Northern India - What Did We Just See?

Northern India Slide Show

Was that a cow we just saw on the freeway? What smells so good? Was that a camel pulling the cart? What smells so bad? What is that man wearing? What is that interesting smell? How many people are in that autorickshaw? Have you ever smelled anything like that? Should we help that guy? This was a typical series of questions that we would ask each other as we walked and drove around the states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan in Northern India. Nothing can adequately prepare you for the sensory overload of the sights, sounds, and smells of India. As Noah keeps singing from a commercial that we saw, "Incredible India!"
The cab ride from the Delhi airport to our hotel gave us a great introduction to India. The roads in a city of 15 million people are filled (and I mean filled) with cars, dogs, rickshaws (bicycle taxis), people, scooters, autorickshaw's (motorized bicycle taxis), cows, bicycles, and camels. Our taxi driver skillfully wove his way through all this chaos without following one traffic rule or ever coming to a complete stop. Renting a car and driving in this country is not an option.
Our introduction continued rather quickly as Noah and I walked around at night to get the lay of the land. The third cash machine we visited dispensed rupees (India cash) so we were on our way. After walking a block, a cow frightened Noah by sticking his head out around a tree in the middle of a roundabout. Noah then promptly stepped in a present the cow recently deposited on the sidewalk. A half block later, a small boy dressed in dirt head to toe with some strange red stuff on his lips came up to Noah and kissed his shirt. Needless to say, Noah was ready to go back to the hotel. Welcome to India!
Once you get used to India, you can actually fall in love with it's quirkiness. It is a culture shock that makes you smile at just about the time that you want to run back home crying. After taking in a few sights in Delhi, we headed to Agra. We visited a couple temples and the Agra Fort, but the highlight in Agra is the Taj Mahal. It is deservedly on one of the many 7 Wonders of the World lists in circulation. The Taj Mahal was built by emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial to his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. It took 20,000 workers 22 years to complete. The Taj Mahal is constructed of marble. The colorful designs are not from paint, but from inlaid precious stones from around the world.
Next stop on our driving tour was Ranthambore National Park. We got up early to go on a tiger safari in the park. We saw tiger footprints, birds, monkeys, deer, jackal and crocodiles, but no tigers. Maybe they should not have billed it as a tiger safari. It was nice to get out of big, dirty cities and see the countryside. We continued going from city to city with stays in Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Pushkar before returning to Delhi. We saw many temples, tombs, forts, a pink city (Jaipur), a blue city (Jodhpur), and a city that does not allow meat, eggs, hugging, alcohol, or smooching (Pushkar). I charmed a cobra, rode a camel and danced in the desert. Jennifer had her palm read, got a massage and rode an elephant and a camel. Noah danced in the desert and rode an elephant and a camel.
Unlike the tiger safari where there were no tigers, there were camels for our camel safari in Pushkar. The safari took us through the streets of Pushkar into the desert. As it got dark, we ate by campfire and were entertained by local musicians and dancers. If we didn't get "Delhi Belly" from dinner that night, we may never get it.
The sights that we saw in our trip around Northern India were interesting, but the most fascinating aspect of India is walking the streets and interacting with the locals. Once you get used to pushy vendors on the street and overzealous hotel bellboys, you realize that the people of India are very service oriented and friendly. The women dress in every color of the rainbow. The food is quite good, albeit a bit too spicy for Jennifer. The children smile at you and want to shake your hand regardless of their living conditions.
We returned to Delhi safely thanks to Raj, the driver that we hired for this portion of the trip. He was a great driver while being very courteous and helpful. We also had the privilege of spending an evening with Tandon family in Delhi that we met through a friend of ours, Vijay Mehrotra who was born in Delhi, but now resides in Oakland, California.
To view our slide show of Northern Delhi, click on the following link ==> Northern India Slide Show