India is a nation that defies definition; its incredible contrasts are what characterize memories I always revert immediately to. Following last year’s jarring return to the ‘developed’ world, I was somewhat psychologically prepared for the starkly different realities I was about to traverse. Leaving India yesterday (or today technically) was an illustration of that disparity. Beginning with my ‘last meal’ in India, which I enjoyed with my friend Shubra at a fairly upscale Delhi restaurant, I slowly separated myself from the India that I have experienced, joining the queue behind the extremely affluent Western tourists at the airport (who had undoubtedly ‘experienced India’ a different way via the weekend Delhi-Agra-Delhi tourist triangle). As expected, the reality truly sunk in when I landed in Amsterdam’s airport, and boarded a city hopper to London. The airplane was filled with European businessman (and one busineswoman) {and one very smelly tired tourist}. All, aside from me, were dressed immaculately in suits that could easily cost more than…..welll……what a village family will earn in year or two or ten. That was what really struck me- the way these people so effortlessly hopped from city to city to do their business-the culture that they are ensconced in, and the completely separate reality in which they revolve. Of course, the reflective lens has that (un)fortunate tendency to spin, and I am all to aware that my ‘buisness’ is essentially the same at this moment-well, sort of, instead of engineering multimillion euro deals, I will be researching how people internalize/externalize environmental beliefs concerning biodiversity, but regardless of that justification, I am still expending considerable quantities of physically resources as part of an effort to conserve/preserve those resources.
Anyway, ruminations aside. I have successfully reached Penzance (which I finally had to go to the map to locate where it is-it’s the most southwesterly point in England) after a 6 hour bus ride, numerous rickshaws, two international flights, three subway trips (my first time in the Tube) and two different England train trips-all in the space of 48 hours-or something like that with time zones. All that is left before I reach my endpoint is a two hour ferry ride tomorrow to St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly.
As cheesy as it may sound, I had a really exciting time traveling in the train from London down to Penzance. I have only been to England once before, and that was only for a night layover in Highschool (my two memories-how amazingly green the grass was-even at night, and the McDonald’s veggie burgers). Well, the grass is still green, although I haven’t gotten the chance yet to taste McDonald’s finest. The contrasts I mentioned at the beginning of this entry were so evident as I traveled south towards the coast. The day before I had spent six hours in a bus from Jaipur to Delhi, watching how the desert scenery transformed into the cityscape of Gurgaon, and ultimately Delhi. Today, I watched it in reverse, but with a twist. Leaving the cityscape of London, I traveled through the most beautiful landscape. Perhaps the view is merely shaped in contrast to Rajasthan’s stark desert environment, but the lush grass, trees, wildflowers, creeks, fields…..etc etc etc seemed so unbelievably beautiful, and with the continual England rain- felt right like some strange hybridized illustration of Heathcliffe’s roaming grounds come to vivid life.
Anyway, ruminations aside. I have successfully reached Penzance (which I finally had to go to the map to locate where it is-it’s the most southwesterly point in England) after a 6 hour bus ride, numerous rickshaws, two international flights, three subway trips (my first time in the Tube) and two different England train trips-all in the space of 48 hours-or something like that with time zones. All that is left before I reach my endpoint is a two hour ferry ride tomorrow to St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly.
As cheesy as it may sound, I had a really exciting time traveling in the train from London down to Penzance. I have only been to England once before, and that was only for a night layover in Highschool (my two memories-how amazingly green the grass was-even at night, and the McDonald’s veggie burgers). Well, the grass is still green, although I haven’t gotten the chance yet to taste McDonald’s finest. The contrasts I mentioned at the beginning of this entry were so evident as I traveled south towards the coast. The day before I had spent six hours in a bus from Jaipur to Delhi, watching how the desert scenery transformed into the cityscape of Gurgaon, and ultimately Delhi. Today, I watched it in reverse, but with a twist. Leaving the cityscape of London, I traveled through the most beautiful landscape. Perhaps the view is merely shaped in contrast to Rajasthan’s stark desert environment, but the lush grass, trees, wildflowers, creeks, fields…..etc etc etc seemed so unbelievably beautiful, and with the continual England rain- felt right like some strange hybridized illustration of Heathcliffe’s roaming grounds come to vivid life.
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