FLASH BACK INDIA
EDIT: Dear all I'm sorry it's an old and short version of my article that was published I apologize, I deliver you the full version of my trip! Love to you all!
Hello my little cats!
Thank you so much for all your words about my special week in India! My return to the Lemon Planet is quite complicated, it's not easy to leave everything behind for 3 weeks! I'm juggling between editing my photos of New Zealand and the new Wear Lemonade collection ( hihihi) and diving into my archives to finish these posts on India! I'm delighted to be diving back into these images I made 6 years ago, long before the blog, and it's quite funny to see the evolution of my photos! I hope you enjoy these images and that they inspire you to take your backpack and discover this incredible country! I think I really want to go back and visit the South of India... I've got quite an itchy backpack right now.
Click on the arrows to see all the photos! To take you back to my trip, I went to India with my best friend for a month with our backpacks and backpacker's guides in our pockets. Justine had already been there a few years before, and I had a terrible hallucination when I arrived in Delhi at night... Streets without facades, as if a catastrophe had taken place a few days before. The Commonwealth Games were to take place a few months later, and to give the city a facelift, the buildings were gutted, just to restore the facades... The land of contrasts, I told you, but the slap in the face on arrival was striking, the poverty unfiltered. And then, after a few hours' sleep, we took to the streets of Delhi to get to the train station and head for Agra and the Taj Mahal. As you can see, right from the start, Delhi doesn't leave me with any wonderful memories... Well, what about the Taj Mahal? If we know exactly what it looks like, I can assure you that I've never seen anything so beautiful, so crazy in my life. It's breathtaking and architecturally poetic beyond compare!
Afterwards, we went to Vanarasi, at the confluence of the sacred Ganges river. I have very intense and moving memories of it, intense because it's a major Indian pilgrimage site. The Hindu belief is that bathing in the waters of the Ganges would cleanse humans of all their sins, and that cremating a deceased person on the steps (Ghats) that run alongside the river and then scattering their ashes in the Ganges would free their soul and enable them to elevate their condition in their next life, according to their cycle of reincarnation. Now, you're telling me that this is a very heavy and morbid atmosphere, but I assure you, not at all. Death is an integral part of Indian life, and even something they celebrate, so don't go away with any negative preconceptions about the city - it really is a marvellous destination, and seeing the sunrise over the river remains one of my fondest memories. Then, about ten kilometers from Benares (another name for Vanarasi) we went to Sarnath, a Buddhist city.
In this small town, we stayed in a Buddhist monastery run by monks who had taken a vow of silence, in a tiny room filled with Gecko's on the walls. India is sometimes a bit Fort Boyard in terms of sensations... And then in this small town we were lucky enough to visit a school, a school for all, where children from all Indian castes receive the same education as little girls and boys: the Buddha's Smile School. The couple who run the school also have a small restaurant next door, and you might even have the chance to have lunch with the children, as the school is right behind them. In this town, too, we came across a makeshift funfair, and I remember being amazed by all the smiles on these bric-a-brac rides... Then it was time to leave this little corner of paradise, heading for Bombay, where we practically crossed the country in a sleeper train for over 24 hours! It was an epic trip, with many fond memories! And then Bombay: Magical, decadent, completely pop, and full of contradictions...
In Bombay, my memories are a little hazy, but I do remember that it rained cats and dogs for a few days and that we went to the cinema to see a Bollywood film in Hindi of course, but don't worry, the acting is universal and don't forget that the show is also in the theater, it's an experience to be had! We slept in Salvation Army dormitories, so there was no Taj Mahal hotel for us. At the time, we were in backpack, flip-flops and silk sarouel mode. From Bombay, we flew to Diu, a small island to the north of Bombay, on the border with Rajasthan. Diu is one of the last vestiges of Portuguese colonization of India, and to tell you the truth, we slept on the roof of a Catholic church converted into a guest house. It was very cool because the island was still untouched by mass tourism and the long beaches were practically deserted. I remember that we celebrated Justine's birthday on the roof of this church, and with balloons and dental floss I made multicolored garlands, not to mention the colorful cake head carried on the back of our host's scooter... It was great, Diu.
From our little lost island, we took an overnight bus - the easiest and cheapest way to travel in this country - to Jaipur. Now we're in Rajasthan. And once again, my memory is playing tricks on me. I can't remember how many towns we visited. I remember Jaipur, Jasalmer, Udaipur, Pushkar, but I think I'm forgetting one or two... I really liked Rajasthan, the palaces rising out of the desert, the horseback rides in the mountains, the nights under the stars in the sand watching thunderstorms on the horizon... And then, I fell in love with Udaipur. The name Udaipur may sound familiar, as the city was used as the setting for the film Bengal Tiger by Fritz Lang and Octopussy, a James Bond movie. In fact, in most of the city's restaurants, you can watch the famous James Bond movie every night, so if you stay a few days, you'll probably know the film by heart! This city is also where we had our three-finger rings made! Along with Pushkar (our last stop before returning home) and Benares, these are my three Indian favorites. I don't know if it's the fact that these cities are surrounded by water, but there's something very soothing about the atmosphere in all three places, a kind of serenity that I sometimes sorely miss! I hope you've enjoyed my memories and photos. See you soon for another round of do it yourself programs here!
