INDIA

Holy cow, India!!

You are crazy, chaotic, beautiful, colorful, amazing, and unexpected– A land where the cows are revered, and the tea tastes like magic. I was so lucky to have been able to share this experience with my Mom, and with and our beautiful guide, Kashmir, who was born and raised there, (takes zero sh*t from any shady taxi drivers), and showed us India’s culture, heritage, and culinary yumminess. While I normally travel everywhere without guides, and always rent cars with my travel buddy, and drive and explore by ourselves, India is the country where I would never feel entirely comfortable doing that. The roads (and the discord) can range from scary to terrifying if you don’t have someone who knows how to navigate the craziness. If you do, then you can sit back and enjoy the insanity. I traveled with indiakismetjourneys.com and Kashmir was an amazing guide. She tailored the trip to our preferences and budget, but with her keen insider knowledge to guide us. Which ended up being invaluable!

DELHI & AGRA

We started in Delhi and Agra…… and there began a little (spicy) taste of this inexplicable place, home of …. intricate patterns and unbelievable details, the perfect chai, Kamakazi drivers, the 45-minute ‘2 minutes’, huge smiles (with or without teeth), and colors. Oh, the colors!!!!

We visited the Taj Mahal right after sunrise… I highly recommend that, as you get FAR fewer crowds, and more unobstructed photos. Not to mention the beautiful morning light! Make sure you check out the mosque below the Taj itself – the views of the Taj Mahal from inside, through its graceful arches is really a stunning sight! And you may see lot of monkeys who hang out on that plaza and migrate from side to side to stay in the shade. Also, not many people realize, but if you go behind the Taj, you can find the corridor of doorways which is a beautiful illusion and a great photo spot!

Delhi was a whirlwind, but we really enjoyed our insane tuk tuk ride through the hectic, busy streets, and walking down some colorful alleyways that Kashmir led us through. And then the total contrast of the beautiful Lodhi gardens and the lovely structures there. She also took us to some typical Indian garment shops, where we bought lots of brightly colored and patterned clothes and scarves for our trip.

JAIPUR, the ‘Pink City’

From Agra, we headed to Jaipur— The pink city, and the largest city in the Rajasthani region. And let me just say, Jaipur, you are pretty in pink! We got to see the amazing Amer fort, the City Palace (Home to the Maharajas), the Hawa Mahal, The Nahargahr Fort, and drove the entire city, miraculously making it out without a scratch on the car. Until we got ambushed by monkeys on the road to our next destination. It was a visual candyland, and it’s difficult to paint a fuller picture of this crazy beautiful country. And I keep saying ‘crazy’, because the streets are very chaotic. But there’s a total native rhythm to their chaos, if you can believe it.

UDAIPUR, the ‘White City’

We left the pink city, Jaipur, and headed to the white city, Udaipur, and stopped for a few adventures along the way…. there was a monkey ambush on our car, an overnight stay at the 300+ year old gorgeous Deogarh Palace, and a stop at the Jain temple in Ranakpur, which took 50 years to complete. I swear, I felt like Indiana Jones discovering the treasure of a hidden temple. It was unreal. We also met a camel along our way, who was better accessorized than I could ever hope to be.

Udaipur is the ‘Lake City’ of Rajasthan with 5 lakes in total. It’s also known as the White City of the three, and it’s easy to see why. The gorgeous marble palaces, forts, temples, and hotels that grace the lake, shine against the blue of the sky. And amidst and inside the white structures is a bustling city alive with the brightest colors. We toured the palace, took a boat ride around the lake, strolled one of the islands, and visited the Monsoon Palace above the city to take in the views and the sunset. But my favorite part of this 3-day stop, was just meandering down all the little streets inundated with enthusiastic merchants and laissez faire cows. Oh, and sipping the best Masala chais every day in the beautiful window-seat daybed, overlooking the Pichola lake…..

We started each day eating breakfast at this daybed with views of the lake, fueling ourselves for our full days of exploring. After walking the town and shopping for anything and everything colorful, we headed up to the Monsoon Palace to watch the sun go down over the lake city. Dozens of playful and curious monkeys made the time fly by! I could watch them for hours. And one even jumped right over my head while I was taking a photo of another! We were serenaded as the sun went down by a folk music group from Alaska, who fiddled and strummed and sang with some serious soul. It was a pretty amazing day. 

MUMBAI

We took the overnight train and finally got to Mumbai- India’s city of juxtapositions. That’s the only word I can think of to explain the side-by-side contradictions everywhere you look in this chaotic, fast-moving, wait-forever, crowded city of 23 million. Here you will find the most opulent houses with helipads, that are home to some of India’s Billionaire tycoons, towering over the sprawling slums of the poorest of the city. Noisy, old-school bazaars & marketplaces sit next to shiny new multi-story shopping malls that house megastores like H&M and Sony. And street vendors weaving baskets on the side of the road, sit under the huge skyscrapers that cater to the global tech-communications service industry. 

