India- 11 cities, a lifetime of experiences and the future...

Well I certainly went against my initial plan of taking it easy at 33 years of age and seeing a lot of a little.... as I’ve definitely ended up seeing a little of a hell of a lot! But that’s the great thing about travelling solo, you don’t need to think about anybody other than yourself, so as soon as you’re ready to move, you pack your backpack and you roll out. It’s as easy and as quick as that!

Having left my last article at the very beginning of this adventure, I pick it back up right before the end. A 22 hour train journey from Kolkata back to Delhi, where I’ll fly home from. I could have flown this route for around the same price as my train ticket and it would have taken a whole lot less time! But as my time in this amazing country ticks down, I find myself wanting to savour every last second, meet every last person I can and take it all in properly- so what better way than a horrendously long train journey! 

Anybody who reads my articles regularly will know that I tend to be on the wordy side, and with that said, I’m going to find it extremely difficult to summarise this trip- but I’ll keep it light hearted, interesting (subjective!) and full of pictures! In total, I ended up visiting 11 cities, but I won’t go into great detail in every single one, otherwise this will turn into the neverending story! So I’ll pick out the stand out ones and tell you a bit about why they were as crazy beautiful as they were. Hopefully by the time we’re finished, you’ll be on the phone to your other half saying that you guys have to go and visit India, or on the phone to me to offer me a job!

First up after Dehli was Varanassi, the spiritual capital of India. My preconceived idea of this place was fairly morbid. Floating burning bodies out into a river in canoes, what’s that all about? However, having witnessed the ceremony first hand, during peak monsoon season with wild rain and flash flooding... it was still without doubt, the most beautiful ceremony of this kind, that I’ve ever witnessed. There was fire and there were drums. There were bells ringing and there were symbols smashing. There were tears streaming and there was pain that hit you as if it was your very own. And there was smiles from cheek to cheek and laughter that made you feel that really rare ‘wedding happy’ type warmth inside. Combine all of those ingredients- and you’ve something very powerful and special. This wasn’t floating burning bodies, this was an Indian Cremation Ceremony with a purpose. And the purpose and belief, was that being cremated in the Ganges river, offers Moshka (liberation from the cycle of rebirth). So it is no lightly taken decision to be cremated here, this is essentially the end of the cycle of life for these individuals. In Indian culture, it’s generally believed that the human form is the pinnacle of all life and that its something that you work your way towards, having been through many other cycles of life prior. So to be cremated in the River Ganges is a very special, spiritual and holy event, and that truly is demonstrated here during the ceremony.

Following the ceremony, Indian pilgrims would go into the waters and bathe from top to toe. It’s also believed that in doing this, you’re cleansing yourself of any sins. I’m no saint, but I wouldn’t getting in those waters to rid myself of my bad decisions! But overall, varanassi was special, beautiful, powerful and the complete opposite of whatever it was I thought I was going to see here. Images that will remain with me for a lifetime. This really is something you have to see with your own eyes, in order to understand, believe and feel it properly.

Next up was Agra. Anybody want to guess what’s here? Only (in my opinion) the worlds most beautiful building and one of the (new) seven wonders of the world due to its perfect symmetry regardless of what angle you look at it!

Built in 1648 by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his favourite with who bound him with a deathbed promise to build her the most beautiful tomb ever known, after she died during childbirth in 1631. A camera isn’t able to portray the image that human eye is capable of seeing, especially if that camera is of the quality of my iPhone 6 camera! But this building is magnificent and if you ever go to India, spend just a day in Agra, get up at 5am, get there for sunrise and behold it for yourself... It might just take your breath away. If it doesn’t, just ensure you don’t get sucked into paying 11,000 rupees for a “Premium package” consisting of a local on-site “photographer” who isn’t capable of taking focussed photos, a hard copy 100 photo album of terrible poses that you’ll never want to look at- but your family and friends certainly will with glee and ridicule for the rest of your days, and a prehistoric cd-rom that you’ll struggle extract data from due to it being the year 2019! You live you learn, this was early in the trip and I was easy pickings you might say!

