This December visit to India took us to several cities in the north–Delhi, Agra, Jaipur,  Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur. 

The absolute highlight of this travel was seeing the Taj Mahal. It is as breath-taking as it is esteemed. I should mention that we had a tour company plan the whole trip, so we were guided to most places and had a driver. I wouldn’t necessarily do this the same way again. The second highlight was a short stay at Manvar desert camp, which is about three hours drive from Jaisalmer toward Jodphur. It really was glamping, so if you’ve never gone camping before, there’s nothing to fear. Yet, no matter where you stay, evening cultural programs with folk music will take place. It helps to do some homework from the many options to find what suites you best.   

Despite all that I loved, I found India to be a country full of contradictions. On the one hand, there’s tremendous wealth, for example households with drivers, chefs, residences that were once palaces, and on the other, abject poverty– think begging children, shanty towns on the side of highways, people sleeping and cooking in streets next to piles of trash. But, that’s not all, there was a lot of noise from people, from vehicles, from animals co-mingled with complete silence and bare-feet reverence inside all of India’s temples. It’s fascinating, to say the least. 

I mentioned noise pollution, but air pollution, especially in Delhi, is tremendously bad. If you can overcome that, and I believe you can, Delhi has much to offer. The Delhi metro is world class–clean, fast, reliable. Restaurants that boast NY style chic, cocktails and amazing food are abundant. More to come on the food scene. Old Delhi is as charming as it is old. Do visit Chandhi Choke for a bit of shopping in its bazaar; take an auto rickshaw (tuk-tuk); look up for the monkeys hopping around on electric wires overhead. Visit this blog for specific sightseeing recommendations in Old Delhi.

The food is amazing! Laal maas was my favorite Rhajasthani dish. Chole bhature is a messy delight. Gulab jamun became a daily favorite.

There are so many stories to tell from this trip. For now, this is it.