Today marks one-month of travel in India, and the third-world for that matter. It’s been an interesting month for both Joylani and I, albeit in different ways. And contrasting our experiences to the prior month of travel through Europe is even more insightful.
For me, this month has helped me realize how much I enjoy traveling the third-world. Those that know me may say I like traveling the third-world because I can, because it is cheap. I am frugal, but I don’t just like India because it’s cheap- there’s a ton of amazing places to see and everyday I see something pretty unbelievable. However, I’ll admit that the inexpensiveness is only appealing due to the fact that we can do so much more. And in light of my belief that the third-world offers equally, if not more (all of South America, Africa, most of Asia, and large parts of Europe), cool places, then it’s obvious why I like the third world. Basically I think the underdeveloped regions of the globe offer premium attractions at a discount. Europe was great- we went to a ton of amazing places and saw awesome things. But consider that during all of August, we spent only about 60% of what we spent during our last ten days in Europe. This is not to mention that during those ten days, we stayed in the cheapest hostels and hotels, while trying to buy most of our meals from grocery stores, while in India we’ve been relatively free-spending, staying in mid-range places, and eating every meal in a restaurant. But like I said, it’s not just about the cost- we’ve seen some unbelievable stuff this month.
But the third-world also has its drawbacks, mainly which Joylani notices. It’s crowded and polluted, standards are lower for just about everything, and western luxuries are rare. Joylani misses washing machines, while universal availability of hot water would please me. Although in the absence of constant electricity, we have learned that if the lights go out in an internet café, you have 3-5 seconds to save what you are doing before the computer shuts off. In all seriousness, it would be nice if we and the people living here had all these conveniences, but I think we can still learn a lot in their absence. What follows is a brief summary of an ongoing dialogue that Joylani and I have about our experiences:
Traveling the third-world/without luxuries/simply is good for a few reasons. Firstly, in a purely educational sense, we’re learning how much of the world is and more importantly how much of the lives. This is really broadening our perspective of the world and deepening our understanding of its inhabitants. If we see how others live, it’s much easier to identify and empathize with their needs. Secondly, it increases our thankfulness in two ways. One, as western travelers in India, we support a lifestyle well beyond the means of the majority of Indians we meet. Even if we don’t like our dinner or our hotel room, they’re still better than what most enjoy. And for that, we must be thankful. And two, even our relatively luxurious travel here is below our everyday standard of living at home. So now, having lived here, how can we not be thankful for the luxuries of home? It increases our appreciation of what we have.
Yet beyond shifting our paradigms and increasing our thanks, third-world travel can help us grow as well. The proverbial saying that money can’t buy happiness is true, but how often are we tested on that? We’re actually being tested if we can be happy if there’s absolutely no food we like for any meal. Can I be happy when there’s no hot water when it’s cold out? Can we be content in an environment we find continually uncomfortable? For us, I think we’re redefining many of our needs as wants, as well as learning to be joyful/happy/content is a wider variety of situations. I think Gandhi was right when he said, “A man’s wealth can be measured in what he can live without.” I’m not advocating being an ascetic, but I think it’s good to be thankful for what we do have while finding our joy/happiness/contentment outside the material world.