What a strange time to be alive, right? As if the entire world going into shutdown mode over a pandemic wasn't crazy enough already, I happened to be in the middle of a two week international trip while it was happening. I can't even tell you how fortunate I was to have made it to India at all let alone have gotten home in time, but what I can do is fill you in on how I spent my two weeks in this colorful country. I'll be breaking it up into a few entries because there's a lot to cover.
To start, two weeks is barely enough time to scratch the surface on destinations in India. I stressed for days on how to plan an itinerary and had to cut out multiple cities I intensely wanted to visit- Varanasi which is the religious mecca for Indians and where they cremate bodies along the River Ganges in full public display, Jodhpur (the blue city of Rajasthan), Kerala where you can stay overnight in a houseboat on the water, Hampi full of temple ruins, and Jaisalmer which is an ancient desert city near the border of Pakistan, to name just a few. I also toyed with the idea of hopping over to Nepal before I realized how ridiculous it was to cut a short time in India even shorter.
In the end, I made it to five different states (Haryana, Maharashtra, Goa, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh), although I think I spent far too long in Goa, which was my least favorite as I'm just not a beach person. In a way, however, it was fortunate I had scheduled the second week to be more relaxed with not much sightseeing since everything began globally going to hell around that point anyway and India was closing down.
Pre-Trip You do need a visa to visit India, and it was the most ridiculous visa I have ever applied for. US citizens can obtain visas valid for varying amounts of time, from one month to ten years. I went for the one month visa, being the cheapest option and all I needed for the foreseeable future. For the 30 day visa, you can't apply until a month before your trip, and you only have a month from the date of issue to enter the country, so I advise not doing it until 2-3 weeks before your departure date to account for any travel delays or issues that might cause you to arrive after the date of expiration.
This thing took me about an hour to fill out online. My God, they wanted my marital status, scanned passport, additional photo that was not the same as the one on the passport (head on, blank background, passport style requirements), religion (for the record, I'm not an atheist, but that isn't even an option), my profession (I've read that if you are a journalist you may be denied and told to apply for a business visa), all countries I've visited in the last 10 years (I hit the limit and had to eliminate some), names and birthplaces of my parents, and education level (if you didn't graduate high school, you are "illiterate"), to name a few required fields. It was absurd. After I completed it and paid the fee ($25), it was approved in a day or two.
Vaccinations are also recommended for India. My hepatitis shots were still good from my trip to Southeast Asia in 2016, but my typhoid was out of date. Screw the US healthcare system as well. I got these vaccinations free under the NHS in the UK for my past trip, but the US doesn't consider travel vaccinations necessary (just don't travel, right?! Why ever leave the backwards-ass USA?), so my insurance didn't cover them. I originally was just going to risk going without, but I've also been considering a South America trip for awhile and would need a typhoid shot for that anyway, so I caved. I called around to multiple providers and was quoted wildly different costs for the vaccine, all of which also have a "travel consultation" fee of $50+ added on top despite the fact that I didn't want or need travel clinic advice, and I ended up going with MetroHealth as the cheapest option at $129 total ($70 for the shot, $59 for the bullshit consultation fee). I miss you, NHS.
Finally, this trip required more outfit planning than any others I've done seeing as women should cover their legs and shoulders in most areas of India, a hot country where jeans and sleeves would be miserable. The main problem is the high population of men who are likely to sexually harass or assault females, a risk that is increased if showing too much skin (especially western women who are already considered easy). Goa was the main exception, a popular western tourist spot where it's common to wear tank tops and shorts without incident, but I was also pleasantly surprised by Mumbai, which is also fairly westernized and where it isn't uncommon to show your shoulders or legs. For the first week though in the northern part of the country, I packed a lot of long skirts and dresses and a wide variety of shawls.
Plus shawls can be easily removed if you want to get a little provocative with those shoulders (Red Fort, Delhi)
On top of all this stress, my flight was due to depart on March 6, 2020 (landing on March 7th). I work in the travel industry, so I was well aware of how the coronavirus was affecting airline operations already, and India had suspended visas for nationals of at least four affected countries by the week of my trip (not to mention one of those countries was Italy which threw me into a panic because I'd had to list my dual citizenship on the visa application). I was a ball of nerves expecting the US to be added any day and preventing me from traveling, but thankfully I was able to board my flight and gain entry just four days before the Indian government suspended all tourist visas for anyone not already in the country.
