Crazy India . . .

Throughout my travels (and the many more places that I hope to explore in my lifetime), I'm pretty sure that India is one of the most foreign places that I will ever see. I describe it as "another planet" as compared to the US or, alternatively "Crazy India!" I have been to India 7 times, as I am an Indian, and still have many of my relatives there. I usually stay in the villages in the northwestern state of Punjab and have yet to see the larger, more modern cities. The place is wild - I'll say that defensive driving is not strictly enforced! Vehicles frequently jump into opposing lanes to pass ahead of slower moving vehicles in front of them, risking head-on collisions with vehicles in the opposite lanes. Drivers even try to pass vehicles on single lane paths along Punjabi farms that can barely hold one vehicle! Getting around Punjab scares me sometimes!

Cows and buffalo roam free on some of the roadways, along which you can occasionally see a truck toppled over from being overloaded with too much cargo. Modern and very traditional, dilapidated architecture stand right beside one another, creating quite an eclectic blend of infrastructure. Sights of laborers transporting harvest on their head or in a horse-drawn cart offer a window into a traditional, third-world economy actively thriving in today's times. Wandering through the village behind my grandparents' farm with their servants seems to offer a surprise around every corner! Rickshaw rides and the interesting folks you encounter along the way exemplify more adventures the incredible discovery of India has to offer . . . . Normally, I would think that I would tend to get bored with a place that I visit more often than any other locale around the world, but this country never fails to captivate me.  Throughout whatever travels I will do in my lifetime, I wonder if I will ever come across another location as intriguing as "Crazy India!"