 |
| A snapshot of life on the streets of Delhi. |
Summarizing my time in India feels like an impossible task. The country is so vast and diverse, and so much happens in just a few seconds on the street that trying to cover what I've done and seen in my final two weeks in five cities is paralyzing.
 |
| Watching wild monkeys play was a delight. |
I swing between moments of struggle, exhaust, and culture shock to awe, joy, and appreciation. India isn't an easy place to be, especially for someone like me who loves order and well-executed plans. It's hot, loud, dirty, chaotic, and crowded. The air quality and hygiene standards can also be very poor. There are scores of destitute people, and my heart breaks for all the sick stray animals. For all those reasons, not every experience in India has necessarily been pleasant, but for so many others my time here has been incredible. The food(!), the rich history and culture, and the architecture and art to name a few. Hopefully the sections below give you a glimpse into what's challenged me and what I've enjoyed from each place.
 |
| Seeing animals pick through trash for food though was plain upsetting. |
 |
| This stoop in Varanasi was too beautiful not to capture. |
Writing this on my last day in India, I feel a sentimental tinge that I didn't expect from the country I was most nervous to visit on this trip. I found myself stopping to take in the saturated colors and noise as I walked through the chaos once more, soaking up all the vibrant life that unfolds on the streets, and savoring my last incredible meal. I'm so glad that I got over my fear of the unknown, and didn't let stories of food poisoning and statistics on women's safety keep me from exploring India (I didn't have a single traumatic experience in either category by the way). I hope anyone who's entertaining a trip here pays the country a visit.
 |
| A joyful scene that endears India to me: A man sells bright flower chains in front of a temple. |
Two-Week Itinerary
From Goa, we flew to North India to do the Golden Triangle, which consists of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, and then took a train southeast to Udaipur before getting a flight West to Varanasi. I knew Delhi, Agra, and Varanasi would be more intense than Jaipur and Udaipur, so I spent slightly more time in the latter two cities.
|
 |
| Actual travel dates Oct. 15, 2019-Oct. 28, 2019. |
Delhi: A Gritty City
After two weeks in India, I thought I'd got the hang of travel here. I was no longer constantly sweating. I could make my way down the dusty nonexistent shoulder of roads, calmly weaving through on coming traffic, eager street vendors, and barking stray dogs. The incessant beeping was beginning to fade into the background. I was feeling more confident, I guess you could say. Then we arrived in Delhi. The city swiftly knocked me off my feet. Not literally, thankfully, but very, very nearly.
 |
| Shoeless men carried large packages overhead and pushed carts down ragged roads alongside traffic. |
 |
| The wiring was like nothing I'd seen before. |
All I can say is Delhi isn't for the faint of heart. As we approached our hostel at night via Uber, it was a genuine miracle the car made it down the street. Every square inch of space was exploding with life. The shops spilled into the streets, street vendors and their patrons squeezed between storefronts, motorbikes and rickshaws fought through the crowds, animals picked through piles of trash on the sidelines, women sat on plastics stools against a concrete wall doing henna, and bundles of wires hung dangerously low at each crossing. We stared in awe and clutched our backpacks a little tighter.
 |
| Gridlock in Delhi (please imagine the honking). |
It was one thing to observe from the car window, but walking through it was another. The smell of sulfur, sewage, and exhaust hit us hard as soon as we stepped out of the car. Making our way around town the following day by foot, we saw a bloody brawl over a traffic accident. Slightly shaken, we tried to get an Uber to our destination, the spice market, but traffic was so locked we were asked to get out again, and walking around Delhi's old town took all of my concentration. Gruff crowds pushed in all directions. I was simultaneously trying to look down to make sure I didn't step in a hole in the torn up roads or an uncovered drainage gutter emitting smells I can only describe as highly offensive; ahead to keep Thore in sight and steer clear of oncoming rickshaws and motorbikes; and above to dodge the enormous packages carried on the shoulders of very slight men who seemed to be ramming themselves forward at any cost just to get closer to putting down the weight again. Unfortunately, keeping up with all three was impossible for me. Especially since breathing through the pollution mask I'd purchased proved difficult. I was getting dizzy, and repeatedly struck in the back of the head.
