We sit here hour one of twenty on the Dehli Express, our train from Jaisalmer to New Delhi. While a couple of mice run by our feet, we know this is going to be another unique experience we take from India. As we sit here, we struggle to describe India in our ten days thus far. The death-defying driving is a story of its own. Our brave if not fool hearted drivers have pushed the limits of their vehicles and the reaction speed of all those around them. We have not seen one rule of the road in practice as those on the roads of India have their own way of traversing their crazy congested streets. There were times we had to wait for a cow or few to cross the road, and others where our driver decided to push our luck and, without slowing down at all, weave in and out of the surely frightened animals. If cows were roaming the streets of Los Angeles all traffic would come to an abrupt halt. Here, there are; cats, chickens, dogs, monkeys, pigs, goats, horses, cows, camels and elephants all a completely routine site to see on the road. Driving on the roads of India is always exhilarating. Sometimes it is a good fear other times, not as much. For instance driving from Jaipur to Udaipur through winding mountain roads we drove past a bridge with a jeep upside down on a sandy dune below. Seeing the jeep was disturbingly not surprising with the speed and reckless driving of our driver and those around us. Getting rides in tuk-tuks on the other hand, is a thrill we have enjoyed. Every bump on the road is transferred directly to your body, along with the lack of doors makes it feel like a ride at an amusement park. Lawless roads are one thing that are fun to see, but soon loose their luster.

The beauty of the markets here in India comes from the color. Rich textiles fill the street shops, while crowds of people zig zag in every direction. Just like driving, walking the streets of India is another frightening, but memorable experience. Walking the street markets we often found it difficult to differentiate the street from the market, with motorcycles driving by full speed and honking tuk-tuks passing by. While locals gather together to eat the street food, and tourists attempt their best bargaining, the streets are filled with new noises, sights, and smells. After many markets in different cities, we found amusement in what we thought must have been a training manual for the shop employees. Regardless of whether we said we were from Canada or United States, the employees always seemed to have a brother living near us. Another typical phrase we heard repeatedly was, “India big country”, in response to our 2 week travels. The repetitive remarks, harsh price increases for tourists, and many failed attempts at bargaining all added to the experience. All in all, the beautiful colors and hectic atmosphere provided Indian markets to be one highlight from our travels thus far.

With the help of Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor, and our drivers, we have been treated to some amazing Indian cuisine. Our first driver who we had for the first three days took us to some great restaurants, possibly lacking some atmosphere, but with good food nonetheless. We can’t help but suspect that as with some other shops our drivers have taken us to, that these restaurants were somehow related to the driver. But, suspicions aside, we were delighted with the food. Our best culinary finds however, came from Lonely Planet and Trip advisor. Our first find was Millets of Mewar in Udaipur. They had pillows and low tables to invite you to take your shoes off, sit down, relax, and indulge in wonderful food and teas. Recommended from the menu was a pot of ginger, honey, lemon tea and a rice with an abundance of surprising ingredients, such as; pomegranate seeds, peanuts, peppers, onions, and tiny yellow ramen noodles. Along with this, we enjoyed delicious garlic naan bread and curry. So delicious in fact, that it remains our favorite restaurant in India thus far, and encouraged us to return a couple hours later for dinner. All restaurants have offered a wide variety of vegetarian options. With this, eating delicious food has been easy for Natalie, and at the same time easy for Chris to become vegetarian. After seeing every kind of domesticated animal both sleeping in and eating from giant heaps of trash scattered among the cities, elephants carrying tourists up and down the massive fort in Jaipur, and the endless variety of delicious vegetarian dishes, Chris has decided to become vegetarian, while Natalie took the final step from pescatarian to full vegetarian.

The sight of beautiful animals lounging in smelly trash, the crazy streets, and the relentless vendors have beckoned us to the peace, quite, and beauty of nature. We have found it rewarding to escape the city to the rooftops. From here we enjoyed tasty traditional food, cold beer, and a beautiful view. The rooftops allowed us to sit peacefully, away from the noisy streets, and take in a different kind of beauty India has to offer. While admiring the city reflection in Upidapur’s lake, the blue city and fort landscape of Jodhpur, we have gained some serenity. We also found serenity in the desert outside Jaisalmer. An hour Jeep ride out of the city brought us to our camel safari starting point. Another hour ride on our majestic camels brought us to beautiful sand dunes. Some cold beers and sunset pictures were just a couple of the highlights of this escape. After sundown we rode our camels back for some dinner and enjoyed traditional Indian music and dancing. When the decision came to either sleep in the huts or ride out into the desert for the night, we did not hesitate. We grabbed some beers and went out to the desert with the amazing bright moon casting a dark shadow behind us. Our local guide built us a fire and serenaded us with some Indian songs. Once it came time to sleep, we admired the beauty of the stars and bright moon above us. When the sun peaked its light over the horizon the next morning we were thoroughly delighted. We braved the crisp desert morning air for some beautiful sunrise pictures with our camel friend. The beauty and peacefulness this experience brought us, got us excited for our last adventure of India, Rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world.