India For Dummies: Tips for First-Timers

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Category: Travel Feature

Published on Friday, 25 February 2011 21:18

Written by Caroline Martin

Calling all India virgins!

Last summer’s release of the film Eat Pray Love (or is it Eat Love Pray? I can never remember) guaranteed that India is once again flooded with foreigners “finding themselves.”  In contrast to the 1970s, when the seekers were long-haired backpackers, the newcomers are now manicured suburban divorcees hoping to meet Javier Bardem in a rice paddy.

Lonely Planet has a message board (“The Thorn Tree”) full of hilarious questions from India first-timers.

Some examples:

"Can I get a Starbucks Chai Latte in India?"

"Would it be safe to be seen reading a Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses book on an Indian train?"

I am tempted to write back and say, "Yes, if you are seen reading or even known to own a copy of Rushdie's book, any devout religionist within eyeshot will slit your throat instantly," but I’m afraid they’d take me seriously.

Every year, thousands of India first-timers, most of them college age gap-year kids, head off on the Great Journey. Most of them have visions of either a mystical incense-laden land with sitar music emanating from the banyan trees, or a seething horde of scheming, sweating humanity. The reality, of course, lies somewhere in between.

As an India veteran (also a Manhattan veteran; I specialize in living in improbable places), I would suggest:

1) Read up before you go.

Particularly good is Culture Shock: India by Gitanjali Kolanad, Rough Guide’s latest India edition, and Lonely Planet's Healthy Travel: Asia & India.

Personally, I read everything I could get my hands on: travelogues, history, culture and customs. It will add dimension to your travels, explain many strange things you'll see, and enable you to better relate to and understand people you meet along the way.  

That brings us to suggestion number two, possibly the most challenging of all:

2) Get to know the people.

Foreigners travel to India in search of history, exotica, cool clothes, and culture, and are surprised to find that India is really all about the people. Believe me, there's no avoiding them, so brush up on your small talk!

3) Forget your romantic notions of spiritual India.

It is the most materialistic place on earth, in some ways for good reason (see below) –- also, the most interesting. After India, everywhere else in Asia, and perhaps the world outside of Baghdad, will be a piece of cake. (See #6 and #8)

4) Be cautious about exchanges of money – rather than fearful of violent crimes.

While all visitors must find their India comfort zone, we are largely shielded by privilege from violent crime.   Rather, most every foreign visitor falls prey to a scam or con game – from petty to large-scale – at some point.  This is all part of the India Experience.  Author Gitanajali Kolanad insists that you be especially alert “at any time money is displayed or changes hands.”  

But there is little outright danger for foreign tourists –- rather, Indian is madcap, maniacally energetic, and endlessly amusing.

5) Learn some of the local language.

Even your mistakes will thrill people to no end and if nothing else, it will show them you're not the average stupid tourist.  The fellows at the local chai shop will be delighted to assist you in learning a few key phrases (“I don’t want any,” “how much?,” “your price is too high” and “leave me alone” being especially useful).  

6) Wear traditional clothes, especially for women.

This means, in most cases, a Punjabi suit (aka salwar-kameez or churidar, the long baggy pyjama pants, long tunic top and accompanying scarf draped over the chest). I cannot stress this enough. Ladies, do not wear your hair down, especially blondes.

Loose hair is a sign of a loose woman in many places, and if you are a foreign woman, you are doubly suspect and are, in local custom, asking for harassment. (unless you're in Mumbai, then no one cares.)

If you’re in a more modern place or feel corny going in full Indian drag, do a hybrid of baggy western pants and long-sleeved t-shirts. You and everyone around you will feel more comfortable.

Additionally, if you plan to stay longer-term and have respectful relationships with any locals, particularly of an elder generation, don't dress like a hippy. Indians have vivid memories of the first big wave of 60s and 70s tourists, and few of those memories are positive. Also, any time you have to deal with any person in an office or member of law enforcement, it pays to clean up.  

7) A few words about bargaining/haggling: Outside of large supermarkets, very few prices are set or “fixed.”

Most Asians have bargaining down to an art form. It is part of the culture, particularly among merchant groups such as Marwadis and  Kashmiris. It is an art form you will never master, but must become decent at in order to have any money left by the end of your trip.

