Reflections on India

We both thought it would be a good idea to sum up our time in India. It's the most unusual place I've ever been to and a country of huge diversity and contradictions. They seem to be a world within a world to be honest, almost completely separate from the rest of the world with their own unique way of doing things. One thing we do miss now that we are not there is the people. They were so friendly and as much as they do hassle you constantly (usually for money in some form; begging, to buy something, take you somewhere, tuk tuk ride etc) they are genuinely interested in you and hugely proud of their country and culture.
Religion plays a massive part in the country and in everyday life. It is part of the national identity and is interwoven into everything. Shrines and temples on every corner and street, people stopping to pray as they go about their daily business, the food, the animals. It's also not just one religion, it's a mixture of Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism side by side.
The transport, roads and general driving skills were perhaps the most fascinating and amazing thing. There are no road rules whatsoever and if they do exist nobody follows them. Everybody on the road are the most impatient drivers in the world and they make us much noise as they can. In addition to that there are never any street signs and nobody seems to know where anything is ... very frustrating when you're tired and just want to go straight to your hotel but it takes twice as long because your driver has no idea and stops to ask everybody they can for directions! By the end of the trip we were hardly batting an eyelid at some of the things we saw using the road, in our time there we saw the following using the road along with us: cars, lorries, motorbikes (often with a whole family on), bicycles, autorickshaws (with an entire cricket team in at one point!), bicycle rickshaws, hand carts, donkeys, horses, cows, goats, chickens, camels and dogs!!!! Amazing! Usually he idea is to get as many people on everything as possible we gathered and weave in and out, hoot and get out of the way or be run over!
The food was incredible, even though we decided to be 95% vegetarian while we were there (unless we were certain the place was clean!), which was easy to achieve in India as the Vegetarian food is delicious and there's so much choice.
We've never encountered a country that has so much beurocracy and red tape for the sake of it. If they can create more jobs for more people and ensure that everything is hugely difficult for you and long winded they will. You get used to this very quickly and learn a huge amount of patience. There are books and ledgers for everything and it all has to be written down and recorded. To sort a train ticket you learn to put aside a couple of hours! In addition to this one of the contradictions is that the people themselves have no patience when they are driving or when they are queuing. If you don't push to the front and make yourself known then you don't get served! It's every man for himself!
In summary the country may have been absolutely filthy, chaotic, noisy and hot but it was also colourful, friendly, interesting... well just incredible really. It's almost addictive and there is something very appealing about it all. We will definitely be back.