India - The Land of Diversity

 I was lucky enough, in late spring 2015, to travel to India, an amazing and very spiritual country with many contrasts from Ancient to Modern, from pristine to overcrowded and cluttered.

Our trip included a visi;to the  Taj Mahal  -  magnificent!  Pictures do not do it justice. The mausoleum was started in 1631AD by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his beloved deceased wife. It is an UNESCO World Heritage site and the jewel of Muslim art and an architectural masterpiece!   I don’t know what I expected when I walked into the Taj Mahal, but the entire building is solely devoted to only his wife's crypt . The mausoleum and the 17 hectares of gardens and monument surrounding it will take your breath away, pictures do not do it justice. 

The “Pink City” of Jaipur is stunning,  the old city is surrounded by an enormous wall,  and all the buildings inside were painted pink to welcome Edward, Prince of Wales in 1876. Still to this day the Pink remains. The picture shows the pink ( terracotta) buildings while a wedding procession goes through the streets.  

---

A beautiful highlight was an early morning boat ride on the Ganges river.  We had the opportunity to watch the city of Varanasi come alive as the sun rose. One of the oldest living city’s in the world,  Varanasi is where cremations take place and it is the wish of the Indian people to have their ashes placed in the Ganges River.  

Food was fantastic, not as spicy (hot) as I thought it would be, great flavours, very little red meat is served in India as the "sacred" cows are EVERYWHERE............ Highways, side streets and outside shops, you really have to watch where you step!!  There is great shopping for jewelry, hand woven silk rugs, glass and tile work.  Most of the items are still done by hand on man powered machinery.

India is a vast country, our visit just touched on part of it including Delhi, Varanasi, Agra & Jaipur I would hope that my next visit would included stops in the Himalayan Mountains in the north and the beautiful beaches in the south.

LOVE IT OR HATE IT most people feel some of each emotion - in either case India can't fail to be an intoxicating place to visit!  ......Namaste.......PAM CROSS