India 2017
January 29 - February 17, 2017
I always knew I wanted to do something a bit different to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and India certainly fit the bill.
We spent 18 nights and focused on Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan.
Our goal was to see the main cities and sights in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur, but to also spend some time in the smaller, rural villages to get a better feel for what a fellow traveler told us was “the real India”.
To accomplish this we had a few stays at varying “heritage hotels” which are old historic building such as forts, castles and palaces that have been converted into luxurious hotels. These turned into some of our favorite and most memorabe parts of the trip!
This was certainly a unique trip...even having been to 50 countries India is something you simply cannot truly prepare for. It is an incredible place and left an indelible mark on me...so much so that I felt that I had to put into words all the emotions it evoked in me:
Thoughts on India
And so, now that India is behind us I feel an urge to put my thoughts on it into words.
I don’t typically do this but India is different. I knew it would be.
In my research leading up to it I would read things like, “You will either love it or you will hate it”.
I can honestly say that I felt both. But when I say “hate” I only mean I hated the feeling of gut-wrenching anguish and sadness at seeing humans and animals living in squalor…the hopelessness at the sight of the refuse on the streets and wondering how, even if they wanted to clean it all up, where would they even start?…the heartbreak of looking at once so elaborately constructed buildings, now dilapidated and neglected, grieving at the thought of what they must have looked like 400 years ago.
And at this point you are probably wondering, like many people who found out we were going to India whose reaction was a frown and a grimace and asked “Why?”
Well, because there was also so much to love about India.
I KNEW about all of those negatives before we arrived. I saw the images in the media. I knew about the pandemonium, the noise, the traffic, the abject poverty.
What I didn’t know was how the people here would be so welcoming and friendly…how their sense of cooperating with each other makes the chaos manageable.
Of course, I knew about the world famous sights like the Taj Mahal but I didn’t realize how many stunning forts, temples and palaces there were.
I knew that it was a colorful, boisterous assault on the senses, but I didn’t realize just how vivid and intense the sights, sounds and smells would be.
I repeatedly said that I wish you could photograph a smell…the burning sandalwood incense as you passed by scores of temples, the fragrant aromas wafting from the spice shops…the cardamom, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and saffron, to name a few.
India is not for everyone. It is a place you need to be prepared for mentally (and physically).
But if you are anything like me and have an intense wanderlust within you that makes you crave seeing things for yourself then you owe it to yourself to go to India.
When people ask “Why?” my simple answer is “because it is there”.
This earth is so incredibly vast and filled with so many utterly fascinating cultures and I want to see them all for myself.
Sure, I can read about them or watch images on TV, but none of that can equal the experience of actually being there.
When people ask “Why?” my complex answer is this:
I relish seeing firsthand the myriad of ways people go about their daily lives…and India has to be one of the most compelling, stimulating and captivating places on earth for fulfilling this desire.
Watching them move about the cities and villages on foot or via rickshaw,
tuk-tuk, bicycles, mopeds, ox carts, buses and cars, weaving through the throngs of countless cows, dogs, pigs, donkeys and monkeys.
Observing the various ways they tend to their chores…the women balancing their cargo on their heads as they navigate through the craziness, gathering up cow manure in order to dry it out and use it for fuel, getting their milk delivery by motorcycle.
Watching them sell their wares at the bustling bazaars…textiles, fruits and vegetables, spices, teas…the list of merchandise seems endless.
Seeing the trucks along the highway, one more flashily decorated than the next with tassels, covered in painted symbols and bling, all adorned with “Blow Horn” or “Horn Please”.
I enjoy watching how they interact with each other, the ways they work, play and worship…I just find it all so fascinating!
There are so many images and anecdotes that I will cherish…
…the pleasure it brought the locals with my small gesture of learning the words “kripya” and “shukriya” (please and thank you)…always met with a huge smile, sometimes a giggle and a “You speak Hindi??!!”
