One thing is nagging me almost everyday - my unshared stories and pictures from India. I arrived to Delhi on the 14th of October 2008, scared but excited to experience something extraordinary as predicted by a lot of fellow travellers. Even though everyone was telling me different things about India, one thought was shared - India is so special that it is indescribable unless you experience it. This notion is annoying at times you make travel plans, but I am forced to agree with it thinking back on my experiences.
India is everything you want it to be and ready to make out of it. It is a chameleon that can change and adjust to your moods and spirits. A very good thought from a book called Holy Cow! by Sarah Macdonald:
"India is beyond statement, for anything you say, the opposite is also true. It's rich and poor, spiritual and material, cruel and kind, angry but peaceful, ugly and beautiful, and smart but stupid. It's all the extremes. India defies understanding. [...] What's more, India's extremes are endlessly confronting."
The first two weeks in India are crucial as all your senses are assaulted quite literally with different smells, noise, crowds of people, traffic, weather, pollution, weird food, etc. However, how you react will tell you a lot about yourself and that's the journey what makes India so special for everyone who opens up to it.
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Part 1
India was the first country on my itinerary that I decided to attack without a plan. I certainly heard about Agra, Varanasi and Himalayas, but I did not even manage to buy a guidebook before arrival.
The first 3 days in India I stayed in South Delhi with the family of my former colleague. Never was I more hopeless than in that beautiful posh house. I was dealing with traditional Indian family hierarchy and procedures. I could not leave the house without a car, I could not get my own bus/train/plane ticket, I could not even get a guidebook without help. Nothing was within the walking distance of the house, and I did not feel comfortable asking for "secretary services".
The only thing that kept me sane was Indian pop music that I was watching for hours while confined within four walls. Indian pop music must be the best free antidepressant invented. When you watch Indian music clips with colourful synchronized group dancing you automatically start giggling, dancing and doing the hand twist movement. The gorgeous girls, hot guys, eye expressions, clothes, scenes are so entertaining that I was left wondering if they were for real. Is it a parody? But why? Later I learned that most of the songs are from Bollywood movies and are performed by the movie stars themselves. They can play, dance and sing. Needless to say I was converted into a big fun of Indian pop.
See what I am talking about:
Kabhi Kabhi was the song of my stay in India. Two weeks later I had it on my phone from a nice kid in Bikaner, Rajasthan.
Finally, I got my bearings together. Having decided to do the northern India in a better season, Varanasi and Agra in a more trained for India condition, I bought a bus ticket to Jaipur, Rajasthan. My real trip starts there and takes me on the following route:
[Read on soon...]
