Leave the tampons at home!

I read that you couldn’t buy any kind of feminie hygiene products in India so before I left Brisbane I headed off to my local Woolworths and cleared the store of all the tampons and pads I could get my hands on. I bought so much that it filled an entire suitcase and I needed Josiah’s help to zip the bag closed (I did NOT want to run out!). When we flew through some bad turbulence, I kept imagining tampons exploding out of the overhead compartment like colourful confetti.

Anyway, I’d like to share a little secret – they actually DO have tampons and pads here! And because I knew you'd insist, I got photographic proof:

   

No wonder the Indians think foreigners are a strange lot – what kind of weirdo takes pictures of pads in a supermarket?

There were a group of young Indian girls watching me. When they realised what I was taking a picture of, they started laughing.  I finished my shopping and left, and they were STILL laughing at me.

So here is MY list of essentials to bring:

1. At least one bottle of sunscreen – the highest factor you can get. Not because they don’t sell them here, but because you’ll need it straight off the plane.
2. Lube – they do sell it here, but you won’t feel game to buy it when you have a whole neighbourhood of men staring at you hopefully.
3. Ear plugs – whether it’s to get some peace from the constant noise of the traffic at night, (or your husband's snoring), you’ll need to bring some with you because so far I haven’t seen any.
4. Joggers – the ones they have here look like a child designed them. In the dark. With crayons.
5. Good coffee – the stuff here is gross. The fact that Josiah keeps drinking it is a testament to his level of addition.
6. Proper bras/underpants - only men are allowed to work as store keepers here in India. I remember the first time I came, I felt very uncomfortable when a whole bunch of men tried to persuade me to look at their collection of bras and undies hanging up on display. Apart from that, you'll also probably have issues with the sizing. I'm a little tired of being looked over and hearing the words "We no have big size for you ma'am."  Ouch. 
7. Slanted tweezers. This is the single most important item that I wish I’d brought over with me. So far I’ve only been able to find flat ended tweezers, or ones with a slight slant. Not useful at all!

 Here’s what Josiah wanted to add:

1.  Ear plugs – for when you don’t want to listen to your wife moan about the tweezers
2. A big block of cheese (I second this one!!)

What you won't need to bring (even though other people say you do)

1. alcohol - it's actually pretty cheap here ($2-$3 for shots)
2. the aforementioned lady's products
3. sanity - its perfect normal to be off your rocker here. That's why we're having such a fabulous time!