Asia - Something Different

I’ve been a bit lazy when it comes to writing blogs about different trips I go on. My Roaming and Restless has turned into a platform for my year in review stories. However, if there was to be a trip that felt like Roaming and Restless, this past Asia trip would have to be it.

Back in high school my dad and I had discussed the idea to go to Kolkata, India to visit some friends from our town who had moved there. Through the busyness of life, school and sports, that was then followed by a pandemic, these plans ended up on the back burner. Fortunately, our good friend Taylor Swift announced international tour dates and had six shows in Singapore that lined up pretty well with my fellow Swiftie, Meagan’s spring break. Why not take this opportunity to finally go to India? And while we’re at it, let’s also just go to the United Arab Emirates. The plans seemed entertaining enough that Austin felt it necessary to join as well. My mom had been gone from home every other month the past year and going to India never seemed like her type of vacation destination, so with that the four of us set sail to Asia. (Aka hopped on 10 different flights. (Sorry planet Earth.))

First stop Singapore. I don’t believe much in love at first sight, but Singapore is the closest I’ve ever been to experiencing that. The city is immaculate. It is even illegal to sell gum, which reaps the rewards of a spotless metropolitan. Singapore gained its independence in 1965 and quickly built its manufacturing and oil industry. In the 1980s the Port of Singapore became one of the world’s busiest ports and has helped with their economic success. The youth and wealth of the city is prevalent in the structure of the city. It is constructed of one unbelievable, modern, beautiful skyline followed by another. Because it is such a world leading business hub, it has a very international feel amid the Asian heritage. Meagan, Austin and I were continuously talking about business ideas we could use to get ourselves to Singapore. We were immediate fans. As are we of T-Swift, from whom we got to experience yet another incredible concert of. It was entertaining to witness such an event in an Asian country. Watching how Taylor adjusts her script to get the calm crowd to react so she can continue with her set was interesting to see. During her slower eras, the crowd would just take a seat and quietly watch the master at work. Which suited my dad perfectly so it would be less obvious that he was taking a rather expensive nap.

The following days were spent doing touristy things. We took a bike tour (and of course met fellow Dutchies who were there on a business trip), went to the top of Marina Bay Sands, visited the Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, Flower Dome, National Museum of Singapore, among many other fascinating sites.

One aspect that really stood out to me during this trip is witnessing how the different religions played out in the different countries we went to. In Singapore we went to a large Buddhist temple where they were having a liturgy, a formal service. From the perspective of an outsider who doesn’t speak the language, it looked like a bunch of old women and old bald men in robes lighting candles and hitting gongs, making noises similar to when you have to wake up too early. In a very respectful manner (of course), Austin and I went along the rest of the vacation making these groaning/moaning noises. We’re easily entertained, I guess.

This aspect was especially obvious when we made our next stop in Kolkata, India. Hinduism is the main religion and is very overt. Before this trip I did not know much about this practice. I figured it was something Buddhist like and peaceful – silly American. (Why do we not learn these things in school?? Or was I not paying attention in this unit?). We had the best tour guides possible for this city (S/O to Zac and Makenzie!). Zac’s family lived in our town and he moved to Kolkata eight years ago. They showed us how the locals live, eat, speak and work, brought us to the tourist attractions, and gave us first hand experience with the Hinduist religion. A bit more than they intended; I think. Victoria Memorial was a beautiful tourist attraction where we got to experience being the tourist attraction ourselves. Being a group of very tall, western, white people – we stood out. We got a glimpse of how Taylor Swift must feel daily. So many people waiting to take a picture with us. At one point we were standing against a white wall looking at a wall with enormous paintings. Yet, somehow, all the cameras were pointed at us instead of the art on the other side. Quite the experience. This continued in the tourist hot spots but slowed down in the local places. Kolkata, unlike Singapore, is not wealthy or clean AT ALL. It was good to be with our “locals” to have someone point out “the beautiful colors” of the houses when all I saw was broken walls, a pile of trash, and 690 electrical wires. (I swear – I counted.) The poverty and pain that was predominant while passing people on the streets almost became disturbing. And it’s not like I haven’t travelled to third world countries before. We enjoyed the Indian cuisine and laughed about how uncultured our pallets are when making it very clear that we did not want anything spicy and ended up sweating with tongues on fire while eating with our hands in true Indian fashion. While also having a massive rat running through our fancy restaurant. I haven’t laughed that hard during dinner in a while. We had so much fun and relished getting to know Zac and Kenzie in their country’s setting.

