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Adventure Holiday in India with TDactive – part 1

India Travel Department
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Hilda
Wednesday, 09 January 2019 / Published in Friends and Family, Home, Lifestyle & Leisure, News

Adventure Holiday in India with TDactive – part 1

“Nothing can possibly prepare you for the journey ahead. India will impress, bewilder, fascinate, depress, thrill, frustrate, inspire and amaze you.”

These are words provided by TDactive before we left on our Indian adventure recently and never could so many verbs have more accurately described what we experienced!

We have used Travel Department on many occasions in the past and have memories of wonderful holidays, in China and South Africa particularly, and more recently a short trip to Salamanca. But this is the first time that Graham and I used TDactive Holidays, the company’s active holiday division, and so with four good friends (pictured below) we decided to venture to India with them.

We were pre-warned that we needed to be patient (as things don’t work the way they do at home or don’t work at all!); be open-minded (as India would test your tolerance, so the more flexible you are, the better it will be); and lastly, don’t worry about understanding the phenomenon that is India, a country with over a billion people and a momentum all of its own!

How right they were!

What to expect

It is not called an adventure holiday for nothing and it was certainly a very active one.

We were in 6 different locations in the course of our 16 days and we had a number of very early morning starts to ensure we enjoyed the best experiences.

We travelled on foot, on a bicycle around Old Delhi, by auto-rickshaw, jeep, bus, tram, train (including an overnighter which was a wholly different experience) and even an internal flight.

India is a vast country and we only touched on a part of it known as the Golden Triangle, finishing on the East Coast in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), an eye-opener in itself.

DELHI

We did all the usual sights in the Indian capital such as a tour of the British colonial buildings designed by noted architect Edwin Lutyens, India Gate, the tombs of Mahatma Gandhi and the Mughal Emperor Humayun (below), and Qutub Minar, India’s tallest brick minaret.

But the real highlight for us and our friends was an early morning cycle around Old Delhi.

Cycling around the old city was absolutely mind-blowing. As we navigated through backstreets at 5.30am, we got to see the city wake up. We avoided dogs, people, cows (below), auto-rickshaws, other cyclists, motor bikes and a few cars as we took in the early morning business around us.

Highlights were watching men at work (above) making kulcha (a mildly leavened flatbread), visiting a spice market and drinking chai from its highest point and generally peeping in on the lives of its people. We were fascinated by some of the workers showering for the entire twenty minutes we were there (below), but our guide explained that the spices would burn their skin if not washed off thoroughly (never mind the lingering smell) and this was a daily ritual.

We also visited a Sikh temple which was a place of sanctuary for those in need and where a community kitchen, manned by volunteers, feeds thousands of people for free every day irrespective of their faith and religion (below).

 

Our journey back, cycling through the crowded city and crossing a major intersection was hair-raising to say the least, but also exhilarating. What you have to understand is that nobody obeys any rules of the road, not even on major roads. The city is a cacophony of noise, as horns are beeped incessantly and indiscriminately. It is obviously essential that you are confident enough on a bike, but our guide led the way and his helper looked after the stragglers and soon we were beeping our horns with the best of them. There are no pictures of this as we were too busy trying to stay alive!

JAIPUR

It was not difficult to fall in love with the Pink City, so called because of its trademark red-washed buildings.

 

The people are friendly; the city is beautiful. We packed a huge amount into our two days here. Our jeep-ride up to Amber Palace took place during a festival so it was busy.  And there is so much to see there that you need a couple of hours at least.

And we trekked up to Amber Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the following day. Yes, you need runners, but if you are relatively fit, it is no problem.

We fitted in some shopping, of course; most of the men purchased shirts with block-print fabrics and then went to a local festival (where all the local dignitaries gathered), which involved a dramatic re-enactment of Indian myth (pictured below) culminating in the burning of a ginormous effigy.

A trip to see a Bollywood movie in a most beautiful cinema (below) was rather special as was our first auto rickshaw ride where Jan, Sara and I managed to get lost. It is OK, we were found again.

We also visited City Palace, an example of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture, home of the royal family of Jaipur. In fact, some of their descendants still live in a part of it. There was plenty to see here, including a throne room with portraits of the former rulers and a brief bio of each of them.

Nearby is Janta Mantar observatory which has the world’s largest stone sundial and plenty of interesting astronomy instruments.

While in Jaipur we stayed in a beautiful guest house (home-stay) – Ikaki Niwas – where the hosts displayed all the best of Indian hospitality.

 AGRA

On our way to Agra, we stopped at the Chand Baori, one of the world’s largest stepwells, with over 3,500 steps arranged in perfect symmetry and built to tackle the scarcity of water over a thousand years ago.

Our afternoon stop was at Fatehpur Sikri, another UNESCO world heritage site, a fortified city which was the capital of the Mughal empire during the reign of Akbar. It has beautiful pavilions and palaces.

