAS trip didn’t leave until the second day in port so when we arrived I decided to venture out into Chennai with some friends. We only made it two blocks before we turned around and headed back to the boat. I got caught in a dirt storm that turned my entire face brown, Katy got splattered with black oil when a giant truck hit a pot hole near us, and Max got pick pocketed by one of the little kids that swarmed us as we were walking. Needless to say we were not ready for India. Back on the boat we showered and then decided to play it safe and each lunch in the dining hall. However, my poor packing left me no choice but to go back out in search of conservative clothes. The boat was requiring girls to cover their shoulders and knees at all times and because my mother insisted that I would never use a long peasant skirt, I had nothing to wear. So back out in the hot and humid weather that would make Georgia in the summer feel cool, we headed for the shopping mall. Outside the sign read, a shopper’s dream come true, inside my friends and I tried to wake ourselves up form this awful nightmare. We searched forever before we finally found a women’s clothing store. Because all the women wear the traditional saris here, there were only two women’s stores that sold fabric for the saris. Otherwise all the stores we saw were for men. I was pretty desperate and ended up purchasing gaucho pants for $2.50 (yes Michelle I wore gaucho pants, the incredibly unflattering high-waisted to mid-calf pants that look like a skirt but are really pants, similar to skorts, the other bad fad of the nineties).

Depressed by the shopping we all decided to do some sightseeing, so we piled in two little autos (Indian taxis) and asked them to take us to a famous temple. An auto is a lot like if you were to take a tit-a-world cart, put it on wheels, add a lawn mower like engine, and a seat for a driver. They weave in and out of traffic like Mario cart and we quickly came to learn they are all quite corrupt (which most of India is). We had asked to go to the temple but sure enough the drove us straight to this little art shop. We became quite familiar with this little scam, we named it “my cousin’s shop”. Because the typical auto ride cost about 3 dollars, we learned that the cabbies make their money by bringing tourists to their friend’s shops who in turn give them a commission for bringing people in. It was so irritating! I don’t think I got in a single cab that would take me exactly where I asked to go.

We eventually made it to the temple that looked pretty much like the other 100 temples I have seen on this voyage so we called it a day. But I learned one thing on that first day, never would I be in a country where I was so aware of my race and gender.

To be continued…………..

CAMBODIA

Me in front of the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat - the Cambodian Kingdom was a great one

Here's the whole SAS group at the Royal Palace - the teacher in front is my Anthropology teacher, needless to say I got an A on my assignment on Cambodia

Tim and I climbing on the old ruins, It was like a big rock jungle gym

My Cambodia roommate Chelsea!! at our lavish resort and spa hotel : )

The Killing Fields - these are the pits where they would pile the bodies, so sad

This is the school they turned into torture center for the victims - the center is filled with these white graves

This was the most adorable little girl from the orphanage we visited - I wanted to take her home with me!

This is the rickety old boat we took our sunset cruise on the Mekong River, so beautiful!

If I had to pick one place from my entire itinerary that I think everyone should go to, I would choose Cambodia. I absolutely fell in love with this country - the people, the food, the landscape. It was the first port where I finally felt like I was on the other side of the world, seeing and experiencing things so vastly different from my own home. This trip was a SAS field program, so the itinerary for the 3-day trip was packed. We went from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. every day, not wasting a second in between. When we docked in Vietnam our 30-person group met and headed straight for the airport where we flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. When I walked outside I was sure we had been dropped off in a tropical jungle. It was 90 degrees with about 80% humidity, I felt like I was wearing jeans and a hoodie inside a sauna. We didn’t stop sweating the entire trip.

As we drove to our first stop I was glued to the window. If I thought China traffic was horrendous, Cambodia was a whole level past that. The streets were packed with thousands of little motorbikes, sometimes with as many as four people on them. There were no stoplights or lanes, you just had to aggressively push your way into the flow of traffic. The little motorbikes would dart in and around our bus, I thought for sure we were going to hit one of them. They go down the wrong way of traffic, they cross over into oncoming traffic to pass slower cars, they go up on sidewalks, and there is no stopping to let pedestrians walk, they just move around you. Crossing the street is like that scene with Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger running across the highway. Also as we walked the streets of Cambodia I noticed how young their population was, kids are everywhere, sadly many of them without parents in sight. I saw one boy who couldn’t have been older than 10 carrying his baby sister around alone, feeding her, walking across the crazy street with her. It was heartbreaking.

