I left Nepal and made my way into India for the last country of my journey. My first stop was to Varanasi, a city located on the banks of the Ganges river and said to be the favorite city of the Lord Shiva. Varanasi is famous for it Ghats, or stairs that lead from temples down to the holy river where every morning locals come to bathe and conduct their daily rituals.
Indians also come to Varanasi to die. Two of the Ghats are the grounds for the public cremations, and like in Nepal, once the funeral pyres are reduced to ash, the remains are swept in to the holy Ganges river. About 200 funerals are conducted at the two Ghats everyday, with locals and tourists alike walking and boating past.
The streets of Varanasi are an eclectic mix of filth, noise, culture and discovery as a 2 meter wide snaking street can be home to sacred cows, goats in cardigans, lassie merchants and homeless. The city is both peaceful and out of control at the same time.
On my last day in Varanasi, I went with a local out to Sarnath, about 20km from the city to see the place where Buddha gave his first sermon. I then hopped on a train bound for Agra.
If it were not for the Taj Mahal no tourist would ever come to Agra, but because one of the 7 wonders of the world resides there, the flow of people is never ending. And it is for good reason too, as the structure was one of the coolest structure that I have seen on my trip. After the Taj a took a Tuk-Tuk to the Red Fort which was close by, for a walk around the one time palace.
Early the next morning it was another train to the Pink City, Jaipur. My first day was spent on a self guided Tuk-Tuk tour of all the surrounding historical sights. I ventured to the Amber Fort, Jantar Mantar, the wind temple and the monkey temple before the sun went down. The only one of note was Jantar Mantar, an outdoor display of astronomical instruments built there in the early 1700s. They were impressively huge and measured everything from time to the earth rotation.
My Tuk-Tuk driver ended up being a great guy and showed me some local activities and invited me to his house for dinner.
The following day I spent in the lakeside town of Pushkar, enjoying the bazaar and the great food.
The final city of my adventure was Delhi. It is your standard big city with some big monuments and lots of shopping. My favorite part was the back allies of the spice market in Old Delhi. I also went to the Sydney Opera House looking, Lotus Temple, which is place of worship for people of all faith in the shape of the famous flower.
And then it was finally time to go home. I got my one last street food dinner and packed my bag the final time and boarded the plane for the long flight home.
I arrived in San Diego to the warm sunshine and the warm embrace of my family. It was Christmas eve, and my perfectly planed arrived allowed me to spent the holidays with my loved ones.
Only 7 months earlier I was being dropped off at the same airport about to embark on the adventure of a life time. I had no idea what I was doing but somehow I made it out alive. It was an amazing experience that allowed me to see some amazing places and meet even more incredible people. As I look back I am so grateful for the opportunity and mentally planning the next one!
