My first time (in India)

I knew it was going to be a mess… I knew it. I knew it! When I first left for Asia, I put India on the top of my list, but after some consideration, I planned to avoid it. No one even told me that it was going to be crazy, but the energy radiating from this country was enough for me to change my mind. So even though I was set against it, what prompted the 3 week visit?

“Well, if all the flights pass through India, we might as well visit it for a week or two,” my boyfriend commented when we were looking at flights back to Europe. This traveler's math is logical- makes total sense by all rhyme and reason and yet… I wanted to visit India in theory, but not in reality. India has fascinated me for most of my life. It seemed like a mysterious place. It’s the birthplace of yoga and a country with rich cultural diversity and known for amazing food. In my dreams, I wanted to visit India, but I wasn’t sure that my nervous system could handle it. I thought it might be too much for me to venture alone. Now that it’s over, I think I was right. I wasn’t mentally or emotionally prepared to travel in India alone. Even venturing with Johan was overwhelming, but honestly, I don’t think anything could have properly prepared me for my first time meeting Mama India. It’s a “rip the bandaid off” kind of experience.

Tourist Visa

The 30 day tourist visa is available for most countries online. It costs $10 USD and needs to be completed at least 3 days in advance of arrival. The form says it will only take 10 minutes to complete. THAT IS A LIE. When I did mine, I set a timer. From start to finish, the form took me 1 hour and 30 minutes (it took Johan longer). Why did it take so long? Well, the website fails often and doesn’t always save your responses. If there’s an error, there’s a 50/50 chance that you’ll have to complete the entire page again.

Note: For seasoned travelers, in the “Countries visited in the last 10 years,” you are not allowed to put more than 20, so stick to the ones that are stamped in your passport if possible. 

Also note: If you’ve visited India in the past, they will ask for your previous visa numbers so if you plan to visit India in the future, maybe write it down somewhere.

Landing in Delhi

Getting off the plane in Delhi was normal. Johan and I pretended to be race cars passing all the other passengers. The airport was big. Even though we already had a visa, we had to complete an additional form. Customs was straightforward and simple. There’s a metro from the airport to the main part of the city that was fast, quiet, and efficient. I think it was something like 60 Indian Rupees per person (<$1 USD). 

Delhi itself is densely populated and insane. The traffic is crazy and the standard of cleanliness is low. If you look like a foreigner, many people will either stare at you or ask you for money. Maybe the locals aren’t used to foreigners. We only spent 3 nights here. Johan wanted to visit the spice market, but we didn’t make it that far. I wanted to visit the park, but my experience was disrupted by a horny man off in the trees. Maybe there’s a sweet side to Delhi, but I didn’t find it.

Sunrise yoga from the rooftop in Delhi

Rishikesh

Rishikesh is one of the places that all the travelers and hippies talk about going to. I see the appeal. It has the Ganges River which is one of the only clean rivers that you can bathe in in India. There’s a lot of yoga, cafes, and live music. Also, during summer, it’s a reasonable temperature. The mountains are cold and further south is hot. Rishikesh has a nice sweet spot. Personally, I think this place is a “right moment at the right time,” kind of place. I spent some time here with Johan and some time alone and it really didn’t captivate me, but maybe that was because of the culture shock. I had a few bad experiences with men and personal touch, and in general, the place was noisy and crowded. The cafes were cute cafes and there were loads of vegan options. Perhaps this place would be a better fit for me in the off season.

I cannot lie though, the river is one of the most attractive things about the town. It’s a holy place to the locals. Johan and I spent 2 nights camping downstream to avoid all the people. Though we couldn’t miss the rafts of tourists floating by or the traffic honking across the bank, in general, it was peaceful and quiet.

An hour drive outside of Rishikesh, I visited an ashram owned by Yogi Vijay. Instead of taking the taxi, I trekked the 15 kilometers uphill which was quite a challenging fete! I spent 3 days at Van Maun Yog Ashram studying yoga. I learned that yoga is more than just the asanas (physical postures). It’s also about breathwork and we covered some theory on chakras and the nervous system. This ashram really saved my experience of India and helped me calm down from India’s intense first impression. You could still hear the horns honking, but the trees and gentle nature of the place gave me the chance to learn something new, rest, and recover.

