I am sure good many of you to spare more time for the traveling as a new year resolution, if I may!

Indeed, two of my classmates asked me for the advice on their plan to see India this year,

who happened to know me traveling to India infrequently so that I shared my experiences in India

through years giving appropriate advice and warning.

 

I happened to have somewhat unusual opportunity/experiences to travel to India, except Kashmir,

for more than umpteen times through the last three decades; though mostly to South India like Tamil Nadu

and Kerala, I had sufficient(?) chances to visit many different places to learn such diversity throughout the country.

Almost all of my travels through India were for the business like the conference, workshops,

and visiting professorships to various medical schools/hospitals like CMC-Vellore, etc.,

but Indian colleagues were so considerate as the host that they always arranged additional trips for two to three days

to visit/see genuine India after my business visit.

 

So, I do have accumulated some idea on how to make the visit to India more enjoyable as tourists if you would

and wish to give some tips to help you like the following;

 

Tip No.1. India is NOT one country! India is a huge continent, consisted of quite a few different countries

with different languages/alphabets, different cultures, different customs, and foods, so that you could categorically

divide the country into four if not five parts to choose one of them to travel as tourists. No more than one or two

in maximum at one time only to ruin the travel!

 

Indeed, North India and South India are two entirely different countries, I learned through many separate visits

so that I urge NOT to mix them up only to confuse/frustrate you. Choose one part /region at a time;

even one part/region would take a good one week to see barely enough like the Eastern part of South India

along Chennai/Madras, the center of the Indian intellectuals, for example.

And always prepare with some pieces of knowledge on their unique heritage/culture including the foods

which will help you enjoy much more– there are such striking differences between Northern and Southern Indian foods

especially with their spices-.

 

Tip No. 2. India is basically a Hindu country dominating the whole culture wherever you go

though there are many Muslims as well as Christians and Buddhists. Indeed, Hindus are the majority

so that you need to digest what you hear and see based on these differences. So when you go to countryside,

it is essential to learn their custom-like how to deal with the beggars, for example, to help you deal properly

and not to get unpleasant surprise- my wife accompanied with me only three times to India but failed to enjoy/tolerate

their culture and then refused to come back to India anymore.

 

Tip No. 3. Spare extra time to review the history of India before you visit India, especially on the Mughal Empire

along the last four centuries from 16^th through 19^th followed by British Ruler.

Indeed, Indians consider the Mughal Empire as the invader and does not represent a genuine Indian heritage.

Babur, after he was ousted from his ancestral domain in Central Asia- Samarkand/ Uzbekistan

has a huge heritage site of Timur Empire!!- he conquered Northern India and founded Mughal dynasty

in 16^th century, claiming as Chagatai Turkic prince inherited from Timur  (Tamerlane) on his father’s side

and Chagatai, second son of Genghis Khan, on his mother’s side.  So they are indeed an outsider by all means!

 

South Indians are particularly sensitive on this historical issue so that be careful NOT to humiliate them

with your half correct knowledge, you learned through the textbook, as I did– my major embarrassing blow

on my first visit to Chennai to Prof. Solomon Victor in early ’90 was my stupidity with no knowledge

of their such delicate feeling against Mughal among Indians!-.

 

Besides, if you happened to be more interested in Indian history, you will be fascinating to learn how to

Delhi (new) was created, moving from Calcutta/Kolkata and Madras/Chennai-based British ruling,

for example, and help you to enjoy your visit to India much more.

 

Tip No. 4.  Learn about the Indian cuisines, different from the region by region. South Indian food is entirely

different from the Northern food, for example. They are mostly vegetarian dishes but much more succulent

than dry Northern tandoori meat dishes and the deep-fried local fishes are out of heaven even to the fish-hater like me.

Ice cream of Southern-style is simply heaven as good as if not better than world-famous Persian ice cream made of rose water.

 

Besides, the spices they use in the South are much different so that try the local choice especially when you come

to the South. Indeed, I was told their curry seasoning they serve in South blends anywhere from 5 or 6 to as many as

30 different herbs and spices, and NOT cumin (I hate most!)-dominated at all. Regretfully, the absolute majority of

Indian foods available here in the U.S. are tandoori-oriented Northern foods seldom serving the Southern-style

though there has been some change lately to accommodate Southern dishes as vegetarian foods.

 

Tip No. 5.  Always be aware MOSQUITOS regardless of the seasons and places!!! 

Look for the seat under the ceiling fan to keep the mosquitos away wherever you go and keep the (foldable) hand fan

in your back pocket and fan around the table as well. Don’t rely on the local mosquito repellent they provide

and keep the ceiling fan, preferably over the bed, on all the time!  Before you go to sleep you may test

whether the room has mosquitos or not, even in the four-star hotel. I learned how to do fight back to mosquito

by my own experiment, which many Indian colleagues remember/call ‘BB Lee’s Counterattack’

after the famous incidence, I had at Cochin, Kerala years ago.

 

First, turn off the ceiling fan and also all the lights in the room before you go to sleep and wait

until you hear the mosquito sounds around your ear. Leave it for a while till you get the first bite.

Then, turn on all the lights back and the ceiling fan as well simultaneously. All the mosquitos will be flown

to the wall by the fan winds and now you can see them right on the wall.

Use the stiff paper like the conference brochure to swatting them down one by one and keep their bloodstains

over the conference brochure as your extra souvenir!

 

Indeed, as I included in my reply letter to Dr. Chung KwanHo in regard to global warming,

one of my Aussie friends, Mark Malouf of Sydney quoted my incidence of Mosquito fight at Cochin years ago,

saying “ ----- I am taking more holidays, however. I am off to Mumbai later this week

to the Venous Assoc of India meeting. I vividly remember you swatting and killing many mosquitoes

during one of your trips to India. You showed us the evidence!------“.

So, don't forget India has more mosquitoes than peoples!!!!

 

Let me know any further information you would need for the trip to India.

Sincerely,

BB Lee

 

P.S. I attached one photo of such a beautiful Bengali girl who traveled three days to come to Vellore

to CMC to show her venous malformation lesion on the leg to make me feel humbled. I always wonder

why God is so cruel to give such misery to young innocent child!