A sense of India
Before visiting India, we knew that it would be an assault on all your senses, all at once, all the time. With a population of over 1,3 billion (accounting for over 17% of the world’s population), you anticipate that it will be somewhat frantic.
So it seems logical to tell you about our Indian travels by breaking it down to our sensory experiences.
It has been impossible to keep camera lenses free of a layer of dust, but at least your daily washing strung up across the bathroom - of once very sticky clothes - dries in no time at all.
Smell
The smells of spices, exhaust fumes, garbage and cow dung waft around you almost everywhere you go. Shopkeepers constantly sweep their pavements, but the common areas in between have been declared a stinky no man’s land. As bulls and cows wander the streets freely, you must be careful where you step to avoid steaming dung.
Yet, walking down every street, you also get these wonderful aromas of tasty meals that are being cooked across the city. So when it comes to smell, in minutes you can alternate between wanting to indulge in a gastronomic delight to walking past the next stinky alley and wanting to retch.
Hearing
You can get by in most places with English. But besides Hindi, India has 19 other officially recognised languages, and according to the 2001 Census, it has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages.
Having said that, there is still one common form of communication that everyone uses obsessively – the car horn. Whether you are on a bus, tuk-tuk, or air-conditioned taxi, any movement can only be followed by incessant horn blowing. Everyone does it all the time, which makes you wonder why since nobody takes any notice anymore.
We have also come across wedding celebrations and Hindu festivals, which involve loud music and blasting fireworks. This noise combined with the packs of barking dogs, the humming of air-con units and the blaring music from overly decorated tractors, all make a delightful cacophony for your ears.
Sight
We had vastly underestimated the large scale, yet intricate detail of the sites we would see. We have only visited points of interest in Delhi, Agra and across the province of Rajasthan, but have seen more impressive historical sites here than in most of the other twenty odd countries we have visited.
We were best prepared for the Taj Mahal but have been blown away by the other very underrated sites, from the magnificent Mughal Empire landmarks to the grandiose temples and mosques.
In Rajasthan, we visited the cities of Jaipur, Pushkar, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Udaipur, and each place had something amazing for visitors to see. The detailed marble inlays, intricate sandstone carvings and colourful mosaic tiled floors and ceilings are lovely and nearly impossible to capture effectively on camera.
Taste
We cannot say enough about the wonderful food we have had in India. The creamy kormas, spicy chicken tikka masalas, tasty mutton rogan josh and buttery cheese garlic naans have me salivating just at the thought of it all.
We have not been too adventurous with street food in fear of catching some Delhi-belly, but there are good clean restaurants with reasonable prices around every corner. Lying in bed at night, you tend to regret finishing the generous portions. But bubbling away with heartburn, you dream of the culinary delights tomorrow will bring.
View more photos here.
India has had its challenges for us, and you need to expect to meet cantankerous abrasive people who see it as their entrepreneurial right to take advantage of tourists. However, we have also met kind generous people, offering advice, sharing their food and inviting you into their homes.
You don’t know what to expect from one moment to the next, and this left us with mixed emotions. Either way, it is something intriguing and worthwhile to experience.
So it seems logical to tell you about our Indian travels by breaking it down to our sensory experiences.
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| Colourful saris worn by the women queueing for the temple at Amer Fort, Jaipur, India |
Touch
It is hot in India in April. The temperatures we have experienced have ranged between 35 Degrees Celsius (95 Degrees Fahrenheit) and 41°C (105°F). It is also very dry and dusty with the monsoon only due to start in June. Luckily for tourists, cool bottled water is readily available to glug down, keeping you comfortable hydrated.
It has been impossible to keep camera lenses free of a layer of dust, but at least your daily washing strung up across the bathroom - of once very sticky clothes - dries in no time at all.
Smell
The smells of spices, exhaust fumes, garbage and cow dung waft around you almost everywhere you go. Shopkeepers constantly sweep their pavements, but the common areas in between have been declared a stinky no man’s land. As bulls and cows wander the streets freely, you must be careful where you step to avoid steaming dung.
Yet, walking down every street, you also get these wonderful aromas of tasty meals that are being cooked across the city. So when it comes to smell, in minutes you can alternate between wanting to indulge in a gastronomic delight to walking past the next stinky alley and wanting to retch.
Hearing
You can get by in most places with English. But besides Hindi, India has 19 other officially recognised languages, and according to the 2001 Census, it has 122 major languages and 1599 other languages.
Having said that, there is still one common form of communication that everyone uses obsessively – the car horn. Whether you are on a bus, tuk-tuk, or air-conditioned taxi, any movement can only be followed by incessant horn blowing. Everyone does it all the time, which makes you wonder why since nobody takes any notice anymore.
We have also come across wedding celebrations and Hindu festivals, which involve loud music and blasting fireworks. This noise combined with the packs of barking dogs, the humming of air-con units and the blaring music from overly decorated tractors, all make a delightful cacophony for your ears.
Sight
We had vastly underestimated the large scale, yet intricate detail of the sites we would see. We have only visited points of interest in Delhi, Agra and across the province of Rajasthan, but have seen more impressive historical sites here than in most of the other twenty odd countries we have visited.
We were best prepared for the Taj Mahal but have been blown away by the other very underrated sites, from the magnificent Mughal Empire landmarks to the grandiose temples and mosques.
 |
| Junagarh Fort, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India |
In Rajasthan, we visited the cities of Jaipur, Pushkar, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Udaipur, and each place had something amazing for visitors to see. The detailed marble inlays, intricate sandstone carvings and colourful mosaic tiled floors and ceilings are lovely and nearly impossible to capture effectively on camera.
Taste
We cannot say enough about the wonderful food we have had in India. The creamy kormas, spicy chicken tikka masalas, tasty mutton rogan josh and buttery cheese garlic naans have me salivating just at the thought of it all.
We have not been too adventurous with street food in fear of catching some Delhi-belly, but there are good clean restaurants with reasonable prices around every corner. Lying in bed at night, you tend to regret finishing the generous portions. But bubbling away with heartburn, you dream of the culinary delights tomorrow will bring.
View more photos here.
India has had its challenges for us, and you need to expect to meet cantankerous abrasive people who see it as their entrepreneurial right to take advantage of tourists. However, we have also met kind generous people, offering advice, sharing their food and inviting you into their homes.
You don’t know what to expect from one moment to the next, and this left us with mixed emotions. Either way, it is something intriguing and worthwhile to experience.
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