First thoughts on India
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Leaving home this time was hard. I miss everything about home, apart from the stresses of the race that is life. We travelled south, before flying north, to fly back down south! It was quite a journeyEn savoir plus
Leaving home this time was hard. I miss everything about home, apart from the stresses of the race that is life. We travelled south, before flying north, to fly back down south! It was quite a journey and it wasn't remotely relaxing. At one point, I wasnt even sure I would make it onto the flight to Delhi, as I forgot to print my visa. Quelle surprise! 🙄
I eventually made it to Delhi and luckily we were able to get a room for a few hours sleep. First impressions of New Delhi are that it is noisy and very dated - and also bloody freezing! Not to mention the psychotic way of driving, with no rules and no concern for safety. Oh and the horns. Oh God, the horns drive you CRAZY. They are constant. Our taxi driver even sounded his horn at a poor cow!
This was a G Adventures trip, and we met our lovely little group of 9. It was lovely to see Yvonne again, who I met in Central America, she's Swiss, and meet with the others of which were English, Australian and Norwegian.
We headed out to visit a few local sites: the area of The Parliament of India, and India Gate, the latter of which was a memorial to Indian Soldiers who died during WW1. The smog was like a thick blanket, and from Parliament, you could barely make out India Gate.
You quickly feel overwhelmed by the locals who wish to take pictures with you, and after a while we started politely declining.
We finished the evening with a local visit to a restaurant - Kitchen with a Cause. A locally run restaurant serving beautiful Indian cuisine.
A taste of India's capital was enough for me, and I was glad to be departing to our next location.En savoir plus
A 5am start by train saw us arrive almost 7 hours later in Rajasthan. First stop, Pushkar.
Although the desert town offered what seemed like a great trip into the desert, we decided not to opt for it, mostly because we didn't agree with riding the camels. Nevertheless, Pushkar had a nice vibe and we did take in some interesting sites.
Just a short walk from our hotel, along streets where dogs, monkeys and cows roam freely, was Brahama Temple. This Hindu temple was built in the 14th century, and in order to visit, we had to remove our shoes and walk the crowded street to the temple entrance. Not so great for those who wore their white socks! We weren't supposed to take pictures but apparently I didn't hear this part (sorry Mani, lack of concentration as always) and snapped a picture of a stunning part of the temple.
We were also lucky enough to visit a sacred area, where many only have chance to visit on pilgrimage once in their lives - Pushkar Lake. We walked along the ghats and witnessed a beautiful sunset as it lit the Savitri Temple on the hill.
After visiting Pushkar we headed for Jaipur, the Pink City. The ride was interesting as being on a budget trip meant we journeyed by local train, of which I of course slept for the whole journey. Our accommodation on arrival was a formal palace to a Royal Family, and although it was pretty, it was also freezing cold. A common theme of Indian hotels. Something I am not enjoying about this trip.
After settling in, we ventured out to meet a friend of our tour guide, who tried (and failed) to teach us the art of kite flying. They take their kite competitions seriously, with each flier aiming to cut the string of another kite. Glass coated strings were the kites to have if you were really in it to win!En savoir plus