First stop: Goa

Lockdown 2020 was a great opportunity to slow down and look back to all my travels from 2018 and 2019. In the next few months I’ll be sharing the travels that I didn’t have a chance to share before. Let’s start with an amazing trip to India in the end of 2018.

Before heading to Rajasthan, I spent a few days in Goa to slowly adapt. If you haven’t been to India before you might experience a culture shock, and even if you’re an experienced traveller it’s always better to take it easy. I travelled in India back in 2012, but it takes time to get used to the new reality. It was my friend’s wedding and it couldn’t be more magical. They are both British expats working in Bangalore and decided to have a semi-traditional Indian wedding. After the ceremony in the mountain area we all moved to Ashwem beach to celebrate. The beaches in Goa are wide, pure and beautiful. There is a big choice of accommodation starting from luxury hotels, cheaper bungalow-style options and Airbnb homestays. After getting some tan I set my way to the north - Rajasthan.

Arriving to Rajasthan

India is a developing country, but from my experience it is developing pretty fast. Compared with my last visit in 2012 when your main means of transport would be overcrowded trains and buses, now you can fly to pretty much any corner of the country. This saves a lot of time and energy. From Goa I flew to Jaisalmer via Mumbai. Jaisalmer is a former medieval trading centre and a princely state in the heart of the Thar Desert. Known as the ‘Golden City’, it's distinguished by its yellow sandstone architecture. Dominating the skyline is Jaisalmer Fort, a sprawling hilltop citadel buttressed by 99 bastions. Behind its massive walls stand the ornate Maharaja's Palace and intricately carved Jain temples. This city was not easily accessible, but the opening of the airport just a few months before my arrival made this city a popular tourist attraction. There isn’t much infrastructure yet, I stayed in one of the few hotels available - Mystic Jaisalmer. It has the best rooftop views over the fort, a restaurant and provides Thar Desert overnight tours which is the main reason people come to Jaisalmer.

A night in the Thar Desert

One of the most unforgettable nights! Another two guests and I were picked up at the hotel and driven for about two hours into the desert. In a little village we switched to camels and rode for a few hours before setting up a camp for a night under the open sky. Our guides - local people living in the desert - made us hot masala chai, cooked an amazing dinner and sang traditional songs watching the most incredible sunset. They placed beds right out on the sand, and then the night with its billions of stars arrived. I couldn’t sleep for a while because I’ve never seen so many!

In the morning we had sweet spiced porridge and started our way back. This was a budget version of the experience. If you prefer to explore the desert in luxury, there are also camps with beautiful tents for glamping, exquisite cuisine and professional evening performances.

Jaipur

From Jaisalmer I took the one hour flight to Jaipur - The Pink City. Jaipur is the capital of India’s Rajasthan state. It evokes the royal family that once ruled the region, and in 1727 founded what is now called the ‘Old City’, or the ‘Pink City’ for its trademark building colour. At the centre of its stately street grid stands the opulent, colonnaded City Palace complex. With gardens, courtyards and museums, part of it is still a royal residence. As much as I prefer to explore cities on my own, in Jaipur it is a good idea to get a local guide/driver with a car for the full day. The main points of interest are quite far from each other and you can save a lot of time by negotiating a price with one guide for the whole day (I paid 1000 rupees) instead of negotiating every time you need a taxi to take you from one point to another. On the first day I’ve visited Amber Palace, Jal Mahal (Water Palace), Gaitore Ki Chhatriayan and the famous monkey Galta Ji Temple, leaving main Hawa Mahal and City Palace to thoroughly explore on the second day. I think two-three days should be enough for this city, unless you want to explore smaller towns around Jaipur.

Agra and New Delhi

Agra is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is 206 kilometres south of the national capital New Delhi so I decided to base myself in the capital and make a day trip to Agra instead of staying there. In Agra there are two main places of interest; the famous Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. As a foreigner you will need to find a separate ticket office and a special entrance that has no or, at least, a very small queue. Please avoid ‘guides’ who will approach promising to get you in without a queue. You won’t have any troubles getting in anyway. As much as Taj Mahal is a must to visit, I enjoyed Agra Fort more. The train ride back to Delhi was very pleasant, with first class service and traditional dinner served on board. Again, as a foreigner you will be sold a first class train ticket as standard unless you specify that you would like a lower class. The prices are very affordable, so I’d recommend enjoying the first class ride.

I arrived in New Delhi on the night of Diwali. Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights, usually lasting five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali symbolises the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. It was a very special experience to fly over the country witnessing all the fireworks, but the down side of the celebrations and fireworks is the air next day. I preferred to stay in the hotel, because it was hard to breath and didn’t get a chance to explore Delhi a lot.

Mumbai

By the time I arrived in Mumbai, I had been in India for two and a half weeks. As much as I enjoy exploring, these weeks were intense and India can be overwhelming. For my last three days I decided to switch out of explorer mode and rest. I chose the newly opened Soho House Mumbai. It is still one of my favourite hotels in the world. The most comfortable rooms, rooftop swimming pool and the best views over the famous Juhu Beach. The staff looked after me so well, that I didn’t leave the hotel for the entire three days and couldn’t be happier about that. Rested and full of excitement, it was time to head back home.