Recollections En Route: Holy Cow, I’m in India

India has always been a perplexing country to me. If I thought South Korea was intimidating, you can imagine the fears I had about India. The culture, the poverty, and the chaos all crossed my mind while contemplating my trip. That being said, India has always been on my bucket list. And since I was living in Asia, it made sense to take advantage of my location. So, I booked a flight.

Okay, it wasn’t actually that straight forward. In fact, for the first time in my life, I joined an organized tour of the country. For eight days, myself and nine strangers traversed the north of India. I have an entire post dedicated to a review of my experience with G Adventures, but for now, it’s only important to know I was indeed on an organized tour of the country.  

We travelled from Delhi, to Jaipur, to Agra, to Orchha, and finally ended in Varanasi.

The entire experience was surreal, in so many ways. It was also easy {being on a tour and all}, which was something foreign to me. I was able to fully embrace, and more importantly, enjoy my time in India. There was no pressure to organize transportation, book accommodation, find drool worth restaurants, or worry about getting ripped off. It was all taken care of. 

Plus, my safety was only a minor concern on the trip. Normally, when I travel alone, it’s something I focus a majority of my attention on. In India, my mind was free to absorb my surroundings completely.

That in itself was worth every penny. 

In Delhi, I was introduced to the art of organized chaos.  In Jaipur, I explored an entire city painted pink. In Agra, I marveled at one of the wonders of the world. In Orchha, I discovered the best masala chai tea. In Varanasi, I came face to face with death in the most spiritual city in India. 

Nothing could have prepared me for my week in India.

My eardrums still ring from the sound of honking horns, but I sleep well knowing I made the most of my short time in the country. You can of course expect blog posts about each experience I was lucky enough to enjoy. And thousands of photos to compliment them. 

While my time in India unfortunately came to an end, it was only the start of another journey with G. From Varanasi, we made our way to Nepal to spend another week exploring a new country. Watch this space for, well, 

a bunch of cool shit.