Arrival
I had been dreading the flight from the USA to India, but it really was not as miserable as I'd anticipated. I took a short flight from Cleveland to Toronto which landed about 45 minutes late causing me to make a mad dash to my Delhi flight. Thankfully I made it, as otherwise I'd have been stuck for a full 24 hours waiting for the next one, and I had a window seat with an empty spot next to me for my just under 14 hour long Air Canada flight.
I'm used to comparatively short flights to Europe where it isn't quite enough time for a decent sleep but you're also under a lot of pressure to rest since you'll be landing in the morning and need to stay up the whole day to reset your schedule. The Delhi flight was nicer because I'd be landing there at night (9:20 PM) and could go straight to sleep upon arrival.
Due to the coronavirus, there was a long line at the airport for a health check (temperature scan) before heading to customs, and there was a separate entry area for people coming from highly affected countries, a list which luckily the US was not yet included on.
My reason for choosing to visit India this year was that Lewis took a job out there as a whiskey brand ambassador and has been living and working between Delhi and Mumbai- also the reason both cities were included on my final itinerary- so we could travel around together. He met me at the airport with his driver (most expats in India have drivers), and we headed to his really spacious apartment in Gurgaon for the night. He's the only one in his position currently working in Delhi, so we had the place to ourselves, and I crashed almost immediately.
Day 1 Delhi- Red Fort, India Gate, Akshardham, & Lotus Temple
Despite landing at night and getting a normal sleep, my body clock did not want to adjust to the time zone change. I was jetlagged for the better part of the first week, waking up at ungodly hours and barely able to keep my eyes open by mid-evening. This first morning I woke up at 5 AM bouncing off the walls with energy and thought I'd go watch the sunrise on the balcony. I was in for a huge surprise as I pulled back the curtains and could barely even make out the buildings across the street through the thickest, heaviest smog I've ever witnessed.
My first Indian sunrise!
Fact: New Delhi (the capital of India) is the most polluted city in the world. I could genuinely smell the pollution the second I stepped off the plane onto the jetway. I can't say how much of this view was natural fog and how much was a toxic haze, but I'm betting more of the latter. It did clear up a lot later in the day, but go ahead and do an image search on Delhi to see just how common it is for it to be shrouded in smog. A few months before my arrival, the government had actually put out a health warning calling the city a gas chamber.
We got an early start on the day once I jumped on the bed long enough to get Lewis up, and our first stop was the Red Fort, the historic residences of the Mughal Emperors according to my Google search... I visit first and learn history later. My research is all for you people!
I really enjoyed walking around the pretty grounds for an hour or two taking photos and watching the monkeys (including one who was determined to befriend a group of puppies).
We took a walk from the Red Fort to grab some lunch, and I got my first up close look at the chaos of city life in Delhi (see photo further up). We walked through a crowded market, along a road jammed with tuk tuks (more commonly known as auto rickshaws in India), cars, and merchants, and down a narrow alleyway to a very nice spot called the Walled City Cafe where I had my first paneer meal of the trip in a very long succession of paneer meals. I'm pretty sure I was 75% cheese by the time I left the country.
Next up was India Gate, a stop which really only takes about 10 minutes to see. Similar to the Arc de Triomphe or the Brandenburg Gate, it's an outdoor archway, this one built as a war memorial in a nice little park.
Akshardham was our last big sight of the day. It mainly caught my attention because it sounded like the name of a Skyrim dwarven ruin, but it's actually a Hindi temple (or "mandir") which was just built in 2014. It was absolutely incredible, definitely the highlight of Delhi for me. What is unfortunate is that you can't bring any belongings inside- no cameras, phones, or any electronics. Everything must be checked in a cloak room upon entry and is returned when you leave. As a result, I have no pictures aside from this one taken from the road after we left (which is of poor quality due to backlighting), but I highly recommend looking up photos of the interior. The temple grounds are a complex with immaculate gardens and a beautiful building (they also hold a nightly water show), but the inside just blew me away. It's full of grey stone pillars covered in insanely intricate carvings, domes, and a main sanctum with a golden statue of the god Swaminarayan surrounded by his gurus. The shrine is just stunning.
