What made me think a lot...

• Massive traffic and noise in most of the cities
• 20 hrs journey by train was not easy in a 2nd class compartment
• Too many people… people every where
• I wondered how people can belief in God or Gods in such poor conditions
• Men staring at us constantly and finding any silly comment or question to approach us
• A day tour in Jaipur where the guide took us to lots of shops just for getting some commission
• Trains delayed. All stations are full of people sitting or even sleeping on the floor
• Poverty. Beggars including children asking for food and money
• People taking a bus and using the windows to get inside.
• Working conditions of those in slum areas. I can’t understand how people manage to live and work in such environment
• A tiny house for about 7 people
• Strong and disgusting smells in some places. I couldn’t cope with them easily
• Finding out at 11pm that that our booking had not been done by the hotel. They didn’t care at all
• Lots of paper work and waste of time in dealing with tickets, hotels and even internet cafes. For using internet you need to show passport and they take a copy of it. Too much bureaucracy
• Feeling vulnerable and weak sometimes
• Not sure if there are rules for driving. You can find yourself surrounded by cars, bikes, motorbikes, tuk tuks, cows, dogs, trucks and lots of people walking into all directions
• Children barefoot, naked, dirty, crying, sleeping on floors… looking at them broke my heart
• Trying to communicate with some people who didn’t know English
• Asking many times different people the same question just to double check
• Very often you have power cuts in some places
• Not feeling well after eating
• Toilets. It is just a matter of getting used to Indian style but cleaning conditions are very poor

What I enjoyed from India

- Tasty food (sometimes too spicy for me) but lovely
- People helping us when we were confused or lost
- Indian people asking for photos and making us feel like celebrities
- Nice hotels we could easily afford
- Funny and cute monkeys everywhere
- An express train with AC and meals included
- Very cheap train tickets. 2nd Second class tickets are great if you want to know what is to be in the middle of hundreds of people pushing in all directions.
- Music played by 2 guys in Jaipur with 2 snakes
- No need to worry about fashion. I wasn’t concerned of my appearance as I didn’t have many alternatives
- Walking near Tibetan monks
- Mc Leod Ganj has a beautiful mountain landscape with fog and cold weather and lots of rain
- Children smiling when we wanted to take photos
- Majestic temples decorated with plenty of colours, images and offerings
- Golden Temple in Amritsar: lovely music and ceremonial rites
- Using a filter bottle all the time gave us some peace of mind
- You definitely develop mental strength
- Standing in front of the Taj Mahal in a sunny day and seeing it later in the evening from the hotel
- “Lonely planet guide” was extremely useful
- Buddhist meditation retreat and holding silence for 9 days. There I had the chance to meet people from all over the world and it was amazing to see so many young people interested in Buddhism
- People in general are not aggressive when negotiating prices. They make fun of it always trying to take an advantage of you
- Music in general and musical videos are quite jolly
- Autorickshaws or tuk tuks are part of the adventure. Luckily we didn’t crash
- Getting a picture of Ganesha in Friendship’s Day from some friends we met in Matheran
- The way Indians move their heads to say yes was a bit confusing at the beginning
- Beautiful nature when going out to the countryside
- Visiting Acropolis branch in Mumbai and meeting some members there. I felt at home
- Getting wet sometimes because it was the rainy season
- Practising salsa many times with my boyfriend
- Horse riding in Matheran, including the 3 times the horse wanted to stand on 2 legs
- Shrines in houses, shops, streets, and everywhere. Religion is part of life
- I became more religious as I was praying almost all the time for our health and safety
- Visiting the official residence of the Dalai Lama and some other Tibetan temples

A bit of India

To be honest I am not really sure where to start and what to say about 4 weeks travelling in India. Definitely not enough time for such a big country but probably enough for me to get an idea as on a few occasions I found myself counting down the days to return to London. There is no word in the dictionary to describe what India inspired us, maybe diverse, maybe challenging, maybe complex could be some options. It is a mix of feelings and thoughts constantly like a rollercoaster with ups and downs and then you are happy, later sad, then confused, then excited, later tired or exhausted, and so on. It turns into a very interesting opportunity to see yourself dealing with lots of challenging situations almost all the time.

I have to recognise that I found more than I was looking for and I feel grateful now to each single experience I had there, especially those 10 days in a Buddhist meditation retreat in the middle of the mountains. I decided to write a list of the things I liked and enjoyed, and also another list of the things that made me feel not happy at all and inspired reflection. Based on a diary which we managed to write everyday with our top 5 impressions I am going to share them with you as I know some people are already waiting to hear them.

Now I understand clearly why it is said that once you go to India you will never be the same again. You discover another reality and see with your own eyes many things you are not used to. You have two options: getting crazy or welcoming whatever comes with an open mind. I tried most of the time to have the second option of course but there is no doubt that sometimes I felt like I was spending my summer holidays in the wrong place. I realize much more than before how lucky I am and I have been in my life. My struggles are at a different level. And I was glad I was not on my own for the first 17 days and travelling with my boyfriend was a considerable help... Love is always a great support!

I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave us some help and advice. (Thanks Asia, Miha, Tanu, Lambert, Sivan and thanks for all those who were in contact with us during the trip). With no further comments, here are the lists. I should advice future travellers that no matter how prepared you think you are in terms of reading and hearing some other people’s experiences, once you land in such a complex country you have to face a huge but interesting challenge and make your own journey to make the most of it.