A Gora's First Trip To India
I went to India in 2002 and spent a month visiting family, friends, and site seeing. It was an amazing experience. It was my first time out of the US and I loved every bit of my experience there. I went with my wife and her parents, so I got to see places and things that normal tourists wouldn't see or do. We visited many places throughout the Punjab, Simla and Kasauli (the foothills of the Himalayas), Fatehpur Shikri, Jaipur, Agra, Chandigarh, New Dehli, and other towns. My favorite, and most overwhelming, place to visit was the Golden Temple in Amritsar. I have been a practicing Sikh for many years now and have been to Gurdwaras in different cities. But the opportunity to visit Sri Harimandir (The Golden Temple) was amazing. I experienced many mixed emotions and felt overwhelmed. It truly was a special time for me. I finally walked, saw, and prayed where my Gurus actually were at one time.
We also took a rickshaw ride (another first for me) in Amritsar and visited Jalianwalabag. I hope I spelled that correctly, it's been over a year and a half since the trip. This was the site where the Brittish soldiers opened fire upon around 1500 men, women and children who were peacefully opposing their rule. To stand there and look around and imagine the horror of that day was difficult for me. I take the experience quite seriously and appreciate the past.
I went to local shops, ate in almost every roadside dhaba (small restaurants), got to see a way of life very different from anything I've ever seen. I even drove in Chandigarh, in New Delhi, and from Jaipur back to the Punjab. What a blast yaar! I had so much fun driving over there. Right side steering, shifting with the left hand, blowing the horn and using the dipper to get people to move and they don't even get mad like here in the US. The general rule of driving is "Might is right." The local kids all stared when they saw a gora (white guy) sitting behind the wheel. I went to a cousin's shadi and all the associated parties. My in-laws all called me Michael Singh and said I was a Punjabi in my previous life. They are a lot of fun. What an amazing trip. I cannot wait to go back. Maybe next time I will see Goa and Mumbai. Thanks for reading about a gora's first trip to India.
