Ordinarily, if given a choice, India as a destination to visit would be quite low on my list. I’d rather visit the Grand Canyon or the Great Pyramids of Egypt, for instance. Having lived close to 6 years in India when I was a medical undergraduate was enough experience to last a life time. TQVM.
Sure, I’ve become a changed person from living all those years in India – I complain less and I’m grateful for every small blessings I receive. Compared to the what I have seen and experienced while in India, what we have here in Malaysia can only be described as opulent abundance! I also learned to appreciate Hindi, its songs and movies, the very British habit of having afternoon tea and shake my head sideways to say ‘yes’!
I’ve only been back to India once since I graduated and it was to Bombay a couple of years ago to present my thesis at an international conference. The trip was uneventful save for a harrowing 2 hour ride in an auto-rickshaw at 2 am in the morning through the streets of Bombay simply because the auto-rickshaw driver lost his way to our hotel!
I didn’t think I will ever want to go back to India again.
But then again, I think very few can resist the opportunity for an all expenses paid holiday to Agra, to see the famed ‘monument of love’, the Taj Mahal!
And so, this Friday I will be joining a number of work mates on a trip to the famous site next to the Yamuna River!
I’ve started my Doxycycline for malaria prophylaxis and I’ve got my supply of activated carbon, Lomotil, ORS, Maxolon and Cipofloxacin. And if the words by Emperor Shah Jahan is true, some inner cleansing wouldn’t hurt too! 
Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the Creator’s glory.
