Our adventures in India
India is a country of stark contrasts. This is a country of magnificent beauty, ancient temples, towering mountains, steamy jungles, and hot, dry deserts. It’s also a country that is overpopulated and in some areas impoverished. Travel to India and you will love it and hate it, rejoice in its beauty and become disheartened with its squalor, fall in love with …
Ranakpur Temple, one of the most beautiful temples in India, makes a perfect day trip if you are traveling between Udaipur and Jodhpur. We were very pleasantly surprised with the beauty and serenity of this temple. What is Ranakpur Temple? Ranakpur Temple is a Jain temple located in the state of Rajasthan. Jainism is an Indian religion that emphasizes non-violence …
We have now been traveling through Asia for over five months and still have several more to go. It has been quite the learning experience for our family…new foods, new cultures, lots of history to learn about. Most of it has been a wonderful experience although we have had a few difficulties along the way, just to keep things interesting. …
Khajuraho, India is home to UNESCO World Heritage temples, some of the finest temple art in the world. It is the erotic carvings that make these temples so famous, with some of the carvings featuring images from India’s famous Kama Sutra. Tim and I were intrigued by these temples and these carvings, so Khajuraho got added into our itinerary. We …
Varanasi, also known as Benares, is the spiritual capital of India. This is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities, dating back to the 11th century B.C. Varanasi is a city of pilgrimage for many Hindu and Jain people. It is auspicious to die here and many people are brought here to be cremated right along the water’s edge. …
During our time in New Delhi, our visit to chaotic Old Delhi was a highlight. This is a crazy place, with the traffic, noise, congestion, and even the odd smells we encountered. A walk through chaotic, Old Delhi is something to consider doing on your visit to India. Our Experience in New Delhi New Delhi, the capital of India, is …
After traveling almost four weeks through India we finally made it to the Taj Mahal, wonder of the world. Here is our quick tour of the Taj Mahal in photos. Taj Mahal in Photos On our first day in Agra we went to the sunrise point of the Taj Mahal. Here we had our first views of the Taj Mahal. …
Jaipur is one of three destinations in the “Golden Triangle,” a group of three cities that most people visit even on the quickest trip to India. In the Golden Triangle are New Delhi, the capital of India, Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, and Jaipur, the pink city. From what I read, most tourists do not love Jaipur. It’s crowded, …
Jaisalmer, India, a small city located in the desert just 130 kilometers from India’s border with Pakistan, was our home for five days. When planning this trip and learning that we could go on a camel safari in the desert, sleeping under the stars at night, we all got very excited. What a cool thing to do! We had plenty …
Knowing that I would be turning 40 while in India, I had great plans for celebrating my birthday. But India had other plans for me. The day before my birthday, on a six hour car ride from Udaipur to Jodhpur, I began to have a headache, fatigue, and fever. Tyler and Kara had just gotten over cold like symptoms so …
We spent three days in Udaipur, a city that is labeled as India’s most romantic city and one of its least hectic cities to visit. One of Udaipur’s claims to fame is that it was featured in the James Bond movie “Octopussy.” Hotel Boheda Palace We stayed at Hotel Boheda Palace, a great hotel with reasonable prices and views over …
As a grand finale in Mumbai, we took a street food tour, and it was by far our favorite thing we did while staying in this city. Using Reality Tours again, who we used for the tour through Dharavi, we spent four hours on our last evening in town trying foods prepared in food stands on the streets of Mumbai. …
Mumbai, our second stop in India, is a city that exceeded my expectations. After our tour through Nepal, Bhutan, and northeast India, we were all ready for another big city. Mumbai, known as Bombay until 1996, is one of the world’s largest cities by population. This city is the fifth largest in the world and the largest in India. Most …
Mumbai, known as Bombay until 1996, was the first major city we visited while in India. Mumbai is known for its film industry, being home to Bollywood, and its slums, made famous by the movie “Slum Dog Millionaire.” Sixty percent of the Mumbai population lives in slums. While in Mumbai, toured the Dharavi slum, Mumbai’s largest slum, with Reality Tours. …
The four of us have finally arrived in India. This is a country that we have both been looking forward to and fearing, if that makes any sense. We know that India is filled with amazing sights and some of the world’s best food, but also has hazards by the handful. When we tell other travelers that we will be …