India - 2020

Need to start with a small apology… there is a bit of reading in this post and lots of photos because India is full of so many things to write about… sorry.

Must admit to having been a little apprehensive as our flight from Bhutan neared landing back into Delhi, especially when we couldn’t see anything out of the window except the fog… or was it smog.  

Delhi’s reputation for having some of the world’s worst air pollution is well known, but what other conditions would we experience in India whilst travelling in the north of the country for 19 days.

Most of our travels would be driving between cities in Rajasthan, but we had added the additional cities of Amritsar and Varanasi.  Very good friends, Faye & David, who knew we were planning a trip to India, asked if they could join us, so this became a 4 person private tour, organised by Please Yourself Travel in Adelaide, in conjunction with their Indian partner.

Our actual route within India is shown below.

Our route through India in 2020 and the dark blue lines are for the flights to Amritsar and Varanasi via Delhi

We deliberately brought our India trip forward, only because we felt as we aged, we may not be as tolerant to what we thought we may be confronted with once we got into the bowels of the country.  We were also keen to see a more authentic nation in terms of culture and lifestyle before it changed too much through modernisation, well these were our assumptions anyway.

We had chosen to travel during Jan/Feb to gain the benefit of cooler weather, typically around 20c during the day and in the low teens at night, compared to summer temperatures of 40+c during the day combined with likely high humidity.

India is one of those countries we have had many people whom having visited it over the years, would tell us, “you will either love it or hate it!”.  So after our own travels in it, did we love it or hate it… you will have to read on.

We were briefed by a senior manager of the local tour company to re-confirm our itinerary and how things would happen, including the 2 domestic flights transiting through Delhi airport.

The Rajasthan part of the trip involved stacks of driving between cities, so we were allocated the one driver for this, Sonu, but we would have different guides in each location and Sonu would also be available to take us, if required to restaurants and would wait for us.  The car had a roaming internet capability which made Faye’s daily posts on facebook very easy as we drove between cities.

Ever smiling Sonu securing our bags on the roof of the car

During our briefing, we were given a pre-paid sim with unlimited data on it and India wide calling for us to use, and this enabled the local company also to contact us every 2 days just to check everything was going well and if any help was needed.  This was a first for us and it worked very well… not that we experienced any issues.

This post about India is not going to be a city by city review but more an attempt to describe the essence of India from our experiences using some of the cities and sights as examples but to get started, a few fun facts about India to add some context to what follows.

India Fun Facts

• Australia is about 2x the size of India and India is the 8th largest country by area on the planet
• In 1800, India’s population was stationary at 125 million for 50 years and is now approx 1.37B and China’s is 1.45B.  India’s birthrate is higher and the locals are very proud of their growing population
• At least 27% of the population is Muslim, ~2% are Sikhs and the rest are Hindu.
• They drive on left hand side like we, the British and Japanese do
• In 2014 India accounted for 60% of the total worlds open faecal volume (open toilets) and the Indian government is rapidly reducing this for obvious health reasons

Something we did a lot of when meeting people was to put our hands together as shown below and say "namaste", the meaning of which is also shown below.

Typical way of meeting people combined with the word 'namaste'

The meaning of Namaste described

Since 2002, the Indian Govt. has been running a tourist campaign stimulating tourist visits under the umbrella banner of ‘Incredible India’, as shown using one example below.

One example of Indian Governments tourism promotion

In trying to describe this nation based on our experiences in India, we came up with - Incredible, Intense, Incongruous, Complex, Diverse and a place of sensory overload.  But it didn’t seem enough so I adapted a saying Winston Churchill used when describing Russia and created…

India is a potpourri, wrapped in diversity, layered on cultural quicksand.

India is a nuclear power, has the worlds largest middle class population, has a space program aimed at getting to the moon, but during our travels we saw an masses of seemingly poor and unemployed people.

We also saw an enormous number of Indian women wearing brightly coloured saris and in the country areas the married ones had gold chains from a nostril to their ear and some would wear a covering over their heads very similar to muslim women, especially when they were in the presence of their father in-law.

Traditionally dressed ladies in a village waiting for transport

Delhi, including its larger metropolitan area has a population of ~26M and within 30 minutes of starting our tour as we walked towards Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi’s old city, we were confronted with people living in shanty accomodation with rocks holding down their patchwork metal sheet roofs.

