TR: India, or what the hell just happend? (lots of pics)

[Poz]

Well as reported earlier we went to India... we are out now. We did a loop from Delhi-Jaipur-Pushkar-Udaipur-Agra-Varanasi and now we are in Kathmandu.

All I have to say right now about India was that it was a full on experience, much more than I was expecting to be honest. I honestly found the filth in the streets to be unbeleivable, when we first arrived to Delhi our first thought was "what the hell is going on here?!" Oh ya, and I was almost shanked by a bull twice on our first night in Delhi-- got to love how the cows just chill on city streets.

In retrospect right now, we are glad we went to India and we did see some of the major attactions, however I do wish we had gone elsewhere in the country. Our best experiences were in the smaller areas and meeting people in the little villages. I have heard the south is awesome as is areas in the north closer to Kashmir-- something to do later!

Delhi:


Jaipur:
Scene from the largest sun dial in the world, it is accurate to 2 seconds


At the same observatory as above, but this one tracked the sun and plaed the astrological sign of the year on it. This whole observatory was pretty awesome considering it was made in the 1600s.


Obligatory snake charmer shot:


City Palace, Jairpur:




The Amber Fort, just outside of Jaipur. This was a highlight of india. Just a massive fort with huge walls surrounding it and the surrounding mountains. The panoramic really doesn't do it justice unless it is zoomed in a lot.


We did a camel trek in Pushkar. We stopped for a rest and this kid came up to play music for us. It was pretty hypnotic music, then he played Frere Jacque.

Temple in Udaipur.


I love ths shot. In Udaipur we went to a local market, I busted out the camera ad it was a free for all with the kids. This one is money because you an see the one girl get creamed as they all fight to be in the shot.

I'm a bad person



Udaipur at sunset. This city got an eerily pink glow at night, it was surreal.




The Taj:




Ceiling of a mosque beside the Taj:


And finally, a sinlge picture frmo the single most dirty place I have ever been... Varanasi. It was a helluva experience seeing bodies burnign by the river, seeing a dead body in the alley beside our hotel, more cows and their dung, and meeting a guy from Toronto that I figure came to India in the 60s, awoke from his acid trip sometime in the 80s and hasn't been home since. From what it soudns like, that actually was his story.



After a 24 hour straight land journey we got to Kathmandu last week and have fallen in love with the place. In comparison to India it is clean, the people super friendly, and in the Thamel area (the traveller ghetto) it is basically one giant MEC full of knock-off stuff. We just got back from a 2 day rafting trip.

We are here for a month volunteering and then doing the Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary in October.

[clarklewis]

there's no where on earth like it.
full-on sensory overload for the first month, then it starts to become manageable.
can't wait to go back.

[switch]

Niced photos!

How was the smell?

[Poz]

I fixed the pics, although now it is doublig it up. Whatever, internet too slow to fix it from here.

The smell.... well, there is nothing that can descibe the smell of human and cow feces intermixing with the smell of burning human bodies and incense.

[zahgurim]

Schweet pics!

[Squamch]

right on, one of the guys I work with is an "intrepid traveller" been all over asia and europe, so he went to india...scheduled trip of 3 months, he came home after a month, said it was not what he expected and not what he wanted. I'm glad to see that you did find it cool, and weren't just put off the all the stuff you mentioned, the stink, people defecating in the streets, etc.

[Zedbra]

great pics!

[Poz]

Originally Posted by Squamch

right on, one of the guys I work with is an "intrepid traveller" been all over asia and europe, so he went to india...scheduled trip of 3 months, he came home after a month, said it was not what he expected and not what he wanted. I'm glad to see that you did find it cool, and weren't just put off the all the stuff you mentioned, the stink, people defecating in the streets, etc.

We enjoyed India, I think in retrospect, we enjoyed it more after it was over... if that makes any sense. It is kind of like thining "damn, we did that. It was nuts, full-on, but we survived it to see some amazing sights you'll never see anywhere else on this planet."

that said, I can't honestly say we loved it the entire time. It really was a love-hate relationship-- some moments your jaw-drops in awe and some your jaw drops in frustration and anxiety. There were more than a few moments we wanted to jump on the first plane to Thailand or somewhere easy. Most people we met travelling there have said the same thing.

I would like to return one day to some of the areas in the far north as well as Darjeeling. We might still make it to Darjeeling in December if don't spend too much time in Nepal.

[white ri0t]

how was the food?

[gooch]

the food in india is great, so much better than nepal

stock up on pastry when you are in ktm, its nothing like that elsewhere, except the bakery in namche which is pretty damn good

[rewoga]

Originally Posted by Poz

We enjoyed India, I think in retrospect, we enjoyed it more after it was over... if that makes any sense. It is kind of like thining "damn, we did that. It was nuts, full-on, but we survived it to see some amazing sights you'll never see anywhere else on this planet."

that said, I can't honestly say we loved it the entire time. It really was a love-hate relationship-- some moments your jaw-drops in awe and some your jaw drops in frustration and anxiety. There were more than a few moments we wanted to jump on the first plane to Thailand or somewhere easy. Most people we met travelling there have said the same thing.

I would like to return one day to some of the areas in the far north as well as Darjeeling. We might still make it to Darjeeling in December if don't spend too much time in Nepal.

But don't you feel hardcore now that you've done it? I do - did a similar trip a couple of years ago - 9 days, Delhi, Jaipur, Agra. We went past Amber but it was an Indian holiday that day, so the place was packed. Did you get to Fatehpur Sikri? That place was cool. Big medieval city just abandoned - no water...



To be honest - at the end of the 9 days, landing in Bangkok was a relief - that place seemed so civilized, western and clean after Delhi!

[kperras]

Originally Posted by gooch

the food in india is great, so much better than nepal

stock up on pastry when you are in ktm, its nothing like that elsewhere, except the bakery in namche which is pretty damn good

"Places I travelled" name dropper. How was the butter chicken? Worth the trip?

[LeeLau]

poz - that's awesome. I'm glad you liked it. People either hate India or love it. I've not met anyone that found an in-between

[Identity]

If you wanna build a bitchin immune system, hit up India!!

[craw]

Thanks for that! I'm heading over to do a similar trip in 2010 but I'm starting in Bangladesh, going through Nepal to end in Kashmir. Great to see more photos.

Did you guys get sick? Fear of meat curries? Did you bring any gear with you that was invaluable? How about items you would bring next time? i.e. mosquito nets... to bring or not to bring? What about a netbook?