Almost 100% of the things you see here are most probably illegal in Britain. I mean, would the government ever allow 3 men to hang off the back of a little tin car? Or allow you to blare your customised car horn every second? The driving is absolute chaos! Our driver, Ravi, almost crashed countless times because some idiots were driving on the wrong side of the road. I can’t even add up the incidents that resulted in me clenching my fists and shutting my eyes tight. Indians drive like those 3 years olds who do nothing but play video games carelessly.
However, the wildlife and plants here are fantastic. The plants were so intriguing: we saw banana trees, mango trees, coconut trees, a pineapple plant, pea plants, chili plants, cocoa beans, coffee pods and millions of tea bushes. Walking through the spice shops was insane; the aroma of cinnamon, cardamom and different teas always flooded your senses. Every spice imaginable are in the shops, and to think that they were local produce was even more amazing. India is one of few places where you’ll turn round to find a monkey preening itself at your hotel doorway, or where you’ll look out your hotel window and witness an elephant tearing up palm leaves for a snack. We’ve met cows, massive spiders, water snakes, butterflies and turtles. Despite these amazing, exotic animals, the one thing we all despised were the annoying mosquitos. Having to swat them away every moment was definitely off-putting, and the result of getting bitten was awful with the ever-lasting irritation, especially with the hot sun beating down on you.
On the other hand, you feel like royalty here. In the small villages, you will get toddlers waving to you, wanting to shake your hand. The adults smile and say hi, and they sometimes want to take pictures of you. It’s crazy; people in Milngavie will most likely greet tourists with a dirty glare. You also commonly get served the best food you will ever taste. Throughout our journey, we ate genius creations with random things, like cabbage, infused with fresh coconut and varied spices. We also tried a sweet, red banana, which is only found in Kerala. Our breakfasts consisted of masses of local fruits and homemade yogurts, accompanied by fresh orange, pineapple and watermelon juices and even coconut water.
Today is our last day here, and I will definitely miss the chaos. I don’t think any place can beat the natural, sometime slightly dysfunctional, sights and atmosphere in India.
Kim