Remember, bargaining is just the normal way here - they do it with locals as well. The difference is, locals know the game. Learn the game and see it as a game. Do not feel guilty about not paying 'enough.' Believe me, they will never let you get away without their having made some profit. Since you don't know the rates, you don't realize this.

Also, don’t get upset.  When a driver suggests 200Rs for an 80Rs ride, he's just negotiating. He is doing his job. It is your job to counter with half or less of the original amount. He expects this and is not offended by it! From his point of view, he may not get such a good fare the rest of the day. If he can make a day's wages in one go, why not?

Why are there so few “fixed prices” in India? There is little social mobility and few chances for "getting ahead" in India's rigid, slowly changing social structure. The only way around it sometimes is to "cheat," or as many Indians would say, be "clever." Fair play has never gotten the average Indian very far, so they often resort to these things. Don't get righteous, just hold your ground and keep smiling.

Remember that to many “average” Indians (shopkeepers, drivers) you meet on the street, you are a walking bank.  If you keep this in mind without resentment - regardless of how 'nice' anyone is - you will fare much better in India.

8) Do not get involved in drugs, or hang around people who do. Period.

This is one good way to get in trouble, fast.

9) Keep a sense of humor, and do not lose your cool.

You will invariably fail at this endeavor.... but keep it as your goal. Keep smiling and repeat your requests – patiently. It’s the Indian way.

10) Do not display affection openly with your boy/girlfriend. Don't even hold hands.

This is considered a slap in the face outside of such foreigner enclaves as Goa or Mumbai.

11) Don't bother asking for food with "no spice."

Few Indians know how to cook this way, and consider food without hot spices unpalatable –- they would feel cheated without the addition of “mirchi.”  It works better to say “no green chili,” “only salt,” or “mirchi nahi chayyie.”

12) Get a receipt for everything, absolutely everything, and hang onto it till you’re sure you don’t need it.

If you buy a museum ticket, be ready to show it at any time during your museum visit –- Indian officials love to get, well, officious about paperwork.

13) Understand the bathroom thing.

Yes, though toilet paper is increasingly popular with the middle class, most Indians still clean themselves after the toilet with their left hand and a cup of water. Often, soap is not involved. Most digestive diseases are transmitted fecal-to-oral. This, plus the scarcity of water and soap in many places, accounts for the fact that thousands annually still die of simple diarrhea.

Running water and hot water can be scarce outside larger cities. BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper – a small pack of paper tissues works well) and mini bar of soap, or even better, wet wipes.

14) Don’t fold your hands and say “Namaste.”

Nobody does that, and if someone does, it means they have earmarked you as a naïve foreigner.

15) Don’t try to prove points or make statements, whether with your behavior, dress or speech.

India is really not the place to “prove” that women are not property, or that all people are created equal.

Rather than attempt to “educate” someone, try observing the interactions around you and try to see things from another perspective, and you’ll find you are the one with lessons to learn.

And there’s no better place to learn than India. Have a great trip.

Caroline Martin is a writer, photographer & researcher based in New York City. She blogs at www.sirensongs.org and can be reached at www.carolinemartin.org.

Weekend In Washington -- Sacking out at CPAC

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Category: Travel Feature

Published on Monday, 14 February 2011 03:05

Written by Marion DS Dreyfus

I had a great! time in Washington, DC -- midtown is a pleasure, a grid that is easy to figure out and navigate; wide, wide streets; stately and gracious capitol-ish buildings; historic sites; lovely roundabouts (Dupont Circle and others) and to me, the traffic was laughably light compared to the constant turmoil and tumble of NYC canyons.

The cars are slow to accelerate after a light change, which seems strangely courteous and helped me quite a bit to circumnavigate huge multi-lane avenues and intersections. I got to places in half the time that my friends did and they arrived via train or even taxi.

Read more: Weekend In Washington -- Sacking...

The Place to Go: New York’s Grand Central Terminal Pt. 1

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Category: Travel Feature

Published on Friday, 03 December 2010 15:08

Written by Ward Morehouse III

Because I and millions of others have fallen under the spell of what is referred to New York City's majestic "civic cathedral," I may not be uniquely qualified to write about the history and restoration of Grand Central Terminal. But as a young boy I vividly remembers riding in a coach car behind one of the last long distance steam locomotives up to Ithaca (NY) and, long before the terminal became the still-exciting commuter train hub it is today.

