Letter from the Indian Sub-continent

Dear Larissa,

My littlest sister. I hope that this letter finds you well and in the final stages of your preparations for the long journey. In a few short days you will join me on this strange yet spectacular subcontinent and that thought brings me great pleasure. Whenever I find myself longing for home I bring that to the fore and it calms me. To have you at my side while exploring this land of hidden gems will be a blessing for me, the weary traveler, to have someone to share these with. Not only that but in times of difficulty, prolonged waiting, or discomfort to have a companion in which to turn and complain can serve to relieve the ills. Yes, there will be troubles I'm sure but all of these are merely stepping stones on a path littered with jewels unknown.

Perhaps it would be best if I forewarned you about some of these difficulties which are sure to try to hamper our visit to India, so that when they do prey on you they will not drag you down entirely. To begin with you should come to terms with lizards. Mostly small geckos, though yesterday I saw the tail-end (literally) of a much larger reptile, and today there was a neat-looking chameleon. In addition to lizards, bats are predominantly found in temples, run-down palaces and caves, and I just so happen to be predominantly found in those places as well. In fact, mere hours ago a bat flew out of a cave and directly into my chest - so much for echo-location! Ants - everywhere you sit on the street there's ants (and flies for that matter). Thankfully the hotel rooms are (mostly) bug- and lizard-free. They are definitely free of monkeys, yet most other hillside places (see the list of bat hang-outs) are littered with these clumsy, yet at times annoying primates. (Besides the locals told me about monkey repellent - aka a stick). OH and cows. Cows are everywhere (EVERYWHERE) but they are utterly harmless.

Besides annoyances from the animalia kingdom there are other things that you may need to adjust to. Let's start with the day-to-day and hope that you are ready for the heat. We're only talking 30C+ daily; a fairly dry heat not much worse than a hot Ontario day so upping your water intake, and increasing breaks should be sufficient. Breaks from walking that is, as there are SO many amazing and interesting things to see and unfortunately they are not always located side-by-side. Your brother likes to walk here to there and is bound to drag you alongside. Get your hiking boots worked in!

Haggling is a way of life; a much abhorred but necessary means of agreeing on a fair price for just about anything in this country. The trouble is when you allow a rip-off to lurk, but if you convert to Canadian currency it is easy to move past. Besides working toward a good deal can be satisfying, if somewhat tiresome, in the end. I have weeks of practice so I'll show ya the ropes, kid ;)

Constant, and seemingly unrelenting attention will be reaped upon you whether you desire it or not. The amount of people that have greeted me with a 'Hello' and a 'What country?' nears five digits by now I'm sure. Perspective is the key to this - if you accept it as a friendly gesture it is simple to smile or wave back and carry on, no matter what you're going through.

Finally habits that I've yet to come to terms with are the way in which Indians, primarily men, relieve themselves at will. Whether it be their bladders in rather conspicuous places, their gas while walking up the street directly in front of you or even their phlegm (with a finger to one nostril and a firm blow out the other) it happens far more often than I care to witness. Hopefully these ways don't make you need to relieve your stomach via your throat.

My intention with these warnings were to prepare your delicate senses for things that are sure to offend a lady such as yourself. With these warnings it may occur and you may look the other way without as much of a shock and negative reaction. Despite these minor inconveniences there are multitudes more wonderful experiences to be had. Friendly and inviting locals, sun everyday and gorgeous countryside are just the beginning of it all. Working past things we'll make memories to last many lifetimes. Until I see you in person, take care and safe journey!

Sincerely your brother,
Stefan