track our trek

india is a country of startling contrasts...there is incredible beauty everywhere...in the landscape and the architecture, and the people...but there is also an abundance of filth and sickness and poverty. the cities are dirty and stinky. cows, monkeys and donkeys nose their way through vegetable markets where people spread their goods out on blankets on the ground. toilet paper is a hot commodity, as most people use a bucket and water to rinse after using the toilet. (left hand for toilet activities, right hand for eating and shaking hands.) i have never seen such abject poverty up close; & it is emotionally exhausting to turn a deaf ear to all the people, especially children naked and filthy, begging for money and food. but if you dare to make eye contact, you will be followed for blocks with people tugging on your clothes. when we had the chance, we wrapped up leftovers from restaurants to give to hungry children by the roadside...absolutely everyone has an angle...(we thought china was bad!) at every attraction, people pose as guides and want money for taking you around explaining all the information that's already displayed on signs. when you have to take your shoes off to enter a mosque or temple, you're expected to tip the person who "looks after" your shoes. when you use a public toilet, you're expected to tip the man or woman who hands you a crumpled napkin to dry your hands. women in beautiful saris will insert themselves in your photographs, then demand payment for the shot!