What can I say about India and Nepal? It’s difficult to summarize my experience in a few short paragraphs. I went with no expectations. However, India is everything that I imagined it to be.
The streets are overpouring with humanity. Cows wander aimlessly, leaving presents everywhere. The smog in Delhi is thick enough to permanently block out the sun and make you forget that the sky is blue. The street vendors are unbelievably aggressive, making shopping a very exhausting and unenjoyable experience. The traffic puts New York’s to shame. Heaping piles of trash take residence along the roadsides. At the same time, the food is amazing. The architecture of the Taj Mahal is magnificent. The women and their colorful array of saris are stunning. The art, culture and history are rich and captivating.
Nepal, on the other hand, has a different feel, despite the similar traffic and smog in India. Maybe it’s the majestic Himalayas that cast some kind of spell over the land. I feel an unexplainable spiritual connection to the entire Himalayan region – Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet.
Despite a few hiccups in our itinerary due to Mother Nature, I would not trade in my experience for anything. After all, I am thankful for not getting sick in India (as most people do) and also for making it safely to Varanasi and not missing my opportunity to experience the Ganges (my personal highlight in India) after enduring an 11-hour all-night bus ride in the rain after a cancelled flight that would have only taken about 40 minutes. I guess it was truly a pilgrimage of sorts. Despite another cancelled flight, this time over Mount Everest, I am grateful for being able to experience the locals’ daily morning ritual of meditating and spinning the prayer wheels at Boudhanath in Kathmandu.
As with every travel experience, I return home a slightly different person – hopefully more spiritually enlightened, a bit wiser, more open-minded, compassionate, and educated about the world and its people.
Namaste.
INDIA GATE, DELHI
(WAR MEMORIAL COMMEMORATES THE SOLDIERS
WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR I AND THE AFGHAN WARS,
ESTABLISHED IN 1921)
(WAR MEMORIAL COMMEMORATES THE SOLDIERS
WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR I AND THE AFGHAN WARS,
ESTABLISHED IN 1921)
RAJ GHAT, DELHI
(MEMORIAL AND CREMATION SITE
OF MAHATMA GANDHI, 1948)
(MEMORIAL AND CREMATION SITE
OF MAHATMA GANDHI, 1948)
POSTER OF MAHATMA GANDHI, RAJ GHAT, DELHI
FIRST DINNER IN DELHI
(KASHMIRI ROGAN JOSH, DAL GHARWALI AND NAAN)
(KASHMIRI ROGAN JOSH, DAL GHARWALI AND NAAN)
QUTB MINAR, DELHI
(THE WORLD'S TALLEST BRICK MINARET,
NOTABLE FOR ITS INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE, 1193)
(THE WORLD'S TALLEST BRICK MINARET,
NOTABLE FOR ITS INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE, 1193)
QUTB MINAR, DELHI
LAXMI NARAYAN TEMPLE, DELHI
(ALSO KNOWN AS BIRLA MANDIR; BUILT IN 1622
IN HONOR OF THE HINDU GODDESS OF WEALTH LAXMI
AND HER CONSORT LORD VISHNU.
IT WAS THE FIRST HINDU TEMPLE
TO ALLOW THE LOWER CASTE
OF UNTOUCHABLES INSIDE.)
(AND YES, THAT IS SMOG!)
(ALSO KNOWN AS BIRLA MANDIR; BUILT IN 1622
IN HONOR OF THE HINDU GODDESS OF WEALTH LAXMI
AND HER CONSORT LORD VISHNU.
IT WAS THE FIRST HINDU TEMPLE
TO ALLOW THE LOWER CASTE
OF UNTOUCHABLES INSIDE.)
(AND YES, THAT IS SMOG!)
HAWA MAHAL, JAIPUR
(KNOWN AS "PALACE OF WINDS",
WHERE CLOISTERED ROYAL WOMEN
OBSERVED EVERYDAY LIFE;
MADE OF RED AND PINK SANDSTONE IN 1799)
ELEPHANT RIDE TO AMBER FORT, JAIPUR
AMBER FORT, JAIPUR
(PALACE COMPLEX BUILT IN 1592
WITH ORNATE HINDU AND MUSLIM ORNAMENTATION)
(PALACE COMPLEX BUILT IN 1592
WITH ORNATE HINDU AND MUSLIM ORNAMENTATION)
INSIDE AMBER FORT, JAIPUR
(WITH A HILLTOP VIEW OF JAIGARH FORT,
THE ORIGINAL FORT
CONSTRUCTED OF RED SANDSTONE AND WHITE MARBLE)
(WITH A HILLTOP VIEW OF JAIGARH FORT,
THE ORIGINAL FORT
CONSTRUCTED OF RED SANDSTONE AND WHITE MARBLE)
COWS IN THE STREETS OF JAIPUR
JANTAR MANTAR, JAIPUR
(ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
BUILT BETWEEN 1727 AND 1734)
(ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY
BUILT BETWEEN 1727 AND 1734)
FOOD VENDOR SELLING BREAD, STREETS OF JAIPUR
FATEHPUR SIKRI, AGRA
(HISTORICAL MUGHAL CAPITAL AND CITY
CONSTRUCTED BY MUGHAL EMPEROR AKBAR
BEGINNING IN 1570)
CONSTRUCTED BY MUGHAL EMPEROR AKBAR
BEGINNING IN 1570)
MONKEY TRICKS, STREETS OF AGRA
(WAIT, THERE'S MORE...)
(WAIT, THERE'S MORE...)
DON'T BLINK...YOU MIGHT MISS IT!
