Follow us on our Journey…

Landing in New Delhi was an interesting experience, all the Indian’s on the plane burst in a round of applause, I really didn’t get it. Did they not think that the pilot would land successfully? Wish I had known that before I got on the plane!!!! We arrived at 4am we were greeted by a little signed man “Welcome Miss Gayle”. Lucky we had a driver because it deterred beggars from approaching us.

Our first day in New Delhi we decided to walk to Connaught Place. After about a half an hour walk through many streets littered with touk touk’s cows and literally thousands of people, we realised we were going in the wrong direction. We jumped on a touk touk and for 50 rupees he took us to Connaught Place. Connaught Place is a shopping area built during the Colonial times. It has a real buzz to it. It has all the brand name shopping, in proper stores and much cheaper than home. It has great café’s and restaurants; it’s the “in” place to be. We found a great little restaurant called Host and devoured a delicious Indian meal. The best thing about India is the food. The worst thing about the food is that it’s all carbs and meat, and not that great for the waist line!

Our second day in New Delhi was a public holiday, Ghandi’s day. The crazy vibrant city was dead. We felt pretty lost without much to do, so we took advantage of chilling out before we went on our tour the next day. We hung out in our room watching Indian television. The next day we met our guide and only 1 other tour member at the hotel and we took a touk touk to the Government Houses and The Arc de Triumph. We had lunch again at Host restaurant in Connaught Place then we experienced a Metro ride back to our hotel. The Metro is definitely an experience you just have to have. Firstly it’s as cheap as chips, 8 rupees for the ride (about 10cents). Secondly, its jam packed. The train pulled up and it was packed like sardines, I almost fell over when our guide said get on. We shoved our way in, along with 16 other locals. Then as soon as we were in, and we didn’t think anymore could fit in, another 60 boarded!!!! That night we took an over night sleeper train to Varanasi. Varanasi is the holiest city in India. It is like the Vatican for Catholics, Mecca for Muslims and Israel for Jews. The main religions worshiped in Varanasi are Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Our first day there, we visited the Buddhist area. We visited the area where Budda became enlightened. We visited a museum where I learnt about the Buddhist Goddess Tara, the Goddess of Power and Protection. That evening we met up with 7 other group members at dinner.

The next morning we got up early for a boat ride along the Ganges River for sunrise. The Ganges River in Varanasi is the holiest river and thousands of pilgrims venture daily to the shores for spiritual healing. It is considered in Hinduism a very sacred place. If one were to die and were cremated on the shores of The Ganges River and then floated down the river in Varanasi they would skip the re-incarnation cycle and go straight to the heaven. Many people in their old age or when they are sick will pack up and move to Varanasi for the last days of their life. Also, many wealthier people on their deaths have their bodies transported to Varanasi to ascend into the heaven. The boat ride was interesting; there were thousands of people up performing their daily rituals. There were people coming to bathe a spiritual type of cleansing, there were people chanting and praying, performing yoga, washing their clothes, brushing their teeth, floating lighted flowered candles in the river. We saw people cremating the deceased, we even bumped into a few floating bodies that had gone to the heavens. That evening we took another boat ride down the Ganges River, this time experiencing a Hindu spiritual ceremony, much like a mass, held by priests. It was a lovely experiencing to hear the bells and the chanting of the priests and pilgrims.

The next day we took the overnight train to Agra. Agra houses the most magnificent monument in all of India, the Taj Mahal. Despite all the hype about the Taj Mahal it is every bit as good as you’ve heard. It’s made from white marble which depending on the time of day you visit the palace it changes colour with the sun. The Taj Mahal was a perfect place to visit on our honeymoon as it’s a temple built for love. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial for his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. We also visited the Fort of Agra. In around 1653 Shah Jahn was overthrown by his son Aurangzeb and imprisoned at the Fort and for the rest of his days he gazed at the Taj Mahal from a window.

We took a local (very dodgy) bus then a jeep to a very little town called Todi. This town is a very small remote village with a population of 1500. We arrived in the afternoon and were awaited by camels and carts to take us for a ride. We hopped on and headed through the village waving at the locals; meanwhile our camel had gastro and was farting the whole way. We headed to the sand dunes and climbed up them and watched the sun set while sipping Marsala tea (chai). The next morning we went for a village walk, visited 2 local schools then getting followed by a whole bunch of kids very keen to get their photo taken. We visited a local hospital/medical clinic, a pot maker, and visited a typical home made from cow dung. The people in the village were beautiful and hospitable. They lived a very simple life and although they were poor, they did not live like the poor, they were prosperous and happy. This was definitely a highlight of our stay.

We then hopped back on the Jeeps and headed to Jaipur. Jaipur is the pink city, ordered to be painted pink being the colour for hospitality, and the capital of Rajasthan. It’s a bustling city with huge markets and shops, and rocking café’s. It has a beautiful fort at the hilltop and a stunning floating palace and the City Palace. The city is known for its block printing and gems.

We said goodbye to our group and Maroun and I along with hour guide Rany headed to a very small village Namajsh only 15 minutes from the home town of our tour guide. We stayed with the Noble Man and Woman of Namajsh in their guest house. They were a very warm and welcoming family; we spent the afternoon in their formal lounge room looking at photos from their family even their wedding photos. We had delicious home cooked meals. There is no refrigeration, so vegetables were picked just before being cooked. During our stay we went on a village walk and a Jeep safari where we spotted wild Cantaloupes. It’s funny, in the surrounding villages in this area it’s a very different way of life. The women are the ones that work on the land while the men stay home and play cards with the other men. This is very typical on this region.

A very long and windy jeep ride got us to Udaipur, which is dubbed the “romantic city” or “the Indian Venice”. It’s a gorgeous city built around Lake Pichola. We visited Jagdish Temple and the City Palace.

We ended our journey in Delhi where we got an early flight home.

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