That Time I Went To India

I went to India! It was very far. That's the short version.

The long version is that in March of 2020 I was supposed to go to India to visit my company's office, where we had just hired two new employees. The night before I was supposed to leave, bags packed and all, my trip was canceled. We all know why. Fast forward six years, through budget cuts and management changes, and FINALLY I was cleared to go visit the now six employees I had only ever met through Teams. A coworker and I spent a little over a week in Hyderabad, where my company has two offices. If you've not heard of this city, it's one of the largest in India with over 11 million people. It's a huge hub for IT and global businesses, with ongoing construction in every direction. 

Our timing was incredibly lucky. We flew through Abi Dhabi, UAE, three weeks before the Iran conflict started. The flights were so long, 14 hours from DC and then another 3 to Hyderabad. We were also incredibility privileged to be business travelers and got to fly business class! This was one of my favorite aspects of the trip, because I'm not fancy in real life and this was most likely the only time I will ever get to do this. I was able to get some sleep on the planes thanks to the flat seat and pharmaceuticals, but I'm terrible about sleeping when I'm not at home and was chronically tired the whole time (plus there was a 10.5 hour time difference). I was just surviving on fumes and pushed through, but when in India, you see India.

My second favorite aspect of this trip was that we were with local coworkers who devoted themselves to making sure we had a good time, and they did such a phenomenal job. I'm sure I wouldn't have had half the experience if I had gone on my own or even with a tour guide. Here's the whole group; I'm bummed I may never see them in person again. 

We arrived on Friday night, and on Saturday morning headed out to make the most of our weekend, sleep or no sleep. We started by shopping, as I we both had some things we were looking for. I bought some clothes, which was an unmatched experience because I am not short in India. At 4'10", I even have to alter petite-length clothes in the US. In India, I'm just a normal height and everything fit right off the rack! It was so refreshing being able to talk to people eye-to-eye, and in some cases, I was even the taller one. MIND BLOWN.

I bought fabric as well, which one day I will craft with, if I can bring myself to cut into it. My coworker bought pearls, since Hyderabad is famous for them, but I didn't as they would have been wasted on me. We ate lunch at a cafe and had chai, of course, and some local dishes. This is where my India coworkers came in clutch, they ordered for us and recommended all the best things. In general, the food was amazing. Despite several paranoid warnings before I left, I never got sick even though I ate raw fruit and vegetables. I also never ate any street food or anything outside of an established restaurant, so I'm sure that helped.

In the evening we drove to a massive temple called the Statue of Equality. Cell phones and cameras were not permitted inside, so the only photo we got was one we purchased. But take a look at the link to get a sense of scale. It was gorgeous and the weather was perfect, pollution aside (more on this later). 

The next day we visited a craft market called Shilparamam - everything for sale was handmade and there was such beautiful landscaping that we came back again later in the week. I saw dahlias in February! There was a little pond where you could rent pedal boats, but it was so tiny I'm not sure how you would do more than just go in tiny circles.

So, the traffic. You may have heard about it because India is notorious for chaotic traffic. No lines on the roads, everyone just nudging themselves into the smallest of gaps between vehicles. Horn blaring is not optional and continued 24 hours a day. If you have to cross the street, well, you just cross wherever. Luckily I only had to do this once, and that was enough for the rest of my life. We also visited Chowmahalla Palace, which is located in the old city. The buildings are closer together and it seemed like the markets and traffic all just ran into each other.

The palace was where the last Nizam of Hyderabad lived up until the 1940s. It was quite beautiful but also reinforced just how different their lives must have been from the crowded conditions right outside their gates. It was a long day and one of our coworkers started feeling carsick, so she called an Uber motorbike and went back home - I took this photo from the car, she was right next to us!

After two action-packed sightseeing days, we spent the rest of the week doing work stuff and having meetings. A highlight was the food - nearly every restaurant we went to was delicious and cheap. In fact, coming from the US where the dollar is much stronger than the rupee, everything was inexpensive to us, about 1/4 of what it would have cost at home. One of the downsides was definitely the poor air quality and pollution. This is an issue in most of India's cities. Public transportation is very limited and so everyone travels separately. 

As an introvert and highly sensitive person, India was A LOT. Noise, lights, smells, movement, everything unceasing. Even in my hotel room I couldn't achieve silence without noise-cancelling headphones. I'm so glad I got to experience the country, though. Would I go back? Maybe? I only saw a very small part of one city. I'd like to see more of the coast and mountains and be able to acclimatize for longer to get used to the time change. But, it will be a few years before I even consider it!