FOOD VENDORS, STREETS OF AGRA
ENTRANCE TO THE TAJ MAHAL, AGRA
TAJ MAHAL, AGRA
(MAUSOLEUM BUILT BETWEEN 1632 TO 1653
BY MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN
IN MEMORY OF HIS FAVORITE WIFE)
(MAUSOLEUM BUILT BETWEEN 1632 TO 1653
BY MUGHAL EMPEROR SHAH JAHAN
IN MEMORY OF HIS FAVORITE WIFE)
AGRA FORT, AGRA
(WALLED CITY AND FORMER MUGHAL CAPITAL
BUILT BETWEEN 1565 TO 1573
BY MUGHAL EMPEROR AKBAR)
COW AND TUK-TUK ON THE STREETS OF JHANSI,
ON THE ROAD TO ORCHHA
ON THE ROAD TO ORCHHA
MILKMEN WAITING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, JHANSI
TEMPLES OF ORCHHA
COLORFUL HENNA POWDERS AND WOODEN STAMPS
FOR HENNA TATTOOS, ORCHHA
FOR HENNA TATTOOS, ORCHHA
FOOD VENDOR, ORCHHA
SCHOOL CHILDREN, LEAVING ORCHHA
KHAJURAHO TEMPLES, KHAJURAHO
(MEDIEVAL HINDU AND JAIN TEMPLES
KNOWN FOR THEIR EROTIC SCULPTURE)
KHAJURAHO TEMPLES
(BUILT BY THE CHANDELA RULERS
BETWEEN 950 AND 1150
WHEN TANTRIC TRADITION WAS ACCEPTED)
KHAJURAHO TEMPLES
(THERE WERE ORIGINALLY OVER 80 TEMPLES,
WITH ONLY ABOUT 25 NOW WHICH STAND
IN A REASONABLY PRESERVED CONDITION)
JAIN TEMPLES, KHAJURAHO
BATHING GHATS ALONG THE GANGES RIVER, VARANASI
BATHING IN THE GANGES, VARANASI
SCINDIA TEMPLE PARTIALLY SUBMERGED IN THE GANGES, VARANASI
("LEANING TOWER OF VARANASI")
FLOWER OFFERINGS IN THE ALLEYS OF VARANASI,
ALONG THE GANGES
SMALL SHRINES IN THE ALLEYS OF VARANASI,
ALONG THE GANGES
(LAST STOP BEFORE HEADING TO NEPAL)
SWAYAMBHUNATH, KATHMANDU
(ALSO KNOWN AS MONKEY TEMPLE;
SITE WHERE MANJUSRI,
BELIEVE TO BE A BODHISATTVA OF WISDOM
ACCORDING TO BUDDHIST SCRIPTURE,
DISCOVERED A LOTUS GROWING
IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY
WHICH WAS ONCE THOUGHT TO BE A LAKE,
CUT A GORGE TO ALLOW THE LAKE TO DRAIN,
MAKING THE VALLEY HABITABLE)
SWAYAMBHUNATH, KATHMANDU
(HENCE THE NAME, MONKEY TEMPLE)
PRAYER WHEELS AT SWAYAMBHUNATH, KATHMANDU
SACKS OF BEANS, STREETS OF KATHMANDU
MARIGOLDS, KATHMANDU
(STRUNG INTO LEIS AND USED FOR OFFERINGS)
RICKSHAWS AT DURBAR SQUARE, KATHMANDU
HANUMAN DHOKA PALACE COMPLEX,
DURBAR SQUARE, KATHMANDU
(COMPLEX OF PALACES, COURTYARDS AND TEMPLES
BUILT BETWEEN THE 12TH AND 18TH CENTURIES
BY THE ANCIENT MALLA KINGS OF NEPAL)
SHRINE WITH MARIGOLD OFFERINGS,
HANUMAN DHOKA PALACE COMPLEX,
DURBAR SQUARE, KATHMANDU
HANUMAN SHRINE,
HANUMAN DHOKA PALACE COMPLEX,
DURBAR SQUARE, KATHMANDU
(THE OFFICIAL ENTRANCE
TO THE PALACE COMPLEX
HONORS THE MONKEY GOD, HANUMAN)
BOUDHANATH, KATHMANDU
(ONE OF THE LARGEST STUPAS IN THE WORLD)
PRAYER FLAGS AT BOUDHANATH, KATHMANDU
SMALLER STUPA AT BOUDHANATH, KATHMANDU
CHICKEN AND BUFFALO MOMOS, KATHMANDU
PASHUPATINATH TEMPLE, KATHMANDU
(OLDEST HINDU TEMPLE IN KATHMANDU
AND CREMATION SITE
ON THE BANKS OF THE BAGMATI RIVER,
BUILT IN THE 5TH CENTURY)
ON THE ROAD TO THE COUNTRYSIDE, NAGARKOT
OUTSIDE OF KATHMANDU
COUNTRYSIDE TERRACES, NAGARKOT
VIEW OF THE HIMALAYAS, NAGARKOT
PAPADUM AND CONDIMENTS
AT KAKORI INDIAN RESTAURANT, KATHMANDU
LAST MEAL AT KAKORI INDIAN RESTAURANT, KATHMANDU
(RAAN-E-AWADH: LEG OF LAMB MARINATED
IN YOGURT, NUTMEG AND CHILI
AND COOKED IN A TANDOOR;
PALAK KA BAHAR: SPINACH WITH POTATO,
PANEER, MUSHROOM AND CORN)
AND DON'T FORGET DESSERT!
ANANAS KA KHEER
(RICE PUDDING WITH SAFFRON AND PINEAPPLE
TOPPED WITH PISTACHIOS)
