Expectations & Experiences, India & Weight Loss

A month into the new year’s weight loss adventure, I have some time to write about my fall 2024 India adventure.  Were and are expectations and experiences a match?

As I was first captivated by India nearly 35 years ago, it’s easy to see how the experience might not quite match the years of expectations.

I was prepared for all my senses to be used full throttle. I was ready for sensory and brain overload - Seas of people, loss of personal space, body odors.  Heat, humidity. Spices. Chaos. Poverty. Aggressive street hustlers. Color. Dust. Squat toilets. Ways of doing things differently than we are used to in the West. Currency that I could only get and use within the country. Advisories for of solo women travelers.

I was nervous about transiting through Delhi airport at 11:30pm at night and having to wait for my 3am domestic flight to Kolkata. I am not the freshest at that time of day, let alone after hours of air travel. I was also afraid that I had incorrectly completed my visa application. And the transfer required transferring terminals after clearing immigration and customs as well as collecting/rechecking my luggage. 

Overseas Adventure Travel 2024 Heart of India Adventure

My trip was through Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT), a company that I have traveled with to other exotic destinations - Machu Picchu/Galapagos, African Safari and Egypt.  Based on previous trips, I expected our days to be go, go, Go! I was hoping that we would taste many local flavors - most of our OAT trips had provided that experience.  I expected interactions with local people - one of OAT’s hallmarks.  I was hoping, but not optimistic that I would see a tiger.  I noticed from our travel planner that this trip had fewer organized meals - I figured that people’s tummies might need western or bland food if they were not used to all the flavors.  I also noticed there was also more free time in the afternoon with optional activities suggested.  This was a new OAT feature, but as we have always been well taken care of by OAT.  I figured they were highlighting the more interesting options, so I did not do any extra research and assumed fellow travelers would be up for the options.  On previous OAT trips we were encouraged to try to speak some of the local language, so I expected this as well.

Expectations were further set at our orientation briefing in Delhi.  Our trip leader Prabhu declared something along the lines of “you will love it or hate it (India).”  Well, that sounded like a challenge!  As 8 of the 15 of us had been to India before  - and two of the couples had come multiple times - I thought, great, we are here with a group of people who love it!

I expected to visit a country where memorable, spiritual, possibly life-altering perspective shifts were not only possible but likely.

That is a whole of lot expectations.  

And the experience?  

First off - my visa was correct and transiting through the airport was easy enough.  Many flights arrive late at night so there are plenty of  people around.  The airports are very strict about only those flying being allowed in the terminals, and I had a slight hiccup with a ticket barcode not working, but staff were friendly and helpful.

The biggest surprise was that I was not overwhelmed.  Yes, some things seemed chaotic and even a bit humorous (men and women are separated for security checks - women get to use the Ladies Frisking Room).  Since my purse was stolen last April in Athens - yep,  that’s a story I’ve not yet been ready to write about - I was a bit nervous about being in crowds of people.  In Europe this past summer I tended to avoid crowded places, and I wasn’t sure how I would do in India.  But even at the busiest places -  Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Varanasi - I never felt my personal space invaded. Nor did we have people, especially children, trying to sell us stuff or tug at our sleeves. Having traveled to Egypt and parts of Turkey where this kind aggressive behavior is more prevalent, India just seemed mild to me in comparison. 

Squat toilets?  Occasionally. Hot and humid? Definitely - we were there at the tail end of one of their rainiest rainy seasons.  Strong body odor? Only once.

Upset tummy?  Yep.  It became a common topic of discussion.  Funny things you learn about your fellow travelers.  I also got food poisoning from, I believe. some breakfast eggs.  Typical food-poisoning un-fun for 24 hours.

Colors?  Absolutely. SO beautiful - especially against the dusty background.

Tigers? Sadly no, but not unexpectedly. Our hotel showed a documentary on them and that was the closest we got.  Our safaris did bring back happy memories of Africa and the wish to do safari again.

Language?  We tried.  There’s something like 700 languages spoken in India.  I mostly used namaste or namaskaar in greeting and dhanyavaad (thank you).

