After spending almost 2 months in Egypt it was time to move on. My next destination was India… and is going to be for the next 3 months. To be honest with you aside from the Taj Mahal… I have no clue what else is in India. I just knew it’s a massive country and need about 3 months to see a portion of it.
I was going to do India alone or not, but a part of me did not want to do it alone. I had managed to talk to Val who had I had met in Brussels and then shared an apartment in Valencia for a week for La Tomatina with and India was not in her plans, but a country she wanted to visit, but not alone. I know Val well and know I love her & love traveling with her… so we chatted a few times to make plans and things fell right into place. We could both do India for 3 months during the same dates.
I said bye to the man I love in Cairo and boarded my flight to New Delhi… it was a long exhausting flight with a lay over in Istanbul. I finally arrived in New Delhi at 5am, I got nervous like always waiting in line through customs, but was a breeze. I made my way to the Metro to take to my stop to find my hotel. Everything seemed normal and calm… moments later I arrived exited the metro station caught my 1st glimpse of sun in hours and bam… the chaos began.
I walked out a million touts started fighting for me to get on their rickshaw… I walked to the right saw 3 men peeing in the middle of the street… walked to the left saw trash everywhere and a cow roaming the streets. I knew my hotel was walking distance, but I had no clue in what direction to go… I asked a few people for the street, but no one could help.
After wandering around for about an hour I finally made it to the hotel. Not only was I going to be meeting Val the next day that morning I was going to be meeting Caroline that morning. Not sure if you remember Caroline she is the reader of mine who invited me to stay with her in Hamburg and then took me on a mini road trip through Northern Germany and Denmark. Well she’s now a good friend of mine and she was in India and made plans to meet me up for a few days and celebrate Holi together.
We happened to arrive at the hotel around the same time. It was a familiar face I needed to see after being lost for a while. It was so nice to see her… we left our bag had breakfast upstairs and caught up then checked in took a nap and then enjoyed a walk around New Delhi with other friends.
Mango Smoothie in a cup inside a cup
Yeah I will need to get used to the chaos that is India.
My 1st Tali meal… it is a delicious mixture of many Indian dishes.
Me & Caroline on my 1st rickshaw ride in India!
That night Val finally arrived around 2am we were all exhausted and just slept. The next day we planned to do some sightseeing and book a train ticket to Mathura for Holi. Our attempt to buy a train ticket at the train station for Mathura failed. We were sent many ways then finally found where we should buy it, but was a long line of about a million tourist all with faces of exhaustion. We thought screw it we’ll pay extra and have the hotel book it for us. Our day of sight seeing began.
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We also did some shopping and I managed to buy two cute shirts for less than $5. After all that went back to the hotel and thought it would be a breeze to buy our train tickets on to Mathura and boy did we think wrong. We ended up having to go to a few travel agents and finally being told we have them, but have to come back the morning of to pick them up. After going back 3 times I finally had our tickets in my hands and made our way to the train station to make our way to Mathura with out having a clue where to stay.
I know from what I am telling you these 2 days don’t sound too crazy, but the truth is this: so far India has been like nothing I have had to deal with before. Everything is in your face and hard to get. Everywhere you turn you see people, animals, trash and poverty. If I could only describe India with one word it would be INTENSE. I know the next few months are going to be hard and test me more than before, but I guess it’s all part of the fun. We’ll see how it goes…
Wow, I guess after a while it will seem less intense. Thank goodness you have a friend with you. Things are always more fun and less hassle with a friend in tow. That Tali meal looks DEVINE! Have Fun.
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Yeah Jan I think after a while it will seem less intense & oh yes it always helps to be traveling with someone. We love looking out for each other & well spending time together so we are not alone.
Jaime – you are a travel pro, by now buddy….I have no doubt this will be a bit more of a culture shock than Europe (or even Morocco), but you know it is nothing you can’t handle pal!!
I think we will be spending a month-ish in S.India, sometimes in June…
Safe travels!!