In those days, departure times were written in chalk in a waiting room under what was the Biltmore Hotel, one of three grand hotels, including The Roosevelt and The Commodore (now the New York Grand Hyatt), that ringed Grand Central. The Biltmore was gutted in 1981 despite the building’s landmark status. It was rebuilt as the Bank of America Plaza (335 Madison Ave) and fortunately, the Biltmore’s famous gilded clock festoons the lobby.                                 

THE BEGINNING
Railroad magnate Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt opened the first Grand Central in 1871 accommodating three major railroads and four million passengers the first year. But by the dawn of the 20th Century train travel had mushroomed to such a extent that construction on a new Grand Central began in 1903. In February, 1913, at an equivalent cost of what would have been billions of dollars in today's currency, the new and glorious Beaux-Arts terminal, modeled on the Roman Imperial Baths, opened.
 
"The motive of the facade is an attempt to offer a tribute to the glory of commerce," Kurk C. Schlichting quotes Whitney Warren, a Vanderbilt cousin and the terminal's architect, in Schlichting's wonderful book Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Engineering and Architecture in New York City.

THE 1983-1993 RESTORATION
 Even after the international outrage at the demolition of NY’s beautiful Pennsylvania Station in 1963, Grand Central also faced either the wrecking ball or the unsightly addition of an office tower directly above it. With the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the late New Yorker architecture critic Brendan Gill leading the campaign, the terminal was saved. The official ruling was made by the US Supreme Court in the 1978 Penn Central Transportation v. New York City. The Court upheld that NYC’s Landmarks Preservation Act, which named the building an official landmark, as being “reasonable.”
 
Jackie’s campaign words:
 
"Is it not cruel to let our city die by degrees, stripped of all her proud monuments, until there will be nothing left of all her history and beauty to inspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our city, where will they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about their past, but for short term gain they ignore it and tear down everything that matters. Maybe… this is the time to take a stand, to reverse the tide, so that we won't all end up in a uniform world of steel and glass boxes."
 
After years of fiscal and even major physical neglect, a mammoth amount of work had to be done to restore Grand Central to the magnificence it enjoys today. A primary component of its restoration was vastly increasing retail space, with a third devoted to restaurants and cafes.
 
For many of us, the most dramatic restoration project in terms of sheer visibility was the restoration of the 25,000-sq-ft ceiling with its star constellations. Back then they were barely fissionable. After being scrubbed, blue acrylic paint and 23-karat gold leaf was applied to the ceiling. (Curiously, the astrological sky is actually backwards!)
 
But not all the restorations were for the sake of art and architecture. Escalators were installed making access easier, not only to the MetLife building but also to fast food take-out places on the lower level and the rest rooms. A week ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the men's room on the lower level. Lines for the women's restroom were long, however. An alternative for women: the restroom in the "ticketed waiting area" just off the Main Concourse by Zaro's Bakery. It is often less crowded. (There's no men's restroom in the ticketed waiting area.)

FILMS
Perhaps the most famous movie featuring Grand Central was the 1934 movie Twentieth Century starring John Barrymore and Carol Lombard. The late Barrymore, whose granddaughter is current Hollywood star Drew Barrymore, played a tyrannical Broadway producer who does everything in his power to cajole, threaten and sweet-talk Lombard into coming back to Broadway in a play he's producing. Most of the movie takes place aboard the 20th Century Limited, a luxury train that went from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles.                     

FREE TOURS

• The Municipal Arts Society (T 212-935-3960) sponsors a free tour every Wed at 12:30pm.
• The Grand Central Partnership (T 212-883-2420, www.grandcentralpartnership.org) sponsors a 90-min tour of the Terminal and surrounding area every Friday.
• Take Your Own Tour (http://grandcentralterminal.com) has maps for self-guided tours and for the retail shops.             

Next Time: Dining In Grand Central

[Ward Morehouse III is the Checking In columnist for TravelSmart Newsletter/courtesy travelsamrtnewsletter.com]