 |
| The thick smell of spice had everyone coughing. |
After almost being knocked down a third time, I sought shelter in a small shop to buy water and regain composure. Eventually we made it to our destination. We marched through narrow hallways leading to the center of the market, which opening up to reveal vendor after vendor selling spices from huge burlap sacks. Never have I ever seen spices in this quantity, but I suppose this is what you need to make enough Indian food for a city of 11 million people. We eventually found an even more narrow staircase to the top of the building where we could marvel at the market from a peaceful perch. Local boys had discovered the spot too and were using it fly kites. Something about the scene in was so simple and universal that it tugged at my heart string. We all need a quiet spot to dream. But the exhaustion had well and truly hit at that point and it pulled me back to my hostel. A few hours outside in Delhi had kicked my butt.
 |
| Chole bhature in the making. |
We didn't have time or energy to do much else in the city, but we did get a few fantastic eats. For lunch, we had some excellent chole bhature, chickpeas cooked in a tomato sauce with onion, garlic, and green peppers that's served with fried bread, and for dinner we got paneer tikka masala and dal (spiced lentils) with garlic naan and rice. Also walking around to get said dinner felt like an activity in itself, because Delhi doesn't seem to slow down much at night. It was a show of lights, color, noise, and smells.
 |
| Delhi by night is almost as crazy and colorful as during the day. |
(In)famous Agra
I think anyone who's been to Agra will tell you two things: how amazing the Taj Mahal is, and how horrendous the city's pollution is.
 |
| Thore taking in all the white marble at sunrise. |
The Taj Mahal is just as stunning in person as it is in photographs. A soft and lustrous glow radiates from the massive white marble mausoleum, and walking closer the intricate inlay work come to light. To see the Taj at sunrise and before crowds descended, we spent the night in Agra rather than making a day trip of it. After getting up in darkness, we waited in line for the doors to open at 6.00 am along with maybe 50 other people. As a reward, we got to see the morning mist slowly lift and the moon fade as the sun came out in near silence. By the time we left at around 7.30 am though, lines to take pictures had already formed. Crowds or not though, the building is a masterpiece.
 |
| Me really NOT loving the air quality in Agra. |
What did really dampened our visit to Agra though was pollution. I had been forewarned that the town was a dirty place and to brace myself, but I was still shocked. While the amount of trash festering on the streets was comparable to Delhi, the smell and air pollution was worse while we were there. The pungent smell of burning rotten eggs permeated everything, and within a few hours I had a sore throat despite wearing my pollution mask. For our health and because it was just so plain unpleasant, we didn't do any more sightseeing and rested indoors instead. While in the hostel, I did a bit of research and found out that India unfortunately accounts for seven of the world's 10 cities with the worst air quality (22 of the top 30; report here), and Agra specifically seems to be struggling with managing its sewage. Shocking and really sad for the people who have to live with this daily. I hope dearly something changes soon.
 |
| A wall in Sheroes' Hangout. |
You'll notice a theme here, but despite having our fill of sightseeing, we still had to eat, and had some nice experiences. We visited an eyeopening place called Sheroes' Hangout, a small cafe that aims to raise awareness of acid attacks, empower survivors, and end violence against women in India. It is largely run by victims of attacks and provides them with a safe space to start their new lives. During your meal, you watch a brief documentary that highlights the stories of various attacked women including some working in the cafe. There are no prices, and you simply donate what you wish at the end of the meal. The place was both heartbreaking and inspiring.
Jaipur: Pretty In Pink
 |
| Jaipur's gorgeous Wind Palace from the street below. |
After Agra and Delhi, Jaipur was breath of fresh air, both literally and figuratively. We saw so much beautiful architecture and the air quality was considerably better in the capital of the Rajasthan state. The latter was in part due to the fact that it is one of India's first planned cities (no sewage smells!). Founded in 1727, the king took great care in designing the city, drawing inspiration from existing books on architecture to come up with a grid layout. Walking around was so much more pleasant than in Delhi and Agra, because the streets are wider, giving vendors enough space to sell, us space enough to walk, and traffic enough space to drive!
Aside from being more relaxed and clean, the city is also pink. Well, at least all the buildings in the historic center are a rusty salmon pink. They were painted that color back in 1876 for the visit of the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria, as pink denotes hospitality, and people seem to have taking a liking to it. On our first day, we walked around the bazaars, and miraculously managed not to buy anything, despite vendors' pretty persistent efforts to sell. One was so offended we didn't stop though, I was spit at. I didn't notice, but Thore unfortunately did. He shared cross words and the guy suddenly had a lot less of an attitude about him. We then shuffled over to the famous Hawa Mahal, or Wind Palace (see image above). It was given the name because of its many windows. There are 953 to be exact. The lattice design was used so that the royal ladies could observe and enjoy the happenings on the street below without being seen in public, which was not allowed in those days.
