{"id":1717,"date":"2013-12-06T10:18:23","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T10:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/?p=1717"},"modified":"2020-02-18T15:28:14","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T15:28:14","slug":"india-makes-you-nama-stay-longer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/2013\/12\/india-makes-you-nama-stay-longer\/","title":{"rendered":"India \u2013 Makes you Nama-stay Longer"},"content":{"rendered":"

India \u2013 ahhh where to begin with you.\u00a0 Before arriving at the airport of Delhi<\/a>, you know you are going to experience one of the most fascinating countries this wonderful world has to offer.\u00a0 I am doing the Rajasthan Explored tour and I have never been more excited to see a country that everyone had said to me \u201cyou\u2019ll either love it or hate it\u201d\u2026but I know myself pretty well, and I knew I was going to fall totally in love with this massive country.<\/p>\n

Before I set off, I was already warned about the positives and the negatives of visiting India.\u00a0 We have all heard of the \u201cDelhi belly\u201d phenomenon, well we tourists have many ways to combat that.\u00a0 Our guide, Beebol, shared some stories on the first night\u2019s meeting about one guy would take showers with swimming goggles on and duct tape his mouth shut so no water gets in there!\u00a0 I know that is one way, but maybe too extreme for me.\u00a0 I am hoping the only thing my belly would suffer from (knock on wood as this is only Day 6) is too much laughter, as this is by far one of the funniest, most entertaining places I have ever seen.\u00a0 Another great thing I was told is that if I wanted to avoid that phenomenon that hits about 1 in 2 tourists, then I should go vegetarian and avoid meat at all costs.\u00a0 After my first couple of days, I knew this would not be a problem since this is a veg heaven!\u00a0 So far I have bought goggles (kidding), but in all seriousness, I am avoiding the water by buying 1L water ($0.20 USD), and use that also to brush my teeth.\u00a0 About veg-ing out, well Beebol insisted I try the chicken in Jaisalmer\u2019s \u201cEl Trio\u201d, so I tried a little bit and I am still alive (48 hrs later).<\/p>\n

My flight from Toronto left on Thursday through Frankfurt and I finally arrived at DEL around 2:00 am.\u00a0 After getting some rupees out of the ATM, I got myself a police-run taxi to the hotel, finally arriving around 4:00 am.\u00a0 You want to know something? I have never in my life seen so much traffic towards a major city at 3:00 am!\u00a0 What are they doing?\u00a0 I am not joking when I say to you it was bumper to bumper for the entire 2+ hour journey.\u00a0 I finally got to the hotel and of course, I felt bad waking up the staff that were sleeping on the sofas.\u00a0 I wanted to get some zzz before my 1st<\/sup> day started, as now it is Saturday, 4:30 am Delhi<\/a> time.\u00a0 After a nice chai tea, I set off on a taxi and I had a great day planned out.\u00a0 I am going to visit this fort, then drive south and see this museum, then definitely visit this temple and this one too\u2026did I tell you where I was?\u00a0 Delhi<\/a> is a big city and there was one factor I should have considered.\u00a0 Put it this way: if traffic was bad at 3:00am, what you think it might be around noon?<\/p>\n

Getting to Old Delhi<\/a> was a nightmare.\u00a0 Don\u2019t get me wrong, I absolutely love exploring new places, but I just can\u2019t understand how this city functions.\u00a0 First of all, they all drive on the wrong side of the road J (I am Canadian and I had to, sorry) and for what should be a two-lane street somehow turns into 4, and if you count the rickshaws and cyclotaxis, then maybe 5 (not to mention the fact that no one walks on the sidewalk\/pavement).\u00a0 I could touch the car beside me while I am sitting in the back of my taxi!\u00a0 I finally arrived at my first stop, Jamir Jasmid (Mosque)<\/em> and it was worth the hour drive.\u00a0 The actual mosque was very beautiful from the outside, and since I am developing an appreciation for architecture, it is needless to say the inside was stunning.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

After visiting this mosque, my next move was to go to the famous Red Fort.\u00a0 Again, how\u2019s my day going?<\/p>\n

\"Traffic<\/p>\n

So an hour later, even though they are about 20 min walk from each other, I arrived at the Fort, saw it from the outside since I knew I wouldn\u2019t have the necessary 2-3 hours to see it properly, but it was also a Saturday and it\u2019s worse than a zoo in the capital of the second-most populated country in the world!\u00a0 Then from there, I decided being inside a car and being stuck in traffic was not y way to start my Indian experience, so I got dropped off at the Connaught Place, had a little bite to eat and then slowly made my way back to my hotel.\u00a0 I met the rest of the group and we all had a quiet night since some maybe be victims of jet lag or (cue the music) Delhi belly!<\/p>\n