Our first stop was the Cambodian National Museum. It was a small building with no air conditioning and sadly almost every statue or painting the guide pointed to had been somewhat destroyed during the war. Still the Cambodians seemed to be so proud of their culture and long history. It was at the museum that I noticed how conservative the women dressed. Despite it being almost 100 degrees, none of the women were in shorts or tank tops, they all mostly wore long skirts and long sleeve blouses. Also Cambodians I learned are such shy people. While the Chinese would bombard us with questions and cameras, the Cambodians would politely smile at us or avert their eyes if we caught them staring. They seemed like such kind and simple people, it was hard to fathom that a brutal war destroyed their country not that many years ago.

After the museum we headed towards the water where we took a sunset cruise along the Mekong River. We walked along a narrow wooden plank to board the rickety old boat and sailed all along the shoreline. It was so beautiful, everything was so green and tropical, and there were tons of colorful flowers and fruit trees. It was so incredible to finally see a place untouched by industrialization and concrete skyscrapers. But it wasn’t without its sadness, almost every corner was touched by poverty. We sailed past a water village (literally houses floating on the water anchored down and tied to one another) and when I asked the guide who lived there he said refugees. Apparently the government does not allow immigrants to live on Cambodian land, so these refugees build these intricate water villages to live on.

Our last stop was by far my favorite of the entire trip, the Palm Tree Orphanage. When we arrived all the children were so excited. They swarmed us laughing and skipping around. Their teacher told us the kids get few visitors so they get pretty excited when new people come around. Also Americans founded the orphanage so all the children learn English in addition to their regular studies; they loved getting to practice with us. You could tell though that all of them were so starved for individual attention. One little boy that I met when I walked in didn’t leave my side the entire time. The little kids showed us all around the orphanage. There were 3 classrooms with no air-conditioning, a big concrete area with an old swing set and a bunch of deflated soccer balls, and a small lunchroom with tiny tables and chairs. As we were walking around I asked one little girl to show me where her room was. She led me upstairs to a large open room lined with little cubbies. She told me each kid got their own cubbie where they kept all their things and then when it was time for bed, each kid had a mat that they laid out on the hard floor to sleep on. As I looked in the cubbies, each kid didn’t have more than two or three shirts to their name, and only some had worn out little stuffed animals or blankets. It was so heartbreaking, but after our tour was some much needed playtime. We gathered in a circle and played simon says, patty cake, and freeze tag. The children seemed to be having so much fun and were so happy. As it became time to leave, the children clung to our legs and arms begging us to stay or come back tomorrow. The little girl I had been playing with even began to cry. It was all I could do not to take all of them with me back home. I can now see how Angelina Jolie has adopted all those kids.

After our long day, it was finally time for dinner. We ate at a small, outdoor local restaurant near our hotel. When we walked in there were two long rows of tables for us. I was among the first few people to walk into the restaurant and as I made my way to our tables I over heard the waiter say women on the right, men on the left. I figured it was a unique Cambodian culture thing, so as everyone walked in I told them we all had to sit with women on the right and men on the left. Everyone was so confused; we looked like a long table of speed dating. Pleased with myself for organizing everyone accordingly, I finally sat down to eat. It was then that my friend Phoebe, who I had walked in with, leaned over and said, “Um, Nicole, I think that man was just referring to the bathrooms.” Sure enough when I looked over to the far right wall where the bathrooms were, the women’s was on the right and men’s on the left. I about died of embarrassment. When the group finally found out they teased me about it for the rest of the trip. The only redeeming part of the evening was that the food was delicious.

