We always knew India was going to be a shock to the system as our first stop, but we didn’t quite anticipate what a sensory overload it was going to be! From the colours of the sarees, to the incessant beeping of the car horn, right through to the smells of spices in the markets mixed with animals, plenty of holy cows and a whole heap of rubbish! It was crazy, but brilliant.
Of course Luke and I had to have a bit of a dramatic start to our trip and during our first few days in India we were in Western Rajasthan. After visiting temples, palaces and ancient forts we made our way to Jasilmer, a desert town not a million miles from the Pakistan border, when India decided to carry out the air strike! Fortunately we were miles away from the conflict in Kashmir, but as India mobilised the army and trucks and tanks rolled into the town, we swiftly rolled out!
We were amazed at how inflammatory the news was on reporting the conflict; certainly one sided and they didn’t seek out facts before releasing ‘breaking news’ to the public!
As we escaped the town with the military presence we headed deep into the desert for a spot of camping! Luke embraced both camping and camels with gusto… but he ensured the dettol wipes were to hand and got through copious amounts of antibac!
Naively, we underestimated just how long it would take to get to cities in the state of Rajasthan and became accustomed to spending half a day in the car at the time, but we really soaked up the culture in Royal Rajasthan and learnt all about the history, people and way of life.
We have been blown away by Indian hospitality during our three-week stint here.
We’ve been guests of honour at wedding parades (see video evidence!) and bestowed upon with the highest honour by a travelling Sikh group from Punjab when we visited their temple whilst they were on pilgrimage. We lapped up the attention, well I certainly did (!), and the celebrity status in India and posed for many selfies along the way- although I struggled with them asking Luke’s permission for everything and he graciously said they would have to ask me instead. Not a huge amount of gender equality here!
Naively, we underestimated just how long it would take to get to cities in the state of Rajasthan and became accustomed to spending half a day in the car at the time, but we really soaked up the culture in Royal Rajasthan and learnt all about the history, people and way of life.
We have been blown away by Indian hospitality during our three-week stint here.
We’ve been guests of honour at wedding parades (see video evidence!) and bestowed upon with the highest honour by a travelling Sikh group from Punjab when we visited their temple whilst they were on pilgrimage. We lapped up the attention, well I certainly did (!), and the celebrity status in India and posed for many selfies along the way- although I struggled with them asking Luke’s permission for everything and he graciously said they would have to ask me instead. Not a huge amount of gender equality here!
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