India 2016 (Kite Festival/Uttrayan)
I bet every traveler, artist, poet, dreamer - simply everyone, have this dream of going to India. And for me, India has always been in my mind since forever for some reason, that, I don't seem to know what the reason is. I just wanted to go there, immerse in their culture, learn their language, sip some chai and eat aloo paratha, sing and dance through the Indian-traditional-festive rhythm, cruising through the infamous Ganges River, ride camels, pet some cows, fort hopping, running after train like one of those Bollywood movies, sleep under millions of stars, basically everything. And I can proudly say - been there, done that.
The whole journey took a solid 15 days from 11 January - 25 January 2016.
Day 1.
Arrived at New Delhi International Airport in the evening.
I had my first cup of chai(basically a teh tarik but 10 times better) and this delicious briyani that were priced by kilos instead of per plates and went to Chandni Chowk market which is one of the biggest street market in New Delhi that stretch kilometers away.
Photo: Muhammad Hidayatullah
Day 2.
Sightseeing at Red Fort, Jama Mosque and India Gate. They charged us Rs2000 per entry at Jama Mosque. Crazy.
Day 3.
Woke up early to catch a 7AM flight to Ahmedabad. The plan was first to take a night train but if it was not because of the plan cancelled we wouldn't witnessed this beautiful sunrise.
Photo: Muhammad Hidayatullah
As we arrived in Ahmedabad, the three of us planned to get a local sim card and 2 days after we bought it, we still cannot use it. One of us who already have the local sim card call the person who's incharge and she said that they cannot verify our sim because the photo we gave is with hijab. She should've told us earlier. She adds that we still can apply for a sim card but we need to take a photo with our scarf off.
Went for a walk around Ahmedabad in the evening with no particular destination. There were so many people selling and making kites for tomorrow's Kite Festival. Walked for hours our feet even begged us to stop, the stomach was trembling, the head was spinning as the only meal we had was breakfast. Then we stumbled upon this very classy like hotel restaurant(Hotel ZK) and decided to give it a try. The food did not disappoint. To be honest I didn't know that the hotel is famous until now.
Day 4. (Kite Festival)
My first aloo paratha. It is basically a capati with a potato filling that are eaten together with chutni and yogurt.
Headed to the open spaces just besides our hotel to see people playing kites and we took that time to show some skills too - which we didn't have any. The way they flew the kites was so unique. They don't need people to hold the kites for them. Only one person is needed to flew the kites by pulling the rope bit by bit and let the wind do the job. The way they did was so easy so I gave it a try and failed miserably.
We saw a building across the river just beside the open space and took a tuk tuk ride to there. We managed to get to the rooftop before sunset and to my surprised the place was very happening with the crowds, music and kites! We can see a 360 view from up here. At night, the sky was full with lanterns and fireworks and it goes on for hours!
Headed back to the hotel to pack our stuff to catch a night bus to Johdpur. We took 2 tuk tuk - 2 people each. Somehow the driver was very slow and we get left behind from the others. When we arrived there we couldn't see our friends and here comes the best part - we were both cannot contact them as the phone did not have a connection and we didn't even save our friend local(India) phone number. We don't know which bus we are going to take as well as the ticket is with our friend. The only option is to go back to the hotel and ask the receptionist to call our friend asking him where he at and go meet him there. So we asked the driver to take us back to the hotel. On our way back we saw our friend walking on the divider looking around and we screamed to the top of our lung calling his name. Reunited. Hop in the bus and headed to Johdpur.
Lesson number #1: Do roaming from your personal telco first before travel abroad.
Inside the bus. Quite cozy actually.
Day 5.
Met our driver, Rakesh, who will be our driver until Agra. He took us to Mehrangarh Fort in the morning that can see the whole Blue City from up here. Later in the evening we get lost in the alleys and crooks of the Blue City until we were really lost. Then we met this women who cheerfully invited us to her house. We got into her house, took pictures and at the time we wanted to leave, each of the family members asked us Rs10 each.
Lesson number #2: Do not simply trust strangers.
