India

It’s been nearly a month since I left India, I can’t believe it! I spent just over three incredible weeks exploring the wonders of Rajasthan and Varanasi. I was collected at the airport by a young woman, 23 years old, who dropped me to my hotel where my tour was due to start in about 24 hours. After ordering room service (dahl/naan/lassi, so good), I had one goal, and that was to get my iPhone screen fixed. It didn’t cope with the humidity in Sri Lanka so well, and had giant black spots that prevented the touch screen sensitivity I needed to use my maps, check my bank balance and take photos.. Within 20 seconds of being outside I had two little girls aged about 4 and 7 maybe, tugging at my pants begging for money. That was very confronting, but certainly not the only time it happened. Rickshaws and tuktuks sped past me, yelling at me to get in. I shook my head, yelled “no thanks!” and eventually just ignored them. Cows roamed the streets or took refuge in any shade they could find. Shops and market stalls selling vibrant saris, backpacks, belts, lime and soda drinks, lottery tickets were relatively quiet during the day, but swarming in the afternoon and evening. It was overwhelming, but it was exciting. I’ve never done a group tour before, and I really didn’t know what to expect. A bunch of other Aussies just wanting to party maybe? Well, they were mostly English actually. Not too far off. Quite a few out of the group were younger than me, there were a few Europeans and an American, but I was the only Aussie. Of course, by the end of the three weeks we were as close as if we’d known each other for years. It was really sad to see each other off, but exciting to know there are more familiar faces around the world I can hopefully catch up with soon. India is huge, and I’d never heard of most of the places in Rajasthan we visited. We started the trip with an overnight train journey which was much better than expected. Once we found our carriage we waited for a man to bring round fresh sheets in a brown paper bag, we made our beds and then went to sleep. It was already close to midnight! I slept quite well, not sure about the others.. but definitely felt gross after being in my clothes for nearly 24hrs in the dust and the heat… Pre-arranged tuktuks met us in our first Rajasthani destination, Bikaner, on the edge of the Thar Desert to take us to our surprisingly luxurious villa that was once the personal residence of Maharaja Bhairon Singh Ji (Maharajah means ‘great king’). The heritage hotel is still run by the Maharaja’s family, and our large rooms were colourfully decorated with furniture from the family’s personal collection, overlooking the gorgeous gardens and pool (!!!) that we all took great pleasure relaxing in for a couple of days. Our main activity was riding camels through the Thar Desert for a couple of hours (too long) to a campsite where we slept in tents, or, as one of our team did, under the stars.

Once again, very glad to return to the villa for a shower and a swim, and then in the evening we all enjoyed a few free-poured drinks at the eclectic hotel bar. As it was the end of harvest season for the area, kids and adults alike were celebrating by flying kites for the few days we were around. They were stuck in all the trees, and we were tripping over kite strings for days. After our hot and exhausting desert experience, a few of us were (ashamedly..) delighted to stop off at a McDonalds on the way to our next destination. The few vegetarians in our group, including myself, were way too excited about the menu featuring paneer and veggie burgers as a priority. In Jaisalmer, our next stop, I started feeling unwell, so that was the end of trying out new curries and spicy paneer for me unfortunately. We did see a gorgeous man made lake, and watched a mediocre sunset overlooking Jaisalmer Fort (built in 1156!!!) I was too ill to see.

