How to Travel Through India

10 Tips to help you enjoy your adventures in India

1. Always have toilet paper on you- in a pocket, purse or backpack- girls especially take heed.

2. Most people are good- just not those who work in tourism, so be careful and wise.

3. Do not buy street food if you are on a tight schedule- or have a toilet very close by.

4. Be direct and honest with shop keepers, drivers, etc. Pay what you think it is worth and expect what you pay for. In the same note remember that the scarf and shoes you are buying might actually be supporting that family so don't be stingy. 

5. Be nice even when others are not in turn nice to you. A smile helps. 

6. Eat lots of good food- just make sure it is a place full of other people. This often means it is good and well prepared. Also drink lots of water. Don't get dehydrated because you don't like the bathroom situation.

7. Research your transportation options then don't be fooled. If people say- oh that is closed or they moved offices don't believe them until you have gone as far as you can. Oh and if people are blocking from a building and leading you towards another- this probably means they are tricking you.

8. Spend time with locals via couchsurfing, or other social websites to help you meet people who can show you the area or culture through a different more authentic lens.

9. Learn and follow local customs. This often leads to greater respect and more enjoyable exchanges.

10. Take time in solitude -This is the home land of buddha and many remarkable meditation practices. It may seem hard to find peace and solitude but you can. Take time in nature, an ashram or even special yoga retreats. Balance the chaos of India with internal peace.

India Love and a Roof Top Video

I often still think about those nights spent in India. A month gave us a good introduction to the people and cultures, but I pray that I will soon return to that vibrant country. There is still much to experience there.

*Video and narration by my best friend Jaims*

Dharamsala and McLeod Ganj, India: Prayer Flags, Fresh Air and lots and lots of RAIN!

Our final stop in India was the small and very touristy town of McLeod Ganj. The hillside town is full of peace seeking individuals, Tibetan monks and the Dalai Lama himself. 

After a month healthy, Jaims and I finally broke down and both of us were pretty sick. Sadly this was not an ideal place to recover as the rains made everything damp and there was no hope of a quick recovery. So we took it easy and eat well, slept, hiked and went on long walks through mysterious brown flooding... 

*After a long walk to a lake we found this empty lot- not exactly a lake*

*my seat for the overnight bus back to Delhi, full of BUGS! oh and yes it was also very wet*

Amritsar, India: Good People, Good Food, and Dancing!

The hospitality we received throughout India was remarkable, especially considering that my boyfriend showed me the film Taken right before our trip. The story is about two american girls getting kidnapped and sold while on a trip in Europe. Although we were careful and yes sexual harassment is real and a HUGE problem in India, if you find the right people, you will be taken care of. These are the faces of those we stayed among. 

A must see event in Amritsar is the boarder closing. The dance and song included in the joyous ceremony conducted daily to close the boarder crossing with Pakistan is one of the most unusual yet exciting moments to witness. 

*The woman and girls would dance and sing*

*our tall blonde friend was easy to spot in the crowd!*

*no room IN the bus but always room ON the bus*

I love the people we meet on the road. Sometimes they are locals and other times fellow travelers. Regardless of where they are from I cherish the moments I have been able to share with people all over the world. 

*enjoying the show from the pool*

*the amazing dancers*

*I fear for the electricians lives in India- so many wires- so many knots!*

Jaims

so far my most favorite things as far as sights go in india have been the taj mahal, and amritsar's golden temple and the closing of the border ceremony between pakistan and india.