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Hey y’all… thanks for calling me a PRO even though sometimes I don’t feel like one… I have to admit I have this traveling thing down finally & I love it. I know it’s different everywhere I go but in essence it is still very much the same. As for India… ahh it’s just so different and INTENSE. Looks like you will be arriving to India as I will be leaving so if you need any advice let me know. You know I’m always happy to help. Miss y’all & hope all is well.
I’m hoping to have a travel partner or two when I go to India. It tops my list of where to go next but I just don’t want to do it alone. I’m so glad you three have each other and that you and Val are teaching together 🙂 I saw your FB update about how you’re loving the kids, and I’m looking forward to teaching stories.
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Yeah Heather I hope you can find someone to do India with. I’ll be honest it is 1) just hard to do, 2) I think it would be harder for a girl to do alone & 3) just intense & it would help to be with someone else. I am so happy Val was able to join me & we were doing it together.
Hi Jaime,
was jus goin thru the story above and then your comments like “jus hard to do” and “I think it would be harder for a girl to do alone”
well, Being a born Delhiite I do not agree with your point of view, infact if you land up all the wrong places even in NEW YORK you above comments hold true.
Maybe your case is where you have not met the right kind of people in India or otherwise to let you know the means and modes as well as places to visit.
However, brushing all sentiments aside, next time if any of you or any acquaintances visit India you are free to contact me to give you right insight and advice.
By the way, I am not a travel agent or someone alike> I am a legal attorney practicing law here at New Delhi. you may call me at mob# +91-9899610720
or mail me at manish_kapur4@yahoo.com
Hi Manish, I understand what you are saying completely. Anything & everything that you could do to prepare for one city is what you basically do for any city. You do research, you prepare yourself and try to make the best of it. The thing is not every country or city is the same when it comes to traveling it. I’ve now been in India almost 3 months and I must say it has been one of the toughest for me to travel in and I’ve been to over 20 countries. So yes I believe it’s hard to do and well I am not a women, but I have talked to some who have been traveling alone and many at times have had problems. By all means though I am not saying anyone shouldn’t come here or travel here. I am actually heading back to New Delhi to catch flight back to Egypt. I will email you when I get a chance and try to see if we can meet up.
Jaime are you going to do any yoga at all? You are in India, you have to try it!
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I want too, but I am not sure if we will have time to do an actual class. I think when we get in Goa we should be able to find one & take some lessons I have never done yoga in my life. I think I will not survive.
Agree that you have to try yoga in India. If cities become too much, go rural. It’s much less over-whelming!
I will try for sure… Val & I really want too!
That meal looks delicious. Excited to see what you uncover in India.
Kent @ No Vacation Required recently posted..When Things Get Ugly, Commit
Kent the food in India is amazing NO JOKE!!! We’ll have to wait and see what I uncover in India during my 3 months here!
That’s the PERFECT word to describe India. Intense, but I loooove it!
Andi of My Beautiful Adventures recently posted..Andi’s Pick: Pousada Picinguaba
Ahhh it is INTENSE, but I don’t know if I love it (yet).
Hi Jaime, Welcome to India. This is a country of contrast. You may not like it, but in three months you will surely love it. Anyway, I am an another backpacker around the corner and this is my country. Let me know if I can help you in India. Welcome Again and enjoy the chaos here.
Thank you Avanish, this really is a country of contrast as of right now I am not liking it, but I don’t hate it. I know it’s too soon to tell & well after the 3 months we’ll see how I feel. If I need anything I will get with ya! Thanks again.
Sounds like the same first 2 days we had! LOL. Minus the train ticket fiasco. If you have or can get your hands on an Indian mobile number, you can book your train tickets on cleartrip.com. That’s what we’ve been doing and had little to no problems getting seats. 🙂 Shame our paths didn’t cross on this leg of the trip. Hope you and Val are doing well. We’re headed to Thailand.
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Ahh yes the 1st 2 days are just crazy & a spin… yeah we heard about cleartrip, but we don’t have a mobile… so have just been buying the tickets in advance. I know it is a shame our paths didn’t cross here. It’s just that India is so big & it takes forever to get from one part to the next. I hope they do cross at some other point. Enjoy Thailand I will be there in like 5 months.
