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June 7, 2010 I had a great year in India, June 2009 to May 2010! But now my visa has expired and I have come to Kathmandu, Nepal, where I will probably remain three months. Nepal is my 55th country. I spent about half of my year in India in the capital, New Delhi. The biggest problem in Delhi is the heat, with temperatures around 115 every day in the summer. Delhi’s upside is the marvelous new metro, extensive, cheap and cool. I went also to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and to Haridwar to see the Ganges. Then I had a short visit to Jaypur, the capital of Rajasthan, where I saw elephants, camels and cobras. I had a significant stay in Mumbai (Bombay), but I prefer Delhi. I arrived in Mumbai in November and caught the last monsoon of the season. As far as I am concerned, Mumbai is unlivable. In the height of the monsoon season, during the summer, it can rain nonstop for a week, with an average rainfall of 25 inches per month. Furthermore, Mumbai has no metro, only commuter trains, which are fairly expensive and involve long station waits. Prices are fairly elevated in Mumbai, especially in view of the poor infrastructure. Those incredibly broken sidewalks must be murder under a foot of water. I had a few weeks in Panjim, Goa. This was a Portuguese enclave for several centuries, but was seized by Nehru in the 50’s. It’s a scenic place, a tourist mecca. But it is also subject to monsoons. So there’s no living there, as far as I am concerned. In December, it was great. After that I spent two months in Bengaluru (Bangalore). Unfortunately, I was in the noisy, crowded downtown district. One memorable day in Bengaluru was my visit to Bannerghatta National Park, where I saw lions and tigers roaming free in their natural habitat. Otherwise it was just living as usual—sleeping, eating, bathing and going about the neighborhood. From Bengaluru, I went to Thiravananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, a state in south India. I had 6 idyllic weeks there in a village called Kazhakuttom. Finally, I returned to Delhi for my last 6 weeks. For the whole year, I spent about 5 or 6 hours a day studying Hindi, which I can now read with some proficiency, but there’s not much opportunity to talk, because so many people speak English. Oh well, it gave me something to do! I neglected to register on arrival in India, so I had to go through interminable administrative procedures to get permission to leave, with the threat of arrest hanging over my head. At the same time I had fallen ill, with anorexia, insomnia, nausea and fatigue. Waiting in long lines, in 115 degree heat, while fatigued to the point of fainting was not much fun, but I did get an exit visa, without arrest. Now I have come to Nepal, which, of course, is the land of Mount Everest. Group tours to Tibet are also available. I spent 16 months in China in 1997-1998, but never got to Tibet. Maybe I can go now. Indians are among the least aggressive people in the world. There is never a confrontation, an insult or a fight on the streets, a far cry from NYC or LA. There are a lot of touts though, people who are selling things and cannot take “no” for an answer. All in all, Indians are not terribly friendly, at least compared with Thais, Indonesians and Arabs. I hope that my registration problems will not prevent my return to India in a few months. My passport is stamped “overstayed”. Visit my webpage on India: www.mecnita.com/India.htm ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! 
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