More India-isms

Here are a few more India-isms that we thought were quite funny:

* When you check into a hotel, you should ask whether there will be power cuts or water cuts - there is almost always one or the other.
* Shops have dozens of strips of single serve shampoo, paan, and ketchup hanging from the ceiling. We heard a statistic that 60% of all shampoo in India is sold in single serve packets.
* Shopkeepers have a habit of talking over you, very loudly, not really listening if you have a complaint. Nepalis call Indians "the loud people". Their favourite saying is "no problem" or "as you like". They say it to any concern, issue, complaint you raise, but they don't really listen to what you're saying.
* In the state of Himachal Pradesh, the roads are so windy and bumpy that when you depart the bus, at least one side is guaranteed to be streaked with vomit.
* Indians are thrilled when they find out that you have returned to their place of business a second time (in our cases, after 4 years). Loyalty like this means the world to them.
* Indians are very surprised that two people from different countries can be married.
* School children often approach us and want to shake our hands (mine especially). Some families have asked us to pose for photos with them.
* Bollywood actors and cricket players seem to be present in almost all advertising.
* The use of English can be quite funny - a common expression painted on shops, hotels or restaurants is "cheap and best". You can buy "lite water"and "child beer".
* Touts will follow you from the train or bus station to a hotel that you have already chosen, and then try to tell the owner that they have brought you, in order to collect commission.
* One place where you can be confident you will NOT be cheated is on the trains. Tea, coffee, drinks, newspapers are all fixed price and the wallahs (salesmen) do not try to charge tourists a different price.
* At shops, it is very common for the shopkeeper to start serving you, then tell you to wait, serve a couple other people, and then come back to finish with you while you stand there.
* If you can distract a street kid from begging, they are really fun and love to joke around. We have one little friend in New Delhi who calls us Taxi (Edwin) and Ricksaw (me) and we call him Chapatti. This comes from the habit of touts appealing for business with cries of "Hello rickshaw, hello taxi". This hungry little boy called to us "Hello chapatti".

Location: New Delhi, India