Day two was filled with more gorgeous architectural impressions. We took a rickshaw to visit the Water Palace, which sits in the middle of manmade Man Sagar Lake. I was surprised to learn four of the palace's five stories remain under water when the lake is full.
We also stopped by the Amber Fort, which sits about 11 kilometers outside of Jaipur and was constructed out of red standstone and marble. Used as the main residence of the Rajput rulers for a long period, the complex is vast and took about two centuries to complete. Eventually though the capital was moved to Jaipur. A short 15 minute walk from the fort, we found a weathered little step well with beautiful geometric designs.
Another highlight of our time in Jaipur was going to the movies. India's film industry, Bollywood, churns out about 1,000 films annually, nearly double that of Hollywood. While Bollywood films don't cost as much to make, or bring in as much revenue, they do tend to be longer at around 2-3 hours, because of lengthy song and dance scenes. We went to go see the movie War and even this was filled with colorful, cheerful, and really impressive dance. The theater experience was also very different. Instead of sitting in silence, the audience cheered loudly when favorite actors made an appearance or did anything remotely impressive. Despite only understanding the sprinkling of English words in the movie, it was extremely easy and totally entertaining to follow the overly dramatic plot. Highly recommend checking out a movie to anyone visiting India!
Lake Life In Udaipur
 |
| We took a scooter to Badi Lake outside Udaipur. |
Udaipur is also located in Rajasthan, and known as the city of lakes and a wedding destination in India. I fully understand why people pick it to get married. It's considerably more peaceful than even Jaipur, which made it a great place to just slow down and relax.
The city palace was a real gem. It was brimming with exceptional craftsmanship and well-preserved artwork. Room after room was elaborately decorated. Some had colorful hand-painted designs covering the walls from floor to ceiling. Another was decked out in colored mirrors. Throughout the palace there was tile work, stained glass windows, stone carvings, and doors detailed with ivory. One courtyard had an exquisite peacock motif. They just went all out.
A few of of the beautiful interiors in the palace!
The rest of the time in Jaipur, we took it pretty easy. Eating dinner on the rooftops of a handful of restaurants and taking in lake views. We also rented a scooter one day and did an excursion to Badi Lake.
 |
| My hairdresser! |
A few other things happened in Udaipur as well. For one, I got my hair trimmed by an Indian barber. Thore was getting a cut and I thought I could use some sharpening up as well, so I asked where to find a women's hairdresser. He insisted he was very good at women's hair as well and about 15 minutes later we snapped this picture.
And on the less fun side of things, I visited the hospital twice to get rabies booster shots. Our guesthouse in Jaipur had a very hyper puppy who kept trying to eat my backpack. In an effort to remove him from it, he nicked me with his teeth. Very minor, but since he didn't have all his shots and given the stray dogs running around directly outside on the street, I thought it was likely best to play it safe and just get shots. The hospital was super though. Very fast, very efficient, very friendly. I was in and out in about 30 minutes each time.
On the more fun side of things, we made our way to the airport with some really yummy samosas in hand. I've only really had them as evening appetizers at home, but in India they are breakfast food. So I got up early before they sold out, and stood in line along with about 15 other people for the next batch to be fried up. Well worth the wait! Soft spiced potato heaven inside, flaky fried dough outside. Nothing not to love.
The Holy City Of Varanasi
 |
| Evening on the Ganges: Hindus gather to light small candles |
Varanasi was our last stop in India, in part because I was told it could be a very intense city and I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to adapt before going. Like many other places in India it is packed, chaotic, noisy, and not especially clean, but being the holiest city in India means a few other things. For one, cremation takes place in the open at the burning ghats, and there is also a very real possibility that you'll see corpses floating down the Ganges, since those who cannot be cremated, either due to religious or monetary reasons, are dumped in the river. This combination can make the city especially hard to digest for some. We, however, thoroughly enjoyed our stay and didn't feel even a tinge of culture shock, which I attribute mostly to having spent almost four weeks in the country already.
 |
| Dozen of boats pulled up to watch the ceremony. |
We took an evening boat ride on the Ganges to witness the Ganga Aarti ceremony, which takes places every night and draws huge crowds. The loud chanting of prayers fills the air with energy and hope. We also passed some of the burning ghats that evening. While part of me was worried I'd find it horrifying, it felt profoundly peaceful and beautiful instead. The bodies are wrapped up cloth, specific wood is selected for the burning, and just enough is used so that the entire body will be incinerated. Five or six fires were going at the same time, and families stayed and watched the flickering flames and payed respect until they went out. They burn 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Being one of the holiest cities, there are also some 23,000 temples scattered across Varanasi, and our last day we took a rickshaw ride to see a handful. They were stunningly colorful, and again filled me with so much joy and positivity.
