A short, independent tour of India.

Afternoon all

I've recently got back from 16 days on the Indian subcontinent, and thought I'd post a short review. I went with the missus; we booked everything independently as opposed to taking one of the many (and expensive) tours you will find available, and I'd recommend doing so despite it seeming a rather daunting task at first. Registering for rail tickets is a chore, as is arranging your visa, but ultimately it allows for a great deal of freedom and ensures you don't have any stops in god-awful shops along the way as 'part of the tour'.

We focused mostly on the state of Rajasthan, and it'd be wise not to be too ambitious when spending a relatively short amount of time in India - it is a huge place and travel is not particularly quick.

Delhi

We spent two days in India's capital after flying in direct from London Heathrow, one day in New Delhi, and one day walking the streets of the almost medieval seeming Old Delhi. Arriving in such a city scrambles the senses in a way that is difficult to explain. A tempestuous scene met our eyes as we stepped out of the airport. Carriers of name cards jostle for pole position in front of the entrance doors, touts buzz about like particularly aggressive hornets going in for the kill and stern faced, rifle bearing security personnel stand stony faced overlooking the masses. There are literally hundreds of touts aiming to scam the more gullible tourist, and amid the mayhem it is difficult to remember all of the warnings that you'll have undoubtedly read in advance. Ignore them and get a pre-paid taxi, it will lessen the impact on your wallet.

New Delhi, with the impressively colonnaded Connaught Place at it's centre, is a mixture of new age 'hip' coffee and retail shops, grandiose British era architecture and an absolute storm of traffic. Whenever you step out on to the streets you are met with a cacophony of noise - mainly in the form of beeping car horns - and it can soon begin to wear. Look through that, however, and New Delhi has a fascinating combination of ancient Indian architecture (the Qutub Minar complex and Humayun's Tomb are well worth a visit) and more recent monuments (India Gate and the Bahai House of Worship (Lotus Temple) are both pretty cool. You can grab a beer at most places in New Delhi, though it is rarely advertised on menus and will invariably be disproportiantely expensive against other drinks, but it is often required after a day touring the city. Food is often vegetarian (and this is probably the safer route to go down, anyway), and was generally very good, if slightly spicier than what you might expect from a UK Indian restaurant on average.

Old Delhi is a different world. We caught the metro in to the old city from Connaught Place (the metro is impeccably clean, fast and efficient, in stark contrast to the city above) and stepping out of the station in the middle of one of Old Delhi's bazaars was like stepping back in time to the 15th century. We were genuinely the only non-Indian people in the vicinity, and the stares and attention received multiply enormously in comparison to New Delhi. The missus in particular was inundated with requests for photographs with locals, and I did wonder whether some of these guys had actually seen white people before. It is that intense.

A street 10 metres wide has just about everything that could ever happen on a street happening all at the same time, and non-stop throughout the day. Street food stalls line the sides, whilst the middle is occupied by cycle rickshaws, people, cows, dogs, monkeys and goats all fighting to get to their intended location. The bazaars are wonderful places, a chaotic scene full of colour, beggars, exotic spice markets and the aforementioned inhabitants. There's little time to stop and browse (probably a good thing, as we found that a moments hesitation in India leads to you being surrounded by various people offering 'to help'. It usually involves some kind of scam). We visited the Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque, which is an impressive structure, and then went across to the Red Fort. This is jam packed with tourists from all corners of India, and the photo requests only intensified. We duly obliged, but 300 photos later jaw ache sets in and you realise you have places to be.

Summary: Humanity in it's rawest sense can be seen in Delhi, as can Indian and British architecture at it's grandest. Well worth a visit, though it can be a struggle to come to terms with. Day one may leave you bewildered and unsure, but Delhi eventually forces you to love it's madness.

Agra

We opted to only spend one day in Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal, and were glad that we did. We rose at sunrise to see the Taj, and it absolutely lived up to it's hype. What a magnificent building! From distance it's beauty set among symmetrical gardens is astonishing, and up close you get a real appreciation for the sheer size of this monument (it was much bigger than I anticipated), and for the intricate detail set in it's pure white marble structure. Semi-precious stones and ridiculously detailed carvings only add to the amazement. Going early was a shrewd move - far less crowds and sunset makes for some interesting photography.