I loved loved the golden temple.  It's a sikh temple and the sikh religion, what i've elarneed from it so far is really really neat, I have a lot of respect for it and for the people who practice it.  The sikhs that I have met are all extremely kind people (we stayed with a sikh family in delhi) and very generous and sincere with good intentions.  There are a lot of sikhs in amritsar and I could feel it straight away.  Of course there were still a lot of people pestering about buying their things and taking their taxis etc. but not nearly as much as in other cities and inside the grounds of the temple it felt like a whole other world.  you take your shoes of and leave them at a place where they keep them for free and just give you a token, and then you have to cover your head so they provide some scarves if you've not got one, and you walk through a little pool of water to cleanse your feet and the temple grounds are all white marble and its beautiful, and there is a little body of water, a small lake, and right in the middle of it is the golden temple and it is cosntructed of approximately 170 something kilos of pure gold! it is really really stunning and when the sun is setting around it and you can see its reflexion in the water it really takes your breath away.  a man offered to take us around the grounds to show us the cafeteria which is quite an impressive sight, it's a huge production there and they've got meals - making and serving and clean up the whole works - down to a fine art and get this, all of it is volunteer run and they serve up to 100,000 people a day!  I volunteered for a couple hrs, one hour sorting out the good flat bread from the not good (burnt or not cooked enough) among a few other lovely older women and there was this adorable kid, maybe 10 or 12 yrs old that was carting off the bread and bringing us more to sort and he was working so so hard and so quick, it was really impressive, and after i'd gotten quite a bit of bread dust in my eyes i went and ate a great lunch of dhal, sweet coconut and milk rice, and flat bread, and then went to volunteer for another hour or so rolling out the flat bread (chiapattis) to be baked with some other really lovely women that were so cute, they didn't speak english at all and we just ended up giggling a lot at our failed attempts to talk to each other and resorted to doing a lot of hand gestures.  man they are beautiful women here and they work so so hard and their smiles could light up the city of new york during a massive power outage. very neat. loved the temple.

we went to the pakistan/india border closing ceremony which is quite a HUGE ordeal that they have every single evening and it's more like a huge football match or something with the way they carry on dancing and running their country flag back and forth and cheering and clapping and the guards with their theatrical marches and leg kicks that are high enough to make fear of a self-inflicted bloody nose a valid fear.  LOVED IT! it was so so fun and such a great thing to see.  they have so much pride for their country and each side has their own chants and they go on celebrating for about an hour and then the two guards shake hands, the flags are lowered and the gates are closed and teh border between the two countries is closed for the evening. so fun. I vote that we begin such festivities between the canadia/u.s. border. 

feeling so sick still! we are both a bit decrepit and feel just gross kind of.  We walked quite a bit to see a lake that is all but muddy puddles and the whole way down were awlking in the pouring rain - we got drenched and i had a poo attack on the way home but managed to keep it in until we got back.  Feeling a bit off still, and are a bit worried for the overnight bus tomorrow back to delhi...yikes! one bathroom trip every 4 hrs only...oh dear, bring on the immodium, ha!....

love you guys so much, got to go, will probably write again when we're in slovenija!

lots and lots of tight hugs and kisses for those who want em :)

love jaimo 

Amritsar, India: The Golden Temple

Every state in India has a unique culture. The food, fashions and even religious traditions vary greatly in each state. In college I used to eat at this great Indian buffet for special occasions, because, well- I love indian food and I LOVE buffets. On the wall in this restaurant there was a large painting of a building in the middle of what looked like a lake. I eventually learned that this golden building was actually refereed to as the Golden Temple; a religious site for those belonging to the Sikh faith. As I learned more about the religion I realized again, something I discover over and over while traveling, is that most religions are more similar than we think. For the most part our religions teach us to do good, protect those things that are most valuable (home, family, virtue), to learn of God and the universe, and commit in various ways to be a better people. What a beautiful thing. 

One of my favorite parts of the Golden Temple was working in the kitchen. Because they feed anyone for free, a lot of food needs to be prepared and a lot of volunteers are needed to prepare it. 

I will miss the feeling of peace and community felt here. Thank you for teaching me that all I own is to be shared with all those I love.

Jaipur, India and some monkeys!

Although we didn't plan on spending time in Jaipur, I am glad we did. The monkey temples, hidden pools in the mountains and kind hospitality we received made it a worth while stop.