India- The first leg.

So, that’s the first part of my journey completed. I’m now currently on a sleeper train from New Delhi to Varanasi, with 14 hours of sheer joy ahead of me and sitting in a standard that wouldn’t be out of place in one of those Virgin First Class adverts. All Lies apart from the train part.

Having spent the last 6 days in Delhi, I’ve seen an array of wonderful, beautiful, weird and tough things. However, the one that resonates with me most, is my walk through ‘the slums’. This for me, was one of the most eye opening and powerful experiences of my life.

The closest thing I could ever compare it with, would be something that I’ve perhaps seen on national geographic over the years, but certainly nothing in ‘real’ life. 

Land, air and water pollution, are all common daily factors for the people of these settlements, who because of such a monumental wealth divide in India, have little to no chance of ever changing their fate and this will be their existence for their entirety.

It’s not often that westerners would see this side of India first hand, solely because of the potential dangers involved with being an outsider within such a potentially unpredictable and unknown area. However, our hostel tour guide had friends who are local to the surrounding district, so with accompaniment of them, we were safe to progress in a small group. 

Inquisitive looks of the children, and even adults were common, some of them never having seen a westerner before- these ‘slums’ are literally that far disconnected from the real world (as we perceive it).

But instead of begging (like the children of the city centre would do frequently having been taught to do so by their elders), they just stared, smiled and laughed to their nearest friend, who did the same. It wasn’t intimidating (like the feeling you sometimes got from walking through the more densely populated areas within the city, whilst being pulled at by little arms), it was endearing and it was children behaving as they should do, with smiles on their faces and just happy and curious to see something new. After all, we were as much alien to their little eyes as this sort of environment was to us.

As we walked further, a common sight would be children and adults in amongst the rubbish. This was their job and one of the only forms of making an income here. Crushing and grouping the waste into mass piles, which would then be collected, sold for a minor amount of rupees and used by families to feed themselves and their children with a basic diet of Rice, lentils and suchlike.

For 1 in 6 in people in India, this is life.

To say that this has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life, would be a gross understatement. People with so little, but still managed to muster a smile and worked happily in amongst conditions of your worst nightmares. It was truly a testament to the sometimes said expression, the less you have, the more content you are in life. A saying I never really understood until I saw this. But with no expectations, you’ve got no disappointments. You just make the best of a situation, which is what I witnessed here.

There’s absolutely no positive spin to put on this. It was next level poverty and it was extremely hard hitting. However, it’s also something that I feel extremely fortunate to have witnessed, as seeing real life in this way, can only make you a more grateful and better human being in the long run, so for that- I’m thankful.

It’s with a very much mixed bag of emotions I leave Dehli. The good has been amazing and the bad has been both challenging and hard hitting. But I knew this Solo adventure was going to have good, bad, unreal and days to forget when I signed up for it.

However, I’ve only just barely scratched the first layer of this amazing country, and it’s already left me wanting more.

Up next is Varanasi, regarded as the spiritual capital of India. Known most commonly for Hindu pilgrims bathing in the waters of the River Ganges and also where the dead are burned in the sacred waters in Hindu cremation ceremonies. 

After Dehli, I really couldn’t tell you what I’m expecting. But I’ll maybe write a bit more about the next couple of destinations and my experiences during them. 

Until then...

Following on from this adventure, I'll be considering new roles commencing Mid August 2019!

My background is within Oil and Gas as a Designer, but I’ve also got a passion for writing (if you couldn't tell!), I adore dogs (and all animals really) and I love trying to do my bit to make this planet a better place for us, the animals and future generations. So ultimately, if you’ve got a project you think I could be a good fit for, regardless of what it is – get in touch and lets talk!

I’m available worldwide and open to new, fresh and exciting opportunities, both related to my background and experience OR something completely new!

Drop me an email and I’ll get back to you when I get a chance.

For now, let’s see what Varanasi has to offer on this amazing, beautiful and wonderful Indian adventure!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

All the best from India!