Overall view of the massive Jama Masjid mosque in Old Delhi

Faye & Rob wearing the clothing required to visit the Jama Masjid mosque

We roamed on foot through the old city and all its’ chaos, a word we used many times during the trip, streams of people, cars, motorcycles, cattle pulled carts and tuk-tuks were all going in every direction, and lots of ‘stuff’ on footpaths and roads to avoid.

Descending into the daily chaos of a small section of Old Delhi

Now where was that faulty broadband cable again?

Our guide found a tuk-tuk for us to get around within the chaos more quickly, so with us crammed in the back, we quickly began learning about how they drive in India.  Knees were kept tucked in to avoid broken pits as we narrowly missed other tuk-tuks going in any direction, horns being used incessantly to let others know they were there, even when we were all at a standstill.  It was a constant game of bluff by everyone with everyone.

Its very cosy in a tuk-tuk and I haven't even got in yet

We saw many tuk-tuks with 7-8 people in them

We travelled a few thousand kilometres in India and saw some of the more remarkable driving practices we have ever seen in any country.  There seemed to be no rules for anything and eventually it prompted me to ask one of our guides, “when people learn to drive are there rules they have to learn?”.  

“Yes, of course” came the reply, so along came my next question, “do you have to do driving tests and follow the rules during the test?”.  “Yes, of course” he said and by now he was laughing.  “There are no rules after that” following with, “oh, tuk-tuk drivers need licences but most of them don’t have one!” Yep… it now makes perfect sense.

By the way, Indians may wait in queues in the same way they drive cars!

Think about anything you could imagine happening on the road and we probably saw it, including when bitumen roads abruptly stopped without any signs or flags to warn drivers.  Sonu would carefully lower himself off the edge of the road, pick his way through the rough stuff and then climb back onto the good road to continue.

An example we have described a few times since returning involves roundabouts.  Normally when approaching a roundabout and wanting to take the 3rd exit you drive clockwise around it and then exit.  In India why go right around the roundabout, why not just turn and negotiate your way through the traffic now coming straight at you and cut your way across to where you want to go… a lot quicker.  Oh and right of way rules don’t seem to exist either.

Regular sight in India when buses are crowded

If it can be stacked onto something... it can be moved

Our driver in Varanasi summed it up beautifully by saying to us, “driving in India requires good driving, good brakes & good luck!”.  We think driving in India also requires a good horn and lots of patience.

Indians are very spiritual people which is compounded a little by having at least 5 main religions we were introduced to and constantly exposed to during our travels.

• Hindu - a religion believed to have started somewhere between 2300 BC and 1500 BC in India near the Pakistan Border.  Hindus recognise three principal gods: Brahma, who creates the universe. Vishnu, who preserves the universe and Shiva, who destroys the universe… but there are literally millions of other gods.
• Islam - the ~300+M Muslims practice a religion which started after Muhammad was born in 571 AD
• Sikhism - Sikhism was founded in 1469 by Guru Nanak in the Indian region of Punjab and it believes everyone, including men and women, are equal
• Buddhism - Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 BC. in Nepal and died in India.
• Jainism - an ancient religion from India and there are 4+M Jains practising in the country.

In Delhi we had visited India’s largest mosque, but in cities like Agra, Jodhpur and Jaipur we were also exposed to the profound influence of the Mughals who originally came from Khakistan via Kabul in Afghanistan, bringing Islam, Persian traditions and artwork to India from 1526.  Babur, a warrior chieftain and grandson of Ghengis Khan was the first Mughal ruler in India.

The Mughals influenced much of the older architecture in India, let alone the introduction of Islam, for example the Itmad-Ud-Daulah built by Mughal Emperor Jahangir was India’s first tomb to be made completely out of marble rather than red sandstone. The 21-meter high tomb was in memory of the Emperor's father in-law, MirzaGhiyas.

This is the Itmad-Ud-Daulah, India's first tomb completed in 1628 and
regarded as a template for  the Taj Mahal

Early decoration work adorning the inside
of the Itmad-Ud-Daulah 

The we visited most beautiful building we have ever seen and a world wonder, the stunning 17th Century white marble Taj Mahal, built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth.

The beautiful and sublime Taj Mahal at sunrise...

...and its reflection

Just to prove we were all actually there

The 4 minaret looking towers at each corner of the Taj were built with a slight lean on them so that if they collapsed they would fall away from this magnificent building.

This amazing building is made of translucent, but hard wearing Makrana marble has no painted decorations in or on it.  All the decorations are made of either carving the marble or inlay of semi precious stones into the marble.

