For this walk through, we’ll stay in India but shift gears completely. My favorite aspect of my tour with Intrepid Travel was the ability to go to small towns that were totally and completely off the beaten path. I was impressed that Intrepid found this little town and that we got to spend a day and evening there.

For India, a city  or town of 1 million people isn’t much to get excited over, yet most people in India still live in small villages like Madhogarh, which is close to a slightly larger town called Bassi in Rajasthan (Some info on Bassi).  I have to say that this was probably one of my favorite walks of the entire trip.

 A street in Madhogarh. Our guide, Pancham, walks ahead

Like any small town, you’re going to see your share of animals everywhere. Contrary to my big city girl persona, animals in the street remind me of my trips to the Caribbean when I was younger. Here in Madhogarh the animals were just a tad different.

A mini-boar, I think

There were peacocks everywhere!  This was one of at least five that we saw during our hour-long walk. Peacocks are the national bird of India.

Of course, we met the local cows. I have to say that India has the chillest cows, and do you blame them? If I knew I could just chill wherever I went, I’d be pretty relaxed, too.

At the beginning of our walk, we kept hearing, “Picture, please! Picture, please!” We looked down and saw these very cute children. They were really into posing for pics. Really. I will get into a discussion about picture taking in this post. I know that it can be a sore subject with many travelers, travel bloggers and writers, and I do want to address this a little. Can we all agree that they are too cute, though? Can we?

One thing that I should have been a “Duh! How could you NOT know this, Terri?” moment was the fascination that many residents of Madhogarh would have with our digital cameras. These two kids kept asking for picture after picture and loved seeing their faces on our camera screens. We eventually had to move on.

Ms. A of Team Ozzie sharing her camera.

The houses that we did get to see ranged in size and shape. If I remember correctly this is the house of a local potter. You can see his work at the side of the house.

We proceeded to a more central part of town and ended up in front of local school. One of the local water pumps is actually right in front the school building.

Water can a major issue for Rajasthan because it is so dry and arid there. Large parts of the State are actually desert. During our drives and train rides, it was common to see people (okay, women) walking for miles to access water. From a variety of conversations I had during my tour, I found out that many Indians in smaller villages still don’t have access to running water and toilets in their homes. I’m not sure that this is fact, but one woman I met who was working on water issues in India mentioned that more Indians had access to mobile phones than toilets. India is such a place of contrasts, and I hope to talk about this more in other posts.

Here’s the local school, which wasn’t in session at the time. Actually, it was never really clear to me what the general school calendar was because sometimes we saw children going to school and other times we didn’t. We were there towards the end of summer.

Access to primary/elementary education is still a challenge for some in India. One of the most fascinating articles that I read while there talked about the fact that girls often don’t go to school because there are not girls bathrooms, and many local schools have not built facilities for them. Some also face discrimination from their male classmates. Again, being one of the more “traditional” states, Rajasthan was high on the list for not having high rates of school attendance for girls.

Madhogarh’s primary school

It’s not all far from bad. As a whole, more kids of both sexes are going to school at higher rates than ever before in part with the help of government programs. I have to admit that I saw so many advertisements for schools of all kinds, and I know that education is highly valued in India.

Moving away from the school, we got closer to the main road through town. Many of the transportation options we saw in rural India were makeshift. I’m going to give folks so many props for their ingenuity. This truck below is actually fashioned from a tractor. It uses a tractor’s engine and other wooden planks to make a bed for transporting large items. Cars are expensive for many people in India, and folks figure out a way to handle their business and get where they need to go.

Since there aren’t very many inexpensive transport options, motorcycles are usually the mode of transport of choice.

These guys managed three on a bike. I think the most I saw was four. Often whole families ride motorcycles to get where they need to.

Before I talk about these next set of pictures, I want to say something. I want to personally thank the people of Madhogarh for allowing me to take their picture. Actually, several of the pictures here were requests by the people in them. Again, some of us may think that a digital cameras as rather ho hum, but the people we encountered at Madhogarh that day were very excited to see instantaneous images of themselves.

When approaching people, I made sure to do the following things:

1) Make eye contact and smile.

2) Point to my camera in a questioning way (Facial expressions are pretty universal).

3) If they gave the okay, I snapped one very quick picture.

4) I would bow and say “Dhanyavad” (Thank you in Hindi). I bowed very much in India. I felt very humbled that I was allowed to capture these images on my camera. I bowed as a sign of respect to these very friendly and open people.