We spent the afternoon at nearby Fatehpur Sikri (the one time capital of Emperor Akbar but was abandoned due to water shortages), which has plenty of interesting arhitecture, and then at Agra Fort which is similar to Delhi's Red Fort, only slightly more interesting inside perhaps, and with great views of the Taj Mahal from it's ramparts.

Summary: An absolute must for the first timer. The Taj Mahal should not be missed (it genuinely is the world's most beautiful building), and there are other interesting monuments in the area. However, don't extend your stay more than you need to, as Agra in general is not a very nice place, and was our least favourite with the exception of it's attractions.

Ranthambhore National Park

Two days, four safaris. After the madness of Delhi and Agra getting away in to the Indian countryside was most welcome, and with the monsoon season ending not too long ago we were met with spectacularly lush greenery. Safaris depart at approximately 6.30 am and finish at approximately 10.30am for the morning, with the afternoon safaris running 2pm until 6pm.

You are allocated a random 'zone' ahead of each safari, each with differing landscapes, features and animals. We saw a whole range of species; samba deer, spotted deer, blue bull, wild boar, mongoose, serpent eagles, crocodiles, peacock, kingfisher, herons, stalks. Unfortunately we didn't see any of the resident leopards or sloth bears, however our second safari brought about the sighting that we (and almost every other visitor) had hoped for - a wild Royal Bengal tiger. Lying in the undergrowth not far from the track was an enormous male tiger, and we had about 20 seconds of viewing this magnificent creature until it got up, stretched and headed off in to the jungle. A moment I'd hoped to see since I was a child, and one that will live with me forever. If tigers are wiped from this Earth then it has to go down as the single greatest failure of the human race, in my opinion.

Summary: A lot more expensive than your average Indian location, but peaceful, incredibly beautiful scenery and the chance to see some interesting animals along with the elusive tiger if you're lucky. Probably our favourite place of those that we visited, though we are big nature lovers and it depends on the type of person you are. Being able to take a deep breath of clean air for the first time since arriving in India was a plus.

Jaipur

We spent three days in the Pink City. Jaipur's old city seemed more affluent than Old Delhi, and it could almost be described as similar, but with slightly less chaos. It is certainly more charming than the capital, though. The pink facades allow for some great photographs, and gives the city an almost fairytale feel. It is well worth spending a day inside the walls of the old city, exploring the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), Jantar Mantar (an astronomical observatory) and the City Palace. It's bazaars are also well worth a browse, but be prepared to bargain hard! Westerners are often quoted at least double the actual price at first.

Jaipur, as is the case with much of Rajasthan (a very warlike state of old!), has some magnificent forts and these are well worth spending a day visiting, too. The pick of these is undoubtedly the Amber Fort which is a few km out of the city, almost a palace and with the opportunity to ride an elephant up to the gates. This isn't all that cheap, and is not for the old or feint hearted, but is great fun and adds a real Indian touch to proceedings.

The monkey temple at Galta is also fun if you like being swamped by teeth baring primates, and offers some interesting/hilarious pictures of the monkeys going about their daily lives.

Summary: A more pleasant city than Delhi, and with some excellent buildings. Definitely worth a visit to complete the famed 'Golden Triangle'.

Udaipur

The city of lakes, and scene to James Bond film 'Octopussy'. Udaipur is set aside a lake and is immeasurably more relaxed and quieter than the other cities we visited. The lake provides a beautiful setting, crowned by the two lake palaces set on islands in the middle. One is a beautiful but incredibly expensive hotel, where Bond was mostly filmed, that is not available for the general public to visit, but boat trips can be taken to the other which offers alternative views of the city palace, a building which runs along the lake edge.

We spent two days in Udaipur, one visiting the city palace (which houses plenty of memorabilia and historical information), the crystal gallery (a bizarre collection of crystal items that one Maharaja once ordered from England that includes a pure crystal bed - this is interesting if not a tad over priced) and the Jagdish Temple (Sikh), and the other strolling through the small streets that are brimming with character. There are some nice shops/stalls in Udaipur, and these can be browsed with much less hassle than in other cities. Plenty of cafes with lake views to stop off for a bite and a beer where you can just take in the atmosphere and beauty of the place.

