Pretending to be Greek in India

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Delhi, India, Qutb Minar, Travel, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage site

My last day in Delhi was a whirlwind of activity. I got up early and bought a day pass for the Delhi metro. Today I was going to be brave and explore the city on my own using the local transportation… luckily for me, that didn’t last too long, I made friends pretty quickly.

Our first destination was Qutb Minar, another UNESCO World Heritage Site! I love being able to cross off these sites from the bucket list I have yet to write down! The Qutb complex is built on the ruins of Lol Kot, an old fort that now stands mostly in ruins. This is where we decided to be Greek statues, unfortunately we couldn’t recall what any Greek statues looked like, so we just did this… I love this because one, it’s funny, and two, so many locals copied us afterwards, it was hilarious!

Qutb Minar also includes the tallest minar in India. What is a minar you ask? Well, it is a minaret, a tall architectural structure featured in mosques, this one was 73 meters tall and the base was 14 meters wide. Despite this area being ruins, it’s beautiful and peaceful and almost a perfect picnic spot, except for the litter strewn across the grass and the smog… Delhi has a lot of beautiful sites and this definitely sits at the top of the list.

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The Taj

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Agra, India, Taj, Taj Mahal, Travel, UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage site

Yikes, I’ve been terrible at continuing my blog, I only have a few India posts left. The last leg of my trip was Delhi, and one of my stops had to be Agra and the Taj Mahal. Most people know the story of the Taj, it is a mausoleum built in honour of the wife of emperor Shah Jahan. Construction took 22 years to complete and is a mix of multiple architectural styles. The Taj is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

If you ever make a plan to see the Taj, here are some tips I’ve learned. Multiple people will ask to be your guide and it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it. As a single tourist I thought it was worth it for a guide/photographer, however they may not be necessary. One of the benefits of being a tourist is the ability to buy a tourist ticket which allows you to skip ALL lines. I kind of felt like a jerk, but I was really glad I didn’t have to wait to enter the Taj Mahal complex or the actual mausoleum.

The structure is beautiful and grand, but on a foggy day, the beauty of the Taj is difficult to appreciate as it blends into the smoggy grey sky. Either way, it is a beauty worth seeing, but I have to say the Golden Temple was, in my opinion, a much more awe inspiring site.

Graffiti in Dharamsala

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Art, Dharamsala, Dharamshala, Graffiti, India, Signs, Street art, Travel

I loved wandering around Dharamsala and I think the best part was the random street art that I saw. I think Dharamsala has the nicest graffiti I’ve ever seen, and I feel like that’s saying something coming from a Canadian =). I found some of the things really cute and funny, so I had to share. Also, the no speeding signs are hilarious! My mate Luke is posing below with it. If you can’t make it out, it reads “Divorce speed, not wife.” Enjoy the art I found!

Paragliding Along the Himalayas

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Dharamsala, Dharamshala, Himalayan, Himalayas, India, Paraglide, Paragliding, Travel

I love to seek a thrill when I travel, some small thing that will make my stomach flutter and my head spin a little. Dharamsala was the perfect place for me to get that thrill. I and a few friends decided on a paragliding day! We had to shop around a bit for the best price and the best deal we found was with Himalayan Journey Tour & Travels. 

The day wasn’t particularly hot, so we didn’t get the highest hight we could’ve achieved due to a lack of thermals, but it was still pretty spectacular to be floating in the air along the Himalayas. It’s an incredible feeling, soaring with a colourful parachute above me and scenic mountains below me. It was bliss…

All right, I feel a need to admit that not everything was sweet and dandy… I kind of freaked out at the beginning. I know you’re not suppose to judge people by the way they look, but it’s really hard not to. As I stood at the edge of the mountain a group of very impressively dressed people were getting ready to jump. They were all decked out in proper gear, like full body suits, helmet cams, radios, they just looked so professional! So when one of the members of that group jumped and fell, I panicked! I could see him slide down the side of the mountain then scramble to turn and collect the parachute so he wouldn’t be dragged along the cliff. It was terrifying to watch and I was at the perfect vantage point to see it all. I must of had a look of terror on my face because a bunch of people came up to me and started saying it’s okay, that won’t happen to you, they’re just learning, this is their first solo flight, don’t worry! I was worried… waiting for my turn was excruciating! But all turned out well! My lovely friend Nate took this photo of me in my panicked state, I love and hate this picture… lol

Learning and Ideas for Tibet

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Buddhism, Dharamsala, Dharamshala, India, Learning and Ideas for Tibet, LIT, LIT Centre, Little Tibet, McLeod Ganj, Tibet, Travel

After visiting a Hindu and Sikh city, I headed to a Buddhist city, a place where I felt much more at home. McLeod Ganj, a suburb of Dharamsala, is known as Little Tibet as this is where the Dalai Lama resides. Just being in the same town as him gave me this great sense of peace and calm. While there, I had an opportunity to volunteer for a couple of hours and give back. It was a lot of fun, and thinking back to it puts a big smile on my face =D

Learning and Ideas for Tibet (LIT) is a non-government, non-profit adult education centre providing free education (and other services) to Tibetan Refugees.  One of the services, is an English conversation practice, which I had the opportunity yo participated in. I was placed in a group with three lovely men; Lobsang from Tibet, Rabgay from Bhutan and Eakkaluk from Thailand.

“Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” ― Dalai Lama

The class started with a topic and some questions. The topic for this day was marriage, which was incredibly interesting when you have a monk in training and a monk in the group. The guys had a great sense of humour! It was amazing to sit and chat with them and learn about their experiences. It was a simple interaction, but this was one of the highlights of my trip. If you want more information, please visit: http://lit-dharamsala.org/

The Phases of The Golden Temple

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Amritsar, Diwali, Golden Temple, India, Sikh, temple, Temples, the Golden Temple, Tourism, Travel

When visiting the Golden Temple is nice to visit during various times of the day to see how the light reflects off the buildings. How the temple looks in the day and the evening are quite different, and so is the atmosphere, so multiple trips are well worth it!

Early in the day, however when I went, the sun wasn’t quite out…

Early evening as the sun is beginning to set and

 In the evening! I was lucky enough to be in Amritsar during Diwali, so the whole temple was covered in lights!

Pool of the Nectar of Immortality

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Amrit Sarovar, Amritsar, Golden Temple, Holy Dip, Immortality, India, Nectar of Immortality, Sikh, temple, the Golden Temple, Travel

In my previous post I mentioned that Amritsar literally translates to pool of the nectar of immortality. The pool surrounding the Golden Temple is actually called the Amrit Sarovar, and is believed to have cleansing properties in which a bather can wash away all his or her sins. Although there are designated areas for men to bathe, they really can go in at pretty much any point along the pool.

Women can also take a holy dip, but in designated, small, dark, covered rooms built into the water. I originally didn’t plan to go into the water, but was convinced to do so by my new friend Tania. I’m so glad I did! It was definitely an experience! It was awkward and slightly uncomfortable for me to undress and walk into water of questionable cleanliness, but I’m glad I did it. I wouldn’t say it was refreshing, but I did feel different coming out of the pool. Slightly giddy I suppose from actually participating in something so unique. I think that’s the greatest part of travel, finding the courage to participate in new experiences!

Silver and Gold in Amritsar

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Amritsar, Durgiana Temple, Golden Temple, Gurdwara, Hindu, India, Mata Lal Devi Mandir, Sikh, Silver Temple, temple, Temples, the Golden Temple, Travel

Amritsar is known mainly for the Golden Temple, but I love checking out the smaller temples and less crowded/touristy places. Below are some of the less popular tourist attractions.

Mata Lal Devi Mandir is another fun house like temple which is devoted to the female saint Lal Devi. This temple is popular with women who wish to get pregnant. In this temple, as with any other, there are people who will bless visitors, however I tried very hard not to get a blessing here… Yes, it might have been a little silly of me, but I just couldn’t help it! To get through the temple you go through tunnels, caves with shallow water, and doorways shaped as the mouths of animals, it’s really cool!

The Silver Temple, formally known as the Durgiana Temple, is a Hindu temple built in response to the Sikh Golden temple. Yes, there is gold on it, but it’s called the Silver Temple for it’s carved silver doors. It’s much smaller and less crowded than the Golden Temple and a very lovely place for a quite stroll.

And now, the piece de resistance, The Golden Temple. This is THE Sikh temple and actually has more visitors a day than the Taj Mahal. The temple actually sits in the centre of a “pool of the nectar of immortality” the actual translation of Amritsar. More detailed posts about the Golden Temple will follow, so stay tuned!

 

Wagah Stomp Stomp

Tags

Amritsar, Boarder Closing, Border Ceremony, India, Pakistan, Travel, Wagah

A few hours from Amritsar’s main attraction, the Golden Temple, is the border between India and Pakistan. Each evening is the border closing ceremony between the two countries where the India Boarder Security Forces and the Pakistan Rangers stomp, march, kick and shout their way to officially close access into/out of their respective countries. The India Boarder Security Forces are in the beige, and the Pakistan Rangers are the distant figures in black, both have great, red headpieces.

It’s amazing how patriotic the people of both countries are, they shout and clap in excitement and when the energy boils over, they dance in the street!… And I joined them! That’s right, I was in an Indian street dance party! This was the growing crowd before I joined. It looks relatively small compared to what it was by the end. I have to say, this was probably the best part of the entire ceremony!

Spontaneous acts of dance with adorable little girls, and the best part, I even knew a song, Jai Ho!

The Colours of Haridwar

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Aarti, Gods, Hardwar, Haridwar, Hindu, India, Temples, Travel, Vaishno Devi, Vaishno Devi Temple

Going from Rishikesh to Amritsar I had a couple hours to spare so I made a quick stopover in Haridwar, one of the seven holiest Hindu places in India. I got to visit multiple temples, but this one was my favourite. The Vaishno Devi Temple is a colourful and massive space with cave like tunnels you have to crawl through and a rooftop that is decorated with these huge statues of the Gods. It’s artistic, and beautiful and just amazingly fun to walk through.

After browsing the temples I went to the evening Aarti in Hardiwar, which is about 10 times bigger than the one in Rishikesh. It is really quite grande and lovely. The crowd buzzes with energy and the flower baskets drifting down the river casts beautiful flecks of gold in the water. The Ganges where this Aarti takes place is much shallower than the one in Rishikesh, so here you see more people bathing in the water. It’s amazing to see how this culture worships this river.

As lovely as it is to participate in cultural events, there’s always a need to be careful! Many people will ask for donations, but not all of them work for preserving the Ganges, so if you want to donate, place the money in a donation box, or give it to an official volunteer who will write you a receipt, then enjoy!