It’s not a secret that I had a hard time in India. However, I truly enjoyed two months. It is a strong love and hate relationship. From New Delhi to Kolkata, Shimla to the Thar Desert, India offers diverse landscape, climate, and cultures. Some sites were the most amazing place I’ve ever seen, while the heat was melting me down. It is not the easiest place to live, but it is truly a place like no other. Here are 45 simple reasons why I loved two months in India.
1. India is really incredible
2. The simplicity of having thali and chai every day
3. Made me appreciate clean water more than ever
4. Masala chai
5. Rishikesh is a sanctuary for every traveler
6. Living cost is really cheap: sometimes a private room only costs 300 Rs (5 USD), and thali is usually 60 Rs (1 USD)
7. I get to wear baggy pants
8. Culture shock at Varanasi
9. Thar Dessert of Rajasthan
10. Indian Railway is connecting this country pretty well
11. Indian people usually enjoy when I asked to take their pictures
12. 3G data is cheap
13. Seeing the Ganges River (no matter how dirty it is, it was great to see how people cherished their experience with the contact)
14. If you like lentils and beans, India is your heaven
15. Fort architecture
16. Punjabi food: especially chicken curry
17. You can ride a camel across the desert
18. Land crossing is possible to Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh
19. Bengali cuisine: the best mutton curry I’ve ever had
20. Bengali sweets (milk bar!)
21. From the Himalayas to the beach, India is huge
22. Bodh Gaya: where Buddha got his enlightenment
23. Mangoes are some of the best I’ve ever had
24. It is a place like no other: I haven’t seen any place like India (good and bad), and I doubt that I will ever see such place.
25. Extreme luxury is available, with relatively low cost – we had high tea at the Imperial Hotel for about 800Rs (12+ USD) per person
26. India has been the best place to take portraits
27. There’s a lot of nice looking birds
28. The whole country is colorful
29. Onion uttapam, thick and crisp pancake made with onion, is one of the favorite things to eat
30. Sometimes 2 Tier AC train carriage is nicer than hotel rooms
31. Rajasthani men’s mustache
32. Religious diversity
33. Gave me a chance to make this awesome short video of Rajasthani turban
How to put Rajasthani Turban on from Runaway Juno on Vimeo.
34. Black face monkey (gray langur)
35. Tricycle ride is fun
36. You can buy a perpetual calendar (I totally did)
37. Colorful Hindu temples and statues
38. Most of the people speak English
39. Tailor-made clothes are cheap and straight forward
40. It’s easy to practice yoga and meditation
41. A lot of good looking doors
42. Looking at the Milky Way in the middle of Thar Desert
43. The view of Blue City (Jodhpur)
44. When I randomly found well-balanced masala chai in the street
45. Sometimes it’s good to see healthy looking cows on the street