We had visited a marble factory before visiting the Taj Mahal, still using the same methods for the inlay work, and it was just amazing to see what they had to do.  Some of the inlay work involves extremely small pieces which are glued into the marble carved out to exactly fit each individual piece, flush with its surface and without visible gaps.

One flower out of thousands adorning the interior walls of the Taj Mahal has 64 pieces of inlayed semi precious stones to create it… no wonder it took around 20 years to build the Taj!  You are not allowed to take photos inside the Taj Mahal so the photos below were found on the internet.

Carved marble inside the Taj Mahal where the tombs lie (not our photo)

Example of the inlay work inside the Taj Mahal and each flower
has at least 64 semi precious stones used to create it ( not our photo)

The Mughals also influenced the architectural style within the multiple forts and palaces we visited throughout India as shown in the various examples shown below.

Just a few examples of the Mughal influenced architecture inside forts and palaces

Just can’t start writing about forts and palaces without also talking about one of India’s continuing and well known ‘institutions’, the Maharajas which means either great ruler or great king and the queen is called a Maharani.

It is believed the title of Maharaja was introduced into India via the Mughals from Persia and really took hold over 700 years ago and eventually there were 567 Maharaja ruled kingdoms in India.  Not all of these kingdoms were very wealthy but a many were and the Maharajas of these built massive forts and palaces to demonstrate their power and wealth.

Jaipur's Amer Fort and palace with its 20 kms of walls built in 1592 by Raja Man Singh with his 12 wives

Tourists arriving by elephant into the fort

Jaipur's water palace built in a man made lake and used for parties

The forts were also crucial for the Maharajas to defend themselves from attack from other kingdoms.  Most of the forts have now been turned into either museums or hotels driven by Indira Ghandi when she was Prime Minister.

Mehrangarh Fort took 400 years to build starting in 1459 by various Maharajs

Inside the  palace and its more opulent rooms of this now museum

In Udaipur, the white city of the Mewar kingdom with a very proud history, did not use the term Maharaja but called their kings Maharanas because they were never conquered by the Moghuls.

Udaipur's City Palace from the lake

Rooftop garden in the City Palace

The Moghuls in the 16th century, when attacking Udaipur used elephants with swords attached to their legs to cut the legs off the Maharana’s horses in battle.  Maharana Pratap at the time attached false trunks to their horses knowing the elephants wouldn’t attack what they thought was a baby elephant.

The Maharajas still exist to this day as business people and some still control immense wealth and influence but without any political power and remain highly respected.

Photo of a picture of the current Maharajas home where sections are partitioned off
as a 5 star hotel and museum to help him maintain it

In both Delhi and Amritsar, we visited Sikh temples and then their kitchens.  Before entering onto Sikh grounds, we needed to wear something on our heads and remove our socks and shoes, then walk through a foot wash before entering.

The stunning Golden Temple with all the Sikh pilgrims queuing to enter it, surrounded by the revered Sarovar pool

Sikh pilgrims bathing in the Sarovar

The queue of pilgrims was hours long

This is the Sikhs most important temple and hopefully a pilgrimage destination at least once in their lives, very evident by the massive queues we saw during our visit.  Sikh men are not allowed to cut their hair or beards, they wear turbans and most carry a curved knife.

Some typical Sikh men and the lower one wearing his knife

Located within the Sikh temples in both Delhi and Amritsar are kitchens which for free, feed people every day using donated produce and volunteer labour.  The kitchen in Amritsar is supposedly the largest in the world and feeds 100,000 people every day and we did a little volunteering during our visits to both locations.

Cooking vegetables ready for feeding the hordes their free meals

Volunteers preparing carrots

Rob, Faye & David volunteering to help cook roti bread

Buttering roti to help out

Some of the masses enjoying their meals

In Varanasi we were a little surprised to learn whilst visiting the Saranath Buddhist Temple and seperate museum, the Lord Buddha had stayed here after reaching his enlightenment on suffering and is said to be the location of Buddha’s first sermon to 5 disciples under an olive tree.

Memorial to Buddha's first sermon to his 5 first monks

Large stupa in memory of Buddha's presence in Varanasi

During our drive to Udaipur we visited the Ranakpur Jain Temple, dedicated to Jainism which started during the 5th century BC.  The temple was built in the 15th century and this unbelievable structure has 1,444 pillars, eighty domes, 426 columns and inside are many small niches housing icons special to this religion.

The outside of the Ranakpur Jain Temple...

