As I was standing in front of the departure gate at Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka ready to board my flight to New Delhi, I was told that I would not be able to board unless I had an onward flight ticket out of India (which I did not have). Seeing everyone onboard and the flight leaving in 15 minutes, I had no other choice but to quickly tap my phone screen to buy a ticket on the spot – That was when I decided that I would have two weeks to spend in India.
Knowing that I would be in India for two weeks, the next thing was to figure out how to get around. Usually people do one of the two things: Travel by a combination of sleeper trains / buses / tuk-tuks, or hire a private car and driver. For the past 8 months, I have been traveling primarily by taking public transportation. But for India, I have a list of cities that I wanted to visit in the state of Rajasthan. While taking public transportation in India would surely guarantee an adventure, it is a slow way to travel and by doing so I would not have enough time to do the “Rajasthan loop” (New Delhi-Jaipur-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Udaipur-Pushkar-Agra-New Delhi). Since hiring a car and driver is relatively inexpensive in India, I decided to opt for that option.
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, the “Blue City”.
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Locals in India generally like to take photos with foreigners. These kids at the fort , however, wanted me to take photos “for” them. I was like, sure.
@Jodhpur
Amber Fort in Jaipur, the “Pink City”.
@Jaipur
Karni Mata Temple, a Hindu temple that is also known as the “Temple of Rats”.
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Legend has it that Karni Mata’s (a female Hindu warrior sage) stepson drowned in a pond while attempting to drink from it. The god of death then revive him by permitting all of Karni Mata’s male children to be reincarnated as rats – Therefore the approximately 25,000 black rats that live in the temple are considered “holy rats”.
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Because it is a Hindu temple, visitors do have to take off their shoes before entering. Unless you are a fan of rats, walking barefoot while thousands of rats are running near your feet can be an extremely gruesome experience – Enough horror for a Halloween horror story (Not for the faint-hearted).
@Bikaner
Karni Mata Temple, a Hindu temple that is also known as the “Temple of Rats”.
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Legend has it that Karni Mata’s (a female Hindu warrior sage) stepson drowned in a pond while attempting to drink from it. The god of death then revive him by permitting all of Karni Mata’s male children to be reincarnated as rats – Therefore the approximately 25,000 black rats that live in the temple are considered “holy rats”.
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Because it is a Hindu temple, visitors do have to take off their shoes before entering. Unless you are a fan of rats, walking barefoot while thousands of rats are running near your feet can be an extremely gruesome experience – Enough horror for a Halloween horror story (Not for the faint-hearted).
@Bikaner
Karni Mata Temple, a Hindu temple that is also known as the “Temple of Rats”.
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Legend has it that Karni Mata’s (a female Hindu warrior sage) stepson drowned in a pond while attempting to drink from it. The god of death then revive him by permitting all of Karni Mata’s male children to be reincarnated as rats – Therefore the approximately 25,000 black rats that live in the temple are considered “holy rats”.
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Because it is a Hindu temple, visitors do have to take off their shoes before entering. Unless you are a fan of rats, walking barefoot while thousands of rats are running near your feet can be an extremely gruesome experience – Enough horror for a Halloween horror story (Not for the faint-hearted).
@Bikaner
Chand Baori, one of the oldest stepwells, situated near Jaipur. It was a tradition in west India for queens to build stepwells.
@Jaipur
Chand Baori, one of the oldest stepwells, situated near Jaipur. It was a tradition in west India for queens to build stepwells.
@Jaipur
Did the “Rajasthan loop” during my two-week stay in India (New Delhi-Jaipur-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Udaipur-Pushkar-Agra-New Delhi).
@NewDelhi
Typical Indian breakfast: Paratha (whole wheat flatbread) and Masala Chai (tea).
@Pushkar
My cousin used to work in India and he recommended me to have a drink at Oberoi Rajvilas, a 5-star hotel just outside Jaipur. It is a 32-acre luxourious hotel with its own golf course. Many high-profile investment bankers have stayed here, including Gary Peterson from the states a couple of weeks ago.
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Being a frugal backpacker, having buffett breakfast at a fancy hotel being treated like a king (literally, their service is exceptional) is not the norm for me. But I wanted to have a broader range of experience and this was definitely something different.
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After breakfast, I told the staff that I would like to walk around the hotel for a bit. One of the Indian ladies who works there was nice enough to drive me around in a golf cart to show me around.
@Jaipur
Sadar Market in Jodhpur, the “Blue City”.
@Jodhpur
Sadar Market in Jodhpur, the “Blue City”.
@Jodhpur
Sadar Market in Jodhpur, the “Blue City”.
@Jodhpur
Camel safari, 1-hour drive from Jaisalmer toward the Pakistan border. Watched sunset and spent the night camping in the Thar Desert.
