India - sari same same - Elter photo
1. We liked Mumbai (Bombay) a hundred times better than Delhi
2. The caves of Ellora and Ajunta with their fragmentary murals, plus the everyday life of nearby,
non-touristy Aurangabad
3. All those moments when we smelled pleasant smells instead of stink
4. Many interesting conversations with merchants when they invited us into their shops (their
commercial motivation didn’t bother us in the slightest)
5. The lively colors (e.g. the colorful saris of the women)
6. The food, especially the sweet pastries
7. Spending the night in some heritage hotels
8. The stupendous wealth of cultural heritage and monuments
9. The cult of relaxation and purgation ceremonies
10. The wonderful beaches in Southern India (like the popular Varlaka Beach in Kerela, where you
can swim with the locals
India - cow in romantic setting - m.m. photo
1. You quickly get tired of Delhi – the street crowd is depressing, as are the many pickpockets
2. Stepping over the miserable homeless people at the entrance of the main railway station in
Delhi every morning
3. I have visited 131 countries, and only had indigestion here and in Egypt
4. Seeing those tired, sad, enervated faces
5. Constantly stepping in cow shit by accident, and it’s awful to see sick cows covered in sores
6. The lack of public toilets
7. Huge crowds at all the must-see sights, and the deafening noise everywhere in unpleasant
8. I confess with regret that I was not that impressed by the Taj Mahal – maybe my expectations
were too high
9. The misogyny prevalent in Indian culture can make the visitor wary of Indian men
10. Calcutta was terrible – crazy crowd, bad atmosphere and safety concerns