I’m so looking forward to reading your (and Val’s) posts over the next few months. India sounds so interesting to me, but also scares the hell out of me. Intense is definitely what I think of when people talk about India. I hope you adjust and it gets a little easier to deal with.
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Ali, umm yes you should be scared… I’m not kidding. Few weeks in already and yeah… I still don’t know if I like it or hate it. We’ll see how it goes with time.
I’m soooo excited for you! the place is amazing! what cities are you going to go to? I can’t keep up continuously with the blog for now but I’ll tell you that in a weird but wonderful way you’ll really like or love the country! Well some people don’t but I really hope you do! PS. happy belated birthday! love ya Mr!
Ahh PRIMA!!!! Oh man I am going all over the place… I can’t list them here way to many to list. You will see as I go…lol!!! I know it’s hard to keep up but come back at the end of each week or when you can & well new stuff will be out. I post every Tuesday & Thursday (at least try too). Right now I still don’t know how I feel about it… it’s just eh… so far.
Thanks for the B-Day wishes.
Just catching up with the blog man and have to say this looks great. I love how you are so honest in your posts about how you didn’t know much about India going in and it will be great to see you get to know it through your blog. Julia & I are leaving NZ in a week and should be in much friendlier internet territory come next week or so so it should be easier to follow along! Cheers!
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Thanks for catching up… yeah India will be interesting that is for sure. Where y’all headed to after NZ?
The Indian food looks rockin! I can’t imagine what the real thing tastes like. I have always wanted to try India but sounds kinda crazy!!!!! Be safe 🙂
Hey JEREMY!!! Oh the Indian food is amazing, but now almost a month into India I must admit, ah I miss MEAT a lot. As for India you should try it one day… it is crazy & will blow all your senses away. If it’s not a mus ton your list I’d say try other countries 1st.
I mainly visited the golden triangle and too found India to be a little too intense. However, my friends who have visited the countryside all tell me that things out there are much more relaxed and enjoyable! omg Indian food…
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Ahhh yes right now Erica I still feel like it is to intense and still have no clue if I like this country at all. We will be heading to different regions of India so we will see how I feel at the end.
Dear Friends…
As an Indian and a born Delhiite, I would like to say here that I love my motherland and like to share few travel tips for the people who are desirous of visiting India :
Do’s –
– Plan your visit ahead as lots of info about hotels tariffs, routes, transport etc are easily available on net and preferably get advice of a local contact regarding the places you want to visit.
– India is rich in culture and is a diverse and vast in various cultures there is much much more on offer than routine places you have probably heard about – Taj Mahal, Red fort Etc.it is correct to add the more you go towards the central and southern part you will be happy you did as you will see lots of historical and tourists destinations afterall, it’s a country with 5000 years of History.
– Take an online tour of the official tourism ministry of India site it will give you lots of ideas as to what places to visit in accordance to your liking
– If you are a foodie then beware as the food in India is basically more spicey in comparison to your palates and the best of it starts from Northern India though every region has own specialty…you’re sure to get bowled over with the variety and the abundance of the different delicacies.
– Above all, in major cities you will find good night life whereas the rural areas lack the same infact, after 10 p.m. it’s all shut down in rural areas other than liquor shops! (-:
– Delhi and all major cities are gearing up with metro Rail service – use the same till maximum for the travel it will be safe as well as cheap!
Dont’s
– Beware of touts and over friendly persons and remember India is almost the most populated nation, therefore there is no dearth of cheaters and criminal minded fellas.
– Use you gadgets, maps and other info for guidance or approach cops or authorized personnel for any guidance related to travel plans they will be glad to help….really!
– preferably if possible hire your taxi through registered service providers on local directory or through net and avoid same being arranged vide any other medium.
– and ask about the ingredients before you eat heart full as the food might be very spicey so you may also instruct beforehand the food served to be less in spice.
Thank you Manish for this information, these are things I make sure I do regardless of what country I am visiting.
“Very nice post Jaime Davila.
That’s quite an information, and I enjoyed reading the article, and the information you have shared is also helpful for me. “