Summary: If you have time, it is worth going. We caught a sleeper train from Jaipur which took approximately 7 hours if I recall correctly. A welcome break from the busier cities, possesses plenty of charm and is great for photography.

Goa

We rounded off the trip by flying in to Goa to spend the last four days relaxing on it's many stunning beaches, and we were glad we did. Goa is an incredibly laid back place, provides lovely sea food, and gave us a different (and more Western) side of India. We stayed at Benaulim, which isn't too touristy and has a huge expanse of beach, though the most scenic beach was at Palolem (a vastly more touristy place but definitely worth spending a day at).

Lie on the beach, swim in the lukewarm seas, drink Kingfisher and eat fish curry. You don't need to do much more than that in Goa, and it was a perfect way to unwind after the 100% in your face lifestyle of the cities.

Summary: Added cost to the trip with the requirement for a flight, but Goa is a lovely place. Probably worth visiting Goa alone if you're looking for a good beach holiday with a slight twist. Probably the best beaches I've ever seen.

Other Information

We travelled around by train up until our flight to Goa. The trains are an experience of India in themselves, and you see some bizarre things. Perhaps the highlight was seeing rows of people stuffed in to the overhead luggage racks for a 12 hour train trip in to Mumbai...that'd give anyone back ache. The trains are often late, the tracks are covered in human faeces and rats, the stations are, much like the cities, immensely chaotic, but other than that they're brilliant and a pretty comfortable and cheap way to travel the country. Make sure you get an AC class ticket, though, and book well in advance.

Overall India is an extraordinary country, and I imagine unlike any other on this planet. As I alluded to earlier, it shows you humanity in it's rawest sense, but also humanity at it's most innovative, ingenuitive and resourceful. That, couple with natural and architectural beauty, made it an incredible place to visit and somewhere that I'm unlikely to forget. I'd say it very much depends on your persona as to whether you would like it too - I can see why people say you either love it or you hate it - but I loved it and wouldn't think twice about going back.

Hope I didn't drone on for too long, but any questions feel free to ask.

Cheers

Nice one mate. I was anticipating a write-up from you, pleased to see you didn't disappoint. Good of you to take the time to do it.

Sounds like you had a cracking time, although Goa aside it does sound pretty hectic. Living where I do, I reckon I'd just want to head straight to Goa and have a lie down for a week or two!

I've never been to India by the way. One day maybe. One day.

Not a problem, mate.

It was incredibly hectic and it can be tough to get your bearings. All common sense seems to be driven out of the window too by the noise, smell and energy of many places, leaving you fairly open to the many scams if you aren't careful. You get used to it, but it can be tough and you just need to try and relax. The problem is that you need to act confidently and look like you know where you are going (which isn't easy) - if you stop for one second and hesitate then the touts will generally be on you like flies. You need to learn fast, which thankfully we did.

Ha yeah I imagine Shanghai to India would be a case of 'out of the frying pan, in to the fire'.

Udaipur was pretty laid back, despite the Dewali celebrations being in full flow. Not sure how much gun powder they pack in to the fireworks there but they shake the bones of the earth when they go off (which was for most of the night throughout the Dewali period, and for some nights after), and likewise the fresh mountain are during the safari was fantastic and a great opportunity to 'chill' a bit.

Agra - you 'rose' at sunset? Confused - did you spend the day in bed??

Sounds great otherwise, always been 50:50 on India, this might push me into the 'want to visit' camp. Might prefer 3 weeks though so I can do Sri Lanka too.

Great write-up, can sport you're a writer! Hopefully my more cumbersome efforts will be equally appreciated

Glad you spotted that deliberate mistake, mate

We did indeed rise at sun...rise, funnily enough.

Cheers, I'd say that it is well worth a visit if you think you can handle the constant stares, noise and in some cases hassle. Learn to ignore that or take it in your stride and that is half of the battle. It's tough, no doubt, but from my own experience I'd say you reap the rewards - it's a country with an incredible history, wonderful architecture and some of the most interesting people I've ever seen - in a number of ways!