We continued walking and met one boy and he helped us on our way out. But somehow the road he took seems to go upwards instead of downwards. I'm a bit sceptical at first. Turns out he brings us to his home. He showed us his house, introduced us to his mom and showed us his money collection from all around the world and he haven't even been outside India! He got all the money from the tourists he met. I bet all of them were lost like us. That boy was so kind he didn't even asked money from us, instead, we were the one who's willingly gave our national money to him. His name is Priyan So, 11 years old and his english is very good. Before we left his mom served us chai and that was the second best chai I had since I've been to India.
Tips number #1: Trust people who agreed to help you when you ask for one.
On our way out we stumbled upon an Indian wedding in the middle of the Blue City and we walked together with them as that was the only way out. 4 stinky awkward travelers stuck inside a bunch of well dressed crowds. Not what people expect from a wedding.
Day 6.
Headed to Jaisalmer after breakfast. About an hour after we left, one of the tire hits something and flattened. To add things worse, I had a motion sickness at that time - my head was spinning so much thinking of it already giving me a headache. We stopped by at a bird sanctuary before going to the Bishnoi Village. The Bishnoi tribe claims that the land is so sacred that no animal can be sacrifice there. There was a story the driver told us that Salman Khan once filmed a movie there and he slaughtered a goat for eating, it creates a rampage from the tribes. He were then jailed for days. I don't know how true this story is.
The community lives in a very traditional way like the one you seen in the National Geographic channel. The women collects water with a jar on her head and had to walked miles to get it. They grind wheat to make flour, their house was made up using cow's dung, fire been made using dry woods and dungs, wearing saree and dhoti the whole time, they make their own medicine - the famous one is opium. I even had mine it was so strong I get another headache for the day.
When we arrived in Jaisalmer, we were given the best suite in the hostel. The room was so big it can fit 6 persons(which is just for 2) and it comes with a view. They even served us chai - something that not happen very often. Only to find out later that the room is not for us. The manager were out so his brother - the one who's incharged mistaken us as the other guest who booked the room in the first place. We manage to take photos and have a good bath before being kicked out to the dorm. LMAO.
Lesson number #3: There is nothing too good to be true.
Day 7.
We took a package from the hostel together with other guests for a camel ride to the sand dunes. The package includes sleeping at the dunes, performances and good food. The camel rides took almost 7 hours from the starting point to the 'sand dunes'. Turns out we have been circling the so called dunes for hours! The 'dunes' was not even a dune nor a desert. It was just a pile of sands, bushes and a lot of dungs. So we headed back to the hostel, manage to get some refunds and took the package that our driver recommended us earlier(he already told us not to take any packages from the hostel when we arrived there and he stayed just after he sent us for the camel rides. He said that he didn't felt good and cried, literally, when we told him what was just happened). He took us and the other guests to the Khuri Sand Dunes that is not far from the first 'dunes'. And as promised, we were served with good food, performances, and sleeping at the dunes accompanied by nothing but gazillion of stars above us. No buildings, no cars, no lights, just us, the dunes and the stars.
Our bed on the dunes. Photo: Muhammad Hidayatullah
And by the way the hostel we stayed was Zostel just like the other hostel we stayed in India. It is a good hostel and I recommend you guys to stay there when you get to India its just that some people love to make things hard for others.
Lesson number #4: Trust your driver/instinct or idk just trust yourself maybe idk what the lesson is.
Day 8.
After spending the whole night under the stars with a 5 degree celsius, we went for a safari ride and visited Neem Kidani village before going to Pushkar. It took 9 painstaking hours to reach Pushkar inside a tin-like car with 5 persons that can't even barely moved much. Like a long flight where your movement is limited(depending on your size. Lucky I'm Asian, I can fold my legs). That was the worse journey I had so far.
Day 9.
Went shopping at a bazaar, a cute bazaar near the holy lake in Pushkar. I'm surprised that a small town got such a cool shopping place where you can get all kinds of quality textiles, embroidery, sheets, crafts and not to mention it is cheap!
We arrived at Jaipur 5 hours later at night time and had the best fried chicken before bed.
Tips number #2: When you see something beautiful, just buy. You may not going to find them again.
Tips number #3: Bring extra money just in case if you are running out of budget.
Day 10.