Though Agra is a dismal place, our stay there was not. It is home to the majestic Taj Mahal and the visit to this world-famous landmark exceeded all expectations. Shah Jahan built it in memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal as a symbol of their love. It is an architectural marvel and was undoubtedly one of the major highlights of our trip. It certainly justified the 4 30 am wake-up call to ensure we were first in the queue to enter at 6.30am!

We later visited a Bear Rescue Camp, then the spectacular Agra Fort (built in the 11th century and site of the Indian Rebellion of 1857) and finished a busy day by visiting ‘Sheroes Hangout’, a community hub and café run by women disfigured by acid attacks, where we heard how they survived and how the perpetrators are being punished.

If any of you are on Instagram you can see more pics in my highlights of India. And if you know anyone who might be interested, please share.

From Agra, we travelled to Khajuraho (the fourth of our six stop-overs) on the next stage of our trip, to be covered in Part 2 of this blog. I also have a post ready to publish on how to avoid Delhi Belly and another one on what to pack, so stay tuned.

Tagged under: adventure holidays, Agra, Delhi, India, Jaipur, TDactive, TDactive Holidays, the golden triangle, The Taj Mahal

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22 Comments to “ Adventure Holiday in India with TDactive – part 1”

  1. Tudi says :Reply
    January 9, 2019 at 11:24 pm

    Hilda this a fabulous diary and description of your wonderful and colourful trip to India. Eagerly awaiting Chapter Two xx

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 10, 2019 at 9:54 am

      Thanks Tudi…yes more to come.

  2. Mandy Wilson says :Reply
    January 10, 2019 at 7:46 am

    Fascinating! I’d love to see India but my hubby isn’t so keen.

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 10, 2019 at 9:53 am

      Mandy, I can understand his reasons. I will be writing about that aspect in my third post. Thanks for reading and commenting.

  3. Melanie Pickett says :Reply
    January 10, 2019 at 11:59 pm

    This sounds amazing! I was picturing your trip as you described it. Such a colorful place. I’m glad it was a wonderful trip.

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 12, 2019 at 5:59 pm

      It was an adventure. Thanks Melanie.

  4. jonet wooten says :Reply
    January 11, 2019 at 12:10 am

    Hilda, thanks for taking us all along on your trip to India. Your photos told the story of your adventures and beautiful sights. The Taj Mahal is magnificent; what a blessing you had the opportunity to experience this monument.

    Great post, doll.

    Xo, Jonet

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 12, 2019 at 5:58 pm

      Jonet thanks a mil and you are right I feel privileged to have been there.

  5. Sandra Stanley says :Reply
    January 11, 2019 at 2:59 am

    Looks like a fabulous trip. Thank you for sharing. I hope one day I can make it to India. It’s on my bucket list.

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 12, 2019 at 5:57 pm

      Hi Sandra thank you for commenting.

  6. Mary Robertson says :Reply
    January 11, 2019 at 3:40 am

    What an inspiring post! I love the sound of that early morning bike ride!

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 12, 2019 at 5:57 pm

      It was one of the highlights certainly.

  7. Silver says :Reply
    January 11, 2019 at 5:15 pm

    What a wonderful trip! The architecture is beautiful. I would also love to explore India, but as one of the previous posters mentioned, my husband is also a nervous traveller.

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 12, 2019 at 6:01 pm

      It is a wonderful trip, but you do not have to go adventure as we did, but go more luxury. Anyway I am glad you enjoyed the post and more to come x

  8. Amy Kennedy says :Reply
    January 12, 2019 at 4:56 pm

    Oh my stars! What a trip! It had to be life changing! Parts are stunning and parts are heartbreaking! I can’t even imagine how this would impact you! Fantastic post! I’m looking forward to the next one!

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 12, 2019 at 5:53 pm

      Amy thank you so much for the comment. It is certainly a fascinating country and we can find it difficult to understand their culture and the poverty etc. but in general they area very happy people and satisfied with a lot less than we are.

  9. Mary V says :Reply
    January 13, 2019 at 12:22 am

    Hilda, what an awesome experience! I look forward to Part 2, for sure. I could almost hear the sounds and smell the aromas of this fascinating country.

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 14, 2019 at 7:35 pm

      Mary thank you so much for your comment. It will be up on Thursday x

  10. Loretta says :Reply
    January 17, 2019 at 2:26 am

    Oh my gosh, Hilda!! What a fantastic journey…I want to go, but can see from your post, going on a guided tour might be best. Can’t wait to read the rest. Wow!

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 17, 2019 at 3:46 pm

      Thanks friend. x

  11. jacqui berry says :Reply
    January 27, 2019 at 8:52 pm

    Oh Hilda, thanks for sharing your wonderful adventure. I’m sure I saw the sikh temple feeding thousands on Michael Portillo train journeys. What a magical experience it must have been. Jacqui Mummabstylish

    1. Hilda says :Reply
      January 28, 2019 at 7:49 pm

      I have those taped and still have not looked at them….

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