So here we are. On another plane but this time travelling out of India to the next tour. We only have one day between the India tour and our Indochina tour so it felt a bit like we were out of the pan and into the fire.
It’s probably worth doing some honest reflections on the India trip…
I chose India as a curve ball option. It wasn’t the highest on my bucket list but it always intrigued me as a country because it is such a big country that provides so much for the world globally. A lot of IT expertise is found in India as well as some of the best cuisines (in my opinion!). I really wanted to see Indochina and I was looking for a potential tour that was reasonably priced and it would give me a taste of what India is about.
After spending a few days in Dubai in luxury it was a huge culture shock landing at Delhi airport. I was greeted with hundreds of people, so much noise, people arguing over who would carry my bags and who would give me a lift to the hotel. There was loads of pollution, cars are all over the place on the roads, animals road the streets, every car uses their horns regularly. There is no other word to describe it than absolute chaos.
When we woke up the morning after once we went to the hotel I was feeling a bit braver and thought I’d give it a go. So we went into Delhi and explored.
When we meet our CEO that evening he said something which is absolutely true… you have to open your mind and embrace India because if you don’t you’ll hate it.
I saw so many things I never thought I’d see with my own eyes but you just have to accept it and respect that’s how it works. There is definitely something special to India though…
The people are very friendly and accommodating. The food is incredible! The beer is amazing! The culture is a huge part of everything within the country and we were lucky to experience that. I thought on day one that driving was chaos there but after a while you actually realise there’s a skill to it. There’s an underlying understanding of how to work the roads in India and I only realised after a 5 days and then it all made so much sense.
I also realised it’s a very close knit community built on respect. Everything is interlinked and there was more than one occasion when you saw this network pulling together. If you don’t open your arms and embrace it you’ll never see it. Hard to describe and put into words.
Final thoughts… it was an incredible trip that I would highly recommend to anyone – but in an organised group tour only.
You have to let go of all your preconceived ideas. If you don’t open up and embrace it you’ll hate it. The country has so much to offer its hard to explain.
I thought the Indochina trip would be my highlight but now it’s really going to have to go some way to beat India. And I never thought I’d say that when I was flying out on the 9th November.
Indochina next…
Craig’s Travel Blog 2017-2018 