I just want everyone to know that despite my last posting, I actually thought India was a wonderful place. The people, for the most part, were really good people and I was offered genuine kindness time and time again from many people. It’s a wondrous country with really good people and it deserves many visits. My first visit, I’m afraid, was badly tainted by the theft by the Nepali assholes, so my head was in a bad place for pretty much my entire visit. India is a country you must surrender to. Fighting it, as I did, will only cause more grief. I struggled in India only because I let that theft take over my head. Near the end of my visit, I was nearly moved to tears when a poor shoeshine boy ordered me a chai tea and offered me one hundred rupees after I told him that I lost my wallet. (Yes, I lost my wallet, just 2 days before I left. I still don’t know how. I know exactly when I had it last, and that I put it in my camera bag pocket. When I got home, it was gone. It fell out of my bag somehow along the walk home. Totally bizarre. Lost 50 bucks, my atm card and my credit card. BIG pain in the ass, not to mention embarrassing. It’s embarrassing because nobody who was being as paranoid as I was about my money should ever lose their wallet.)

Anyway, this poor young man had the warmest heart, and when I told him I lost my wallet, he wanted to help me any way he could. So this guy, who only had a few hundred rupees to his name, was going to give me about a third of all his money. I let him buy me a chai. This guy was not the exception. Most Indian people are very kind, but you have to sometimes deal with the occasional jerk. You just can’t let these people give you the opinion that all Indians are cheating, lecherous assholes. I really didn’t give India much of a chance. My head was elsewhere. I knew all along that I was missing out on India because of my attitude. I really wasn’t even present. So, I must return when my head and heart are in a better place. I skipped the Taj Mahal even though I had a chance to go on my last day because I want it to be yet another good reason to return. So let me repeat: I think India is a great country and that everyone should visit it at least once in their life. It will definitely change you, whether you want it to or not. My advice for India is to be PRESENT, be AWARE, and SURRENDER to it, but be ready to fight the jerks. Sometimes it’s the only way.