Partial view of Rishikesh on the trek to the ashram

Jaipur

I spent 2 days in Jaipur. It’s a city a few hours south of Delhi. Johan wanted to visit to buy silver and check out spices. Originally, I wanted to go to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, but after I committed to the ashram, there wasn’t enough time for everything. As far as cities in India go, I imagine Jaipur is quite alright. It was founded in the early 18th century and has a few historical places to visit which we found to be nice, but not that impressive. Maybe our experience was dampened by all the Indians asking to take pictures with us… that was excessive. I thought that it was just about Johan’s hair, but then a man came up asking to take a picture with me. I don’t understand this concept. 

Anyway, the city had the coolest goats. Their fur patterns were spotted with brown, black, and white. Walking around, we ventured down some neighborhoods where the sculptors and craftsmen work. It was interesting to see the process of their work up close. The food was fine and from the comfort of our hotel, we couldn’t hear all the outside noise. Johan chose a place that had a courtyard with some plants. The hotel also owned ducks, birds, and a goat. We bought a lot of spices and silver for a very affordable price here. 

Family of monkeys snacking at Amer Fort

Tips & Suggestions:

Headphones in, world out

Bring ear protection. Walking the streets, I always had ear plugs in my pocket. Listening to music helps tune out all the beggars and sellers. Honestly, I got a monster migraine from all the noise and it wasn’t fun. Even at night. If you’re in a populated area, the noise doesn’t stop.

Clear Vision

Unless you splurge on the 5 year visa, don’t come to India without some sort of a plan. I struggled the first 10 days because I’m so used to letting the wind determine my direction. Nothing makes sense here. The social rules are difficult to understand and change from one person to the next. If you don’t have a lot of time, come with a plan. Plan to go to the Taj Mahal. Plan to go to an ashram. Plan to go trekking in the mountains. Free falling in this country with limited time is stressful. 

Transportation options overnight and in advance

When it comes to transportation, save time by booking the overnight train or bus in advance. The country is big and if you want to visit a few places, you’ll spend a lot of time in transport. Traveling while you sleep is a great way to save time and energy. There are quite a few comfortable sleeper options, but depending on the season and route, these can fill up fast. Unless you’re not attached to having a seat, book in advance. Given the large population, most trains have a waitlist 1-2 weeks out from the date. Also, when booking the trains, you need to have an Indian phone number and you need to create an account with the train company. You have to buy your ticket with a third party, but without the account, your ticket won’t be confirmed. 

SIM Card

Certain companies don’t sell to tourists. Reliance Jio is known to be the best, but they only sell plans to locals. Airtel is the company I landed with, but the service wasn’t good. For example, when going to an ashram an hour from Rishikesh, I had no bars. Most plans give you 1.5 GB per day which is fine for normal use, but if you need to work online, get an Indian to buy you a sim card with Reliance Jio. Don’t bother trying to go to an actual store. Most of them aren’t real and the ones that were were far away. There are only a few shops who sell new SIM cards and they usually have an additional charge, but the charge is worth the convenience. Trust me.

Also, don’t expect things to work. For example, one afternoon, I added 2 days of unlimited data because the wifi in Jaipur wasn’t working well. The app didn’t accept foreign bank cards so Johan ventured off to sort it out for me. The store also wouldn’t accept foreign bank cards or cash. He finally found a place to pay in cash, but then it took 3 hours for the plan to activate. It was 6 pm when the plan activated. After that, instead of getting 48 hours of unlimited data, I got until 11:59 pm the next day.

Reminder: Even if you have data in India with your home country, you need to have an Indian number to book trains.

Conclusion

In conclusion, India was a real test of faith for me. While here, the lack of clarity about social expectations and multiple violations by men in public triggered me. It put me on edge and made me closed off. I didn’t feel like myself in India. Spending 3 days in an ashram and going to kirtan restored my confidence in the country. There are things here to experience and learn. Something I realized is that Mama India is as she is. She has no shame and she is everything at once. She is the beggar sleeping on the street and the yogi passing down wisdom at the ashram. She is the tuk tuk driver trying to scam you and the banana salesman who holds onto your bunch of bananas while you go to the river so you won’t get attacked by the monkeys. She is the polite concierge, “Yes, madam! Thank you sir!” and the guy who follows you around to get commission for bringing tourists to certain shops. From an outsider’s perspective, this place is chaotic, but between the lines, if one looks closely, you’d see there’s a lot of comradery and community among the people.

I have a lot of respect for that. 

Alright reader, that’s it for this one. As always, thank you for reading my work! If you feel like you’re getting value from my content and would like to support my craft, you can offer a donation at Buy Me a Coffee or consider subscribing for more, exclusive, content. Thanks for your love and support. Cheers to a healthy humanity!