Over the last month our loved ones and closest friends have had to listen to us complain about the filth and chaos of India and how we were already looking forward to our next destination. However, after being here almost 6 weeks, we have either succumbed to the chaos, adapted to the filth or we have found a love for India that we didn’t know we had earlier.  When speaking with travelers who have previously visited India, many said to give India at least one month or you risk being caught up in the numerous negative aspects of the country and potentially ruin your experience.  When we first left Tiru and spent some time outside the friendly confines of the family “villa”, we found ourselves counting down the days until we were at the airport and on a plane to our next destination.  Maybe it was the generous effervescence of cattle dung at every corner, the exhaust filled streets, the constant begging, the blatant uncomfortable staring of Indian males or the abundantly clear lack of hygiene that spurned our initial discomfort. But with over a month under our belts, we whole heartedly agree that in order to find a love (or even a mild adoration) and not a blatant detestation for India you NEED to spend some serious time here and absorb the culture (both the good and bad) to the fullest.  We are happy to report that Mother India has treated us well, and it is truly is Incredible India.

A few highlights from the past 10 days in India. We visited Chandigarh, which was India’s first planned city.  We had never given much thought to a “planned city” as we have grown up in the US with planned cities at every turn. Chandigarh is an exception to the norm in India. Each district (nearly 30 in total) has shopping centers, dining options, hotels, street lights, medians and crosswalks and is essentially self-sufficient. It was nice to see some uniformity in such a frenzied country; however, with its uniformity came a lack of character and suburban feel. After Chandigarh, we headed west to Amritsar, the epicenter of Sikhism and home of the Golden Temple, the holiest site for the Sikh religion. Within the temple grounds we ate lunch at the temple cafeteria, which serves about 80,000 free meals per day!  We filed into the cafeteria with a steel tray, bowl and cup in hand, sat on the floor with hundreds of other people (mostly pilgrims and locals) and were served by a ladle; dal, dessert, chapatti and vegetables.  The food was surprisingly tasty and the atmosphere resembled a summer camp dining hall experience. The next day we took a taxi to the India-Pakistan border to watch a much hyped and orchestrated border crossing ceremony performed by the guards of the neighboring countries. This is a somewhat significant and unusual event since both the government and local population of India and Pakistan are not on the best of terms. This turmoil stems from prior military conflicts and recent terrorist attacks in India that were linked to Pakistani Muslims. Regardless, both countries have set up grandstands for the spectators, play music over loud speakers and the audience participates in call and response cheers. The border guards perform an impressive array for leg kicks, stomping and speed walking that would put Richard Simmons to shame. The finale involves the guards from both countries shaking hands and closing of the gates until the following morning.  Additionally, this was the most positive energy siphoned into one place we have seen in India thus far, with women dancing in the streets and singing along to the music.  This was also a very unusual sight since Indian women rarely display any signs of liberation in public, especially dance.

After Amritsar our plan was to train it to Mussoorie, a hill station in Uttarkhand.  However, after some online train booking shenanigans (Indians reserve train tickets months in advance) we couldn’t get all the way to Mussoorie and took a train to a nearby city not far from the famous Rishikesh, where The Beatles once performed and subsequently stayed at an ashram until they were reportedly sick of the vegetarian cuisine. We hopped in a cab and drove for several hours through roads similar to the Loveland pass with a driver with a lead foot. It was rather terrifying, but we made it safely!  We expected Mussoorie to be similar to the hill station Shimla that we visited a few weeks ago, since LP said it was one of the best Hill Stations in the country.  However, when we arrived there was massive construction effort along the main Mall Road and the town was covered with dust.  We were immediately turned off and spent a few hours figuring out how we were going to get out of this place.  After much research, we realized we were stuck here for at least four days…  We made the best out of the town and on our last day were very sad to leave.  We ate delicious omelets each morning at the Lovely Omelet stand, a great LP recommendation, had thupka soup (Tibetan) for dinner each night and visited an amazing bakery for dessert as well.   It was nice to have a routine in this area and by the 2^nd or 3^rd day the store owners and waiters recognized us and we were able to engage in some interesting conversations.

After another fully booked train prevented us from heading directly to our next destination, we headed off on a 30 hour trip (taxi, overnight train, bus, then auto rickshaw) in route to Varanasi, our final stop in India.  Varanasi is one of India’s holiest cities due to the River Ganga (Ganges River).  People from all over India come to this river to either bath in its holy waters or to cremate a loved one. Varanasi is truly a visceral place, displaying both the best and worst of what India has to offer. We booked Varanasi as our last destination in India because we were concerned it was going to be so completely overwhelming and crazy that we wouldn’t want to go anywhere after it. However, when we arrived we were welcomed by a surprisingly calm and warm vibe.  We decided that we’ve either assimilated to India culture or the city is much more hyped up than it should be.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s an intense place. But most guesthouses act as an oasis and allow a visitor an escape from the outside world. We walked the famous ghats (steps leading down to the river) and witnessed the live cremation of bodies, where ashes are spread into the river alongside cattle and humans bathing and drinking the holy but clearly infested Ganges water. We took a sunrise boat ride along the river and visited the most amazing lassi shop ever!  Thank you LP for referring us to the Blue Lassi, where we had pomegranate, banana, apple, mango and plain lassis.  We loved it so much here that we visited it three times! Surprisingly, we really enjoyed our time in Varanasi and we were glad we made the stop.

After all of the experiences in India we can honestly say that we are glad we came here. It’s not an easy place to visit and it’s absolutely not for everyone (we won’t be back anytime soon), but we’ve certainly never been to a place quite like it. It’s intense, filthy, loving, chaotic, colorful and passionate, a truly amazing blend of life and experiences. A friend of ours from our earlier Southeast Asia travels told us that when he completed his trip of India he expected to receive an “I Survived India” certificate at the airport as evidence of his trip. After six weeks here, we couldn’t agree more.

We are absolutely pumped to stop using bottle water to brush our teeth and looking forward to more civilized (but way more expensive) pastures. Next up Dubai.