Okay. So during our walk we met a wedding party. Team Ozzie and I saw so many weddings during our two weeks traveling together. I believe it was an auspicious time of year for weddings. This wedding party was coming from another town where they had the actual marriage ceremony. After the initial ceremony and celebration, they move on to the bride or groom’s town and spend time there for a particular period before going to establish their own household.

The groom is in the center with the garland.

The wedding party enjoyed taking a look at Ms. A’s camera.

These ladies asked me to take their picture. I love their outfits.

This little boy below was a complete charmer. He practiced his English language skills with us. I think he’s going to be a total ladies’ man when he gets older.

This grandfather wanted me to take a picture of him with his granddaughter. I found that most little girls in India have short hair. The black mascara-looking eye salve is used to block the sun and to keep away bugs.

I’m working on getting these pictures printed out so that I can send them to Intrepid in the hopes that they can get these pictures to these village residents.

Our last stop allowed us to pass by this bangle maker’s shop. They were handmaking bangles that they would sell later in larger towns. There are actually whole portions of markets in some Indian towns dedicated solely to bangles.

I definitely bought a few (okay, more like four..they were only 100 rupees, about $2 USD based on the exchange rate at that time). Because I’m clumsy a few have broken already, but I still wear them.

What a walk, right? We finally made it back to our home for the evening, Fort Madhogarh, but that’s for another post…..

When you travel, do you prefer visiting cities or the countryside?

Okay, I know that I have a tendency to be nice on this blog (maybe a little too nice), but I’m going to come out and say this: I didn’t really like Jaipur. I’ve been trying to figure out why, and I came up with a few reasons.  The vendors and store owners were a bit more aggressive than I’d been used to in the past places we’d been in India up to that point (The folks in Delhi and Agra are downright passive in comparison). The traffic was even more snarled and crazy and driving even more erratic than I’d remembered in Delhi. I’ve told people that India is “full frontal travel”, but I feel like I felt this way the most in Jaipur.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I really enjoyed walking around Jaipur. There were so many colors, styles, street activity and smells to take in that it could be overwhelming. While Delhi can feel the same way, I thought Jaipur didn’t have the sense of modernity that characterized New Delhi. Imagine a city that has the same vibe as Old Delhi with less cows in the street. Intrigued? Let’s start walking…..

The first thing  you should know is that Jaipur is a city within a city. The Pink City is an area separated by beautiful pink (salmon colored maybe?) walls that were built by Jai Singh, yet another Maharajah of Rajasthan (There’s many. Trust me.). He built the Pink City as his main capital center containing the City Palace and a few other prized monuments. Unlike many Northern Indian cities, the Pink City is actually organized on a grid system. I still got pretty turned around there.

One of the more scenic parts of the Pink City is the facade of the Hawa Mahal (the Palace of the Winds).

I’m totally cheating with this pic. I took it from the inside of a car. No walking here.

The Pink City itself is a pretty busy place and sometimes you can forget where it ends and the rest of Jaipur begins. To me, it seemed that this area was one of the prime shopping spots for Jaipur’s residents. There was nothing you couldn’t find within the Pink City walls.

Shops lined the streets in this part of the Pink City

I love passing through food markets, and Jaipur’s were no different. I know that I asked what many of these vegetables are in the pic below, but to be honest, I don’t remember the answers. I love the scarily prickly green cucumber looking veggies at the front left of this picture. Anyone know what they are?

One thing I noticed in India is that many things are still done by hand, and I’m not just talking crafts. This man was his own printing press. I have to admit that I don’t think I’ve really seen one of these old school printing machines up close. He looked like he was printing some kind of community newspaper.

Jaipur was also a great place to see more of India’s street food. I love watching food being made in front of me. This man is making a type of bread called puri. There are so many different types of bread in India. Bless the Indian people for their breads. I owe you guys many Indian food posts.

I’m kicking myself for now not trying the sugar cane drink made from these sugar cane juice extractors.

As you can see on the left, the juice is extracted from the fresh sugar cane stalks. Then the vendor will add mix-ins like lemon, ginger and mint. Sounds great, doesn’t it? I think he was adding ice too, so I and Team Ozzie took a pass.

As the provincial capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur is also supposed to be one of THE places to get handcrafted items. As in most larger Indian cities, we passed by the lanes in the market areas that feature a specific craft. The stone sculptors had many cool pieces ranging from Hindu gods to Elvis (Yes, I saw something with Elvis on it).