@Jaisalmer
Camel safari, 1-hour drive from Jaisalmer toward the Pakistan border. Watched sunset and spent the night camping in the Thar Desert.
@Jaisalmer
Camel safari, 1-hour drive from Jaisalmer toward the Pakistan border. Watched sunset and spent the night camping in the Thar Desert.
@Jaisalmer
Camel safari, 1-hour drive from Jaisalmer toward the Pakistan border. Watched sunset and spent the night camping in the Thar Desert.
@Jaisalmer
I was sitting with an Indian family in a cable car to visit a Hindu temple on the mountain. We started talking and they ended up introducing me their religion and showing me how worshipping in a Hindu temple is usually done.
@Pushkar
Stunning view of the city of Pushkar from the mountaintop Hindu temple.
@Pushkar
Stunning view of the city of Pushkar from the mountaintop Hindu temple.
@Pushkar
Hawa Mahal, the “Wind Palace” in Jaipur, the “Pink City”. The palace has a high screen wall built so that women of the royal family could observe street festivals while unseen from the outside.
@Jaipur
Hawa Mahal, the “Wind Palace” in Jaipur, the “Pink City”. The palace has a high screen wall built so that women of the royal family could observe street festivals while unseen from the outside.
@Jaipur
Having a private car was not all sunshine and rainbows: The car broke down on the way to Udaipur. Not being able to switch gears or to stop the car without stalling, we spent a couple of hours (in 1st gear) trying to find an auto shop, then another four hours for the shop to take things apart and replace the clutch disk.
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Hiring a car in India usually comes with a driver. As a foreigner you probably don’t want to do the driving yourself, otherwise the road rules (or the lack thereof) is going to drive you crazy.
@Falna
In India you constantly have to share roads with animals: Mostly cows, pigs, goats, camels, and stray dogs.
@Udaipur
In India you constantly have to share roads with animals: Mostly cows, pigs, goats, camels, and stray dogs.
@Udaipur
Getting my sandals fixed.
@Jaisalmer
Amber Fort.
@Jaipur
Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur, the “Blue City”.
@Jaipur
Ganesha, a Hindu god with the head of an elephant, and a mouse on the side as his mount (vehicle). Ganesha is revered as the “remover of obstacles” and his picture can be found on the wall outside every house in old town Jaisalmer.
@Jaisalmer
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Taj Mahal, one of the seven Wonders of the World. Built by the grief-stricken Emperor Shah Jahan in the 1600’s as a memorial to his beloved wife. The monument took 22 years to build and looks the same from all four sides.
@Agra
Chand Baori, one of the oldest stepwells, situated near Jaipur. It was a tradition in west India for queens to build stepwells.
@Jaipur
Umaid Bhawan Palace.
@Jaipur
Jodha Bai’s Palace, an integration of Hindu, Persian, and Islamic architecture.
@Agra
Jodha Bai’s Palace, an integration of Hindu, Persian, and Islamic architecture.
@Agra
Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur, the “Blue City”.
@Jaipur
Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur, the “Blue City”.
@Jaipur
Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur, the “Blue City”.
@Jaipur
Jal Mahal, the “Water Palace”.
@Jaipur
Ranakpur Jain Temple.
@Ranakpur
Ranakpur Jain Temple.
@Ranakpur
The annual Camel Fair in Pushkar. Not the tourist-riding-camel kind of fair, but the I-give-you-five-cows-you-give-me-a-camel kind. (I am making this number up, as I have no idea how much a camel is worth.)
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The original intention behind the Pushkar Camel Trade Fair was to attract local camel and cattle traders to do business during the holy Kartik Purnima festival, held around the full moon in the Hindu lunar month of Kartika. Every year about 30,000 camels converge on the tiny desert town of Pushkar for the fair.
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Unfortunately I was 2 days late when I arrived in Pushkar and there was no more camel trading going on – Not that I have enough cows to trade for a camel, but it would have been interesting to know how much a camel is worth.
@ Pushkar
Masala Dosa (Indian potato pancake).
@Jaipur
Chaap Makhni (soybean cheese gravy) and Masala tea.
@NewDelhi
Birkha Bawari stepwell.
@Jodhpur
Toorji Ka Jhalra stepwell.
@Jodhpur
Toorji Ka Jhalra stepwell.
@Jodhpur
Gangaur Ghat.
@Udaipur
Taj Lake Palace.
@Udaipur
Jaisalmer Fort.
@Jaisalmer
Umaid Bhawan Palace.
@Jaipur
Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India.
@NewDelhi
Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India.
@NewDelhi
Lotus Temple. I thought it was a Buddhist temple, which it is actually a Baha’i house of worship (didn’t know Baha’i was a religion lol).
@NewDelhi
Raj Ghat, a memorial dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi – Leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule.
@NewDelhi