Sightseeing at Amber Fort for a bit before heading to Agra. I have had enough of fort already so I just spend my time taking pictures around the main square instead of going inside. I am fascinated by the animals there from bird to elephant and a huge monkey doing parkour from building to building and god knows how big that thing was. It is sad to see elephants being used as a commercial transportation and we as a tourist should not support that kind of cruelty. Those kind of animals belong to the wild.
When I was busy taking photos, I was greeted by a Malay guy from Malaysia. Guess I am so Malaysian that people can recognized me from far.
On our way to Agra we stopped by at the mustard fields that can be seen all around the highway for a cup of chai at the most humble RNR ever. Just a shack besides the wide open road and an acres of mustard fields as a view.
Chai and Good Day cashew biscuits(so good)
Day 11.
Woke up super early to buy tickets for Taj Mahal. The counter opens at 6:30AM and we already arrived there at 6AM on a freaking cold weather. While waiting for the counter to open I saw a group of people sitting circling a light and recited what seems to sounds like a prayer that goes on for almost an hour. I'm thinking to myself that no mater what the religion is, it is always beautiful to see people making time for their God. The gates opened and we were the first person on the line.
It was a foggy morning. The tingling adrenaline starts to die a bit when I saw the Taj Mahal because I can't barely see much. The fog was too thick. So I sat at the bench in front of the Taj, taking my time, and all of a sudden a guy in front of me sat on one knee and proposed to his girl and that was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. All those disappointments been swept away instantly(not to mentioned that I had to walked 500 meters before getting inside to keep my belongings in the locker as it didn't pass the security)
Lesson number #5: Don't bring any food/water inside your bag when entering Taj Mahal.
Day 12.
Did some shopping(again) at the local shops buying blanket and sheet for souvenirs. Had some snack while waiting for our driver then a boy came asking for money. I didn't gave any but a Tic Tac then suddenly out of nowhere a group of kids came and wants something from us.
Lesson number #6: Do not give anything to beggars. Not even kids.
There was a plenty of time before waiting for our train to Varanasi so we grab some lunch by the road that sells chicken briyani for only 20Rp per plates and because it was so good I can't help but to asked for another plate. We arrived at the train station at 7PM. Our train were supposed to be at 8PM but it was delayed until 12AM and the weather drop almost 1 celsius for every hour. For an Asian like me, the cold was too much. My hands, feet, nose and ears were numb and all I can think of was the warmness of Malaysian weather that I used to cursed back home. And to make matter worst, there were not much of a place we can sit/stand as they were bird's poo everywhere and not to mentioned that the bird was sleeping on the rail above us waiting to drop their gold.
4 hours later, the train arrived and that moment was the moment that I can't forget up until now. We grab our backpack and chased the train like one of those Bollywood movie, managed to get in and had a very goodnight sleep in a warm and cozy coach(we took the AC class).
Lesson number #7: Don't wear loose outfit on a cold weather. It's like you're welcoming the breeze to get inside you.(I'm wearing loose pants and I regret that decision)
Day 13.
14 hours later around 2PM, we have arrived in Varanasi. All I can remember the journey from Agra to Varanasi was nothing but sleep and woke up to the sound of people selling chai, food and snacks from coach to coach. "Chai, chai, chai, chai"
Later in the evening, we went for a cruise along the Ganges river and watched how they burned bodies and Aarti ceremony which was performed by the Brahmin disciples for evening rituals to honor the holy river. Indian believes that the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi is the most sacred place to die and their souls will be reborn.
Went for a dinner in the back alley of Varanasi at a Muslim area for a hearty plate of rice and tandoori.
Tips number #4: If the restaurant sells meat, it is halal. If it only sells chicken and you heard somebody saying salaam, it is halal.
Day 14.
Walked around Varanasi for... you know what I'm doing. I can't help myself from being a woman and spent money on everything.
Then we took a flight to New Delhi and spent a night at Zostel.
Day 15.
Packed and gave a one last look of India from the rooftop before heading back to Malaysia.
Overall, India has been amazing. Every single day there I felt as if I'm in a Bollywood movie and I met many wonderful people throughout the journey and still keep in touch with some of them until now. This was truly an incredible journey I had so far and for sure, I will come back and explore other parts of India again. To those who wants to go to India, I hope this entry helps. Forget all those 'what if', get a ticket, pack your bags and I guarantee you will have the best moments of your life.