Madter's Travel Adventures: INDIA

India is a complete paradox as I saw it. From the minute we arrived in Delhi there was a mix of busy/relaxed; unorganized/organized; loud/peaceful; rich/poor and what struck me the most were the temples, forts and beautiful structures that juxtaposed the poverty and living conditions. A stunning country, from what I saw, to say the least. Delhi is currently preparing for the Commonwealth games in October of this year. So there was a lot of construction, making it a bit more hectic that it normally is. The differences between Delhi and Seoul are vast, both very populated cities but they differ in order/rules and the urban planning in general. Delhi (and even Indian country side) is filled with horn sounds. Horns to pass, to say I’m here, and horns to say hello. Horns from cars weren’t as frustrating as motorbike horns, because most likely they are doing their best to dart in and around you on the sidewalk that is definitely not just meant for pedestrians. Aside from volume, what I couldn’t seem to get over were the mass amounts of wild livestock roaming the streets and roads. Cows (Holy), Boars, Dogs, Cats, Monkeys, Goats and Camel. We spent a couple of days in Delhi, to visit Mahatma Gandhi’s grave and learn more about Indira Gandhi (First and only female Prime Minster of India to date, sadly assassinated). Temples, government buildings, gates and bazaars; Delhi is just a taste of India.

We then headed South to Agra and then West to Rajasthan State with our trusty driver, Javed. First to Agra, India, home of the famous love symbol, the Taj Mahal. When we arrived we visited the Agra Fort, one a couple of miles from the Taj (where Mugal Emperor, Shan Jahan-he who built the Taj for his deceased wife- was kept imprisoned by his son who overthrew him, so he could watch his symbol of love behind bars). A wind and rain storm later, we decided to wait out our long anticipated trip to the Taj until sunrise the following morning. Some ayurvedic (Indian) massages later and 4:30 am came soon enough. Anyone who visits the Taj, should aim to visit it for sunrise. Firstly, you’re one of the few people who are willing to get up at that time, so you have it almost all to yourself, but also it’s so serene to sit, enjoy, imagine and relax as Mr. Golden sun begins to rise over top of this white marble structure. After a mass amount of photo taking, relaxing and touring the inside of the mausoleum, we began our journey westward to Jaipur, Pushkar, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaiselmer. Countless hours in our Toyota SUV, but each stop/town made it worth the drive. Along the way we saw mass amounts of animals on the highway, a lot of overturned trucks carrying marble, lots of buses with people on top and just overall beauty of the countryside. Our driver, Javed, a 53 year old Indian man who has worked with Indian Tourism since 1975, provided a lot of knowledge, insight and overall made us feel completely safe. Jaipur was the city with the pink sandstone building, built for the royal woman to watch processionals outside on the street (as they weren’t allowed to attend), as well as having temples, palaces and beauty galore. Next to Pushkar, the vegetarian/non-drinking city, where we spent a lot of time in our cool, relaxing pool as we were served mocktails!

Next to Udaipur, the fairytale city! This is because of the beautiful white palaces and temples. We fell in love with this city because it's ambiance. We felt really safe here, purchased our 1000 bangles, learned some guitar from a restaurant owner, walked the streets in awe, got down poured on during the start of monsoon season and met 3 really fun French guys who were on the same route as us. New friends and now a new city we toured onto Jodhpur. The fort was the best feature of this city, it was a bit busy and congested and we quickly missed the relaxing Udaipur, but we made the most of it. In fact we befriended two new Americans, Drew and Greg. Pool party and house party (as we had the master suite), we made ourselves a little party! Also, 4th of July and Greg's birthday made for some fun Guitar sing-a-longs! I should mention most places we stayed in were havelis, which are old palaces turned into hotels. Thus we felt like royalty with the stained glass windows, big wooden doors, balconies, sitting rooms with cute couches and hand painted walls. The last journey in Rajasthan was Jaiselmer, the desert city. Again, beautiful fort and beautiful hotel pool! Ha ha. C’mon, when in 45 degree heat, a pool is a God sent. Many people take camel tours here, but since we’d already experienced, we decided to relax and explore before our 19 hour sleeper train back to Delhi. Some last minute laughs with our francaphone friends, and then onto moving bunk beds to Delhi. The train was, well, an Indian train. We were in first class, which really just means air conditioning, bunk beds and a lock on the door. We were pretty happy to be back on solid ground again in Delhi, and beginning to anticipate our own beds and showers. Randomly, we ran into Drew and Greg again, our American friends from Jodhpur. In a city of 14 mill plus, we were pretty lucky to see familiar faces, who happened to be staying around the corner. Post bazaar shopping, we were able to catch up again over dinner before they went forward to their silent meditation retreat (wow). One more day in Delhi, henna tattoos and pedicures relaxed us enough to get on the plane to Seoul via Shanghai. Just in time for 3 days rest and off to the West to visit good old Canada.

An amazing summer. I feel so lucky to have had the experiences I did this summer. My travel bucket list is still big, but decreasing each vacation. If you ever have the chance to visit India, please do so with the mindset that you will be awed, but may also feel frustrated and hot! Remember to love every minute, even if the cow dung keeps getting you down! Remember to appreciate the beauty that can be found in everything there, not just the temples and forts, but the people, countryside and history.