Namaste! I have not been to many countries in Asia. Other than the United Arab Emirates, India is only my second trip to the continent (excluding transiting). I was excited to be back and experience a very popular and populated country for myself. One thing that surprised me immediately: I did not expect that “namaste” was actually used as greetings!

We flew into Delhi, which was a 22-hour trip from Chicago. (This was extremely challenging to do with an infant – would not recommend.) We stayed one night in Delhi to catch our bearings, a break, and a shower, and then flew into Pune the following day. Pune is not one of the biggest cities, but it is up-and-coming for business and IT professions. We stayed at the JW Marriott and received very good service. As far as things to do in Pune, we spent a lot of time at the hotel, but we did visit a temple nearby the hotel, and some shopping centers. After Pune, we flew back to Delhi for a few days to see the city and get to the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal in Agra was a four-hour car ride away from Delhi, so we left early in the morning to beat the unbeatable traffic. I have never experienced traffic like I did in India. The road markings are a mere suggestion, as people paid no attention to them nor the traffic lights. We passed some floats, and our tour guide informed us it was a religious holiday. It was beautiful to see the celebration and joy among them. When we finally arrived, I realized immediately why it is considered a Wonder of the World. It is such an amazing sight to behold. It stands there grand, statuesque, and wondrous. One thing I did not expect is several people stopped and asked us for photos…of us. At first, we were confused, because we thought they thought we were famous, but our tour guide explained to us that some of the people there are from smaller towns in India and do not often see foreigners, so they were excited. It was truly an unexpected and surreal experience that I will never forget. In addition to the Taj Mahal, we saw the Hamayun’s Tomb. On our way back, we stopped at a shop to look at jewelry and art. This reminded me much of the tours we did in Cairo, where they did the obligatory stop at some shops to squeeze the rest of your money out of you (they did succeed, we bought a hand-beaded portrait of a peafowl – India’s national bird – and a purse, as well as pashmina scarves).

The next day, our final day, we were exhausted, but we wanted to make sure we were able to see some of Delhi, so we did another tour where we visited the Red Fort, India Gate (which reminded me of Arc de Triomphe), and the memorials at Raj Ghat. Much to our surprise, there were more people taking pictures of us and with us. It was extremely hot (85 – 90 degrees Fahrenheit) to us, and our tour guide explained that it was their winter season. Note to self: never visit in the summer. On our way to the Lotus Temple, we needed a place with privacy to nurse the baby, so we stopped at another shop where they attempt to sell you art and other things; and though we initially protested (we already bought too much!), we did buy some masala tea, which we first had on this trip and loved. Fair. We ultimately cut the tour short due to the heat, exhaustion from the day before, and the fact that we were flying back home that day; and due to the traffic from the religious holiday, it was taking us double the time to get anywhere. Despite the unhinged traffic, we did not witness or become involved in any accidents, thank God! Many props to the Indian drivers; if you can drive there, you can drive anywhere.

If I return to India, I want to visit Mumbai, Jaipur and the beaches of Goa. There is so much more to see! I also cannot believe I did not participate in any yoga! I must do that next time, as well.

All photos taken with a Nikon D5600.