India. Summer 2018.
Our first stop in India...to volunteer at Navdanya, an organic and biodiversity farm founded by Dr. Vandana Shiva that trains and supports local farmers. Spending time with all the local staff is the best part of our stay at Navdanya...saving seeds with Bija Devi, pulling weeds with Sheela and Bindu, planting herbs with Pratim, talking story with Negiji and Chandra, playing volleyball with Drona, taking an early morning walk through the forest with Jeetpal, and cooking with and eating all of the delicious organic Indian vegetarian foods prepared by Kamal. Taking advantage of every opportunity to learn more about organic farming from all of the staff and the other volunteers from around the world. We even were lucky that Dr. Vandana Shiva herself visited the farm during our stay and took the time to put on a Q&A for the volunteers. We also took advantage of our days off and made trips to nearby Mussoorie and Hardiwar. In Mussoorie we relaxed in the cool mountain air and took a short drive to take a dip in the Kempty Falls. In Hardiwar we took part in the nightly Ganga Aarti (river worship ceremony) and took a cable car ride to the Mansa Devi temple.
After our time at Navdanya, we took an overnight train to Amritsar. We stayed at Jugaadus Hostel a great hostel in a good location, friendly owner, and great tours! We joined the Wagah Border tour to see the fascinating border closing ceremony, the food tour to sample delicious dishes such as kulcha, bhurji, and kesar, and the night Golden Temple tour to learn about the Sikh religion and partake in langar (free meal prepared by the community kitchen). We also had time do explore some of the bazaars and get henna tattoos in Amritsar. No trip to India is without a little excitement and this trip was no exception...a couple hours before our next train, we found out that our train had been rerouted due to construction and was not stopping in Amritsar. As it was too late to take a taxi or bus to the nearest train station that our train was still stopping at, we were left with our only option of taking a bus to Jammu. Luckily we were able to get on one and luckily we made our flight from Jammu to Leh.
We were relieved when we finally made it to Leh but the extreme altitude was really hard on us. We did take a shared jeep to the magical Pangong Tso lake, shopped the Tibetan markets, and explored Leh Palace and Thiksey monastery, however, we did not end up trekking due to altitude sickness and stomach bugs. The scenery in Ladakh is so beautiful and surreal and the Ladakhi culture and food is so different from other parts of India...definitely allow yourself enough time to acclimate and to explore the region. We had scheduled 5 days which was not enough to do all that we had wanted to.
From Leh, we took a flight back to Delhi. We had just enough time to drop our big bags off at Zostel Delhi and take our train to Agra. We arrived in Agra and headed to Mehtab Bagh gardens to watch the sunset on the Taj Mahal. The next morning we work up before sunrise to visit the Taj Mahal, one of the new seven wonders of the world. We wandered the beautiful grounds, waited for the sunrise (though that day didn't really have a colorful sunrise), and admired the white marble inlaid with precious stones. While in Agra, we also visited the Agra Fort, walked to the see the Taj Mahal from the South Bank of the river, and went to eat at the best food stand in Agra called Time2Eat - Mama Chicken. We took an evening train back Delhi.
We ended our India adventure with a couple days to explore Delhi. In Old Delhi, we visited the Jama Masjid mosque and did a walking tour with Street Connections and Salaam Balak Trust. Our guide, a former street child, led us through the windy lanes of Old Delhi homes and bazaars, visited a spice market and hidden Jain temple, and ended at one of the Salaam Balak Trust's shelter homes for street kids. We tried many of the famous eateries in Old Delhi including Haldiram, Megharj & Sons, Lotan Chole Wala, and Bishan Swaroop. We also visited the famous Red Fort and shopped in Paharganj. In New Delhi, we visited the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib where we stayed a little longer to listen to the singing and join in on the langar. We decided to continue with our rickshaw tour to visit the Lotus Temple, Humayun's Tomb, and India Gate.
India is like no other place in the world and never fails to amaze me! Every time I leave, I always know I will be back again...eager to see more!
After our time at Navdanya, we took an overnight train to Amritsar. We stayed at Jugaadus Hostel a great hostel in a good location, friendly owner, and great tours! We joined the Wagah Border tour to see the fascinating border closing ceremony, the food tour to sample delicious dishes such as kulcha, bhurji, and kesar, and the night Golden Temple tour to learn about the Sikh religion and partake in langar (free meal prepared by the community kitchen). We also had time do explore some of the bazaars and get henna tattoos in Amritsar. No trip to India is without a little excitement and this trip was no exception...a couple hours before our next train, we found out that our train had been rerouted due to construction and was not stopping in Amritsar. As it was too late to take a taxi or bus to the nearest train station that our train was still stopping at, we were left with our only option of taking a bus to Jammu. Luckily we were able to get on one and luckily we made our flight from Jammu to Leh.
We were relieved when we finally made it to Leh but the extreme altitude was really hard on us. We did take a shared jeep to the magical Pangong Tso lake, shopped the Tibetan markets, and explored Leh Palace and Thiksey monastery, however, we did not end up trekking due to altitude sickness and stomach bugs. The scenery in Ladakh is so beautiful and surreal and the Ladakhi culture and food is so different from other parts of India...definitely allow yourself enough time to acclimate and to explore the region. We had scheduled 5 days which was not enough to do all that we had wanted to.
From Leh, we took a flight back to Delhi. We had just enough time to drop our big bags off at Zostel Delhi and take our train to Agra. We arrived in Agra and headed to Mehtab Bagh gardens to watch the sunset on the Taj Mahal. The next morning we work up before sunrise to visit the Taj Mahal, one of the new seven wonders of the world. We wandered the beautiful grounds, waited for the sunrise (though that day didn't really have a colorful sunrise), and admired the white marble inlaid with precious stones. While in Agra, we also visited the Agra Fort, walked to the see the Taj Mahal from the South Bank of the river, and went to eat at the best food stand in Agra called Time2Eat - Mama Chicken. We took an evening train back Delhi.
We ended our India adventure with a couple days to explore Delhi. In Old Delhi, we visited the Jama Masjid mosque and did a walking tour with Street Connections and Salaam Balak Trust. Our guide, a former street child, led us through the windy lanes of Old Delhi homes and bazaars, visited a spice market and hidden Jain temple, and ended at one of the Salaam Balak Trust's shelter homes for street kids. We tried many of the famous eateries in Old Delhi including Haldiram, Megharj & Sons, Lotan Chole Wala, and Bishan Swaroop. We also visited the famous Red Fort and shopped in Paharganj. In New Delhi, we visited the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib where we stayed a little longer to listen to the singing and join in on the langar. We decided to continue with our rickshaw tour to visit the Lotus Temple, Humayun's Tomb, and India Gate.
India is like no other place in the world and never fails to amaze me! Every time I leave, I always know I will be back again...eager to see more!