India

Language- Hindi & English

Hello & Goodbye – Namaste

thank you- dhanyavaad

Currency- Indian Rupee

Delhi – (January 2018) we arrived in Delhi very early in the morning and made a big mistake- we were tired looking for the area where the cabs are and a young man helped us out- as we were following him I got this gut feeling we should not go with him but joe was taking to him and walking quite a ways up and I couldn’t talk to joe – we got to different area with cabs and a guy come out and he was so nice so I just relaxed – as he was driving in the early morning there was no one on the roads- he told us the road to our hotel was closed because of a holiday- the word holiday we have learned is now a red flag- he drove around and kept saying he couldn’t make it to our hotel so we stopped at a travel agent place where they told us the only hotels available were like $300 American dollars- but they could get us a cheaper place if we book some tours through them- totally trying to scam us! So the only thing we could do was say yeah we will come back and book please just take us to the hotel you can get us a deal on – ugh I wish we had gotten a SIM card in our phone so we knew how far we were from our hotel or where it was- cause we found out later we were only 2 blocks away! so they took us to some other hotel and I scanned for hotels along the way cause I knew I wasn’t gonna stay there- I felt trapped and I couldn’t chat with joe but I knew I was gonna make a scene to leave- we get out and 5 men come at us to grab our bags and I yelled at Joe to keep his bag we are leaving- everything felt so wrong- we walked away while they yelled at us- I walked to the last hotel I saw and inside they would not let us use their phone and get a new cab- and said they had no rooms available- we had get further away from the scam cause this guy must know about it -so we kept walking- we were not around any tourist or anything but finally found a hotel with a room available and hide out till we could get food, sleep and think straight- the food was the biggest yummiest comfort hug though!!! And then they called us an Uber in the morning – we gave the Uber driving a huge tip he was so happy – but we were happier to get back to our original hotel- at the front desk he said oh yeah that scams happens a lot – I would say it is very important to download maps.me or get a simm card – that way when you get into a cab they know you know what you are doing- cabs are super cheap so we even told the driver we will give you a big tip just get us there please and they so did without taking a long way

Jaipur- (January 2018) known as the pink city- we left super early in the morning and arrived by train to Jaipur- cash is king in India- we booked a tuk tuk for the day and saw Amber Fort, Water Temple & Monkey Temple – we loved all three – the area our place was at was super loud and busy- bikes and cars almost hitting us cause there was no side walk- we are used to that and comfortable with it but just a heads up when you travel there- also the family’s place we stayed at were so kind- they made us dinner and helped arrange everything we needed – took us a bit to find restaurants and bottles of water cause I must of put us in an area with all locals- so far this trip we have only seen a handful of tourist

Agra- (January 2018) this is where the Taj Mahal is located- and it’s even more gorgeous in person- there are a lot of tour guides inside and we just picked the one we felt the most comfortable with and he was wonderful- he really made our experience even better- loved all the information and calm he was able to give us- the Taj Mahal is surrounded by gardens so it’s easy to connect and really feel the beauty of this place

In Agra we stayed with Ashi – her family had a home and across the street they had a guest home where we stayed- we got to meet her kids and she took us out to get some dinner and take us to a temple- she was such an angel- we were having a hard time finding food and water cause we were in such a residential neighborhood but Ashi showed us where to go – everyone was staring at us a lot! Even walking into walls staring as us haha! They must not get many tourist around here

Varanasi – (January 2018) one of the holiest cities in India- an ancient city situated on the banks of the Ganges River also known as Mama Ganga- it is believed a dip in the Ganges River will wash away a lifetime of sins- you will see people bathing in the river- you will also see bodies burning down at the river – with ashes being put in the river- those who do not need to be burnt because they are believed to be a higher being are just submerged in the river – like Sadhus and infants – we stayed down at one of ghats that lead you down to the river- such narrow streets with cows you had to gentle move to get past- take a boat ride down the Ganges to see the cremations and bright colored homes – at night they have ceremonies to Mama Ganga – it’s such an experience that I am so grateful for- the places to stay are old – it’s an old city- so our room only had a bucket shower and was crazy dirty- but it had a great rooftop with sunsets and monkeys and kids flying kites- such a cool experience

Delhi – (February 2019) Joe went back to India to ski up in Kashmir – he had a day in Delhi and went to the Red Fort cause we missed this the first time around

Kashmir- (February 2019) Here you can ski the Himalayas! Joe spent a week here and had the best skiing of his life- he booked Tiger as his guide through ski Gulmar

Dal Lake- (February 2019) stay on a house boat on Dal Lake- it’s quiet and beautiful- take a ride down the lake and see all the other house boats