I got back from my trip to India last week, so I guess I should get around to posting about it. I know you are all hoping that I have some crazy, funny stories to tell, but unfortunately I don’t. I was travelling with my parents, and the entire trip consisted of either seeing relatives I hadn’t seen in 8 years, or doing the standard touristy sightseeing stuff. But it was great to experience India again after being away for so long. When I was little, I hated travelling there - hated the simpler way of life, hated the abundance of dust and dirt and poverty, and hated not being able to experience anything other than seeing relatives I barely knew. I guess I’ve matured a lot since then - I was able to really see more of the country, and appreciate the beauty in its culture and history. And although they continuously (and somewhat annoyingly) tried to feed me, stopping just short of holding my head back and forcing food down my throat, my relatives did not turn out to be so bad.

I spent about half of my trip in Mumbai (Bombay), visiting relatives and doing some shopping. My god did I do some shopping. A fun part of travelling to India is taking advantage of the ridiculously low prices on everything. Sometimes its hard to say no.

Amish: How much for these pants?
Shopkeeper: $2. Two for $3.
Amish: OK. I’ll take these two.
Shopkeeper: What about these other 6? I’ll give everything to you for $7
Amish: No that’s OK. I think two is enough.
Shopkeeper: You sure? OK fine, $5.
Amish: Damn. Um…..all right.

At the end of all my shopping, I had bought enough new clothing to fill up my large suitcase (previously filled with mac ‘n cheese). All for like $14.

Anyway, in addition to Mumbai, my parents and I also travelled to Delhi (the capital), Agra (where the Taj Mahal is), Jaipur (another famous and historical Indian city), Mt. Abu (a mountain town), and Ahmedebad (where an uncle lives). I’ll spare you the details of every city and every site we saw. But I will share some of the pictures I took. (If you want to see the whole album, click here.

Oh, I do remember one funny story. In Mt. Abu, we met up with my uncle from Ahmedebad. His son, my cousin, is 9, and is as energetic as one would expect a 9 year old boy to be. His only siblings are two older sisters, so he was ecstatic to finally have a male companion. He would not leave me alone for a single minute, and insisted that I do everything with him.

So in Mt. Abu, there is form of taxi service which essentially is some guy who pushes a not-so-glorified wheelbarrow around. For a small fee, they will take someone (or something) down the street, up the hill, etc. Usually it is either kids, luggage, or other inanimate objects.

Anyway, at one point my cousin sees one of these and insists on taking a ride in it up the hill to where we were going. His mom agrees, so he hops in while she negotiates the fee.

Cuz: Amish, get in.
Amish: Um, I don’t think that’s possible.
Cuz: GET IN!
Aunt: [negotiating with Pusher] Can he [me] get in?
Amish: No, its ok…
Cuz: AMISH GET IN!
Pusher: It’s ok.
Amish: Are you sure about this?
Pusher: [nods his head, eager to make the slightly higher amount my aunt just negotiated]
Amish: If you say so.
Mom: Wait, let me take a picture of this.

We made it up the hill, though there was a point in the middle where I wasn’t sure if the pusher was going to make it.