Incredible India

Another plane ride, another blog post. We are flying to Pokhara via Kathmandu for our 11th country adventure. We plan to take a day and a half getting organized for an 8-9 day trek through some portion of the Annapurna region. I spent our last rupees at the airport in New Delhi on a knee brace, ankle brace and cold pack. Just in case. As is the case with my brothers and father, I can be a bit clumsy so may as well be prepared!

Our time in India was incredible. We didn't even scratch the surface of the surface, but we enjoyed (nearly) every minute of the insanity. What a wild and diverse place. In two weeks, we spent time in the lush green relaxed south, the desert, the cities and saw the Taj Mahal. In addition to several hotels, we slept on a houseboat, on the sand and on the train. We met some fabulous characters and saw more colours and cows than I knew possible. 

What I loved the most was how the kids embraced it. They love India. Maybe had it been our first stop, they would have been more apprehensive. They are open minded and accepting of other cultures and found the humour in some of the crazy-ass interactions. There were things they (and we) didn't love...the leering by young boys/men can be intimidating, my running after everyone incessantly with mosquito spray, patches, creams and anti-malaria pills, the poverty, the traffic, stepping in cow dung on the roads (that was me) and the occasional public bathroom experience that we'd like to forget. But there were way more things we loved...the people, the food, the colours, the diversity, the forts, the shopping, the sites. It would be easy not to love India, but I'm happy to see how the girls embraced it and have come away with a positive impression and experience. Of course, seeing one of the most famous buildings in the world helped too!