…visiting the tiny village of Barli where we were so welcomed and even invited into someone’s home
…watching the small boy chase his rubber bicycle tire and pushing it along with a stick as if it were the 1950s…
…stopping along the side of the road to watch the old man driving the ox driven water wheel and him summoning us over to try it for ourselves
…marveling at the shimmering mirror mosaics of the Sheesh Mahal at Amer Fort
…awakening in the former room of a Prince at Deogarh Mahal (palace) as the morning sun illuminated the multi-colored stained glass and feeling like I woke up in a jewelry box
…beholding the golden glimmer on the milky white marble of the Taj Mahal at sunset and the dreamlike vision of the minarets rising through the morning fog at sunrise
…seeing groups of women in their vivid saris, like a walking rainbow of colors
…wandering, mouth agape, through the 1,444 exquisitely carved pillars of the Jain Temple at Ranakpur
…hearing our driver Bal trying to coax the cows out of the lane while driving down the highway with his melodic “helloooooo” along with a gentle tap of the horn
…seeing the stoic faces of strangers turning into beaming grins with the simple act of a bow of the head, palms together and a “Namaste”
And so I cannot tell you if India is for you.
I can tell you, though, that if you go to India you will be awestruck.
You will be overwhelmed.
You will be filled with joy at the smiles you illicit when you interact with the children.
You will be shocked.
You will be heartbroken at the sight of the tiny, dirty street kids and the frail old women begging outside your car window that you are told by your driver to ignore.
You will be hopeful when you see the locals giving their food to a starving cow or a hungry dog.
You will be annoyed at the persistence of the vendors trying to sell you something you don’t want.
You will be enthralled by the dazzling architecture of the palaces and forts.
You will be hopeful when you see the painstaking restoration taking place on the intricate detail of temples dating back 1,000 years.
You will feel a rollercoaster of emotions.
Good or bad, positive or negative reactions…India will stay with you.
You may love it, you may not.
But one thing is for certain, you will not forget India.
Read MoreI always knew I wanted to do something a bit different to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and India certainly fit the bill.
We spent 18 nights and focused on Delhi, Agra and Rajasthan.
Our goal was to see the main cities and sights in Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur, but to also spend some time in the smaller, rural villages to get a better feel for what a fellow traveler told us was “the real India”.
To accomplish this we had a few stays at varying “heritage hotels” which are old historic building such as forts, castles and palaces that have been converted into luxurious hotels. These turned into some of our favorite and most memorabe parts of the trip!
This was certainly a unique trip...even having been to 50 countries India is something you simply cannot truly prepare for. It is an incredible place and left an indelible mark on me...so much so that I felt that I had to put into words all the emotions it evoked in me:
Thoughts on India
And so, now that India is behind us I feel an urge to put my thoughts on it into words.
I don’t typically do this but India is different. I knew it would be.
In my research leading up to it I would read things like, “You will either love it or you will hate it”.
I can honestly say that I felt both. But when I say “hate” I only mean I hated the feeling of gut-wrenching anguish and sadness at seeing humans and animals living in squalor…the hopelessness at the sight of the refuse on the streets and wondering how, even if they wanted to clean it all up, where would they even start?…the heartbreak of looking at once so elaborately constructed buildings, now dilapidated and neglected, grieving at the thought of what they must have looked like 400 years ago.
And at this point you are probably wondering, like many people who found out we were going to India whose reaction was a frown and a grimace and asked “Why?”
Well, because there was also so much to love about India.
I KNEW about all of those negatives before we arrived. I saw the images in the media. I knew about the pandemonium, the noise, the traffic, the abject poverty.
What I didn’t know was how the people here would be so welcoming and friendly…how their sense of cooperating with each other makes the chaos manageable.
Of course, I knew about the world famous sights like the Taj Mahal but I didn’t realize how many stunning forts, temples and palaces there were.
I knew that it was a colorful, boisterous assault on the senses, but I didn’t realize just how vivid and intense the sights, sounds and smells would be.