The next day in Cambodia was something I could never have prepared myself for. Until now I had no idea how isolated I was in the U.S., ignorant to the horrific things taking place around the world. I was tired and groggy when I arrived early that morning to the concentration camp turned museum, but it didn’t take long for me to wake me up. Before the war the building we arrived at was a primary school for children. However, once the Pol Pot regime moved in, schools were among the first places they targeted. The building was a long rectangle with a large courtyard in front. Around the perimeter was a concrete fence with curled barbed wire along the top. In the courtyard was row after row of white grave stones. When our guide took us inside, we saw the tiny cells in which the victims were detained for days at a time. We saw the rooms where they were tortured through unthinkable measures. Some of the walls were still bloodstained and the entire place was eerily quiet. Covering most of the walls were thousands of pictures of the victims - men, woman, and children. Most of the prisoners were executed solely for being educated intellectuals. It all was unthinkably sad, but I remember how much my heart sank when our guide told us this place was only 1 of 300 all over Cambodia.

From one somber place to another, we arrived at the Killing Field next. The minute you get there you can’t take your eyes off of the huge tower of skulls and bones before you. It becomes hard to wrap your head around the idea that one sick, black-hearted man could carry out such a gruesome and horrific genocide. It makes you angry and sad all at the same time. Our guide gathered us in a corner of the field to talk about what took place here. The killing field was the largest prison camp of the Pol Pot Regime. They killed an estimated million people in this site alone. All across the fields there are large pits where the bodies of those exterminated were piled up. None of the victims were killed by gun because according to the exterminating officers the victims were not worth the bullets. Instead they were tortured for the enjoyment of the officers and brutally mutilated. Up high in all of the trees were speaker boxes, our guide informed us they played loud music to cover the sound of the screaming people so neighbors wouldn’t become suspicious. As we walked I noticed little shreds of fabics and white rock exposed along the ground, when I asked my guide about it he told us it was the remaining clothes and bones from the victims. There were so many bodies, buried all over the land that as the surface becomes eroded away, the remains reach the surface. I felt a pit in my stomach at the thought of walking over so many dead people. The whole experience just made me feel so thankful for my family and my life.

After an intense morning we visited the beautiful Royal Palace and then the Silver Pagoda. Later we stopped for lunch at a restaurant in town and ate Pho, which is like a noodle soup and its soooo good. Then we shopped the markets, which were so hot and sticky, I couldn’t imagine sitting out there for 10 hours a day just hoping to sell vegetables for 35 cents. They are so chaotic and colorful though, I just wanted to take a seat and people watch all day. Back on the buses we drove to the airport where we took an even smaller plane to the city of Siem Reap where the Angkor Wat kingdom is. The best part was our hotel or rather our Resort and Spa. I had heard that SAS puts you up at nice hotels but this place was incredible. They gave us a little towelettes and a glass of champagne when we came in. Also they had a huge outdoor pool and a spa open till 11:00 p.m. All of us girls signed up for massages, which were fantastic. I could have stayed there for the rest of the trip.

The last day we got up, ate breakfast at the hotel, and were on the road by 8:00 to go see the Angkor Wat. For those of you who don’t know, Ankor Wat was the magnificent temple built for the Cambodian king over 1000 years ago. It is an incredible site and has been preserved so well. We spent the day climbing all around it, often up steep steps and along narrow passages. Angkor Wat is built right into the jungle and from the top you can see tons of forest and greenery. Walking in we even ran across a pack of monkeys, they were so fun and were not scared of humans at all. All the Cambodians would walk past and laugh at how excited we all got by the monkeys. Then it was on to the Ta Prohm temple where I had to be covered from my shoulders to my ankles. I was so miserably hot that I hurried through the tour. After we toured Bayon, Baphuon, Elephants terrace, and the Terrace of Leper King. It was all a little overwhelming but I must have taken over a hunded pictures because it was all so beautiful.

After a long day we took a 5:00 p.m. flight back to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. I could have stayed in Cambodia though for the remainder of the time. There was just so much to see and do. I absolutely loved my time there and it’s trips like this one that remind me why I wanted to challenge myself to go on Semester at Sea and see places I might never get the chance to visit again. I made so many new friends on my trip which I ended up traveling with for the rest of Vietnam. I’ll add pictures below but they just don’t do it justice to how incredible it all was.