The textiles were so beautiful in India, and Jaipur didn’t disappoint. I wanted to buy some, but some of the vendors wouldn’t haggle with me!! It was fine, because I eventually found some I liked in a much smaller town from a much nicer vendor. I love that Indian women are always dressed so beautifully.

While I wasn’t in love with Jaipur, I did appreciate that I got to see so much of urban daily life in India. It’s really just so different from many of the urban areas I’d experienced before. What a difference from Reykjavik, right?

I saw Perito Moreno Glacier, but the other major place that blew my socks off this year was the Taj Mahal.

Everything has been written about the Taj Mahal, so I’m not going to write anything more. However, Husband J if you are reading, if I find a way to have fourteen children (NOT happening!!!), I think I will be worthy of a monument/masoleum like this. Really. Shah Jahan, my hats off to you, bro. Building this monument to your beloved deceased wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is definitely love. The Taj Mahal is something you can’t forget after you’ve seen it. It really is so beautiful that it must have been built because of love.

Team Ozzie and I entered at the South Gate. This is just the gate. Just the gate. 

I have to say that there was a sense of excitement for me. What is one of the most photographed structures in the world going to look like at first glance? I walked through the gate itself anticipating my first glimpse. I was thinking, “Am I really here? Will it look as good as the pictures?”

Then you realize that it does.

Then I thought, how many pictures of this can I take? Will there be too many? The answer is “no.”

Even with this historic structure in front of me, the grounds of the complex (yup, there’s more than one building), are worth taking in.

As Team Ozzie and I got closer, we realized that the Taj’s beauty is also in the details.

If you ever get a chance to see this stunning structure up close, make sure that you see it from every angle. One moment it seems larger than life and the other so very far away as if you’ve still not come close (and may never). I was there at the end of the day, and I loved the way the sun bounced off of the building and cast shadows.

While I didn’t get close to the other structures of the complex, they’re not exactly ugly either.  Go see them. The Jawab is to the right of the Taj.

I didn’t mean to take a picture of these guys. Looks like a min-Taj doesn’t it?

We entered the actual masoleum, and while nice, it wasn’t that spectacular. You’re not allowed to take pictures in there, so I have none to prove my case. Yet I get why the masoleum isn’t so appealing. I mean do you really want to be up close with Mumtaz Mahal’s body for an extended period of time? Probably not.

After a couple of hours wandering around, I knew I had to take some goofy pictures to prove I’d been here.

The wonders of angles, huh? Dorky me gets such a kick out of this picture below.

Seeing the Taj Mahal in person was definitely one of highlights of my trip to India and maybe even my year.

Have you been to any major world monuments? Did you enjoy them, or did they disappoint you?

Another post about travel gear? Of course. While I’ve already talked about my basic travel items including my backpack, that’s honestly the baseline stuff. I think there is a next level of gear that you might need at some point in your travels.  Maybe I’m a little too much of a Type A planner/safety freak, but I don’t like to be caught out there unprepared for certain situations.

I brought the items I’ll highlight below with me to India, but these items can help you regardless of your destination. Here are some next level travel items that you may not have thought to bring with you:

1. A money belt

The main purpose of the money belt is to keep your money (and passport, if you want) on your body. Pickpockets are out there in touristy areas, and some people prefer to keep money and other paper valuables very, very close.

I’ve used a money belt off and on since I started traveling independently years ago. I’ll say that if you don’t mind your money being a little sweaty (I sweat. I’ll admit it.), it can be an effective way of keeping your moolah safe.  Someone would have to reach under your shirt and cut it off of you to get your stash. On the other hand, if you’re wearing tight clothing, it will create a bulge in your clothes signaling to the robbers where you money is. I tend to like it better than whipping out my wallet from home, which is pretty big. I leave my wallet from home in the hotel safe.

When choosing a money belt, I would make sure to find one that adequatly wraps around you. Not all of them are going to be comfortable to you. I needed to replace my old one before leaving for India, and I have to admit I was not a fan of the Belle Hop brand that I bought in the picture above. It just never seemed to stay wrapped around me and kept slipping. I fell for the pretty packaging. Bad idea.

