Thoughts on India

I’ll be honest here and say that India was never high on my radar as a tourist destination.  Sure, I would love to see the Taj Mahal (and I will on my next trip in the spring) but other than that, not much appealed to me in terms of a place I would like to spend a vacation.  I came here this time strictly for the opportunity to learn about Ayurveda at the source.  I have since changed my point of view.  India is huge and extremely diverse.  There is an experience for just about every type of travel.  Great beaches, mountain trekking, wild animal safaris, and for those who are into it, there are locations with great shopping.  A big draw is the affordability.  By the time I leave here 10 days from now, I will have been here for roughly 6 weeks.  The cost of this stay, including food, lodging, transportation (airfare too) schooling and more than a few gift type purchases will total right around $2000.  That said, this place, and the type of travel I am doing is not for everybody.  There are no 5-star white glove places here.  I am staying in one of the nicest places here for the whopping price of $15 per night.  It is clean, there is hot water, a western style toilet, and it is relatively private.  You could easily find places for half or less than that were you willing to compromise on the level of privacy, and the toilet style.  A place with a shared balcony and a traditional Indian style toilet will run you less than $6/day.  Shared bathroom facilities drops it to around $4.  What I am telling you is that this is a very inexpensive place to travel to.  The pricing is not uncommon around the country, though in larger cities like Mumbai or Delhi and highly traveled tourist areas such as Goa, I am sure you can find the 5-star hotels and the price tags associated with them.

Those of you who are my FB friends have seen photos of the meals I/we have gotten here and the price tags attached to them (like the 82 cent double shot caramel latte treat pictured above).  Average cost of a very nice meal is about $2.75 and a real splurge (like grilled chicken or pork loin) is maybe $5.00.  I sometimes get all bent out of shape momentarily when I think I am being asked to pay too much only to come to realize that when I am being asked to pay 300 rupees for a pair of yoga pants, and it seems ridiculous, it’s only $4.50.  Seriously.  I almost feel bad about arguing about it.  Almost – it is expected here so I do.  But not too much.  It really does not bother me a whit if they think I am a poor negotiator.  The starting price is worth it!

The area I am in is not considered impoverished.  Most people have a job, a roof over their head, and enough food for their family.  They are nicely clothed, most have transportation of some sort or access to it.  This considered as close to ‘middle class’ that you can get in this country, and I would say that with very few exceptions (only 1 I’ve met) they are extremely kind, giving and happy people.

All of that said, I AM in a tourist area.  People here make their living mostly by teaching, or by serving those here to learn.  There are long term certification classes for yoga, meditation, massage, and at least 2 schools for Ayurveda.  There are also smaller more personal (usually evening) classes that last between a day (or an hour) or two up to a week for things like knitting, macramé, dancing, jewelry making, Indian cooking, crochet and then there’s this guy….   He does pretty well for himself based on my experience with the variety and sounds of the Dij’s in the area.  I am sorry I did not have the phone with me as I passed one particularly beautiful wooden dij last week.  I am not kidding – it was gorgeous!

Many people make their wares to sell.  I pass this guy when I walk down to McLeodganj.  He is one of 3 people in the area who makes wooden stamps by hand.  Many of the local clothing shops feature a guy on a sewing machine at the front making what he is selling.  There are quite a few jewelry shops with the artist in residence.  There are many differences in quality and design.  Likewise with the 3 or 4 leather working shops in town.

Possibly the best buy/bargain in the area are the shawls/pashminas/wraps (whatever you want to call them) that are made from either silk, cotton, some type of wool or a combination of those.  Many are locally hand loomed.  There is a small town not far uphill that I am told employs around 120 people that produce some of my favorite ones.  I plan to find and visit that town next trip!  My favorite so far are the ones made of yak wool.  Yak wool is soft, warm, lightweight and not at all scratchy.  There are more colors and combinations than you can possibly imagine.  This weekend I am planning to go all the way down to Dharamsala (it’s 2 miles – gasp!) and check out he shops there so I can complete my Christmas shopping.  (Yes that’s right I said COMPLETE!  Hehehe)  I am told the ‘big city’ has some different shops with a few more diverse types of wares.  I hope that’s correct.