Childhood Memories

My parents took my brother and me to India many times when we were kids, the last time was when I was eleven years old. Here's a list of memories I have from that last trip 35 years ago;

Flying on Air Italia and being served beef tongue and quail eggs, YUCK!
Climbing and sitting in guava trees eating the fresh fruit.
Sneaking off by ourselves down the street to the candy seller to buy goodies.
Eating beetle nut watching the red saliva go all over the place.
Uncles sneaking us kids out of the house and to the market so we could get a piece of chicken or fish (the family is vegetarian so we weren't allowed to say anything).
Seeing the Indian style toilet for the first time and being scared (google it).
Watching the wild monkeys trying to steal food from the kitchen or fruits from the trees.
Taking an Indian train and sitting on hard benches in crowded train cars.
Taking a bus during monsoon season, the fields and road were covered in two feet of water and a man had to walk in front of the bus to show the driver where the road was.
Not liking most Indian desserts or chai tea but loving the savory snacks.
Fresh roasted corn with chaat masala sprinkled over it.
Eating jalebi, a syrup like substance that is deep fried in a beautiful pattern.
My grandmother, very sweet.
How fun it was to eat with my hands.
The Red Fort in old Delhi with it's markets and street vendors.
The giant black ants that seemed like they were four inches long and were on a mission to get me.
Flying through Hong Kong and having to spend a night in a hotel where it was so foggy we couldn't see anything out of the window.
Flying Pan Am and the flight attendants treating us kids very well, giving us lots of pin on wings and letting us sleep on the ground between the seats and bulkhead.


What I do not remember;
Over crowding or poverty.
Eating out.
Having any Indian children as friends.
Being home schooled by my mother.