If theres one thing I noticed in India its that there are 3 things that will get you noticed: Being a young foreigner, American, or blonde. Lucky for me, I’m all 3!
India was my first solo trip and I remember the one thing everyone was asking me when I told them where I was going “Are you going to dye your hair..?” Well, I didn’t. After my mother begging me not to go, and my boyfriend being convinced I would be attacked by a Jaguar, I packed my bags and went on my way to the golden triangle. After going through custom and immigrations, as soon as you left the arrival terminal you instantly felt like you were in a different country (not a lot of places I’ve been to did I experience this). There were hundreds of taxi drivers trying to get my attention, jumping out in front of me and excitedly pointing to their sign boards hoping I was the name listed. Once I found my driver there was a relief. Walking out of the terminal you got hit with the smell of Delhi. A stray dog ran up beside me and I was sternly told to NOT touch the dog. The dog clearly knew how badly I wanted to pet him as he sat beside me the whole time while my car came. I was met with marigold flowers and a cold bottle of water. The 45 minute drive to my hotel was nauseating, the amount of swerving and honking (they honk to let people know they're by them - which is always) is enough to raise anyones blood pressure. The further we got into the city the heavier the traffic became, the road was filled with cars, tuk tuks, locals selling food on foot (yes in the middle of traffic, knocking on your window soon as you stopped or slowed down - I was strictly advised to not make eye contact), or carrying a wagon of goods behind them. The streets were lined with stalls selling food, fruit, drinks, clothing, anything you can think of.
I was absolutely stunned by the hotel I was staying at and the kindness of the company I traveled with. I thought it was just the first hotel that was so secure but every 4-5* hotel (at-least the ones we stayed at) had tons of security outside including gates and guards, and make you go through airport-security-style formalities each time you entered the building (metal detector and bags x-rayed). This certainly eased my nerves of being a young girl alone in India.
The next morning after breakfast was the first tour where I met my small group of 6 I would be with for the remainder of the trip. There was a polish girl about my age on my trip that I ended up clicking with right away and so we hangout together most of the time. Boy, were we in for a ride! Everywhere we went we were followed, more than a handful of times by men with friends on FaceTime! When we were at the Agra Fort, we could not escape this one man - we had to find our guide and ask the man to kindly stop following us as it was getting very uncomfortable - we had no clue what his friends at FaceTime were telling him and you can never be to careful. Many children gawked and tugged on their parents clothing, then ran up to me asking for a photo with me, as they rarely see fare skin, blonde Americans. The first day of this was cute and we felt like total celebrities! By the end of the trip, I was so thankful I’m not an A-list celebrity because I don’t think I could handle the constant paparazzi and lack of privacy. I now have total respect for celebrities and feel a glimpse of what they go through.
Now, while theres locals who will gawk and take hundreds of photos, the ones you really have to look out for are the ones at the shops. Thankfully, I had my guide with me most of the time, and when a shop owner would give me a price, he would tell me if I was getting a good price or if I was getting totally ripped off. More than once he snapped back at the shop owner, yelling in their own language, and then proceeded to tell me he was giving me a price 10x the amount its worth! This is a common practice with foreigners, especially Americans since we have no haggling or bargaining (unless your craigs list or garage sale shopping, of course). In America, you may pay $20+ for a nice scarf, and they know this. Many times, even though they tell you they want $20 (they will tell you in foreign currency though so download a conversion app before traveling to make it easier) you can usually talk them down to $10, even $5 or less. Plus, always keep in mind that more is less! Think a lot of friends or family make like this item? Buy in bulk! They will give you a steal of a deal if you purchase a high quantity of items, they want to sell much as possible. Although many people in India come off as introverts, rarely smiling and not very out going, shop owners are the complete opposite. They will have a big grin on their face, hollering for you to come into their shop. They’ll run out and grab your hand or place something in your hand and ask you to come inside, offering that they will give you a great price. My advise is to look around a bit before buying anything, another stall may have a better price, and you can always use this as a great haggling start - well the guy over there told me I could get this for $5, they’ll likely say “I can do 2 for 6!” or something similar, anything to get you to buy from them.
Now, don't get the wrong idea here. India is certainly not just full of people with cameras or crazy shop owners - it is a beautiful country. Its certainly one of my favorite places and I can not wait to go back some day. A lot of people are quite shocked to hear that visiting the Taj Mahal at sunrise was actually notmy favorite part. In fact, the Taj Mahal was not even on my top 3 favorite sights - gasp!
Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful.
So what were my personal favorites from India?
Agra Fort, Delhi
Amber Fort, Rajasthan
Abhaneri Stepwell / Chand Baori, Rajasthan
Site of Mughal Emperor Hanumans Tomb, Delhi (the second photo was the tomb - highlight and point of the trip, but I LOVED this old mosque in the left photo, on the grounds)
Even though we didn't see any tigers, the safari experience was still amazing (and my first real safari) plus, I fell in love with the pool at my hotel - Nahargarh Ranthambhore
And as always, the general sights from the streets always struck my eye (and you really can't miss the City Wall into the Pink City of Jaipur!)
India was an absolute blast and I can't wait to explore more of the wonderful country - I only did the Golden Triangle - Delhi, Agra and Jaipur + the tiger park in Ranthambhore. While it sounds like a lot, its only a fraction of the northern part of India. There is still SO much more to explore! Can't wait to meet again, India (although eating here was HARD! I can'tdo any type of spicy, thank you Granola bars!)
What are your thoughts? Would you go to India? What places would YOU like to visit?
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