My "Arranged Marriage" and trip to India

Now that I'm back from my trip everyone wants to know--Why India?  What made you decide to vacation there?  Truth be told, my journey to India started long before I bought a ticket and got on the plane.  My first real encounter with anything Indian was about 6 or 7 years ago when I first had my eyebrows threaded. The next major encounter came a few years later when I decided to start experimenting with different cuisines.

My experiment led to a meeting or should I say an altercation with Indian food.  At first, I hated it. Who in the world can enjoy ANYTHING this hot and spicy? I seriously couldn't feel my tongue! (And I'm no wimp, I can handle hot. I'm Jamaican, we invented hot and spicy!) And, what's up with CURRY on EVERYTHING?!?! Don't Indians appreciate variety??  Well suffice it to say, the verdict is in, all Indian food is not a forecast of hell on your tongue, and all curries are not the same.

My relationship with India, and Indian food can be likened to an arranged marriage.  At first introduction, I wasn't sure how it was going to work. But, over time, my love grew. Now I can't have enough, and I can't imagine my life without it.  In addition to loving the food, I also love the people, culture and the country.  When I decided I was serious about my relationship with this food, I took the time to secure a copy of a good restaurant menu and learned what each food was.  I learned the difference between naan, chapati and paratha. The more I learned the more fascinated I became.  I took an Indian cooking class, was a frequent visitor to Patel Plaza (an "Indian village" in Atlanta, Georgia), shopped in their supermarkets and spice shops, frequented the clothing stores, tried on the jewelry and asked lots of questions about everything.

It was no surprise to those who knew me when I announced that I would be taking a 15 day trip to India with my college classmate, friend and international wedding photographer Shelly Edwards. A trip that would change my life.

Have you had a chance encounter that changed your life? Comment below or send me a message.  I can't wait to hear about it!

Incredible !ndia

I just returned to the US from a 15 day tour of 5 cities in India-- New Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur and Udaipur-- and what an experience it was!  In two words it was a sensory overload!  There is so much to see, hear, smell, taste and feel. As I scroll through the photographs in my camera I keep wanting to edit each picture to somehow add some sound and smell; the images alone cannot adequately capture the richness of the culture, people, places and experiences.

This trip to India is my first major international trip (talk about jumping in headfirst), and it will not be my last.  If you haven't traveled overseas you MUST.  It is an exhilarating experience. As Bill Bryson rightly said "I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything."

International travel makes you acutely aware of just how big and small the world is.  There are so many beautiful differences from continent to continent and country to country, and at the same time there are so many similarities.  Regardless of the differences in religion, social customs, cuisine and language, the need to love and be loved, pursue happiness, and achieve some measure of success (among other needs) is universal.  I made several new friends Deepak, Raj, Pankaj, King Singh (a real modern day King in Udaipur), Enrique & Mayra from Spain and Wayneny & Milton from Grenada, and I even have an invitation to return to India for a wedding in November!

In the next series of blog posts, I will share my experience of travelling to India.  One post will simply not do.  I'll talk about everything from applying for a visa, and packing, to transportation and hotels as well as a chronicle of my time spent in each city.  I'll also provide some helpful tips and things to watch out for if you decide to take a visit to Incredible !ndia. :)

Until then, enjoy the slideshow it's only 130 photos long!

Incredible !ndia Slideshow: Avaleen’s trip from Atlanta, Georgia, United States to 5 cities New Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Udaipur and Varanasi was created by TripAdvisor. See another India slideshow. Create your own stunning slideshow with our free photo slideshow maker.

In India at Long Last!

"I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything." - Bill Bryson

Doing the tourist thing and posing in front of the India Gate

I arrived in India safe and sound three days ago, and what an experience it has been! There is so very much to see, taste, smell and experience. I got access to a computer in the business centre of the lobby of my hotel (Hotel Le Roi, New Delhi), and have started the process of organizing all the pictures. So much more to come! I can't wait to share it all with you!  

Bleeding Black, Green and Gold

On most days I bleed red, today however, I bleed black, green and gold.

August 6, 2011 marks 49 years since the island of Jamaica gained her independence. Though, born and raised in Jamaica, I have been living in the United States for almost 9 years, and like many Jamaicans from the diaspora, I consider Jamaica home. Never mind that my entire immediate family and quite a bit of my extended now lives in the States, Jamaica is still my home.  

There is just something about the place. Something that goes beyond the fabulous tropical weather, or the beaches--which are also FABULOUS by the way. It has more to do with what we Jamaicans call the "live-ity" [LIVI-TEE].  It's the way of life, the idiosyncrasies, the little things that bring a smile to my face like a boy in Kingston pushing a wooden cart on wheels made from old car tires, a man pssssting at a sexy girl and asking her to be his wife, "Nutsy" selling roasted peanuts and asham on the side of the highway, and the mini buses bursting at the seams, blazing at the speed of light across the island "letting off" and picking up passengers. These simple things make up the soothing ditty that plays in my head when winter days are long and cold, and a brash encounter with unfamiliar culture remind me that I'm not "from around here."   

When an American discovers that I am Jamaican the next words out of their mouths are typically, "So why would you move here?" Tony Rebel said it best in his song Sweet Jamaica "What a nice place fi live, Sweet Jam dung, Di only problem is, Dollars nah run." Truth be told in Jamaica, like many countries in the world, the stories of opportunity, the possibility of unlimited success, or the chance to "do better" are very attractive. The Jamaican economy is in shambles, poverty and violent crime is on the rise, educated college graduates frustrated with the system move abroad to further their education, and from an infrastructure and organization standpoint the country is far from perfect. As Caribbean natives living abroad, we each have our story of what motivated our Exodus.  The song "Jamdown" by Ruth Ann Brown (a Jamaican expatriate like myself) perfectly captures the sentiments of many.

Reasons for leaving, and problems aside, if you ask many Jamaicans where they plan to retire the response is often "Jamaica of course!" They have a "plan" to save, buy a piece of land, build a house and go back to Jamaica to live out the rest of their days (my grandmother included). How many people actually carry out that plan? I don't have the exact figure, but some something tells me the research would show a significant disparity between the number of people with the "plan" and those who actually do it. 

I believe the "plan" is a comforting story that makes the distance from home and all the memories it represents more bearable. The "plan" is an expression of our fierce loyalty and the reality that no matter where in the world we are we will always be "Proud to be Jamaican."  Happy Independence Day Jamaica!