More on India

Ellen and me in India



I was overwhelmed by India,even though I was limited to what I saw from the bus and where the tour was scheduled to stop. It was all so beautiful, so ancient. I thought, what did the British first think when they got here and saw the ornate buildings, forts and temples? Were they as amazed as I was?

Pushkar Fair (photo by Ellen G.)


I was changed during that trip. I was smitten by the place -- in love, I guess -- and so, so hungry for more. I talked to my friend, Estelle, when I returned, telling her about how frustrating it was not to be able to explore on my own, to eat in the little cafes and poke around local stores and markets we passed on the bus. She was the one to tell me about the various tour groups she had discovered that allowed for a lot of free time and appealed to a wider clientele. They were based in other countries, England, Australia, Canada, and, although they were also small groups, the age range was much more varied. In the US, it seems like people travel around the world when they get out of college or when they retire. In other countries, everyone travels, no matter the age or the economic situation. She told me about an English company, Explore, where she'd booked a lot of her trips. That led me to the local tour broker, Adventure Center, in northern California, but more about them later.

My next adventure started with a call from my friend, Elaine. We had been roommates when I was hired to work as a costumer for the Los Angeles Olympic committee in 1984. It was an invitation to join her on a trip to Africa. That story tomorrow...

More is not enough

India is an explosion to all your senses. The colors of the clothing, buildings, sign posts are all bright, gorgeous jewel tones. The smells are intoxicating, spicy, smoky, full of flavor. The heat is intense, but not unbearable. You either love or hate India. As my friend, Estelle, put it, "In India, more is not less, more is not enough!"

I arrived around midnight in New Delhi. Outside the airport were hundreds of people waiting for travelers. They were illuminated by strong orange city lights -- kind of eerie. We were met by our guide and taken by bus to our hotel. The group was mostly made up of retired couples from around the US -- Texas, New York, Ohio. I met a single woman who would end up being a good friend (we keep in touch still), Ellen. She and I would end up being paired up for most experiences.

The hotel was very modern and very Western. Ellen and I wanted to take a stroll around the neighborhood, but were discouraged by the guide. The rest of the tour was much the same. I did get to see the highlights of India, the Taj Mahal, the Ganges, Jaipur and we got to go to the Pushkar Camel Fair, an annual event with Ferris Wheels, acrobats and stalls selling everything from cooking pots to puppets. The mornings were early ("Call time, 5 AM?"), but I saw a lot of sights. I knew, however, that was not really the way I wanted to travel.

India was a life changing experience for me. I came home a different person, not so caught up in the problems of daily life or interpersonal squabbles. I had a kind of peace from being in a place so immersed in spirituality. It was my own experience, I know, and I also know I was ready for it.

Starting off

I have always had a passion for travel. When I was a kid, reading "Mary Poppins" and listening to "My Fair Lady", I had a burning desire to see England -- of course, loving the Beatles didn't hurt that at all!

I finally got to England when I was in my 20's. It did not disappoint. I saw most of the things I had dreamed about, but, more importantly, it flipped a switch that has been driving me ever since -- the passion and joy in seeing new places, new cultures and meeting people whose life experience was so different, yet so similar to mine. I was working full time by then, only getting, at most, two weeks of vacation a year. I dreamed of a career in travel and sought out airline jobs and looked at being a travel agent. Nothing came of that, but I continued to travel.

At first, I stuck to Europe. I went back to England a few times, spent some time in Paris, Amsterdam and Germany. I signed up for a summer course to learn German in Salzburg, Austria (I had taken German in high school and college). It was my first time staying in one place for a couple of weeks and I loved it. I took an extra week off of work to do this so I could travel through Germany and back to England before going home. It was exhilarating traveling on my own; before this I had taken group tours, leery of traveling "without a net" in a foreign country. My German was good enough to book the train and converse with my landlady at the hotel in Cologne, and my confidence bloomed.

In a few years, I decided I wanted to see India. I loved the cuisine, the beautiful saris and wanted to experience something vastly removed from my own culture. I was still wary of traveling on my own, especially in a place where I didn't know the language or the customs. I called my friend, Estelle, who had traveled extensively through India, China, Africa and Papua New Guinea, for advice. "Eat only foods that are baked, boiled or in a peel" and "Drink bottled water" were her messages. I found a group called "Overseas Adventure Travel", an American company that specialized in small groups (16 or less) and traveled to the more exotic locals.

Tomorrow, my adventure in India.