Heading further east, we stopped at Jodhpur and while I was disappointed we didn’t have time to explore the old “Blue City”, some of our group ziplined, whilst I and some others explore Maherangah Fort. It really was exquisite, and I was pleasantly surprised by the audio guide. Very easy to understand! I must admit, I really didn’t think of India as having such detailed architecture (despite knowing about the Taj Mahal..), but it was so impressive. It was certainly coming into Indian summertime (April, May), and with temperatures reach at least 40C most days (at times up to 44C!) the English members of the group were struggling.. It was super hot, but for me a pleasant change from the 30C/85% humidity of Sri Lanka. I soooo prefer dry heat. I can’t remember where we dined that night but it was right near the local market, and I had a tasty Rajasthani curry featuring tomatoes stuffed with paneer, coconut and fruits. It was really different to anything I’d tried before, and the spices were amazing – not just an overload of chilli which is what I was a l little worried about before visiting India. The next day it was clear that I was suffering from dreaded Delhi Belly, and was basically on plain foods for the remainder of the trip. Toast, naan, rice, repeat. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Thankfully I was feeling mostly better after a couple of days, but couldn’t stomach anything else too spicy. We welcomed the coolness of the Lake City, Udaipur, where I think just about everyone could have stayed for a week. It was just beautiful, and seemed like there was so much to do. A lake cruise in the evening presented a stunning sunset over the palace where Katy Perry and Russell Brand were married, and a sunrise yoga class had me floating on clouds. I also had my palm read (going to live until I’m 86, if you want to know), which is something I was also interested in but too scared to do in Sydney for some reason. It was fun. Some of our group took a cooking class, which was really just a demonstration.. we made samosas and watched some guys make dahl and a curry. I wouldn’t do this again; the organisers were pretty rude and we felt like nuisances putting them out. But the lunch was tasty, so I can’t complain too much. In the afternoon I thought about going to a nearby hotel to use their rooftop pool for a few hundred rupee, but instead I had an iced coffee (cold coffee with ice cream, they call it) and napped instead. Oh, I love a nap! After a few days in Udaipur, we moved on to Pushkar, a very holy city as it is home to the only temple of Brahma in the world. Because of this, it’s a really important pilgrimage site that most Hindus try to visit at least once in their lives, however it seemed to be a bit of a tourist trap town, too. The long market street had pushy vendors, and children hung on to our arms asking for money; we were even warned about a common scam where a man will give you some flowers and by taking them you accept to participate in a ceremony by the lake for a few thousand rupee. I saw it happen to a girl on the ghat and had a hard time getting the man to leave her alone. Correct me if I’m wrong but apparently there’s something called a Pushkar Passport where you go through a similar thing and “donate” a few hundred rupee but get a bracelet which means you won’t be asked to do the ceremony again and won’t be hassled.. Next stop was the small village of Tordi Sagar, which definitely gave a bit more insight into what life out of the city can be like. With a population of less than 1000, a walk through the village didn’t take long. We saw a potter, making cups and vases with a wheel he spun manually, someone ironing outside the old-fashioned way with hot coals, and the hand painted signs on the walls of houses commemorating a marriage, or simply saying welcome. In the evening, two young girls came to our hotel to give us henna tattoos.

From Tordi we moved on to Agra. Of course, we dropped in to visit the Taj Mahal… all complaints of waking up at 4:15 were silenced when, at 5am we stood staring up at the World Wonder, with no one else in front of us. That meant no one else in our pictures. It was pretty amazing, even if that quiet only last for ten minutes. I was worried that it was just hype, so didn’t set my expectations too high, but I had remembered learning about the incredible mausoleum Shah Jahan had built for his wife when I was in Year 4 and was so impressed by the real thing. Such a highlight for me!

Another highlight was Varanasi, where we spent 3 nights. Varanasi, or Benares as it was formerly known, is set on the Ganges River, simultaneously one of the holiest and most polluted rivers in the world. This is where your typical image of India comes in, all the colour, or the bustle.. everything going on, and all at once. We took a rickshaw for the first time, and it became my absolute preferred way to travel short distances. You see everything, from slightly higher up, and feel like you’re right in the thick of it. Our rickshaws dropped us a short walking distance to one of the many ghats (a ghat is basically just steps leading into the river) along the riverside, and we watched the sunset and lit candles to float in the river. Varanasi is another sacred place in India, a very auspicious place to die. It’s believed that being cleansed by the Ganges will ensure you go to heaven, and we actually passed nine burning fires, cremations. After being wrapped in orange cloth, dead bodies are dipped in the river, covered in camphor, then burned, with a little vessel of ashes given to the families to say their final goodbyes. It was a very special and incredibly intimate experience to watch a body burning in this way. It didn’t smell at all, and we could barely make out the bodies in the dark. A very sobering experience, I’d say. The next morning, we had a sunrise cruise in the Ganges and despite being told the night before we would have the opportunity to swim in it if we wished, we all forgot our swimwear. About 6 of us decided to go for it in our underwear anyway, and we swam in a quiet section for about ten minutes. The Ganges didn’t look or smell dirty at all, and I felt very comfortable taking an early morning dip, much to the horror of many friends at home.

After another, long, overnight train, the trip ended where it started, in Delhi, where I experienced a failed day of sightseeing (long distances with shut or too busy monuments, with 5 people in a tuk tuk… ) before saying farewell to my new friends and heading to the airport for a 4am flight. I had such a fantastic time, but was totally exhausted by the end. I think India is somewhere everyone should visit at least once in their life; a place of colour and contrast, cows and curries. It without a doubt made me appreciate my very fortunate life and home as an Australian, and definitely took me out of my comfort zone. Having a local guide was well worth it, and I can recommend G Adventures (my tour was “Rahjastan and Varanasi on a shoestring”) based on this! We learned a lot and were able to ask many, many questions receiving detailed answers and insights into modern and ancient Indian life. I can’t wait to go back and explore some other areas of India now, maybe stay a little longer in Jodphur next time, and Hampi looks great too. Now, for a change of pace…onto Europe.