The Wrap Up: India

Here’s a quick summary of our time in India:

The two of us in Cochin, Kerala (note Suhail's south-Indian style moustache)

Duration of visit

1 month (mid-Oct to mid-Nov)

Route

We flew in and out of Delhi and spent a few days there at the beginning and end of our trip.

From there we flew to Chennai, where we didn’t stay at all, but we did later do some day trips into the city for shopping and sight seeing. We were driven to Asirvadh Ashram, which is about an hour from the city. The ashram was sort of our home base for about 2 full weeks.

In the midst of our time at the ashram, we went on a road trip, which took us through the following places in the southern part of the country:
Vellure
Bangalore
Mysore
Ooty & Coonoor
Fort Cochin, Kerala
Alleppey, Kerala

Then we returned to the ashram for a bit before heading back to Delhi.

Modes of transit

Plane
Private car (including Ambassador taxi)
Auto rickshaw
Chinese (bicycle) rickshaw
Punted boat

Suhail put together a video of some of the various modes of transit we used in Delhi:

Highlights

Meeting and hitting it off with Suhail’s cousin Clarissa in Delhi
The backwaters tour in Kerala
Spending time with the kids at the ashram (including their introduction to skateboarding & our very enthusiastic Halloween celebration)
Biryani feast

In a nutshell

Many people have said India is a land of contrasts and contradictions, and we certainly found this to be true. The chaos and the crush of the huge population definitely grinds on you at times, but within that there are moments of extraordinary kindness and generosity that make you want to start planning your return visit before you’ve even left. As is obvious from our photos, we loved the food, the children and the amazing historic and religious sites. All of this, plus the hospitality we experienced ensures we will be back. It is not the easiest place to travel, but in India your efforts are greatly rewarded.

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