...and inside amongst all the columns

One of the Jain's revered icons hidden away inside a niche inside the temple

Weddings are a really big deal in India whether you are rich or poor, so during our travels we saw many locations dedicated to weddings, multiple wedding ceremonies underway in or near our hotels, processions of people walking down streets on their way to weddings and horses, elephants and very ornate carriages waiting to play their part at weddings.

Groups on their way to celebrate a wedding in a small town

We made a point of talking to a few of our guides about arranged marriages and whether the caste system still exists.  Well, both of these cultural pillars are alive and well in India and all the guides were very positive about the benefits of arranged marriages.

The general feedback about arranged marriages is that because the whole family is involved in the arranging, they are also invested in helping to ensure the marriage works and the official divorce rate suggests they may be right… but who knows in India.

Castes divide Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on their karma (work) and dharma (duty) and is generally accepted to be more than 3,000 years old and people can only marry within their caste!

Learning more about the caste system in India was fascinating and most of the guides when asked, told us what caste they were in. 

One guide introduced himself first with his name and then what caste he was in… Brahmin who are at the top of the hierarchy were the Brahmins who were mainly teachers and intellectuals and are believed to have come from the god Brahma's head. 

Then one of our guides is a Kshatriya, or warriors and rulers and we were told most warrior caste members have the big moustaches. The third slot went to the Vaishyas, or the traders and at the bottom of the heap were the Shudras, who came from Brahma's feet and did all the menial jobs.

This person is from the warrior caste

The main castes are further divided into about 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes, each based on their specific occupation.  Outside of this Hindu caste system were the achhoots also known as Dalits or the untouchables and apparently if a Hindu is touched by a Dalit they need to wash themselves.

One of our guides told us he was of the goldsmith cast and was also previously one of the special painters of miniature art which reached its zenith under the Mughals.  We got to see this incredibly precise artwork made using a single hair brushes and natural pigments whilst visiting the Mehrangarh Fort.

Rob is pointing to a section of a picture

It is mind boggling to think about how the artist painted so much detail

With our love of photographing wildlife, we were very keen to visit a National Park which was Ranthambore to try and see tigers, the largest of the big cats on the planet.  We had built 3x3 hour safaris into our itinerary in small open jeep style vehicles holding 6 tourists, a guide and driver.

Bit of a squeeze but it did the job

For the morning safaris starting around sunrise, we were rugged up in warm clothing, gloves and beanies and borrowed rugs from the hotel to stay warm as we charged around the rough dirt tracks in the park searching not just for tigers but all other forms of wildlife.

Our safari routes through the National Park

Unfortunately we never did get to see any tigers but did see plenty of other wildlife as shown via a few photos below, including a leopard, something the guide was very excited about because they are rarely seen.

We did get to see the tracks of where tigers had been

A very elusive leopard

Very small pygmy owl

There were even crocodiles in the lake

Other interesting experiences for us included staying in a fort for a night and being taken on a tour of the surrounds by a villager, including seeing some of the wildlife Hindus never kill for food, how they carry out their farming and meeting some women enjoying time together before yet another wedding.

Kherjarla Fort

Very happy village women getting ready to attend a local wedding

We were invited to participate in an illegal opium water ceremony and yes we tasted the result of this and finished by visiting a 300-400 year old Hindu temple on a hill where the locals asked to be photographed with us.

Local villagers honouring us with an illegal opium water ceremony.
They use opium water to help them work longer in the fields.

300-400 year old Hindu temple atop a hill as the sun started setting

Honouring one of the Hindu gods

After driving through desert, we spent a night in a very comfortable tent and went riding camels up onto a rise to watch the sunset.  The last time I rode a camel it hurt and this time, with Rob and myself on one camel who we don’t think enjoyed it either, it caused a groin injury which while writing this, still haven’t fully recovered from.

Enjoying a drink outside one of our tents before the camel ride

Don't think the camel was very happy with his load

Before dinner at the campsite after our ride, we were all entertained by colourful singing and dancing from locals whilst sitting under the stars with fires keeping us warm.

Singers performing a few traditional songs 

This is a traditional Kalbelia gypsy dance

Rob celebrated her birthday during this trip and was very surprised when Sonu gave her a very nice bunch of flowers he had gone and bought himself… such a lovely and unexpected thought by him.

An unexpected and lovely gesture by Sonu

In Jodhpur we joined locals on a footpath with others in nearby cars waiting as a renowned artisan with a roaring fire, gungy black pots, lots of milk and secret ingredients in his pocket, conjured up some exquisitely tasting masala chai tea.

