New Delhi
January 1 in India
☁️ 18 °C
Never expected to start the year of 2026 in New Delhi but here I was. The airport was quite empty but it was futile to expect the city to be the same. I met my driver for the trip, Ajay Soni, who was recommended to me by my Polish friend, Karolina whom I had just finished the surfing trip in Chiba recently when she visited Japan.
Soni was quite an eccentric character, very talkative and like to share stories about himself. But he was going to be with me for the first half of the trip so I had better try to get along, I thought to myself. We swerved through traffic and got to Qutb Minar which was absolutely packed. Here was the New Year's crowd. Hidden in the sea of people was a secret entrance for foreigners and I was able to buy my tickets and get in immediately. Inside was much more wide, the ruins were interesting but all the Indian visitors were even more so. So many families, couples, and friends have come to this towering structure. I explored and was satisfied, hoping to still get more out of the day but it seems like it wasn't going to be that smooth as rush hour hits and we were stuck in traffic for almost 3 hours. Out goes the Lotus Temple, Yamuna River, and Akshardam, they were moved to tomorrow instead with Soni changing some of the itinerary as well. Not really sure I appreciated that but anyways, I was flexible.
We ended up passing by the India Gate before grabbing dinner. I had my first Paneer Tikka Masala and it was so good albeit very heavy. From there, we took a tuktuk through a night market where my hotel was. The inside was actually really good and I slept well.Read more
New Delhi II
January 2 in India
☁️ 17 °C
Started the morning with a visit to the Jama Masjid, the morning preparations were still underway and there still weren't a lot of people. The carpets being laid out for prayer made me wonder what it would be like prayer time started. Karolina had warned me about the rickshaw drive-through of Old Delhi that Soni would arrange but I wasn't able to catch it on time and ended up on the same predicament of having my cart being hauled by some guy through the streets. I accepted my fate and just tried to enjoy the views. A statue of Gandhi with birds dropping their load, people doing their morning puja at the street shrines, jaywalking pedestrians, I guess this was the usual morning routine. The main highlights were my visit to the old bazaar and the Jain temple. I was shown around by the local head priest and was able to see some morning rituals being performed by some Jains as well.
After finishing up on this side, Soni took me to the Swaminarayan Akshardam, another Jain temple but this time was truly next level. It is not without exaggeration to say that this temple complex is the most beautiful, extravagant, and intricate piece of work I have ever seen in my life. The only thing that stops me from giving it the top spot is simply because it's modern but the awe experienced whilst walking around its grounds was very much palatable. I particularly liked the elephant motifs around the whole temple. I also didn't really understand what Jainism was about even reading through their whole history, the presence of Buddhist and Hindu deities further made it difficult to grasp.
After our business was done, we started the journey to Jaipur making a brief stop at a restaurant in between. There was also a horrific road accident with a totally destroyed car, it was a miracle no one died. At this point, my heart was carrying a lot of negativity and it was showing in my face. This made Soni a bit worried thinking I was worried about Jaipur's itinerary but it really wasn't the case. Another problem was my relationship with the divine and my own spirituality.
A tug of war until our arrival in Jaipur where Soni took me to see some elephants. I wasn't particularly keen on this but I thought it was an ethical sanctuary, sadly it wasn't. This made my mood sour even more, especially seeing tourists ride them and raising their voices at such gentle creatures. Soni saw that I was upset and decided to bring me to Shri Khole Ke Hanuman Temple. The idol here was quite special according to him. It was also my first visit to a Hindu temple, I bought some offerings as well. We took off our shoes and socks and walked the rest of the way to the temple. We gave our offerings and took the return as prasad. I sat in meditation and could say I felt better just absorbing the atmosphere of the place. I thanked Soni for taking me here and for showing me the proper way of doing things.
My hotel in Jaipur was also pretty good, a huge upgrade from my small room in New Delhi.Read more
Jaipur
January 3 in India
☀️ 18 °C
Hazy but calm morning, Soni dropped me over at Panna Meena Ka Kund. Ancient stepwells and an engineering marvel, the colors and look vastly differed from what was seen online but the geometry was still exquisite and a joy to photograph. Another impressive structure was the Shri Jagat Shiromaniji Temple. The elephant statue out front and the giant gate structure made for a perfect frame for the intricate temple facade. It reminded me much of Nepal. From there, it was just a short walk up to the Amber Palace. The mahouts on their elephants were easily the star of the show thought I certainly did ponder the clash between culture and ethics in terms of elephant riding. The palace itself was really impressive and as usual, very intricate and opulent.