2. A sleep sheet

I’ve found that people tend to use sleep sheets for a few reasons. If you’re in a totally low-budget hostel with no sheets (Do these still exist? They did when I traveled when I was younger), then you’ve got an automatic set of sheets with you that’s easy to fold, store and clean as you keep on traveling. Another option is for camping purposes as a liner for a sleeping bag in case you’re sleeping in colder conditions (camping/outdoorsy people, help me out here if I am wrong).

In India, I used the sleep sheet at those hotels and situations where the sheets just looked a little suspect. That definitely was the case in a few instances. I could put my feet into the sleep sheet, and it was like an extremely lightweight sleeping bag.

Here’s an example of a place where I used my sleep sheet below: on an overnight train from Ajmer to Delhi. Sheets and a blanket were provided, but I decided to pass on them.

On the top bunk of my sleeper train. Okay, so I wasn’t actually in the sleep sheet yet, but there it is. Please excuse my ashy feet.

3. Extra strength bug killer

Malaria and other disease that are transmitted by insects are still common in parts of the world. You will need the extra protection. Not every place in every country is going to require you to dose yourself in extra strength repellant, but you should be prepared in these areas. For those in the U.S., I highly recommend checking the Centers for Diseas Control website. They give pretty detailed information on countries and their levels of malaria and insect-borne disease and is a great resource overall for travelers’ health. I’m going to do a traveler’s health post soon.

There are a variety of creams and products you can use to keep the buggers away that have strong acting ingredients, namely DEET. This time around instead of a cream, I used individually-wrapped towellettes.

In the U.S.,  a maximum of 35% of a repellant product can include DEET. My Australian travel mates from Team Ozzie had creams with 95% DEET in it. Lucky…

There was a stick that I could have bought, and I think I will next time. I just hated that fact that I needed to thoroughly wash my hands every time I used this. Just make sure to not get this stuff near your eyes and mouth after you’ve applied it.

So I’d like to hear from you. Have you ever used any of these three pieces of travel gear? Am I just being overly cautious? While this isn’t an exhaustive list, what piece of travel gear do you think more people should consider using?

On my second trip through New Delhi, I had come to the end of my tour with Team Ozzie and Pancham. We had gotten into the city on an overnight train that I’ll tell you about in another post, and I knew there were two places that I felt I still needed to see in New Delhi. What can I say? I cannot be somewhere and not try to explore. I’m a restless traveler.

Yet I was a little tired after so much of what we’d seen. I wasn’t necessarily physically tired, but in some ways I was emotionally tired. During the course of our two week tour, I hadn’t really taken the time to recharge spirtually in the way I usually do. Breathing/meditation, prayer? Nope, that went out of the window. I think I was just so overstimulated (adults can be overstimulated, ya know); and every night that my head hit the pillow, my mind was racing with what I’d seen and learned that day while traveling through Rajasthan.

I’m glad that I decided to go to the B’Hai Temple because it gave me a few moments to slow down. By the way, here’s a little on the B’Hai faith. While I like my own faith orientation, I have to admit that I am little intrigued by the B’Hai.

When you get off the subway and begin walking towards the temple, it resembles this futuristic structure rising out of the ground.

After going through gates with metal detectors, you get to walk through the temple’s gardens. I have to admit this was the most grass I’d seen to date in Delhi, which can be a fairly dusty place. It was nice to be surrounded by so much greenery.

I joined the crowds walking towards the temple.

Honestly, I had no idea where I was going and what I was supposed to do when I got there, so I just followed the crowds climbing the stairs towards the temple’s entrance.

I admired the pool in front of the temple. They spared no expense building this space.

After dropping off my shoes, which is required to enter into the actual temple itself, I lined up with the crowds waiting to enter the temple.

We got a basic introduction with facts about the B’Hai faith before entering the temple.

I wish I could actually show you pictures of the inside because it has such a calming and majestic feeling, but visitors are not allowed to take pictures. It actually reminded me more of a modern church than anything else.

I sat down. I closed my eyes, and I took several deep breaths. I said a few prayers and just released. I don’t know why I hadn’t done this before during my time in India, but I finally felt relaxed in the B’Hai Temple in a way that I had not for the previous two weeks. You can stay in the temple as long as you want, and I took advantage of that. I was happy for a little refuge from how harried and crowded Delhi can be. Since I don’t usually travel for such long periods of time, I wasn’t used to having to spiritually recharge. If I ever travel for over three weeks again, I’ll have to remind myself of how important and necessary it is for me to reconnect with this aspect of my life.

How do you stay relaxed, take care of your mental health and/or stay spiritually connected while traveling?