The next day we were off to Bikaner and we had a sleeper class train for the 7 \u00bd hr journey.\u00a0 It was a lot better than we expected\u2026India + train = an unforgettable journey.\u00a0 Although you could definitely lie down and take a kip, you didn\u2019t want to miss out on seeing something amazing along the ride.\u00a0 When I tell you that India is a pure assault on your senses, I mean it 100%!\u00a0 The sights never fall short of breathtaking, and as far as smells go, well they take your breath away too!\u00a0 The landscape varied but the common theme was dry, hot and sunny as we were heading west.<\/p>\n

\"Views<\/p>\n

My Monday morning a week ago meant waking to up to -11 in snowy Edmonton, and a week later I am at a very peculiar place here in Bikaner.\u00a0 The Karni Mata temple is home to some 2000 holy rats that may carry the soul of the Karni Mata, which means when you walk inside (no shoes, socks are allowed) you will have to be very careful not to step on any of them and just admire how these little creatures are adored.\u00a0 They are fed milk, coconut shavings and the best thing is if you spot the white rat, it\u2019s meant to bring you good luck.\u00a0 I guess I have to come back to Bikaner to spot it.\u00a0 The other great highlight here was the Junagarh Fort which blew me away on the every architectural aspect.<\/p>\n

\"Karni<\/p>\n

From there, we moved onto Jaisalmer, the \u201cGolden City\u201d and I was looking forward to seeing this amazing city but also our included Camel Safari.\u00a0 We had time to walk around in the morning and visit the very impressive Fort while zigzagging through the streets and its very tempting shops.\u00a0 There is nothing better than getting a chai tea ($0.20 USD), a samosa ($0.13 USD) and people watch around Gate 1 of the Fort, as you will see it all \u2013 cows, cops, rickshaws, camels and all with their corresponding smells and sounds.\u00a0 \u00a0I just knew this would be a highlight for me and we still had another full day when we come back from the desert.<\/p>\n

After a very nice lunch at \u201cEl Trio\u201d (remember my chicken experience? Probably not the best timing), we packed up and were now heading to the desert for our overnight camel safari.\u00a0 We drove about an hour and then met our friends.\u00a0 Kalu is only 5 and he didn\u2019t want any of me on him, but after feeding him a banana, we went for round 2 and off I went on top.\u00a0 We rode for about 90 minutes onto the beautiful sunset over the Thar Desert, some 30 km away from Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"Camel<\/p>\n

After a very lovely dinner, we just sat back and enjoyed a chilly, quiet (finally!) night under the stars before heading into our tents capping off a very unique and memorable experience in India.\u00a0 We returned the next morning back to Jaisalmer, where after a well-deserved shower, I hit the city, explored the nearby sights, sipped on endless chai and indulged on delicacies that rhymed with \u201cveg\u201d or \u201cno meat right?” There are no words to describe how magnifi-scent this city is and as a bonus, how safe and friendly the locals are towards us gora\/gori<\/em> (white male\/female \u2013 kids yelled it at us all the time).<\/p>\n

On Thursday morning, we boarded another local bus and this time we were heading to Jodhpur for two nights.\u00a0 The local bus ride was quite good since we managed to stop a couple of times for toilets and grab some more local snacks and we got here in about 6 hours.\u00a0 The rickshaw drive up to our beautiful hotel was fascinating, not to mention almost running into motorbikes and people.<\/p>\n

After checking in, we went for a walk along to explore the \u201cBlue City\u201d.\u00a0 What a great place this is, you have very friendly people once again while you are trying not to get hit by a rickshaw on the narrow streets.\u00a0 Shops are tattooing the streets and there is no shortage of roof-top restaurants to gaze at the very massive Mehrangarh Fort.\u00a0 We got up this morning and trekked to the top, and it was one of most gorgeous buildings I have ever seen.\u00a0 We spent about two hours walking around, and the view of there is a great panoramic view of the city from above.<\/p>\n

\"Views<\/p>\n

This is a great place to relax, catch up on laundry, walk around, shop for spices and teas and loads of souvenirs, and most of all, have a delicious meal while catching the sunset over the fort.\u00a0 Which reminds me, it\u2019s time to go and do that right now!\u00a0 Stay tuned for Part 2 of this India blog as we head to Udaipur tomorrow and then follow the Golden Triangle capping it off with the majestic Taj Mahal next week.<\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/strong> Tony is Sales & Marketing Executive for Tucan Travel. He has extensive experience tour leading in most of Tucan Travel’s most popular destinations. You can find him on\u00a0Google+<\/a> or read his other contributions\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

India \u2013 ahhh where to begin with you.\u00a0 Before arriving at the airport of Delhi, you know you are going to experience one of the most fascinating countries this wonderful world has to offer.\u00a0 I am doing the Rajasthan Explored tour and I have never been more excited to see a country that everyone had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[16,66],"yoast_head":"\nIndia \u2013 Makes you Nama-stay Longer - Tucan Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tucan.travel\/blog\/2013\/12\/india-makes-you-nama-stay-longer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"India \u2013 Makes you Nama-stay Longer - 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