I am not a Super Woman and biggest challenges on my journey in retro
Many people have commented that they could not do what I have been doing, or that I am somehow more capable or adapted for this kind of travel. Well I will take credit for relishing adventure, loving exploration and new experiences. However there have been things that I have missed and have been a challenge and some may be surprising to you!
1. Absence of respect for peace and quiet. India and Nepal have a constant barrage of noise to contend with. Car horns are honked at every passing of another vehicle, the advent of a turn in a road, the encounter with a pedestrian or animal on the street or just about anytime is the right time! Trucks and vehicles with loud speaker systems troll the neighborhoods with public service messages, advertisements, political speeches. Dog packs circle around at night barking. Mosques and temples blare their prayers starting at 4 AM and throughout the day.
2. Bathrooms. Public bathrooms are the worst. If you find an accompanying sink to wash your hands you are truly fortunate. If there is soap you feel yourself blessed a hundred times. In hotels and rented rooms such as I frequented, there are no shelves for your toiletries in the bathroom, or even much of a rim on the sink to rest your toothbrush. You learn to live without toilet paper or bring your own. There are no bathtubs. The floors are incredibly slippery because water from the tap or shower goes directly all over the floor of the bathroom- it is not at all contained by a curtain or enclosure. I have had many a slip and fall in the eastern bathroom.
3. The pedestrian has no rights. 95% of my time has been totally on foot. Respect on the road is totally determined by how much horse power you have. You have to jump in and start crossing the road unless you want to wait for hours. No one will willing stop for you on the "crosswalk". The crosswalk markings on the road (rarely seen) are purely fictional . You learn to be bold, quick and realize that you have to get in and go with the flow if you want to get anywhere. I liken crossing the street to jumping rope with two sets of ropes going at the same time --like we used to do in grade school.
4. Internet access is a privilege. Unlimited data such as we experience in the West is not common here. You have to prioritize what you want to do on the internet. A shout out to my friend Kirk Wortman who shares his Netflix account with me. I was able to have some entertainment from time to time on my trip. However there is no binge watching without Wi-Fi! I guess that is a plus but sometimes you wish you had more GB's!
5. The loneliness of the time difference. If you want to communicate with friends or family back home, you always have to take the 12 hour time difference in mind. Early AM or PM are your best bets for getting in touch. I always felt a sense of loneliness when 10 AM came around and I knew no one would be available to chat for a long time.
Well these are a few of my pet peeves/challenges. But truth be told, I will be longing to come back shortly upon my return. There is something here that entrances and enlightens me. And puts my life back in the cosmic perspective.
1. Absence of respect for peace and quiet. India and Nepal have a constant barrage of noise to contend with. Car horns are honked at every passing of another vehicle, the advent of a turn in a road, the encounter with a pedestrian or animal on the street or just about anytime is the right time! Trucks and vehicles with loud speaker systems troll the neighborhoods with public service messages, advertisements, political speeches. Dog packs circle around at night barking. Mosques and temples blare their prayers starting at 4 AM and throughout the day.
An example of a trolling loud speaker auto rickshaw blasting a political message from the speaker on the roof.
2. Bathrooms. Public bathrooms are the worst. If you find an accompanying sink to wash your hands you are truly fortunate. If there is soap you feel yourself blessed a hundred times. In hotels and rented rooms such as I frequented, there are no shelves for your toiletries in the bathroom, or even much of a rim on the sink to rest your toothbrush. You learn to live without toilet paper or bring your own. There are no bathtubs. The floors are incredibly slippery because water from the tap or shower goes directly all over the floor of the bathroom- it is not at all contained by a curtain or enclosure. I have had many a slip and fall in the eastern bathroom.
My current bathroom, no shower just bucket and tap. No shelves..
3. The pedestrian has no rights. 95% of my time has been totally on foot. Respect on the road is totally determined by how much horse power you have. You have to jump in and start crossing the road unless you want to wait for hours. No one will willing stop for you on the "crosswalk". The crosswalk markings on the road (rarely seen) are purely fictional . You learn to be bold, quick and realize that you have to get in and go with the flow if you want to get anywhere. I liken crossing the street to jumping rope with two sets of ropes going at the same time --like we used to do in grade school.
4. Internet access is a privilege. Unlimited data such as we experience in the West is not common here. You have to prioritize what you want to do on the internet. A shout out to my friend Kirk Wortman who shares his Netflix account with me. I was able to have some entertainment from time to time on my trip. However there is no binge watching without Wi-Fi! I guess that is a plus but sometimes you wish you had more GB's!
5. The loneliness of the time difference. If you want to communicate with friends or family back home, you always have to take the 12 hour time difference in mind. Early AM or PM are your best bets for getting in touch. I always felt a sense of loneliness when 10 AM came around and I knew no one would be available to chat for a long time.
Well these are a few of my pet peeves/challenges. But truth be told, I will be longing to come back shortly upon my return. There is something here that entrances and enlightens me. And puts my life back in the cosmic perspective.
As claimed by Stanford Medical, It's in fact the SINGLE reason women in this country live 10 years longer and weigh on average 19 KG lighter than we do.
ReplyDelete(And by the way, it really has NOTHING to do with genetics or some hard exercise and EVERYTHING related to "HOW" they eat.)
P.S, I said "HOW", and not "what"...
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