Jaipur or “The Pink City” as it’s more commonly known was my next destination. The 18th century Royal roots of this beautiful city are there for all to see. Powerful modern architecture mixed with a pink glow and water temples, amber palaces and Instagram iconic stepwells, makes this a place a not to miss in my opinion. Side Note:- In order to get THAT photo below, you might need to take a little bit of a risk! To be allowed onto the actual steps (and not just stand around the top looking down sadly), you actually require a permit, which takes two days to get! However, 1000 rupees to the guard on patrol and you’ll get 5 minutes if there’s no one else around. As a stickler for the rules, yes of course I waited two days for the permit and didn’t bribe the guard with the monetary denomination afore mentioned...

Pushkar- Quiet, a breath of fresh air and very different to everything I’d experienced up to this point of my trip. I didn’t see as much of this beautiful and tranquil place as I’d hoped due to weather. But what I didn’t see with my eyes, I definitely learnt through my ears. A totally different feel to anywhere else I’d been in India so far, with mountainous views all around and a chilled out feel compared to the hustle and bustle of the other cities that I’d seen.

Below is a photo of Wan, a 24 Year old factory worker from Pushkar. He approached and sat with me as I watched a sunset down by Pushkar Sarovar, an extremely sacred lake of the Hindus. He talked about religion, his arranged marriage at 18 years old to a woman he met for the first time at the alter, his wish for “true” love, how he was the main provider for his entire family with both mother and wife not working and father not being around at times due to an alcohol problem, about his 2 month old child who he hasn’t seen since birth due to Indian Woman returning to their own family home with the child until they “fully recover the pre-pregnant body” and finally, how he takes 1 day off a month in order to provide for his family. 

Another stark reality check. When I think about some of my “bad days” back home, it doesn’t really come close to the daily efforts and struggles that the majority of the 1.4 billion people in this country have to undertake on a daily basis- 7 days a week. So I bought him dinner, we had a couple of beers and then he invited me around to his home to meet his family and have dinner with them the following night, which I unfortunately couldn’t do due to time constraints of my onward journey.

Generosity beyond the call of duty from a complete stranger, and a reminder that kindness costs absolutely nothing- and when someone with so little can offer it, the majority of us don’t have any excuse to try and remember it, even on our harder days.

Following this, I was off to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer was for one thing and one thing only... an overnight safari In the desert bordering Pakistan. Camelback for two hours into the Thar desert, moderately cool beers at sunset and Indian Thali for dinner, followed by sleeping under the stars on army type camp beds- which sounds terrible, but when you’re surrounded by so much positivity, you don’t take into account the fact you’ve got no air con and bugs bigger than your thumb creeping around and on you! I’d say I slept like a baby, but I’d be lying!

Then there was sunrise the following morning. I moved away from the rest of the group for this. I trekked to the highest sand dune that I could see and I just took it all in. Unfortunately I was joined by somebody, but it was someone of the 4 legged variety... and anybody who knows me or my articles, knows that this is absolutely OK by me!

Another chapter of what was an amazingly unique experience!

Jodhpur “The Blue City”. Wasn’t overly blown away by this place. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got character and appeal and some people will love just wandering and getting lost within the the blue coloured back streets. But for me, it was HOT, it was brief, it was blue, it was a zip line across the fort and to see all the sites from the sky... and it was night bus to Goa.

First tip... don’t go to Goa during monsoon season... Goa somewhere else! This place was a bit of a washout for me unfortunately. I was SO excited about coming here due to the reviews and people I’d spoken to about it previously. However, it’s just not got much appeal at this time of year due to it primarily being a beautiful beach and nightlife city! Don’t let me dissuade you or put you off it though, I do believe I’ll check this place out properly again in the future... but just not during monsoon... pretty obvious when you think about it!

Next up, Kerala! A place that was never on my radar prior to coming here, but I was advised to go by one of my friends from the first hostel I stayed at in Dehli, as it was his home town. Step up, Munnar! Around a 4 hour drive up the mountains and located around 1800m ^ Sea Level, this place took my breath away at times, it reminded me of something out of a movie, and I just wasn’t expecting India to look like this! I was blessed with a stunning view from my hotel balcony, and I was even fortunate enough to encounter Wild Indian Elephants during a morning hike! It’s an incredible place and my photos below will never do it justice, so if you’re in India, trust me- make sure you add this place to your bucket list as it turned out to be one of my absolute favourites!