Adding the tea to the boiling milk

Waiting for the final result

It was worth the wait

So after a few weeks in India and nearing the end of our trip there were still a few more surprises starting with a visit to the Wagah border point between India and Pakistan, 2 nations who seriously do not like or trust each other very much.

Since 1959 and performed every night, the Indian and Pakistan military protecting the border, perform a lowering of the flag ceremony which is now attended by thousands of people on both sides of gate.

It has become a highly rehearsed event commencing with booming music on the Indian side, crowds sitting in what can only be described as a large grandstand, a master of ceremonies in military uniform, whipping the predominately Indian nationals into a minor frenzy before the soldiers on both sides start their nightly routine.

A very lively crowd full of Indian pride getting ready for the ceremony

First there were various military personnel marching purposely and menacingly towards the border gate on both sides, whilst ritually glaring at each other.  Then came very tall Indian troops with large feathers on their heads like fighting roosters, high kicking their way towards the gate, the Pakistan equivalent looking like a dark rooster doing the same thing in unison on their side.

Putting on quite a show at the border

After a lot of very theatrical chest beating and aggressive pointing gestures at each other, the gates were opened and again in synchronised unison, the flags of both nations lowered and the whole highly entertaining event was over.

The gate at the border was open as both sides lowered their flags in unison

The final city we visited in India was Varanasi and it deserves words of its very own.  This was a city on our must visit list and our friends trusted our desire to see it and were very pleased they did.  

For us, Varanasi represents much of what is India all in the one location, BUT if you are contemplating visiting it, would suggest you get used to India generally before you do.

Varanasi is Hindus ‘Mecca’ equivalent to at least bathe in Mother Ganga otherwise known as the Ganges River, at least once in their lives, and this means it is a very, very, very crowded place to visit.  There were cars everywhere with horns blaring constantly as is usual in India, and trying to walk down the streets was like being in a live pinball machine, including ducking the cows and their leftovers on the road or footpaths.

Walking through the crowds on our way to the Ganges... 

...and the sacred cows

Our guide walked us through the crowds and down to the river to experience first hand the thronging crowds, the constant assault of sights, sounds and smells and it was fabulous!  There were holy men doing exercises next to the river, people bathing in the water, large buildings with steps in front of them following the river front, all of it very grubby and littered with ‘stuff’ and it was still fabulous!

Looking at the Ganges River for the first time

We continued walking along the river front and then started to see huge piles of timber stacked near the shore of the river, crammed and stacked high between the buildings and in the distance we could see smoke and fires burning.

We were nearing a section of the river where cremations occur, the norm for Hindus and most of them would desire to be cremated here and their ashes spread into Mother Ganga.

“Please do not use your cameras from here on” was the warning we received from our guide as we drew closer to the fires, other Indians in the area warned us also.  A man carrying a stick firmly warned “do not use your camera or I will break it!”.

Family members wrap the bodies in white cloth and then in brightly coloured material before carrying it down to the Ganges for its final wash in this important river.  The body is then careful laid atop a pile of timber which is then set alight and it takes each body 3-4 hours to be cremated and requires 365 kgs of wood.  It was a very surreal sight!

Photographed from a distance showing stacked timber and cremation fires

We headed back along the river front and boarded a large boat moored next to the shore and climbed aboard and settled in on its observation deck.  We were here to watch the nightly spectacle called the Ganges Aarti Ceremony, performed as a commitment to the Lord Shiva, Mata Gange.  

Huge crowds of people on both land and water, including ourselves, watched a group of priests at the Dashashwamedh ghat, which are steps leading down to the river performing this nightly event.

Crowds of people waiting for the nightly Ganges Aarti Ceromony to commence  

Priests using lamps as  part of the Aarti Ceremony

Before sunrise we were back down at the river front, this time boarding a small boat rowed by a man constantly chewing beetle nut, and we slowly wandered downstream as the sun started showing itself by glowing onto the cacophony of life spread out in front of us looking like an awakening ants nest.  

No matter where any of us looked, things were happening, more people bathing, a group of young Tibetan buddhist monks having their photos taken, people begging and it just goes on and on.   David asked, “what’s the temperature like?”, my response being, “you can put your finger into the Ganges to find out because i’m not!”.

