India in a Snap

Few days from being lost in translation in China, we again packed our bags, hopped on a plane and immersed ourselves with yet another intriguing world. 

around the streets of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur - India's Golden Triangle

We spent a night for lay-over in Khaosan, one of the craziest streets I've been; 

I got dehydrated while airborne but having Himalayas' view outside the window made me forget the uneasy feeling for a while; 

we felt like celebrities with all the photo ops request from the locals; 

I almost got lost in the fog or I say dust; 

we crossed cities on non-ac dilapidated trains 3 times in different times of the day; 

we invaded forts (sanctuaries of sacrifice and great love); 

tasted one of the tasteful cuisines ever;  

roam around in rickshaw never without a haggle;
                                                                                                                                                               
charmed by the snake-charmer in Jaipur;  

amazed with the biggest 2-second-accurate sundial inside Jantar Mantar;  

tickets to the sites. price for the locals is 10x cheaper

caught in a middle of a stampede inside metro train station of Delhi and never cursed that much in my life; 

got in trouble by almost giving into the worst tout ever encountered at Sikri and almost ruined our day; 

wowed by the wonderfully crafted and extravagant marbles of Taj Mahal and wondered what if the Black Taj right on the other side of the river fronting the "white Taj" was completed; 

cruised the streets with cows, buffalo, goats, wild boar, rats and monkeys; 

confirmed that there indeed exists a Pink city that is Jaipur, Red-stoned buildings, a floating Mahal (Jal Mahal) and a Mirror palace;  

witnessed a different kind of veneration rite involving naked people on top of Amber Fort; 

almost but not quite celebrated Diwali or feast of light; 

never craved for western food ever in my life; 

met and knew better one of the most influential and important people existed - Mahatma Gandhi;

thankful it was winter time otherwise we'd get to feel what it means by having no moment of a single raindrop for the whole year; 

realized how fortunate my mother land is even at this present state; 

got mesmerized, got posterized, got ill.

best buds in Taj

It was a well-mixed adventure and little bit of survival and yes, we came out alive, sick but few steps wiser. But you know what, I'm gonna go back, not soon but I will, not just to see Taj again, could be closer to the Himalayas or down to the modern cities of IT hubs, or perhaps somewhere where camels are the main transport. It's for a fact and I admit it, since then, India has got me even more interested and hooked and probably on the next time will be a less 'surprising' experience.