May’s Most Riveting Travel Blog-Northern India!
Friday, May 30th, 2008May’s travel blog of the month was written by Vicci Moyles. Here she writes about her 3 week trip to Rajasthan in Northern India in December 2007. If you too are planning a trip to India and have any specific questions then Vicci will be more than happy to share her valuable experience with you.
| INDIA UNPLUGGED by Vicci Moyles |
| Mark Twain very eloquently said: “Nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds.” Not everyone would agree. I say India is like Marmite… you either love it, or you hate it?There are 1.09 billion people in India and earlier this year I was one of them. Usually a solo traveller I decided to adopt the ’safety in numbers principle’ as I embarked on my first trip to Central Asia. Perusing the numerous travel brochure’s promising small group adventure I realised quite quickly you can’t ‘do’ India in a month, so I narrowed it down to Rajasthan and signed up for Intrepid’s NORTH INDIA UNPLUGGED. I was particularly drawn to their ethos of using local guides and most importantly the promise of travelling on local transport, not an air-condition bus. I wanted to discover the real Rajasthan as the trip notes claimed I would, but with ten cities to see in just 21 days, I hopped on a flight to Delhi hoping my real Rajasthan adventure didn’t turn into rushed Rajasthan.’Prepare yourself for the airport,’ was a repetitive cry from anyone who heard I was Delhi bound, so I was sorely disappointed to be met by an organised, un-chaotic arrivals lounge and apart from the odd offer of a lift, I was pretty much ignored. I almost felt cheated until a complete stranger rubbed himself against me and called me ’sexy fine’. Now that was more like it.
Armed with Shantaram, Holy Cow and A Suitable Boy I was ready to embrace the land of Mughals and Maharajas. History isn’t the only colourful thing in India, the buildings are too. The yellow sandstone forts of Jaisalmer with its rich temples and Havelis; the simple blue houses of Jodhpur; and Pretty in Pink Jaipur causing a colourful stir in its desert location . Each regions pigment helping to differentiate one city from the next, ensuring they don’t blur into one big unintelligible history lesson - and making for some damn fine pretty pictures. Arguably one of the most picturesque of these cities is Udaipur. Just ask Sean Connery, he filmed Octapussy there. Alas my own Jamie Bond eluded me, but even without a tuxedo-clad companion, Udaipur is magical. Sitting on a serene lakeside location, surrounded by rooftop cafes and bakeries, the local community appear to have thrived as their home has established itself as a travellers favourite in this little corner of the world. With art classes, yoga sessions and do-it-yourself henna demonstrations, it’s a struggle to fit in the necessary sightseeing to do this place justice. It really is stunning. No wonder the royal family built two palaces here. Trying to fit a lot of destinations into a short period of time means only one thing - overnight trains. It makes sense not to waste daylight travelling so inevitably when rambling around Rajasthan, you will end up on a smoke-filled, overbooked, late running, insect-infected train. Doesn’t sound like fun? Add in a filthy squat toilet, hard bunk bed and sharing a 4-berth carriage with a family of ten and you’ve got yourself an entertaining evening. Luckily I have travelled quite extensively so overnight trains no longer come as a shock. Funnily enough, I actually quite like them. Even with a local guide there can be a tendency to stay in a little tourist bubble but not on long train journeys (22 hours in this case), you really are in the thick of things and there is always a friendly curiosity from fellow passengers. If you are in anyway precious about your personal space though, overnight trains are not for you. I woke up in the middle of the night to find a man lying next to me (on my single bunk) reading my magazine. In fact if you are in anyway precious about your personal space then India isn’t for you, full stop. On bus journeys people will practically sit in your lap, in markets and shops you will feel the person behind you breathing on your neck and children especially will egg each other on to come over and touch you. None of this is done in a malicious way. When you’re sharing your country with 1.09 billion other people, I guess you just learn to live in your neighbours lap. Unless you’re a cow. In which case you will be given all the space in the world. It is hard for a non Hindu to understand the religious significance of our bovine friends, but they are truly worshipped in India. To harm a cow is seen as a spiritual crime, so they ride rough shot over the roads, with humans, rickshaws, even cars playing second fiddle to the mammals. Cows aside, I didn’t find India to be as culturally shocking as I had expected. Yes people pee in the street and sleep on the floor, but you’ll find that in poorer regions of many developing countries. In fact it doesn’t even have to be a developing country; you can find someone peeing in the Street in Leicester Square. The only place that stopped me in my tracks was Varanasi. Known as one of the world’s oldest living cities (it’s history dates back to 1400BC). It is also the holiest city of Hinduism. Situated between two tributaries of the Ganga River, public cremations are carried out on the beach before ashes are scattered into the holy water. As the bodies of pregnant women or children cannot be burnt, their whole corpse is released into the lake. For these reasons you need to prepare yourself for a visit to Varanasi. With morbid curiosity I took a boat out at sunset and it remains one of the most surreal experiences of my life. It truly is a unique place. I found the ‘City of Light to be amazing, fascinating and a wholly wonderful experience. Some of my fellow passengers however were disgusted by the smog, burning and general atmosphere. So perhaps it’s not for everyone. One stop on the tour which was a hit with everyone however was the Taj Mahal….. despite its unlikely location. The original capital of India, Agra is a million miles away from New Delhi, not geographically speaking of course, but it every other way. Apart from the Taj Mahal, there’s nothing there. Alas my ignorance had led me to assume that as a modern wonder of the world, the Taj would be in the middle of an over-developed, tourist-tastic, western-influenced town. Aside from a handful of hotels and the obligatory postcard shops, the Taj Mahal is practically in waste land. You’d be hard pushed to get a photograph of the building that doesn’t include an open fire in the background. I think this just adds to the charm. The romantic story attached to the impressive monument is moving enough, but add in a burnt red sunset and it really does make for a memorable Kodak moment and is the perfect beginning, middle or end to any trip to India. I personally ended my Intrepid experience in Calcutta where I had time to reflect on slightly rushed but hopefully real exploration of Rajasthan. So did I love it or hate it? Well as my fellow passengers were saying good bye and dreaming of porcelain, sit down toilets, I was busy changing my flights home and booking a flight to Bangalore instead. I suppose it truly is like Marmite, if you really, really love it, sometimes a couple of slices are never enough! FACT FILE HIGLIGHTS
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What are your thoughts on India? Have you ever been? Did your trip there leave you eager to return at the next possible opportunity? Or was India too much of a culture shock for you?