We did try to stop and see the Lotus Temple after this, a very cool architectural site with a similar design to the Sydney Opera House, but we arrived ten minutes past close and the gate was shut. I got a glimpse through the fence but this was the best shot I could get. I don't think I can pass the barbed wire off as artsy. I'd love to post nicer photos for you, but I have a personal rule for my blog posts to only use my own shots (authenticity and whatnot).
I had been worried about the possibility of flight delays and wanted to make my plans flexible in case I'd arrived a day late, but since I made it on time, we decided we would head to Agra a night early to get the Taj done instead of rushing to fit it in on the morning of Holi. So after our Delhi sightseeing was done, we grabbed our things and went to meet the driver Lewis had hired us for the next couple of days, Deepak, and I slept for the three hour drive south to Agra.
Day 2 Agra- Taj Mahal & Agra Fort
We had checked into the Aman Homestay in Agra when we arrived and stayed for two nights. It was a nice hotel in a great location just a quick walk from the Taj. They also offered homecooked breakfast in the mornings which was different both days we were there and great quality.
Cute entry at Aman Homestay
Sunrise was meant to be the best time to head to the Taj Mahal, so we were awake around 5 AM and walking up at 6. We bought tickets online the day before to guarantee our time slot, but you can get them at the gate as well. Also remember that the Taj is closed on Fridays.
I don't have words to do justice to a wonder of the world, but obviously it was pretty incredible. It's only the second world wonder I've seen firsthand, but I will say I wasn't as taken aback as I was by the Colosseum. I think that's mainly due to the Taj looking just like I expected it to from photos, whereas sometimes with other sights (like the Colosseum or the Grand Canyon) the scope of it is incomprehensible. Not to downplay it- the Taj is still a large, beautiful creation, and it is absolutely a must-see if you visit India.
Sunrise casts a pinkish glow on the mausoleum, but it was just as spectacular as the sun came up and it shone bright white. To be honest, I didn't even notice the difference in color until I looked back at my photos later on, so if you don't feel like waking up at dawn, don't stress about missing out.
Lighting at dawn
We walked around the gardens out front, and it wasn't as crowded as you might expect. It was definitely easier to take photos to the sides because people were waiting in line to get in front of the main water feature for pictures.
The inside of the Taj that you are able to enter is a small area that houses the tombs of Shah Jahan and the wife that he commissioned the mauseloum for, Mumtaz Mahal.
The views from the sides of the Taj were just as good as from the front, and the rear side overlooks a river. Overall, we spent 2-3 hours walking the grounds and taking photos, and I'm so glad that we did this early in our trip because it was closed due to the coronavirus lockdown a week later.
There really are not a lot of other big draws to Agra, but the city itself is not as bad as people make it sound. It just feels like a small town similar to a lot I've seen throughout Asia. We stopped by the Agra Fort later in the afternoon, and while it was huge, it also felt fairly empty and I didn't enjoy it as much as the Red Fort.
You can, however, get this great view of the Taj from Agra Fort
We had dinner that night at Urban Deck, and I would highly recommend. They have a rooftop bar and outdoor seating, private booths in separate rooms enclosed by glass doors, and a swimming pool with projector screen. We took one of the booth rooms and had a few cocktails with dinner. My most notable dish was a plate of peanut butter paneer which I had to order due to my love of both of those things. I would never have thought to combine peanut butter with cheese, but I can wholeheartedly say it was delicious and thank whatever genius chef took that creative leap of faith.
By the time we got back to the room, I was absolutely exhausted and fell asleep at 8 PM (I'd proceed to wake up at 2 AM unable to sleep for hours- thanks, body clock! You're a pal!).
I have plenty more to share in regards to India, but I'm only two days into a two week trip and it's already a novel. Click here for our next stop- the Holi festival!
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