The title alone will probably get me some serious hits...
There are no China tourist ... really. Have you been to anywhere where there no swarms of China tourists? If you bored with long entrance queues, fighting for a good photography spot or even breaking through shoulder barricades to read up info boards, this is the da place for you. Though I need to warn you, there are a lot of Indians in the tourist places too and their fragrance is an acquired taste (nope, no racist).
The public toilets are clean and decent. I can't tell you how dirty some of the public places are but the toilets are always decent and clean, which is awesome, though you are advised to bring own toilet paper. There is always a dodgy lady which I suspect is the cleaner, selling toilet paper on the side. You might argue about it saving peanuts but it's a matter of principle here.
Monuments are surprisingly intact despite low maintenance and vandalism. Don't get me wrong, India has its fair share of wars. but they didn't invent gun powder and marbles are notoriously hard to burn down. I especially like the way the decorate things by carving and stones as colors. Japanese invented paint but the Indians...ah they invent (not sure about this) overlaying. Paints fade with time but stones last forever.
Nite will tell you this, children beggars are scary. They persist as if their clock of innocence will protect them from all mortal harm. As a matter of fact, we were stalked at multiple locations like Gollum stalks Frodo. Adults is easy to repel but little kids? We ran away. And I was thinking what if they met a pedophile?
Be the first to stand in front of the luggage belt, unless your luggage is so outstanding like Lady Gaga - not one will mistaken it for their own. I had witnessed with my own big-small porky eyes of people just grabbing luggage off the belt to check and after that just leave it on the floor. If your luggage is one of those black polo ones, I advise you to hold the bladder and wait until your luggage is out otherwise it might find a new Indian home.
Find a tourist that holds a decent camera and looks like they know how to use it. Better yet use one of those self expandable apparatus that can help you take selfies. Not that the locals will run away with your camera, but you might end up having this kind of picture.
Cows rule the road. Our driver puts all the F1 drivers to shame. He maneuvers our car like a 4 wheel, cuts lorries 10x bigger than our car size, zooms past everything at breakneck speed but will always make room for cows. So does other vehicles. Cows can be found grazing in the middle of highways, sunbathing on town roads and sleeping on lane ways and everyone will just avoid them like there is a protective bubble. If this cow is in China, it will end up in a pot by now. If this cow is in Koala Land, it will be on 7 o clock news and there will probably be a massive pileup due to cow.
It's perfectly alright to honk. In fact it is safe to honk and you are asked to honk. Honking is a greeting, a 'good day mate, let me pass'. However at night you are asked to your dipper lights. Guess a whole day of honking will drive you mad, literally. I was so scared and fascinated on the first road I can't sleep a wink.
The custom queue in Mumbai is one of the most commercially driven queue I have ever seen. They divide it by the price of the ticket you hold. First/Business class gets the priority queue. The rest, you can just all queue at the 10 other counters, nationals and non nationals alike. Guess they need to cover the cost of building the new airport.
They have many checkpoints and body search, a result of the terrorist attack some years ago. It's one thing to hear it over the news and another to see the aftermath. You would have thought the security will give you some confidence but it just make me feel leery that there will be an attack anytime soon. You are advise not to wear metal stuff unless you want to strip at every entrance. Women gets a room where a women security guard will scan you.
Fascinating India!
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