I N D I A
After an incredible welcome and stay at The Leela Palace, we started our tour at the Qutab Minar, a controversial world heritage site. The Mughals invaded this region in India, defaced ancient Hindu deities from temple walls, and used those same materials to build mosques in their place. One can only imagine the conflict that occurred here. The history helped me better understand the power of intentions and actions in any moment and their evolution into history over time.
Today, this area is still of geographic importance as a center of modern-day commerce, a travel hub, and history. Diversity continues to be Delhi’s strength 800+ years later!
The next morning, we drove 3 hours south, to Agra, to see the Taj Mahal, another symbol of Mughal influence in the region, and a rightful Wonder of the World!
I really enjoyed people-watching in our cab as we zipped around from place to place.
Nothing can prepare you for the driving in India. By far the wildest we’ve ever experienced. Interestingly, the constant honking isn’t out of frustration, as it is here in the U.S. The beeping has 100% to do with letting other drivers know that you are there. Our driver told us that if he doesn’t honk to let others know he is there, he will certainly get hit! Listen to this:
We visited Agra Fort, built by the 3rd Mughal Emperor, Akbar, the grandfather of the 5th Emperor, who went on to build the Taj Mahal tons of interesting history:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/251/video/
Nothing can really prepare you for the grand scale of the Taj Mahal. It’s certainly a wonder of the world because it’s not just a beautiful feat of engineering but its grand presence wakes a sense of awe within you. We spent our first day in Agra with a great tour guide, and saved our second day to roam around with a local photographer, Himanshu.
That evening, we had to see some of the local clothing shops! The shops, service, and tailors in India are incredible. They were able to custom tailor me and Karla’s clothes in a few hours, and even delivered it later that night to our hotel!
The fancy clothes were necessary the next morning, when we met up with Himanshu, an incredible photographer from Jaipur. Check his Instagram out!
We were then off to our next city, Jaipur, known as The Pink City, which was a 45-minute flight from Agra airport (which is run from a military base!), known for its original Rajasthani art, architecture, and long-standing resistance to Mughal influence. This was a common theme—the more south we moved from Delhi, the less Mughal influence there was, considering the powerful Rajput kings who were able to defend their lands and culture.
Patrika Gate is a modern symbol celebrating just that!
In Jaipur, we stayed at the INCREDIBLE Samode Haveli which couldn’t be matched by any other place.
As we were walking around on our tour, we found a little photo booth where we could dress up in traditional Rajasthani clothes. It was fun to see the juxtaposition of colors and armory. Back in old Rajasthani times, pink was a symbol of masculinity and military power.
The next day, we met up again with Himanshu at Amber Fort and the Jaipur City Palace, still the home of the King of Jaipur!
My Dad is an absolute beast when it comes to traveling. One day I’ll be as prepared, resilient, and patient as he is. This trip couldn’t have been as great as it was without him. Gracefully, he teaches me all that I still have to learn.
That evening, we were off on another 45-minute plane ride south, to our final destination, Udaipur, the City of Lakes!
We were lucky to unwind for a few days at the Taj Lake Palace, a beautiful hotel in the middle of Lake Pichola!
This couldn’t have been a better end to our trip. I mean look at this welcome:
Traditional Udaipur music and dance at the hotel. Interestingly, Udaipur is also known as the Venice of India.
Incredible entertainment, fine dining experiences, and views.
What struck us the most about our trip to the motherland was the incredible attention to detail from everyone.
Our drivers, tour guides, photographers, tailors, and servers—the people here really made our trip as wonderful as it was.
Pepper that with rich history, architecture, art, and music, and we have THE recipe for our favorite visited country so far, INDIA.
I left India with an even greater curiosity for my ancient roots, language, and philosophy.
Of the dozens of cities and 12+ countries we’ve visited these past 10 years, no other place has deepened my eagerness to learn as India has.
I came across this great clip from the late and great, Carl Sagan’s time in India—Skip to minute 6 for an intriguing summary of Hindu philosophy: the cycles of creation, preservation, and destruction.
And if you’re as curious about these ancient philosophies as I am, see this video.
~ Namaste ~
