India – 2014 | The Adventures of Dave

My Christmas and New Year adventure took me to Northern India. It was quite an experience. The flights there and back were a grueling 18 and 22 hours but I treated myself to business class and managed to get a little sleep each way.

I arrived at my New Delhi hotel at about 3 AM on December 19th and spent the next day simply relaxing before the tour began. There were 15 travelers in our group. Once we got started it was non-stop until January 3rd. I’ve been to many places but never experienced such crazy traffic in my life…2 lane roads with 4 lanes of vehicles. Everything from buses to cars to bicycles to tuk tuks to camel drawn carts all trying to get through.

Overall the weather was good though there was fog many mornings. Once if burned off I felt great wearing shorts. There were a few days it didn’t burn off any my legs were a bit cool. Unfortunately the day we visited the Taj Mahal the fog was so thick you couldn’t see a thing. I did purchase a funny Photoshopped picture of our group in front of the Taj…foggy faces placed in front of a bright and sunny Taj.

Due to three internal flights our checked luggage was limited to 33 pounds. That was a bit of a challenge, but laundry was convenient in the hotels.

We experienced many modes of transportation during the trip…bus, airplane, rickshaw, train, balloon, elephant, taxi and truck.

As a true beef eater I wasn’t sure how I would manage in a country that is mostly vegetarian. According to my scale when I returned that wasn’t a problem. We had a variety of food throughout and it was all wonderful. I especially loved the bread called naan. We had a wonderful Christmas dinner outside on the patio at our hotel near Ranthmbore National Park and New Year’s Eve dinner at our hotel in Varanasi.

One of my favorite things along the way were the signs. From odd misspellings to odd sayings they were quite entertaining.

Dates: Dec 19, 2014 – Jan 3, 2015
Tour Operator: Overseas Adventure Travel

Trip Itinerary – Heart of India

Namaste! Greetings and Welcome to the Heart of India

The hotel in New Delhi was decorated for Christmas.

Tuk Tuks in Delhi

Domino’s and Pizza Hut were right next door to each other. Motorcycle delivery service.

New Delhi

Spitting at the theatre is “frowned upon”.

Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple, New Delhi

Hermit at the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib Sikh Temple

The Sikh temple served about 10,000 free meals a day to anyone who was there. We visited the kitchen on our visit.

Some of our group join in for the free lunch.

Qutub Minar tower, New Delhi

Three Ru”pee” to Pee!

Gandhi Memorial, New Delhi

Crazy traffic by the street market

Street Market in Delhi

Jama Masjid Mosque in Delhi on a foggy day.

Jama Masjid Mosque, Delhi

Rickshaw ride the the markets around the Mosque.

Street Barbershop, Delhi

Judah Hyam Synagogue, New Delhi

Shish Gumbad (Unknown tomb 15th Century) at Lodhi Gardens, New Delhi

Would you like to buy a Santa hat or a steering wheel cover?? I’ll give you good price.

Shopping Mall in Delhi all decked out for Christmas

Bathroom signs at the Delhi airport

Waiting for his next fare.

Jantar Mantar astronomical and astrological observatory in Jaipur. Built in the 18th century.

Selling papadum, similar to a cracker.

A peaceful place to shop, Jaipur

Lovely ladies posing for us at City Palace, Jaipur.

City Palace, Jaipur

Snake Charmer at City Palace, Jaiupr

These strange bread animals were next to a gingerbread house at our Jaipur hotel. Odd! Kama Sutra Christmas?

Balloon ride in Jaipur. The local kids come out for all the launches.

Balloon ride in Jaipur

Brainwaves College, Jaipur

Hawa Mahal, Palace of the Winds, Jaipur

Amber Fort, Jaipur

Getting my Packers Karma on in Jaipur

Jal Mahal (Water Palace), Jaipur

Colorful street food, Jaipur

Keep a close eye on your Poket at all times.

Serious security in India. This was at a Hindu temple in Jaipur

Learning how to cook lentils at a home-hosted dinner in Jaipur

Local market

Nandi, a fortune telling bull. Seems like a lot of bull to me!

I always like to try new things when traveling but decided to pass on the STD store!

Members of the Jain religion. The walk or use these kinds of push vehicles to travel.