We hired a driver to show us around various parts of the city (because it was way too vast and too dangerous to walk), and he filled us in on culture & history as we went. We saw the $1Billion, 27-story, single-family skyscraper which is the residence of India’s wealthiest Ambani family. It takes a private staff of 600 workers a day to maintain the building. And you can see it loud and clear, hovering up above, from a multitude of Mumbai’s slum neighborhoods. The slums are unlike anything you can imagine. And their inhabitants make up 42% of Mumbai’s entire 23+ million population!!! It can almost be called ‘Slumbai’. They are make-shift homes, all crammed and piled on one another, made from corrugated tin, cardboard, concrete, and whatever other materials were available, and they are the most vibrant, bright colors you can picture. You see kids playing, adults talking story, and all of them just doing their thing and living their life as they know it. I didn’t want to intrude on their lives and in their space by being obvious with taking photos, so I just tried to snap shots on the fly as we passed by. But honestly, the street scenes in India, with all the chaos, colors, traffic, unbelievable vehicular anomalies, and lack of any rules, was the most interesting and captivating sight of everything I saw in India.

ELLORA CAVES

The Ellora Caves is a complex of monastery & temple caves, cut out of the basalt cliffs, from top to bottom in such intricate and amazing detail. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was really awe-inspiring, trying imagine people carving every single inch by hand centuries ago. Dating from the years 600-1000, it features Buddhist, Hindu and Jain temples. They were built very close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India. The World now should look back and take from this…..  A shining, beautiful example of tolerance and acceptance.

Until next time……. Aloha, India!

TOP TEN SIGHTS NOT TO MISS IN RAJASTHANI REGION:

1. New Delhi – Lodhi Gardens,
2. Agra- The Taj Mahal – if you would like the photo without too many people- get there EARLY! Like right when it opens. Make sure not to miss the mosque in the back- you will have awesome views of the Taj’s white building through its arches, and lots of mischievous little monkeys roam on the terrace there too- fun!
3. Chan Baori Step Well – on the way from Jaipur to Agra
4. Jaipur (the ‘Pink City’) – see the City Palace, the Amer Fort (Amber Fort), Nahargahr Fort, Hawa Mahal (at least check out the facade!), view of the floating palace from the edge of the lake,
5. Deogahr Palace – if you are able to stay here for a night on your way to Udaipur from Jaipur, do it! Stunning old palace (the owner is wonderful!), and the little town was wonderful to walk through.
6. Ranakpur Jain Temple (on the way to Udaipur, or short trip from Udaipur) – this will blow your mind. Visit the smaller temple too
7. Udaipur (the ‘White City’) – City Palace, Gangaur Ghat, take the sunset boat ride from the Palave to Jag Mandir Island, eat a meal or drink some chai at Jagat Niwas Palace hotel in the window seats overlooking the Taj Lake Palace floating hotel, Monsoon Palace for sunset
8. Monsoon Palace above Lake Pichola – go for sunset
9. Ellora Caves – day trip with overnight stay from Mumbai. If you can fit this in, it is an epic visit. Make sure you go left and right from cave #16, to see all of the cave temples. Climb above cave #16, on the trail that leads up, for awesome views into the temple.
10. Mumbai – Gateway of India, Taj Palace Hotel

TOP INDIA TIPS IN PLANNING YOUR TRIP:

• My number one tip for travel in India would be to have a guide with you at all times. It is one place in the World where you will be very thankful you have one. You want a guide that is local, speaks Hindi, knows drivers, and can help you negotiate with local merchants, etc. I traveled with indiakismetjourneys.com and Kashmir was awesome. I would highly recommend booking with her.
• Make sure you apply for your visa with plenty of time. You will need to send your passport out, and the application is a bit lengthy. It is also pricey- several hundred US dollars, so be prepared for that.
• Come with a lot of spare room in your suitcase, or buy a cheapie second one here (you’re gonna shop!)
• Cover up! Women in India do not show legs or shoulders. Even as a tourist, you are expected to respect their culture and dress modestly. It’s culturally frowned upon, and you don’t want to disrespect. Plus people will stare. So cover up your bare legs or arms.
• Be prepared to feel like a rockstar. I now know what Angelina Jolie feels like walking down any given street. I have been stopped dozens of times for selfies with locals. Seriously. 
• Smiles. Give a smile get a bigger one in return
• 5 to a moped (some times more)
• 10 in an Otto
• 6 cars side by side in a two lane road. 
• No lanes. No lights. No traffic rules. Only rule: don’t hit anyone. Especially the cows. 
• The biggest car/truck has the right of way
• If a 3 year old kid is on the side of the road alone, don’t worry. It’s normal. He belongs to someone somewhere. :/

Want to remember this? Pin it!