I've just returned from a fortnight India which was even more than the experience I was led to believe it would be from my friends who've been before. Cindy had been on retreat for a couple of months and met me off the plane in Delhi, definitely the way to do things as she knows her way around. I feel I got to see four very distinct sides of India in only a few days... a full-on experience.
First stop was
Haridwar where a festival took place over the weekend we were there as it was packed with people (and almost no Westerners except for us). A short train trip later and we were in
Rishikesh which was considerably less crowded and in a beautiful location.
Our final destination was the breathtaking town of
McLeod Ganj, just north of Dharamsala where the Tibetan government in exile is based. Cindy had booked a room with an amazing view up to the town and mountains.
Last Sunday we walked up to the snowline; it was fairly easy going at first and then once we hit the snow it became progressively more difficult. We were never in any real trouble but there were moments when we were in single file up the path with steep drops to one side. It's all very well going up the mountain but useful to bear in mind you have to get down again... when the cloud rolls in it becomes more awkward.
There are a few more photos over on my
flickr photostream. It was a great couple of weeks, provided you are patient India is an easy and cheap country to travel in. Don't try and do too much and, although things went smoothly for us, expect your plans to change. The most hair-raising part of the trip was coming back from McLeod Ganj on the bus. It's a mystery to me why there aren't more Indian rally drivers as they clearly have the skills. Between the strobing of the cabin lights a good few of the passengers could be seen being sick out of the windows; given we were hanging off cliff-side turns every few minutes I kept my head firmly inside the vehicle.
The diversity was what stuck me the most. We went from a Hindu religious festival to a town with a distinctly Westerners-in-search-of-something feel to a community of Tibetan exiles all within a few hours travel. The fact that India not only allowed Tibetan refugees to settle here but to locate their seat of government in this place speaks volumes about the degree of tolerance found in this society. When we got back to Delhi it was interesting to contrast India's middle classes with what we had seen in Haridwar. Divides in wealth are very sharply accentuated.
I could trot out a lot of the well-known cliches about India from a tourist's point-of-view but the strongest recommendation I can make is that you visit this vast country for yourself. We flew Virgin Atlantic direct from Heathrow to Delhi; all-in it cost us around £500 each.
The most unexpected part of the holiday was finding ourselves with time on our hands in the Levi's store in Delhi buying jeans. Some things India does exceptionally well and getting to buy trousers at a quarter of the price they are in the UK and having them turned-up to your exact requirements at no charge is customer service unlike any you'd find in a UK high street store. What do I sound like? Cheap flights and observations on consumerism. I need my head checked.
Oh, and a final note... one of Cindy's friends said "don't expect to come back from the India with the digestion you left with". I was fine while I was there but have just spent a day lying on the sofa with the worst stomach cramps 're-adjusting' from the food I've eaten. Forewarned is forearmed.
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