Garden at our hotel near Ranthambore National Park

Langur Monkey, Ranthambore National Park

Selling water, Ranthambore Fort

Enjoying some marigolds, Ranthambore Fort

Ranthambore Fort

Selling offerings for the Ganesh temple at Ranthambore Fort.

After giving offerings at the temple you are given a blessing in return. I’m feeding it to the cow nearby.

Monkey perched atop a building at Ranthambore Fort.

Christmas Dinner. We had kabobs and a wonderful buffet on the patio at our hotel.

Santa and his helpers at our Christmas dinner.

Ranthambore National Park

Antelope, Ranthambore National Park

Spotted Deer, Ranthambore National Park

Painting work at the hotel. Apparently there isn’t any OSHA in India.

The Colors of India

Spotted Deer, Ranthambore National Park

Crested Serpent Eagle, Ranthambore National Park

Spotted Deer, Ranthambore National Park

I think this must be the original Angry Bird!

The Faces of India

Visiting a grade school in Ramsinghpura Village. Who knew the children there were such huge Packers fans.

Kids at the school getting a cheerleading lesson.

Kids from the school.

These girls were taking lunch to their father at work.

House decorations

The Faces of India

Kingfisher, also the name of the local beer.

The Faces of India

This is what happens when you eat outdoors and don’t pay attention.

Hindu Temple

Our tent camp for one night. It did have a flush toilet, hot water, shower and space heater. Roughing it!

I’m giving our group a lesson on making proper chapati!

Our ride to the step well.

Chand Balri Stepwell, built in the 8th to 9th century. The steps go down and down to a well at the bottom.

Tea cups

The Faces of India

Fresh vegetables where everywhere.

Hanging out…or gossiping.

Brickyard. Each one made by hand.

Whenever we stopped the kids came out of nowhere to visit us.

Taj Mahal, Agra. From the Moon Garden.

Plucking flowers and leave is strictly forbidden.

The view of the Taj Mahal we saw on our foggy visit.

The view of the Taj Mahal craftily Photoshopped by the local photographer. Foggy tourists and a sunny Taj!

Thank goodness we were permitted to wear clothes to the Taj. Just about everything else if prohibited.

Agra Fort

Veggie Pizza at Pizza Hut in Agra

Street food. Gulab Jamun – Milk Balls in Sugar Syrup

Shoe store

Roasted corn at a little street carnaval in Agra.

Dress store

You can check your clocks and luggage at the Agra train station.

Agra Train Station

Zipper Repair Man. This guy wandered around the train station looking for luggage with broken zippers.

Selling food to people on the trains when they stopped at the station.

A land of contrast. Old man and hipster at the Agra train station.

We stopped for lunch at a hotel that was preparing for a wedding. They had decorated the base of this Christmas tree with flower petals and grass clippings. Quite amazing.

The Treasure Chest sells everything. Book a guide, learn to cook and get your nose pierced in a single visit.

Temples at Khajuraho.

Erotic carving at the Khajuraho temples.

Khajuraho temples.

Erotic carving at the Khajuraho temples. Pretty crazy for something built between 950 and 1050 AD

The bangle store.

More rules!

Fancy Barber Shop and Hair Dresser, Khajuraho.

Jain Temple, Khajuraho.

Eye liner was popular in the 10th century.

Our trip was called Heart of India. Behold, The Heart of Incredible India Toilet.

Goat Fashionista, Varanasi

All the little girls wanted our trip leader to purchase prayer candles from them.

Cleaning dishes in the Ganges River, Varanasi.

Our Trip Leader, Dilkiran, at the Ganges River, Varanasi.

Along the Ganges River

Ganges River, Varanasi

Cremations along the Ganges River, Varanasi

Prayer candles we lit and released after sunset on the Ganges River.

Aarti Ceremony (Ceremony of Lights) on the Ganges River.

New Year’s Eve dinner in Varanasi.

New Year’s Eve dinner with Sylvia and Cindy in Varanasi.

Chilling.

Many pilgrims get their head shaved before bathing in the Ganges.

Fake holy man, but worth 10 Rupees for the photo. Varanasi

Happy New Year 2015. Varanasi

Microbusiness. His shop was basically a hole in the wall.

Pilgrims bathing in the Ganges River.

A Hindu priest joined us on the river at dawn and gave us a New Year blessing. He also tied some yellow and red string around our wrists for good luck.