Varanasi

Varanasi is THE holy city of Hinduism. Every Hindu has to go there once in his lifetime to purify his body in the Ganga river. To die there would free yourself from the cycle of reincarnation. This city was the most impressive for us, the ghats (stairs) go down into the river all along the city. Each ghat has its functionality, from cleaning yourself to burning bodies of dead people. Behind the river, the little streets are very crowded, with a lot of traffic. It is a special city different of anything else in India!

The famous ghats and the Ganga.

In the evening many people gather on the gaths for ceremonies and others rents boats to admire the city.

The "burning" ghats have stock piles of wood to cremate about 200 people every day.

Nearby, people are taking a holy bath in the Ganga.

Khajuraho

We took another night train to the state of Madhya Pradesh to visit Khajuraho, it is a small town famous for its temples and its kama sutra carvings.

The temples were built 1000 years ago, when erotism wasn't taboo in Hindu culture. They are full of suggesting carvings.

A nymph with her sari.

Lakshmana temple.

Agra - Fatepur Sikri

We took the train to Agra, home of the famous Taj Mahal! This tomb is as nice as poeple say, all made of white marble and incrusted with colorfull stones. The king built this mausoleum in memory of his wife who died while giving birth. He was then put in in jail by his son and could see the Taj from his cell until his death, not really a happy ending!
We also went to Fatepur Sikri, a ruined city 40km from Agra. We visited there the 2nd biggest Mosque ok India. We went there during a pilgrimage, people walk 90km to a temple nearby and do a lot of noise on the way!

The Jama Masjid (Mosque du Vendredi) in Fatepur

The Taj Mahal

Agra view from a roof, it is a big city with tiny crowded streets.

Delhi

We were in the capital!! Delhi, the second biggest city in India with 13 millions of people!!, we discovered that its a fusion betwen the old and modern, the old area is very well preserved sourrounded of modern buildings.

The red fort is one of the major sights of Delhi.

Old Delhi's streets are very intense, you need to pay attention all the time. The life here is dynamic, nothing is quiet any time of the day!

Humayun's Tomb is an amazing muslim architecture, It is made of white marble and red sandstone.

Jaisalmer

We then went east in the Thar Desert next to Pakistan. Jaisalmer is a city in the sand with also a fort in its centre. We also went for a night safari in the desert where we slept under the stars.

The fort is filled with shops and temples.

On the way to the desert we spotted women taking water in the well.

Pili riding her camel.

Jodhpur

We went from Mumbai to Ahmedabad (capital of Gujarat) by train and then took the night bus to Jodhpur. This was pretty chaotic with people sitting on the roof of the bus during the travel, but everything went well! 

Jodhpur is the "blue" city, with many houses painted in indigo. A gigantic fort in its centre was the palace of the Mahajaras until recently. 

Mehrangarh, the fort of Jodhpur is very well preserved with a beautiful architecture

The blue city as seen from the fort. 

The different building have detailed carving on each façade.

Holy (the color festival) happened while we were in Jodhpur! People buy colour powders and play to "paint" each other, it is very funny and easy to wash!

After only a few minutes in the streets!

Mumbai

We spend a few days in Mumbai (Bombay), it is a very big city with 16 millions people. The English influence is still present here, you would almost feel in London! There are a lot of Victorian style buildings including the famous Victoria station.
Mumbai is also the Bolywood city of India, many films are shot there.

Victoria Station is listed at the World Heritage, a beautiful building.

Mumbai streets are smelly and noisy like anywhere in India, but full of life!

The big avenues of Mumbai are crowded with busses and its auhtentic taxis.

The Gateway of India is one of the landmark monument, south of the city near the port.

In front of the University of Mumbai is a huge pitch where many guys practice cricket, the national sport of India!

Panaji - Old Goa

We went to Panaji, the capital of the state of Goa,  It was a portuguese colony until 1961, today they keep a lot of portuguese culture, still now you can find old people that can speak portuguese, the city style is like portugal, with light colours, small houses, and churches.
Goa was the capital, but it was moved to Panaji, (just 10 km far) because of cholera and malaria diseases, still now you can visit many churches and convents, but there are no houses for people anymore.

Old Goa is full of these big churches from the Portuguese times.

Colonial houses are giving a lot of charm to the Goa area.

