INDIA WAS TRULY INCREDIBLE…
It is a country of many things:
Tradition, perplex religions, bright colours (in the sari’s, turbans, even the elephants which are dazzlingly painted), the most friendly and interesting people (in between you find ...a few ‘scammers’ and auto-rickshaw wallahs who try and get you), this makes it all the more frustrating, challenging and draining.
You would think us South Africans would be use to the poverty but when 75% of the country is under the poverty line it is everywhere you go. Walking for an hour at a time trying to find a refuse bin, rubbish is accumulating everywhere.
Train rides which consume all your energy but yet meeting so many unique people and the topic of all conversation would be about the history, democracy, religion and traditions. Being offered home-made chai and chikki, learning to speak gujarati (and having to repeat it to every passenger who passed).
Having traveled more than 4000km (by train) from West to North to South to West again, we discovered that people are so diverse even languages, landscape, weather, architecture, arts, tradition, culture and food vary. Besides the modern architecture, which we planned to see, we saw an immense amount of temples, stepping wells (overwhelming experience), monuments, forts, shrines and sculptures.
I dearly miss the vibrant atmosphere, glittering nightlife, crowded street life, market places, Indian cousine, tradition and heritage and the awe-inspiring architecture, Le Corbusier’s use of concrete and Louis Khan’s arches.
Looks like you had a lot of fun.
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