Post Trip Perception, a response to #1:

It is true that all cities we visited were very busy with people, autos, animals and motorcycles, but the one thing I was very surprised about that nothing was as much real chaos, as I thought it would be. Despite the amount of items on the roadways and non-existent walkway, there was language to the traffic that I cannot really explain. Everything ebbed and flowed in all directions while horns were going off and people were still smiling. The noise pollution was absolutely unbelievable, yet nothing like the noise pollution here in the states. From the amount of noise, first thought would be that 'this place is a mess,' but that was not the case. The reasons for honking were pure consideration, not unhappiness (at least most of the time!).

As for the squeezing into every last space, we did not feel the effects as much as I thought we would, probably because the train portion of our trip was cut out because of the fog in Delhi. The understanding that in India personal space is nonexistent in India, it is true in all aspects of life, especially the roadways!

The disparity between the rich and poor was evident as the rich, were very well off and the poor were in the slums or on the streets. The one aspect of India that shocked me the most was that the entire country was happy. Absolutely unreal. One of the guides mentioned that the caste system was prevalent in everyday life, so the Indian people are happy where they are now, for hope that in their next life it will be better. I can't say that I saw anyone that was angry and mad like I see daily here in the USA.

The cleanliness of the places we visited was as expected. If it was dirty, it was really dirty; if it was clean, it was really clean. The one surprising aspect was just around really clean places, it would be really dirty, for example around the Jal Mahal was clean on the street, but then in the gutters and grass it was filled with pollution. I can't really grasp it, but I might be more of a neat freak than originally thought! It was more beautiful than I could have ever imagined especially the Taj Mahal and the surrounding area.