I met up with Soni again and we made a brief stop over at the Jal Mahal, the water palace. After that, it was time to finally explore the Pink City. We had a mission first though, it seemed like there was going to be a limited time darshan in one of the Krishna temples. It was Jaipur's version of Vrindavan's Banke Bihari temple. We were lucky to have made it right before the curtains closed. The vibes here were intense and everyone was in a stupor of devotion the likes I haven't seen before. People were shouting chants and singing and dancing, it was an absolute clamor of energy. We did our darshan and got our prasad and off we went.
Soni dropped me by the City Palace first and at first I was falling in line but after seeing the price, I realized I wasn't that interested and proceeded to go to Jantar Mantar instead since I had a combo ticket that included it and a lot more attractions for the day. Jantar Mantar was pretty interesting. I believe it functioned as a giant astronomical observatory. The geometry, however, was the one that stole the spotlight.
From there, the famous Hawa Mahal was just a short walk. I went to the nearby cafe across the street to get rooftop views. Super impressive. The ticket included entry so I also went into the other side which was also surprisingly really beautiful. Each window was said to be for one of the ancient king's wives to take a peek into the outside world. We also went to a jewelry shop (part of Soni's own itinerary), but the host was very kind and hospitable. I was first quizzed if I knew which gem was which and I guessed all of them correctly much to his surprise. Rose quartz, amethyst, and topaz. He gave me a tour of their shop which was shining, shimmering, splendid. The dog was super cute though.
We also went to Gaitor Ki Chhatriyan, the architecture here was just wondrous and I thoroughly enjoyed capturing various angles. Soni also brought me to another shop... this time it was for textiles. At least I was able to see the craftsmanship involved in how they actually produce everything manually from stamping and painting the designs. I ended up purchasing a pashmino wool scarf here for my mum, it passed the tests but I do hope it's real.
We made a visit to Sisodia Rani ka Bagh, a unique terraced garden that was much more local and devoid of the usual crowds found inside the Pink City. To end the day, I was brought to Galta Ji, supposedly a Hanuman temple. Soni knew a guy, the monkey man they called him and he was supposed to be my guide. I wasn't really interested in that and I tried to lose him. I went to a Vishnu temple with idols of Rama and Sita and deeper inside was one of Hanuman. I made my offerings and got my tilaks as I proceeded upward. Encountering the monkey man and finding out where he got his name, as he seemed to have much control over the resident monkeys. They would climb over him and he asked if I wanted one on me. No thanks. I hiked at a faster pace which made him give up trying to catch me. I just wasn't interested in having someone by me the whole time and having to pay for it at the end.
The hike to the top temple definitely made me work for it. It was dedicated to Surya, I believe. The sun god. On the way back down, I saw another temple of Hanuman. It was just the priest left in there. He was explaning to me who they were, Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. I told him I knew them, I love the Ramayana and I also pray the Chalisa. He was very happy to hear that and gave me long blessings invoking Hanuman. He said I should recite the Chalisa as it was a Saturday, one of the two days of the week dedicated to Hanuman and so I did. He started to ring the bell too which really helped bring out that devotional energy. He was very pleased and praised my Chalisa. He asked me if I wanted a tulsi necklace. I had no idea what it was but I said sure, turns out that Hanuman loves tulsi (sacred basil). He got the necklace from the Rama idol and put it on me with blessings. I knew I wanted to get a necklace in India so I purposely didn't bring my Tiger's Eye necklace, and what better way to get one than this. I made an offering and left energized.
For dinner, Soni took me to this restaurant that I wanted to go to for lunch. They had a cultural dance where these ladies would balance stacked pots on top of their heads. I had the classic paneer tikka masala that I was craving ever since I tasted it in New Delhi.Read more
Mathura
January 4 in India
⛅ 17 °C
I had spoken to Soni earlier that morning that I wanted to go to Mathura. He was already making hints and trying to convince me since yesterday that I didn't need to go after being able to do darshan over at the Banke Bihari temple in Jaipur, but of course an actual visit to the birthplace of Krishna and one of the Sapta Puri cannot ever replace that. So I told him I still wanted to go and that was that. Vrindavan, however, I had to concede.
We first went to Chand Baori, probably the most impressive stepwell I have ever seen. It blows Jaipur's out of the water. Pun intended. The scale and geometry here were simply massive which made for a dazzling display.
From there, it was a long drive to Mathura. Soni got me a guy he knew to be my guide and get me inside. They were quite strict and were not allowing Muslims in. They asked my religion and I just told them Hindu/Buddhist and after a while I was in. The guide showed me the birthplace of Sri Krishna, inside the prison cell. Got to also do some darshan around some special idols with distinct properties and characteristics.
The final drive into Agra. The city was hella polluted that was for sure, people were burning stuff and garbage to keep warm in the cold and it tainted the entire atmosphere. I opted to have dinner indoors and got to my hotel to hang my clothes which were actually still wet as they weren't able to fully dry them that morning in Jaipur. Had to sleep with the air-condition on despite how cold it already was here.Read more
