Review by Twinkiebing -- Head Waggling in Delhi

[Twinkiebing]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Head Waggling in Delhi" by Eytan Uliel.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Head Waggling in Delhi is an insightful story written by Eytan Uliel about his months-long journey in India. In the 1990s, he and his wife spent four months traveling all across the country from north to south, east to west, then back up north to Delhi. They experienced the ups and downs of India’s culture in a way that you are only able to with an extended stay in the country. His travels are one of a budget-conscious backpacker and this leads to stories that range from funny and disgusting to offensive and frustrating.

I give Head Waggling in Delhi 4 out of 4 stars and thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I love to travel myself and thought Uliel did a wonderful job bringing us into his shoes as he explored the various beauties and differences he encountered along the way.

What I like best about the book was that he didn’t sugar coat anything. The author openly criticizes the differences he saw from his own country of Australia and plainly showed the injustice of how tourists are often treated in other countries. However, he also acknowledges his own faults, assumptions, and downright bad choices he made as a visitor. Uliel was genuine in his portrayal of himself and the people he met while traveling. Even after sharing a particularly frustrating or unfair story, he always ended each chapter pointing out how some of those differences were what actually made him love India. He was as much in awe of the strange way they do things in India as the beauty of the land and the people he encountered.

Unfortunately, sometimes, that authenticity is what I ended up criticizing. At times, I just didn’t like him as a person and thought he could have shown more respect for the people. Having traveled to India myself, I know many will try to take advantage of and exploit tourists. Multiple times I had to just walk away and appear rude myself to get away from an uncomfortable situation. However, at that moment, I also recognized how little many of those people had to live on. By India’s standards, they may have been trying to swindle me out of a lot of money, but when I’d convert the money into dollars, it really didn’t seem so bad. The poverty and inequality there gave me plenty of opportunities to help those in need. So while Uliel was justified in his dissatisfaction with some of his circumstances, I thought he could have controlled his temper, listened to his wife more, and swallowed his pride.

I recommend this book to readers interested in getting a first-hand look into the many cultures of India. If you enjoy reading true stories or even just traveling, you will enjoy this book and will probably relate to it in many ways.

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Head Waggling in Delhi
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[Aan Granados]

I also love traveling, so this is interesting to me. I understand what you mean when you said he should have shown more respect. There are a lot of tourists who don't feel emphaty. Thanks for your review.

[Jasy95]

Great review! This sounds like a great book to read to travel vicariously during the pandemic. It's great that the author was so authentic and genuine in their description.