Cuisine variety?  Hmm. It may be that my palate is not strong enough to differentiate the different flavors.  I have recently discovered that the 24 flavors of hot sauce from my Advent calendar all taste the same to me.  But, it felt like “safe for tourist” dishes were largely served. 

Poverty?  While our travel planner warned us that we might see things that are upsetting - the trip was crafted in such a way that we were always insulated to some degree. Our hotels were largely 4 and 5 star compounds for lack of a better word.  These were beautiful accommodations - especially the Maharajah's Palace, but it’s not like you are just going to walk out and go explore, or even grab a taxi and explore.

Which takes me to another mismatch - the go, go, go.  While Prabhu would ask if there were things we wanted to see or experience and offered to help us, I hadn’t done extra research and wasn’t prepared.  And while the trip planner had things I might have been interested in, if I was the only one interested, I would not have felt comfortable hopping in a taxi or TukTuk on my own. Granted we had some lovely afternoons at the pool and spa, and maybe the down time was needed.  

Social interaction with locals? This, too, was facilitated in a more controlled  way from previous OAT trips. But there were opportunities for more spontaneous conversations - and this is one of my favorite parts of visiting India.  Our village lunch hosts dressed us in saris and had us dancing. And we had a beautiful  moment  at the Gandhi memorial chatting with a teenage girl and her family. As our conversation ended, they asked us to sing and in return they proudly sang for us their national anthem. The people were warm, friendly, and curious about life in America.

Love it or hate it?  Neither.  I feel I didn’t wring as much out of the trip as I would have liked to.  I had many  memorable experiences - some of which were spiritual - but I didn’t have any of aha moments. Could I or should I have sought out more of my trip?  Quite possibly. And that says something about me - maybe THAT is the perception shift.

I would still travel with OAT again in the future; they provide small group travel for a good value, but I'll take more notice of the free times and meals and be better prepared.

I am not sure when I will return to India, but I would very much like to, and look forward to doing so some day.  I hope to craft my trip in a way to fulfill some of what I feel I missed.

Wellness Round Up

Back in regular life, on a different scale (no pun intended), I find wight loss expectations and experience also a bit of a mismatch.

This past Friday we went to our neighbor’s 40th birthday party - it was held at a private room in a local casino and the theme was James Bond/Black Tie.  I had the perfect Bond girl dress - a low cut, no back, slinky green formal that I have actually never worn.  Could I possibly trim down in time to wear it to the party?!

Nope.  Nor the other two slightly larger formals in my closet.  I was able to wear an stretchy, old standby gown.  So Dirk and I went as our version of Goldfinger and Pussy Galore.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try to make the healthiest choices, the scale just doesn’t budge.  Intellectually you know that it took years to put the weight on so it will take a while to take it back off.  Intellectually you know that there are non-scale victories - clothes fitting better, better sleep, more energy.  But it’s still disappointing.

Movement Still solid on the gym going 3x/week for strength training.  And I have finally found a local dance studio that offers adult dance classes.  I’ve been to ballet and musical theatre and look forward to going again this week.

Stress A bit of work stress and some upcoming travel planning stress.

Sleep overall has been good, but I am hot in the night again, which hasn’t happened for some time.

Hydration Most days are better than others; somewhere between 66-80 oz.

Nutrition At home, I have been doing pretty well eating in moderation and nutrient dense foods.  Some fun apple themed  recipes this week included a homemade no-sugar apple butter, apple butter no-bake nut balls and a pork and apple pie. 

Eating out is something I still struggle with. Now that H. is a university student, when we see him, meals tend to be at restaurants. This week we went to our local steakhouse….I could have gone with a salad for a main….but that takes an awful lot of will power at a steak house.  I was able to choose some of the less calorific choices - a cauliflower starter, new potatoes instead of fries… 

Anyway, the next meal out is on the calendar for February 8…Next blog should be February 9, so we’ll see how that goes. 

And I'd like to share more about Varanasi or the women of India - but that’s it for now. Bon Voyage & Bon Appétit!