Palolem

After 3 weeks of south India we chose to rest a bit in Goa in a little place called Palolem. Contrary to the other beaches of Goa it was clean and quiet, a little paradise! Dogs and cows are the real masters of the beach and would hunt you down for food but they aren't dangerous.

Fishermen leave their boats on the beach during the day. Cows usually wander around for food.

At night they would even sit in restaurants waiting for a treat!

Hampi

We took the infamous government bus from Mysore to Hampi, a 250km journey that took 12 hours.
We were quite happy to get there as Hampi is a beautiful place part of the world heritage monuments. The place is surrounded by hills made of huge stones resulting of volcanic activity. In between theme are temples that formed a city of 500.000 people some 500 years ago. This is one of the nicest place we have seen so far.

The temples are full of monkeys. But be carefull if they smell food in your bag or see that you have water they will just steal it from you. They usually get together to commit their crime so you wont try to get back your belongings!

The landscape is made of granitic stones, temples of all sizes ans shapes are spead around the main bazar.

The ruins are well preserved, still now you can visit the ancient city which had big avenues, stairs everywhere and massive temples.

We could admire the landscape from the top of the hills, dry with stacks of stones and a sea of green with palm trees.

Locals still live the same way as their ancestors. They sleep on the floor and clean clothes in the river.

We went up to the Anuman temple. On top was this offering tree, where people would tie a piece of clothe when wishing for something.

Mysore

After Kerala we crossed to Karnataka and stopped in Mysore. An ancient city with a gigantic Maharaja palace and a livelly bazaar.

The palace attracts loads of tourists Indians and foreigners.

The bazar is quite big with alleys for bananas, other for onions and so on.

Another part of the bazar sells color powders, it is used for almost everything to diying hair, painting skins or clothes.

Kochi

Kochi (also called Cochin) is an ex Portuguese colony with a lot of charm. Contrary to Pondicherry the city is not so crowded and the architecture is more interesting. Muslim, Christian and Jewish areas are still preserved which makes Kochi special.
We also went for a day trip to the backwaters, many little canals south of the city. This place is very calm and green.

The Chinese introduced these fishing nets centuries ago. Several men are needed to pull them up.

Kochi has many colonial houses such as these ones, it gives the city a unique character.

Goats are also all around the place! They would eat anything and are not scared to climb  any obstacle.

On the backwater trip we had a wonderful ride on this typical boat. The canals are narrow and there is no noise except the birds.

South Indian food

Our first day in India was specifically marked by our first meal, we were surprised and really impressed by the diversity and the flavours the Indian food can offer.

Here is a little post about the food we have tried in south India...

Idlis are mostly eaten as a breakfast, they are fermented rice cakes with plain taste. They are served with different kind of sauces, such as coconut or onion chutneys and green or red curries.

For lunch most people eat a Thali, it is served on a banana leaf as a plate. At the center is plain rice, surrounded by different sauces (coconut, coriander, curry leaf, red chilli, green chilli, tomato, onion, ginger, mint, mango or lentil), usually a puri (flat crispy bread) is also served with a sweet coconut sauce. This meal is inexensive (60 Rupees, 1 Euro) and you can ask for more until you fill up, amazing!!

In the drink section we cannot miss the famous Lassi! It is a drink made of yoghurt, really helpful when the food is spicy. It can be ordered sweet, salty or fruit flavoured.

For dinner we were proposed Dosais, they are big crepes that we dip in sauces. The Masala Dosai is also popular, when the crepe is stuffed with puree like filling.

Munnar

We left the state of Tamil Nadu and after a long trip by bus in the mountains we crossed to the state of Kerala. Our first stop is the mountain city of Munnar, a place surrounded by tea plantation. The city is at the altitude of 1500 meters so the heat of the day is not as strong as in the valley but the nights are chilly.

The road to Munnar is 7 hours long and most of it is on mountain roads. We did the trip with the public bus which was a nice experience however frightening sometimes!

When arriving on top we discovered the tea plantations, they cover the mountains which makes this palce so special.

Munnar is a little city with its noise and constant activity, here are the local riskshaws awaiting for clients.

Of course we had to try the tea which is amazing, it comes in several flavours: cardamon, ginger, lemon and masala which is the spiciest. People also drink chai, a mix of tea and milk which is steered to give it some foam.