Although I am not Hindu or even religious myself, the temples were a beautiful sight to behold, and we both left with big smiles on our faces. We had a wonderful time in one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities (evidence of habitation goes back some 2,000-3,000 years).
 |
| Our last meal was a mixed plate and so, so good. |
Just before catching a grueling 18-hour night bus to Kathmandu (a story for next time), we made sure to get in one more absolutely excellent meal. A mixed plate so we could taste as many of our favorites as possible one last time! O how I shall miss the food. I'm going to need to convince all my Indian friends to send me their family recipes so I can learn to cook up some of this magic at home.
We went out on a bang, as our last days happened to fall over Diwali. Celebratory explosions went off for days, leaving our ears ringing and ultimately killing the power in our hostel now and again. Since we were heading off late to catch a night bus on a holiday though, not many drivers were available, and the hostel owner's father drove us to the bus station in his rickshaw. Fireworks and crackers went off around us as we drove, adding deafening crescendos to the regular street sounds. Smells and chaos enveloped us, but our driver got us to out destination with time to spare, and gave us a very unexpected and heartfelt parting hug that took us completely off-guard. We couldn't help but feel that India was giving us its best goodbye.
Weekly Spending
Just a note that I'm covering two weeks here.
 |
| Costs are my share of traveling as a couple. |
Aside from being more relaxed and clean, the city is also pink. Well, at least all the buildings in the historic center are a rusty salmon pink. They were painted that color back in 1876 for the visit of the Prince of Wales and Queen Victoria, as pink denotes hospitality, and people seem to have taking a liking to it. On our first day, we walked around the bazaars, and miraculously managed not to buy anything, despite vendors' pretty persistent efforts to sell. One was so offended we didn't stop though, I was spit at. I didn't notice, but Thore unfortunately did. He shared cross words and the guy suddenly had a lot less of an attitude about him. We then shuffled over to the famous Hawa Mahal, or Wind Palace (see image above). It was given the name because of its many windows. There are 953 to be exact. The lattice design was used so that the royal ladies could observe and enjoy the happenings on the street below without being seen in public, which was not allowed in those days. 
Day two was filled with more gorgeous architectural impressions. We took a rickshaw to visit the Water Palace, which sits in the middle of manmade Man Sagar Lake. I was surprised to learn four of the palace's five stories remain under water when the lake is full. 
Another highlight of our time in Jaipur was going to the movies. India's film industry, Bollywood, churns out about 1,000 films annually, nearly double that of Hollywood. While Bollywood films don't cost as much to make, or bring in as much revenue, they do tend to be longer at around 2-3 hours, because of lengthy song and dance scenes. We went to go see the movie War and even this was filled with colorful, cheerful, and really impressive dance. The theater experience was also very different. Instead of sitting in silence, the audience cheered loudly when favorite actors made an appearance or did anything remotely impressive. Despite only understanding the sprinkling of English words in the movie, it was extremely easy and totally entertaining to follow the overly dramatic plot. Highly recommend checking out a movie to anyone visiting India!
The rest of the time in Jaipur, we took it pretty easy. Eating dinner on the rooftops of a handful of restaurants and taking in lake views. We also rented a scooter one day and did an excursion to Badi Lake.
And on the less fun side of things, I visited the hospital twice to get rabies booster shots. Our guesthouse in Jaipur had a very hyper puppy who kept trying to eat my backpack. In an effort to remove him from it, he nicked me with his teeth. Very minor, but since he didn't have all his shots and given the stray dogs running around directly outside on the street, I thought it was likely best to play it safe and just get shots. The hospital was super though. Very fast, very efficient, very friendly. I was in and out in about 30 minutes each time.
On the more fun side of things, we made our way to the airport with some really yummy samosas in hand. I've only really had them as evening appetizers at home, but in India they are breakfast food. So I got up early before they sold out, and stood in line along with about 15 other people for the next batch to be fried up. Well worth the wait! Soft spiced potato heaven inside, flaky fried dough outside. Nothing not to love.
Being one of the holiest cities, there are also some 23,000 temples scattered across Varanasi, and our last day we took a rickshaw ride to see a handful. They were stunningly colorful, and again filled me with so much joy and positivity. 
Although I am not Hindu or even religious myself, the temples were a beautiful sight to behold, and we both left with big smiles on our faces. We had a wonderful time in one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities (evidence of habitation goes back some 2,000-3,000 years). 
