So this morning I returned to Hyderabad following 10 weeks spent travelling around north India! I had the most incredible time with my friends Ellie, Tati and Martha and I have seen some truly amazing places. I am going to try and cover each place briefly because we've done so much I couldn't possibly include everything!
Varanasi:
The first place we travelled to was the holy city of Varanasi. Based along the bank of the river Ganges, the city attract pilgrims from all over India as people come here to die so that they can be cremated beside the holy river. Varanasi was crowded, claustrophobic, dirty and smelly, but also one of my favourite places I've been in India! The atmosphere was incredible. We took an early morning boat trip along the river which was really beautiful, and it was amazing to see all of the people out so early to bathe in the water. Watching the burning ghats was quite surreal. It was so strange being able to watch bodies being burnt to ashes on the fires! It felt quite intrusive. Varanasi is definitely not for the faint hearted, but for us it was such a great start to the holiday!
Khajuraho:
After Varanasi we moved on to Khajuraho, home to the Kama Sutra temples. It wasn't one of my favourite places, but the statues were fun to explore and we had a very amusing guide to show us around! We also spent an afternoon driving around the countryside on scooters which was nice. Unfortunately I broke my shoe dancing in a field.
Agra:
Of course everyone who comes to India has to go to Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal. And I have to say, it really is amazing! When you're there, it's hard to believe you're standing beside one of the seven wonders of the world. Luckily we went really early in the morning so there weren't too many people there and it wasn't too hot! We spent the rest of the day getting a tour of Agra and seeing the other sights. Unfortunately our Agra experience was slightly ruined by the owner of our guest house drunkenly telling us to leave because 'women are dishonest and have no respect'. What a charmer!
Jaipur:
Next we went to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, and the capital of all shopping! On the first day we planned to see the sights but unfortunately didn't make it that far because we got dragged into the jewellery shops! When we did eventually see them, they were really beautiful! Lots of gorgeous buildings all made out of a yellowish stone and looking very desert-like. It was a really nice city but I felt quite threatened there and after getting groped in a market I just felt quite uncomfortable. That's the first time I've felt like that in India! It was a shame because every other aspect of Jaipur was great!
Delhi:
Our stay in Delhi ended up being very luxurious because Ellie has friends in high places so we ended up staying in the Dutch Embassy! We had a very relaxing six days eating delicious food, swimming in the pool, watching movies and occasionally leaving the house to see the Delhi sights. We also spent a day in a shopping mall trying on clothes which was fun after 8 months of wearing baggy Indian outfits! I can't thank Mr and Mrs Bensamer enough for their generosity; our six days with them definitely re-energised us for the rest of our trip!
I'm going to take a break now because the internet is very slow and is driving me slightly mad. I'll upload more soon though!
Varanasi:
The first place we travelled to was the holy city of Varanasi. Based along the bank of the river Ganges, the city attract pilgrims from all over India as people come here to die so that they can be cremated beside the holy river. Varanasi was crowded, claustrophobic, dirty and smelly, but also one of my favourite places I've been in India! The atmosphere was incredible. We took an early morning boat trip along the river which was really beautiful, and it was amazing to see all of the people out so early to bathe in the water. Watching the burning ghats was quite surreal. It was so strange being able to watch bodies being burnt to ashes on the fires! It felt quite intrusive. Varanasi is definitely not for the faint hearted, but for us it was such a great start to the holiday!
Khajuraho:
After Varanasi we moved on to Khajuraho, home to the Kama Sutra temples. It wasn't one of my favourite places, but the statues were fun to explore and we had a very amusing guide to show us around! We also spent an afternoon driving around the countryside on scooters which was nice. Unfortunately I broke my shoe dancing in a field.
Agra:
Of course everyone who comes to India has to go to Agra to see the famous Taj Mahal. And I have to say, it really is amazing! When you're there, it's hard to believe you're standing beside one of the seven wonders of the world. Luckily we went really early in the morning so there weren't too many people there and it wasn't too hot! We spent the rest of the day getting a tour of Agra and seeing the other sights. Unfortunately our Agra experience was slightly ruined by the owner of our guest house drunkenly telling us to leave because 'women are dishonest and have no respect'. What a charmer!
Jaipur:
Next we went to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, and the capital of all shopping! On the first day we planned to see the sights but unfortunately didn't make it that far because we got dragged into the jewellery shops! When we did eventually see them, they were really beautiful! Lots of gorgeous buildings all made out of a yellowish stone and looking very desert-like. It was a really nice city but I felt quite threatened there and after getting groped in a market I just felt quite uncomfortable. That's the first time I've felt like that in India! It was a shame because every other aspect of Jaipur was great!
Delhi:
Our stay in Delhi ended up being very luxurious because Ellie has friends in high places so we ended up staying in the Dutch Embassy! We had a very relaxing six days eating delicious food, swimming in the pool, watching movies and occasionally leaving the house to see the Delhi sights. We also spent a day in a shopping mall trying on clothes which was fun after 8 months of wearing baggy Indian outfits! I can't thank Mr and Mrs Bensamer enough for their generosity; our six days with them definitely re-energised us for the rest of our trip!
I'm going to take a break now because the internet is very slow and is driving me slightly mad. I'll upload more soon though!
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