Early morning bathers in the Ganges River 

The sun rises above the opposite bank of the Ganges 

Young Buddhist monks from Tibet visiting the river

Travelling down the river with many others

In the distance again we saw the smoke of cremation fires but at a different location and soon we were confronted with a body waiting to be cremated and a little further on yet another fire with the cremation well underway.

Cremation site preparing for the days activity

A body wrapped in orange cloth being readied for cremation

Further on we came upon a cremation well underway and this time we could take photos because we were on a boat and away from people with sticks but as we pressed the shutter button we all felt very uneasy about what we were now photographing and only took one photo each.

There are no words... RIP

We turned and travelled back upstream witnessing a constant stream of mankind going about life and yet more cremations before disembarking and our guide taking us for a walk right into the bowels of humankind amongst all the buildings on the river front, down into the narrow and grubby little alleys and all the locals living in there.  

More stacks of timber, cattle blocking our way, people asleep in small open niches in between buildings, motorcycles trying to rush past us and multiple small Hindu temples squeezed in wherever they could fit.

Those very sacred cows roam anywhere 

More timber to feed the fires...

...and even more timber being brought in 

The poor will sleep anywhere

They squeeze temples in everywhere

Finally we emerged back onto one of the main pedestrian streets and zig zagged our way back amongst the crowds working their way towards the Ganges. We were now leaving behind us to find our driver. 

Varanasi was the most raw, chaotic, messy and stimulating place Rob and I have ever been immersed into, it was unbelievable and we would not have missed it.

A few hours later we had arrived back into Delhi for one final night together before we headed back towards Australia and our friends continued their Indian adventures down south.  We checked back into the hotel we had stayed in previously, before heading out for a final dinner and few drinks together.

This is when we met the ‘coffee man’ for the 3rd time but let me take you back to the very beginning because he represents the underlying nature of the many people in India we had met.

On the very first day in Delhi when all 4 of us came together, we took ourselves for a walk through parts of Delhi to get an initial feel for it and meet a school for poor children from slums run by volunteers.

Not long after leaving the hotel whilst waiting to cross at some traffic lights, a man came up next to us and said, “ I’m a barista at the Lalit Hotel, where are you going and where are you from?”.  The Lalit is where we were staying, so we told him.  “Can you show me your map because some roads are blocked”.  So there we were with him advising us which way to go which was a lot further.

Then came his real intentions, “why not take a tuk-tuk!”  and as it turned out he was really a tuk-tuk driver and had watched us leave the hotel.  We declined his offer but did think it was a pretty slick way of touting for business.  After this I gave him the title of ‘coffee man’.

A tuk-tuk plying its trade

The next night we decided to walk to a bar a few kms from the hotel where we enjoyed a few drinks and as we were just leaving it, who was outside the bar but the coffee man.  “Hi, the Australians” the coffee man yelled as he came running over to us, his tuk-tuk left behind.  He shook our hands and singled out Faye for a hug and never asked us to use his services.

Fast forward after 2.5 weeks in India and we’re back at the Lalit for our final night and decide to go back to the same bar for some food and drinks.  We walk out of the hotel and down the road, passing 2 tuk-tuks with one man talking to another out of sight sitting inside one of them.

“Hello, hello” came a yell as the coffee man bounded out of his tuk-tuk and came running towards us, “the Australians are back” and he then proceeded to give all four of us an enthusiastic hug and no hint of touting for any business, he was genuinely very pleased to see us again.

So why tell this story?  We found the Indian people we met, irrespective of job or caste to be in the main, very warm and welcoming people, even when they were in the fray of trying to survive and or make a living.

So after our farewells to our friends, we were transported back to Delhi airport and boarded the flight to our next destination before reaching home.  Please Yourself Travel in Adelaide and their Indian tour partner had organised and delivered a fabulous itinerary tailored just for the four of us designed to immerse us into India.

Everything happened safely and without anything going wrong… just great!

India is noisy, full of friendly big smiles from poor people and we were constantly saturated or sheep dipped in colour, noise, smells, cows, pigs, dogs, goats, spices, people, traffic, car horns, trucks air horns blaring, culture, religion and history.

Could have written a lot more in this post because there was so much to look at and learn about in India, but by now you're probably exhausted already so its time to stop.

So did we love it or hate it… we LOVED it!

CLICK HERE if interested in seeing more photos of India

If you harbour any interest in visiting India... 'you will never know if you don't go', something our oldest son said in 1990 when we were pondering visiting a remote location in Australia.

It was an amazing trip and until the next post before we arrive back into Australia... go well!