Next, also located in Kerala, a place called Allappuzha, famed for its quiet and tranquil backwaters. From dusk till dawn, this chapter was all about one man, his canoe, a few ducks and the backwaters!

Monsoon season kind of wiped out my visit to the countries capital and the Mumbai chapter of this journey. However, I still managed to lock in a trip to “The gateway to India”, had a little float around the extremely rocky waters of the surrounding bay and hopped in an uber for 3 hours to the North West of Mumbai to visit the “Global Vipassana Pagoda”. Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation and although this was pretty interesting to hear about, the building most certainly was my primary purpose of visit! A stunning golden structure and dome which can host around 8,000 meditators inside, making it the largest meditation hall in the world. You can’t really get an idea of the size of this structure from this photo, but if you look closely, you’ll see a woman at the top of the stairs- it really was a stunning building and well worth the 6 hour return journey- especially if the heavens open and they shut absolutely every other notable tourist landmark worth visiting!

My final stop off was Kolkata, located in the Far East of India and is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. A fascinating and beautiful place steeped in British and Indian History. I didn’t have too long here, but managed to see St Paul’s Cathedral, Queen Victoria Memorial and Eden Gardens cricket ground. St Paul’s is structurally stunning, Queen Victoria’s memorial is an equally impressive building with an abundance of history and an interesting museum... and for anyone who’s interested in cricket, you won’t be disappointed with a visit the home of Indian cricket! The food here I found was particularly tasty also, but I’ll be honest, the food throughout this adventure has been out of this world. The flavours and spices just melt in your mouth and if you’re a fan of spice, or for that matter vegetarian food, this is the place for you. I’ve actually been eating predominantly vegetarian food for around 2 weeks now, due to the lack of meat dishes in some cities. But the quality and taste of the dishes make vegetarianism easy! It’s not something I’ve ever considered back home, but I believe if I lived in India permanently, it would be a choice I’d make. The food can upset our delicate western bodies from time to time though! So, a little tip, bring some Electrolytes, Pro Biotics and the mother of all tablets for India- Activated Charcoal! If you travel with these, you won’t have much issues with anything for more than a day!

And back we come to the present, we’ve gone full circle! A 22hr train journey back to Dehli for a couple of days, before flying back to London.

I really cant put this trip into words, I’ve tried a few times. I said in my recent VLOG debut, “All the adjectives”... and that genuinely is the best way I can describe India! But the word “Humbling” stands out more than any other. The difference in our worlds is so massive and it really does make you feel grateful for what you have. I experienced SO SO much during my time here:- the good, the bad, the indifferent and the amazing. But the slum walk in Dehli and the cremation ceremony in Varanasi were the stand outs for sure. The slum walk left a lump in my throat at the level of poverty that 1 in 6 in India experience. And the cremation ceremony in The Ganges was one of the most powerful and beautiful things I’ve ever experienced.

India is an incredible and stunning country, with warm hearted and hard working people, stunning landscapes, incredible architecture, fantastic history, unreal food and a whole lot of not so endearing qualities also. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the experiences and time that I’ve had here and I do feel that I really have learnt a lot.

Will I return? Yes, one day for sure I would like to think. But for now, I’ve had many spoonfuls of India that have left me satisfied for the foreseeable!

Now, I’ll return from India in search of my next role and I’m available worldwide- immediately!

My background is detailed extensively within my profile and experience. But I’ve also got a passion for writing (if you couldn’t tell!) which I’d love to possibly pursue professionally if it was of good enough quality, I adore dogs (and all animals really) and I love trying to do my bit to make this planet a better place for us and future generations. So ultimately, if you’ve got a project you think I could be a good fit for, based on my current background and experience- or something completely new to me that you think I’m the guy for- get in touch and lets discuss it, I’m immediately available and can be where you need me, when you need me.

As always, thanks for taking the time to read and if you’ve got any questions, please leave them in the comments section and I’ll get back to you!

Finally, thank you to every single person who added to this experience and made it the incredible adventure that it turned out to be. And thank you India for being everything and a whole lot more than I could have ever hoped for or imagined.

What a trip!