India is the most other-worldly, colorful, chaotic whirlwind we’ve experienced so far, and even though it was one of the places I absolutely wanted to go from the beginning, I am still surprised at how much we loved our time in this country. India was everything I thought it would be: mouthwatering food, intricate and lavish-beyond-words palaces, crowds, and getting used to squat toilets. Yet India packed so many surprises, so many contradictions, so many complexities, that it is fitting that while I was there I reread Midnight’s Children, which is not only an allegory about the country itself but also an ode to multiple identities existing in a single form. India, a single country, embodies this idea perfectly.
“And there are so many stories to tell, too many, such an excess of intertwined lives events miracles places rumors, so dense a commingling of the improbable and the mundane! I have been a swallower of lives; and to know me, just the one of me, you’ll have to swallow the lot as well. Consumed multitudes are jostling and shoving inside me…”
-Salman Rushdie, Midnight’s Children…a perfect description of India
There is SO MUCH to see, to think about, to process, and to learn in India. Never a dull moment, always a surprise around the corner, and I loved every second.
Interestingly, as we were planning our trip, India was the place that got the most negativity from people we talked to. Concerns about sanitation, safety, and digestion are absolutely real, and the country certainly has much work to do especially in regards to women’s rights, but I was surprised that those issues came up so often when we would talk about our plans. Compared to the other countries we are going to that also have issues, India seemed to have an undeserved bad rap. I can now report from a plane flying away from Delhi that we had absolutely no problem with any of those things during our two weeks in India, and that with a little prep and caution, those fears should never prevent someone from visiting such a beautiful, fascinating, worthwhile place: especially if they take a tour with an awesome company, like we did.
We didn’t get “Delhi Belly”, food poisoning, or have to spend any extraordinary time in a bathroom, yet we ate the most fantastic food, including some street food and chai from all manner of vendors.
I felt safer in India then I have in many parts of America, and certainly more than I felt in the Serbian portion of Bosnia or Morocco. This was, of course, due in large part to being in a group and to our fearless and incredibly competent guide Anjali. Yet the few times we ventured out without her protective eye on free days, and even when I walked back to the hotel in Pushkar by myself, I didn’t feel nearly as menaced by strange eyes as I did in Morocco (case in point: I actually never went anywhere in Morocco by myself, but I felt okay walking the 15 minutes back to our hotel in India by myself when my friends wanted to do some shopping instead).
I think concerns about cleanliness are similarly unfounded. All of the hotels we stayed at were very clean! Some were more basic, some were former palaces, but I was never worried about cleanliness. The trains and metro were very clean. Yes, some of the toilets were a little iffy, but that is because so many people use them! I maintain that the grossest toilets I’ve ever encountered were at Yosemite National Park during a June weekend. That experience has everything in India beat. And yes, there is quite a bit of trash in the streets (cows, dogs, pigs, and the occasional monkey crew really enjoy digging around in it!), but just as many people with brooms sweeping storefronts. I will admit that the air pollution in Delhi was pretty horrible, and I hope the government is able to come up with some solutions so that residents don’t have to live their lives in that airborne muck. Overall, India is a very crowded and populous country, and where there are people, there is trash. It didn’t bother me or take away from the beauty of the country and our experience there.
Of course, we were really lucky because we were on a tour. We did not have to navigate the chaos of Delhi, decipher the train system, or figure out how much to tip the endless parade of bellboys who heaved our backpacks in hotels all over Rajasthan. After a lot of research, we ended up booking the Classic Rajasthan tour with Intrepid Travel, and I could not be more impressed with the company and our tour. Intrepid specializes in small group, ethical travel. Groups are capped at 15 people (ours had 7), and they put a lot of care into making sure that tourists aren’t contributing to common tourism problems, like animal welfare issues. If you have a dream of going to a trickier place, I really recommend Intrepid. They go all over the world and the prices are very reasonable. I definitely see us doing more trips with them in the future!
Our trip was 15 nights, and here is our itinerary with LOTS of photos. In a separate post (to avoid turning my gushing about India into a book), I wrote about my the top 10 things I loved about India.
Delhi (first and last stop)
A city of 25+ million people, the air pollution and bedlam make it seem a bit apocalyptic, but with Anjali guiding us we saw the Jama Masjid mosque (beautiful, but the smog obscured the views a little), a Sihk temple (we had to wash our feet and cover our heads! So cool!), a hipster coffee shop, and ate some delicious breakfast in a local stall. We also visited a beautiful restored garden near Humayun’s Tomb in the afternoon, which was such a peaceful contrast to the crowded city.
This is where the cool kids in Delhi hang out, so obviously Ben and I had to go there 😉 
Delhi electrical work…but it works! 
Amazing traffic 
We visited a Sikh temple, which was amazing. 
Breakfast! 
Banana fritters! 
Beautiful. This is in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world!
Agra
We took the train to Agra to see, of course, the TAJ. MAHAL. And also a very-impressive-on-it’s-own Red Fort!
Akbar the Great was really into representing multiple religions in his palace, AKA the six pointed star, the lotus flower, the geometric patterns… 
The sultan got fanned by ladies through these vents. WHAT A LIFE. 
Fort Madhogarh
This was a rural area, where we got to walk through a wonderful little village and sleep in a cliff-side fort. Watching the sunset over Kingfishers and a bonfire while hearing the music come from the valley temples was incredible.
We slept here!
Jaipur
Home of the stunning Amber Fort (with the not-good practice of elephant rides to the top, luckily Intrepid doesn’t condone elephant rides), a textile shop where we got beautiful prints and custom-made shirts, a monkey temple, and a Bollywood show!
Ranthambore National Park
Home to tigers who decided they didn’t want to show their faces to us, which is totally fine! We loved the park anyway. We saw beautiful birds and a gorgeous sunset.
That is a kingfisher on the right. Beautiful, beautiful bird. 
Alas, this footprint was as close as we got to a tiger. 
Bundi
MY FAVORITE. I write all about this magical little city in my Top 10 India post.
Paangarh Lake and Bijaipur
Where we glamped AND stayed in a palace, ooh la la. This was the prettiest place we stayed and I loved taking pictures of the grounds.
Udaipur
A royal, rich city with great food and beautiful palaces, including one in the middle of the lake! Udaipur was lovely. While we were there, we took a cooking class, toured the magnificent palace, went on a sunset lake cruise, and bought MORE custom made clothing. We couldn’t help ourselves!
I think this was a bathroom or something. 
Pushkar
Not going to lie, not my favorite. This holy city has been taken over by Western hippie types. It was also our last stop so maybe I was feeling sad:( We did have an absolutely lovely meal at a family home, which was the best part of Pushkar!
We had an absolutely wonderful, positive time in India. I think this will end up being one of the most impactful, moving portions of our trip and I’m so grateful for every minute we spent in the country.