Hello?

The days we needed a cell phone.

The cost to download a single photo while roaming in India is roughly sixty dollars, or a package can be bought for about five dollars per megabyte, or 100 times the cost in Canada. This makes getting directions or hailing an uber impossible, and trapping us in our hotel by the airport permanently. 

Tired of McPaneer...

But that’s okay, because you just have to get an Indian sim card for one of the many mobile networks here, that way you can uber, check maps, and learn how to say that you need diarrhea medicine in Punhabi.

Our first Indian shopping trip was this simple task; find the “airtel” store, and get a sim card…

Firstly, it was just over 45 degrees that day, and moving about was a curious feeling for two Canadians trying to navigate culture shock. Everyone was kind, understanding, patient and honest with us as they explained that to have a prepaid phone we would need to produce two photos of ourselves and complete a lengthy form wherein we were asked to provide addresses as well as references for us that they would call and verify our existence, as well as copies of our passports and visas. We shrugged and gave our hotel as a references, they called and promptly were told that we didn’t exist… it made life hard. For two “goras” or honkies, hailing a cab is like striking it rich for a driver, they will be happy to quote you a rate no less than 5 times the usual, and it doesn’t help that we just look around hoping for someone to help us.

When we finally got sim cards we were happy that; 1, we were able to Instagram, 2 that we were able to move about freely while actually knowing where we going, and 3 able to speak with other people. It wasn’t easy, but it actually was, because our Indian hosts simply took us to the right store wherein we lied about being different people, submitted photos, and agreed to be called Gagandeep and Somnath. 

In India, the best course of action is often to do just as others have, and throw your bottle in a ditch, or pretend to be called Gagandeep...