Explore The World

We flew to India in March 1989 – into Bombay( now Mumbai) We arrived early in the morning around 1 am – so a group of us tried to find accommodation in the middle of Bombay which was a disastrous start to our Indian adventure. The streets were, as you would expect empty, apart from seemingly hundreds of homeless sleeping on the pavements. A few Indian touters were keen to find us some digs. But at that time of the morning it was a hopeless. We went down little alleyways, up stairwells and into some very questionable areas of the city. It wasn’t until 6 am in the morning that we actually found a place to stay. After an exhausting night , a sleep and a shower we then ventured out – how the streets had transformed into a lively bustling market place.

Main places we visited in India

We love travelling in third world countries. Once you found a place to stay after a gruelling bus or train trip , had a good sleep, shower and breakfast , you then felt fully alive and ready to explore.

Bombay was a crazy mix of show casing the glorious colonial architecture of the past to people struggling to survive everyday life.

Bombay Life in 1989

Our travel mate on the train to Udaipur

Every city we visited in India was the same- Magnificient past grandeur of palaces, forts together with people just barely surviving.

Udaipur – a fantastic place

Rajasthan has a rich tapestry of colour and vibrance. The women are adorned in their colourful sarees.

Life as we know it appears tough

But relaxing and celebrating were part of everyday public life in the streets of India.

Local wedding

The blokes chilling with a game on the streets

Local markets

Sacred cows are everywhere – they just wander the streets

Rajasthan is so full of colour – the famous pink building in Jaipur.

Jaisalmer Fort from our humble abode

Practising for the Camel Parade – yes its a thing

A trip to the Taj Mahal is of course a must.

Helle’s Princess Di’s moment

A stunning place to visit is the wonderful nature reserve of Bharatpur. We met a Danish bird watcher who had visited this reserve on 7 different occasions and never once went to see the Taj Mahal.

We had a day bird watching and stayed in tents adjacent to the park. As non bird watchers we were awe inspired!

Probably the most fascinating city we have ever visited is Varanasi. This city is absolutely full of life, burning bodies on the Ganges, with colourful and religious folk. It is a one of the very sacred cities of Hinduism.

Life on the Ganges in Varanasi

We were chased after I took this photo below – note the smoke from the burning bodies. Some of the locals took exception to me taking a photo – probably not the done thing to do!

The Ganges was a indeed a sacred place. A place to heal, pray, wash clothes, cool off, fish and burn bodies.

Life revolved around the Ganges in every respect.

Varanasi was a crazy town, busy and full of interesting people going about their daily life. Just a great place to wander and soak up everything that is going on.

We had an awesome time in India. It is such a fabulous mix of extremes. We loved exploring the streets and witnessing life we have never been exposed to. Some of the forts, palaces and monuments of yesteryear were certainly magnificent – however the contrast of poverty alongside it was eye opening.