Now my Hinduism story! If you have seen me since this trip, I am sure you have heard it and seen my pictures and Austin’s videos. Ballygunge – first stop on our Hinduist temple tour. A beautiful piece of architecture dedicated to a number of Hinduist gods. There are 33 million Hindu gods and it depends on where it is practiced to decide which gods are worshipped more. Ballygunge had among others, a god with an elephant head and something with a monkey head and another god with like 12 arms. There’s a story to each one and a reason as to why they are holy. Cleanliness is a big cultural thing (not that it’s apparent in the city) and therefore you cannot wear shoes in these temples. My germophobe self didn’t like that much but it’s fine, I’m fine, I’m flexible… so I told myself repeatedly. Ballygunge was quite clean, and I was wearing socks, so it really was okay. Kalighat – next stop. This temple is for Kali, the god of Kolkata who saved the city from the demons by drinking their blood. She’s a creepy, slightly demonic looking statue. This temple was packed! Filled with locals going to worship their city’s savior. It was a tiny little building in the middle of a bunch of busy (dirty) streets. Same drill – no shoes (because THAT’s what’s unclean). We were told it’d be better if we took off our socks too because it is so dirty. Great. So there we were walking these streets of Kolkata barefoot up to this saturated temple. Beggers who looked like they were quite literally dying were at the entrance hoping for one last piece of kindness from someone (I guess that’s not Kali’s area of expertise). It was all quite depressing and chaotic. The statue of Kali was not even impressive. On our way out we noticed that there were goats lined up outside. Fully black goats barely old enough to be weaned from their moms. Inside the shed looking building, filled with barefoot people, was an alter filled with flowers and candles and a picture of the creepy looking idol next to a chopping block and a man holding a khasi maara, a huge, rounded machete thing. We were so intrigued/shocked/disturbed that we had to see what was going to happen. One by one a goat taken inside, flowers put around their little neck, paint put on their forehead, and some kind of prayer done with them. Then, they were taken to the wooden killing table where they were clamped in, let out one last cry, and had their head chopped off. They say the food in India makes you sick, but my Delhi belly had nothing on the mental error and nauseousness this gave me. I consider myself quite open-minded. But a bunch of grown-up, barefoot (sorry, can’t let this go) men pointlessly killing for some cartoon character looking thing? It’s not my religion so I clearly don’t understand, but I thank God, literally, that I grew up differently. We saw this happen to two baby goats. They brought out a full-grown billy goat next, but we decided we got the gist and went back to Zac and Kenzie’s place to wash our feet (since you know, we had been barefoot).

Please don’t get me wrong, we had such a fantastic and fascinating time in India. I don’t think I have ever learned and experienced so much on a trip. It was so fun to get an inside look at a country so different than anywhere I have ever been. We were thoroughly entertained.

Last country on the tour – the United Arab Emirates. Another eye-opening and enthralling experience. We met up the first morning with one of my best friends (hi Elli) who is a hotshot consultant in Dubai. We walked around the Marina and then went on a speedboat ride along all the insane, over the top, famous buildings. This was a blast and an efficient way to get all the best views. We then went on to Al Ain to visit more friends from our hometown that work in the state-of-the-art hospital there. Dubai is absurdly rich and out of this world, but that’s no surprise. When we drove into Al Ain, we thought we were coming in through the rich neighborhood. One mansion and estate followed by the next. Everything top notch. We drove to the desert where we met our friends and had a beautiful Arabian night with all their friends from the area. After asking us what we thought of the city we said we drove in through the rich neighborhood and that it was wild and so fancy. After our desert evening we drove through the city to where we were staying and soon realized there is no upper-class neighborhood. Just an upper-class country. It was captivating to see this, and the Islamic religion being played out. Having multiple wives is still a normal thing. We drove past a few estates that had 5 or 6 mansions on the same lot. One for each wife, of course. Money plays no role if you are a UAE citizen. We got a tour of the hospital, where the sheikhs of the country also go, visited an oasis in town, and went out to a camel market. Again, so enjoyable to have people from our area and culture show us a completely new world and how they live and work within that.

We visited during Ramadan which made the Muslim culture even more distinct, especially in Al Ain. Restaurants weren’t open during the day, and we didn’t eat or drink in public. This was my first time being in an Islamic country and hearing the prayers sang throughout the country from all the mosques during their five prayer times each day. Austin and I’s Buddhist moans were quickly replaced by the sounds we were trying to replicate from the mosques. (Respectfully, of course. And in private, because this country intimidated us a bit more than Singapore.) The extreme inequality between men and women was another eye-opening aspect to see. A woman’s role as a wife and mother is so extreme. A woman is not really supposed to leave the home. Plus, they have “servants” for everything, which leaves me wondering what they do. Another time where I am thankful that my religion is different.

We went to Abhu Dhabi as well and visited the Grand Mosque. Meagan and I first had to buy some more clothes because only our hands and face could be showing. This building was unbelievable. Money does not matter and that was obvious. Not a penny was spared in the building of this masterpiece.

Our last evening was spent in the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Austin was in charge of organizing these tickets for our trip and somehow we had the VIP, top floor, all you can eat and drink experience. Not a bad way to spend our last evening on an unforgettable trip. One we will never forget.