First day in India

Oh. My. God. My tiny mind is broken. I’ve never been in a smellier, busier place. I’ve never had to cope with a bigger contrast between squalor and friendliness, dirt and beauty, my own wealth and other people’s poverty. We were out walking for about five hours today, and even after several hours resting in the hotel we don’t feel up to coping with going out into the streets again. The traffic is beeping past on Mahatma Gandhi Road, the sun’s gone down and the billboard floodlights have come up.

To be honest, I didn’t see anything I wasn’t prepared for. I was glad I was prepared, though, for people using the street as a toilet or a handkerchief, and for beggars and noise and smells. I was also prepared for the colours, and the handsome people and gorgeous children, fabulous saris and flower-garlands, and deities painted or carved at every turn. More people greeted us just for the sake of being friendly than to beg for money or tout for business.

Tomorrow we’re going to be more touristy and probably hire a car—we had a little auto-rickshaw ride today, which was a whole lot easier than walking on broken pavements or the side of the road. Then it’s off to Kochi tomorrow night on the train. Can we cope with so much adventure? ☺