50 Shades of Bananas

Author: Asif Sheikh
Project: Be Well | Data Driven Healthcare
Year: 2014
Chennai, India

Here's a list of 20 things foreigners will face when arriving to India. Depending on the city (most of them actually), you WILL get ripped off by rickshaw drivers. Even if they go by the city-mandated meter, expect to pay double or triple.Smells, oh the smells. I've never been in an area where one second you smell fresh mangoes, and the next raw sewage.Drink bottled water only, please. Consumption of bottled water has become so widespread that they're available everywhere. And they're cheap - 1L bottles are around 20 rupees, or 33 US cents.Eat mangoes.Eat some jackfruit as well, since they are pretty much unavailable in the States. They taste like those striped zebra-gum that we used to get as a child.While city to city flights are cheap (as low as $24!), consider taking a train to your next destination. There's nothing like seeing the scenery change on a peaceful train ride.Learn to live without toilet paper. Use the water hose, and use it well. Take your anti-malarials, and bring any other kind of medicine - Aleve, Pepto Bismol, etc. Seriously, because finding the equivalent here is actually quite hard.Eat more mangoes.Be prepared to get sick. It will happen, it's just a matter of time. Get used to cold showers. Only a select few places will have access to hot water. But in some cities, that will be fine as the temperature is scorching hot.Get used to living without internet. Reliable internet is not a common trait - you'll have slow speeds in most of the areas you go.Power cuts are normal - it's a way of life.Bring mosquito repellent. It doesn't matter if you never get bit in the states. Here, mosquito love diversity.Pack half the amount of things, bring double the money. Lugging around a lot of weight isn't fun, nor is it smart. You don't need 5 pairs of shoes. Bring things only that you are willing to lose, meaning don't bring expensive items.Watch some Bollywood films, and learn to dance. The traffic is insane. Seriously, watch out when crossing the street. One ways are optional, drivers will disregard this fact.Haggle in the marketplace. No, don't do it when you're at a grocery store.There are a lot of different kinds of bananas. Try all of them!