Diwali Break

Last week I had off of work for the Diwali holiday, which is like Christmas and Fourth of July combined. Basically, the city puts up a gaudy amount of tinfoil and lights and young boys light off firecrackers for a week before and a week after, covering the streets in paper wrappings and matches. During the break I traveled by bus to Udaipur, a very relaxing, small city for India, set on a calm albeit polluted lake. During the actual night of Diwali, I was in Jaipur, the capitol of Rajasthan. My friend and I took an overnight bus from Udaipur to Jiapur, in the sitting class, meaning we didn’t sleep all night, but I think a few people fell asleep on my feet and shoulder. I don’t think white people ride the sitting class overnight often, so we seemed to be the highlight of everyone’s ride. Every time I glanced up from my book countless sets of eyes were staring my direction. They were probably eyeing my biscuits and fresh water more than my pale skin, so we ended up sharing our biscuits over a cup of chai served through the train windows during the frequent stops. Our hospitality was taken advantage of by the middle of the ride but one man who ended up just grabbing our water without asking and even went so far as to take my friend sweater and put it on. I could tell we were not the only passengers annoyed at three am in the morning. There always seems to be one idiot who has to ruin the experience for everyone. After arriving in Jaipur and sleeping for a few hours I was able to forget about this obnoxious man and remember how generous and helpful most Indians have been to us. In Jiapur we ran into a mix of very kind and honest people and then the moment you started to trust everyone you would get scammed. I guess that’s what I get for being a white tourist, but it also can get quite exhausting and if you don’t keep the right attitude it can make you bitter towards the Indian culture. Despite my grumblings, I would recommend India to anyone seeking adventure, fabulous spices, colorful bazaars, awkward conversations in Hinglish, and chai!