I repeatedly said that I wish you could photograph a smell…the burning sandalwood incense as you passed by scores of temples, the fragrant aromas wafting from the spice shops…the cardamom, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and saffron, to name a few.
India is not for everyone. It is a place you need to be prepared for mentally (and physically).
But if you are anything like me and have an intense wanderlust within you that makes you crave seeing things for yourself then you owe it to yourself to go to India.
When people ask “Why?” my simple answer is “because it is there”.
This earth is so incredibly vast and filled with so many utterly fascinating cultures and I want to see them all for myself.
Sure, I can read about them or watch images on TV, but none of that can equal the experience of actually being there.
When people ask “Why?” my complex answer is this:
I relish seeing firsthand the myriad of ways people go about their daily lives…and India has to be one of the most compelling, stimulating and captivating places on earth for fulfilling this desire.
Watching them move about the cities and villages on foot or via rickshaw,
tuk-tuk, bicycles, mopeds, ox carts, buses and cars, weaving through the throngs of countless cows, dogs, pigs, donkeys and monkeys.
Observing the various ways they tend to their chores…the women balancing their cargo on their heads as they navigate through the craziness, gathering up cow manure in order to dry it out and use it for fuel, getting their milk delivery by motorcycle.
Watching them sell their wares at the bustling bazaars…textiles, fruits and vegetables, spices, teas…the list of merchandise seems endless.
Seeing the trucks along the highway, one more flashily decorated than the next with tassels, covered in painted symbols and bling, all adorned with “Blow Horn” or “Horn Please”.
I enjoy watching how they interact with each other, the ways they work, play and worship…I just find it all so fascinating!
There are so many images and anecdotes that I will cherish…
…the pleasure it brought the locals with my small gesture of learning the words “kripya” and “shukriya” (please and thank you)…always met with a huge smile, sometimes a giggle and a “You speak Hindi??!!”
…visiting the tiny village of Barli where we were so welcomed and even invited into someone’s home
…watching the small boy chase his rubber bicycle tire and pushing it along with a stick as if it were the 1950s…
…stopping along the side of the road to watch the old man driving the ox driven water wheel and him summoning us over to try it for ourselves
…marveling at the shimmering mirror mosaics of the Sheesh Mahal at Amer Fort
…awakening in the former room of a Prince at Deogarh Mahal (palace) as the morning sun illuminated the multi-colored stained glass and feeling like I woke up in a jewelry box
…beholding the golden glimmer on the milky white marble of the Taj Mahal at sunset and the dreamlike vision of the minarets rising through the morning fog at sunrise
…seeing groups of women in their vivid saris, like a walking rainbow of colors
…wandering, mouth agape, through the 1,444 exquisitely carved pillars of the Jain Temple at Ranakpur
…hearing our driver Bal trying to coax the cows out of the lane while driving down the highway with his melodic “helloooooo” along with a gentle tap of the horn
…seeing the stoic faces of strangers turning into beaming grins with the simple act of a bow of the head, palms together and a “Namaste”
And so I cannot tell you if India is for you.
I can tell you, though, that if you go to India you will be awestruck.
You will be overwhelmed.
You will be filled with joy at the smiles you illicit when you interact with the children.
You will be shocked.
You will be heartbroken at the sight of the tiny, dirty street kids and the frail old women begging outside your car window that you are told by your driver to ignore.
You will be hopeful when you see the locals giving their food to a starving cow or a hungry dog.
You will be annoyed at the persistence of the vendors trying to sell you something you don’t want.
You will be enthralled by the dazzling architecture of the palaces and forts.
You will be hopeful when you see the painstaking restoration taking place on the intricate detail of temples dating back 1,000 years.
You will feel a rollercoaster of emotions.
Good or bad, positive or negative reactions…India will stay with you.
You may love it, you may not.
But one thing is for certain, you will not forget India.
