India

*A bucket list moment, visiting the iconic Taj Majal - India’s great love story*

India was a country that we knew would be challenging as overlanders. We had heard the horror stories about the hectic, dangerous driving, incredible crowding, and grim poverty in the largest slums in Asia. We entered the country with a high level of trepidation. Even though all the above was true and surviving it was a milestone, India was also an incredible cultural journey that we would not have missed.

With our low expectations about what our experience would be like, we ended up being pleasantly surprised. India won us over. It is not a country to travel expecting glorious wild camping, nature experiences or scenic vistas. Instead India is about understanding the people, the Hindu and Buddhist faiths, exploring cultural sites, intricately beautiful ancient architecture and eating extraordinarily tasty food.

*Our four week 7,000 kilometer route through India*

India is best described as orderly chaos. The sheer number of people demands courtesy, kindness and a keen sense of humor that guides peoples’ interactions with each other. The combat level driving was insane, but people wove in and out of dense traffic on foot, bicycle, rickshaw, ox cart and motorcycle completely unharmed. After driving the world for four years with no real collisions, we had two minor taps with other vehicles within two weeks in India (both in urban roundabouts) no real damage to either vehicle and everyone just continued on their way with some head shaking. We quickly learned that for our own sanity, the best strategy when visiting cities was to find a spot outside of town to camp and use one of the many readily available transportation options (tuk tuk, taxi, rickshaw) to enter the central town scrum.

*Entering India from Pakistan at the Wagah-Attari Border*

Our first stop in India was Amritsar where we took care of all the basic necessities of entering a new country - ATM for money, purchasing auto insurance, stocking up on food (and even some beer and wine after a few weeks in the dry country of Pakistan).

*First days in India camped in Mrs. Bhandari’s Guest House garden in Amritsar*

*Wandering the streets of Amritsar - a holy place for the Sikh religion*

*Seeing what we think of as a swastika everywhere - actually a sacred Hindu symbol of prosperity and well-being*

Immediately upon entering India we could see the cultural aesthetic which incorporated artistic whimsy everywhere. Buildings were colorfully adorned, often with symbols important to the Hindu religion. Most women dressed traditionally in gloriously colorful saris. The black and white world of Pakistan receded and life became technicolor.

*People loved having their picture taken with us and requests for selfies were constant - so we returned the favor and took pictures of them.*

*Feeling the shift - many more women out and about than in Pakistan*

*The Golden Temple - most important holy site in Sikhism*

Although we they were few and far between, we did find a few wild camping spots in the north.

In retrospect, we wish we had spent more time exploring farther north in the cooler mountainous regions of India, but our timeline was limited by a planned trip home to visit family so we started working our way south toward Delhi. We were also coming from several spectacular scenic weeks in Pakistan’s mountains so were ready for a change.

Our first mountain town, Manali, was charming. First developed as a “hill station” - a place for the British occupiers to escape for cool mountain breezes, It now felt like a vacation spot for Indians escaping the heat and crowds of larger cities. The wooden houses and temples were unique, and made sense with the heavily wooded hillsides surrounding the town.

*Manali, tourists strolling the streets enjoying the mountainous backdrop*

*Hidimba Devi Temple, 16th century Hindu temple built in the woods above Manali, lines of faithful waiting to enter.*

*Old Manali, streets lined with souvenir shops selling macrame, hemp clothing and other hippy-like products alongside yoga studios and meditation classes.*

*Although it did not feel very authentically Indian, Dawn was happy to find Dylan Coffee Roasters and buy some fresh beans (rare in India, a nation of tea drinkers)*

*Built on a steep hillside, our parking options were limited in Manali, popped up here cooking dinner.*

*Even the stable yards are colorfully decorated in India*

*We always knew Andy had a lot of devil in him, here is proof*

*Naggar Castle, built in the 16th century, ruling seat of the Kullu region until the British took over and the royal Indian leader sold the castle to the British for a gun.*

*Hindu god Ganesh, god of wisdom and luck*

For us, growing up in Christian households, learning about Hinduism was fascinating. The stories of the gods, their blend of compassion, brutality and mischievousness were fascinating. But overlying it all was a clear sense of deep national faith that we do not see in the US. Temples were filled with people of every age visiting with friends or family. Hinduism felt like a daily practice for most people, images of the gods decorated buildings, homes, shops and vehicles. There was kindness and passion in the sharing of information by our guides and fellow Indian visitors. As one gentleman put it “anyone can be a Hindu, you just say you are and then you are.” It is one of the few major world religions that makes no attempt to convert people and the people teaching us were simply interested in telling us about their faith. We learned about the three main deities: Brahma the creator, Shiva the destroyer and Vishnu the protector. Most of the temples we visited were in honor of Shiva and Vishnu as the prevailing thought is that once Brahma created the world he was done, whereas now Hindus are seeking the support and intervention of Shiva and Vishnu in destroying evil and protecting people.

*Trucks colorfully painted with lots of advice for fellow drivers -blow horn (I cant see you), use dipper at night (take off high beams when approaching others) plus many other suggestions.*

*The request to blow your horn felt a little useless as driving in India is a constant cacophony of horn blowing so the utility is greatly diminished*

Andy looking a little bewildered as he is served up his first thali at a roadside dhaba- about 30 different bowls of savory vegetable dishes accompanied by unlimited fresh naan - Indian flat bread. Total cost $4

*The servers were highly amused by us trying to figure out how to eat everything so gently demonstrated*

Driving the twisty narrow roads of the north was not as bad as we feared. Big trucks ruled the road, of course, and passing was a life threatening endeavor, but the traffic was relatively light. Roads were lined with snack shops, colorful temples and family run dhabas (restaurants) which we learned to love. It felt like you were never more than a few miles from good home cooked food. Andy struggled a little with the general lack of meat and inhaled chicken curry when he could find it but learned to appreciate paneer as his second favorite dish.

*Appreciating the colorful architecture along the way*

*View over Shimla - built along the steep hillside*

Our next city was Shimla - capital of Himachal Pradesh at the base of the Himalayas and built along an incredibly steep hillside. We had a nightmare experience trying to drive the truck into the guest house we had booked (no wild camping to be had in the region). The roads were switch backed, single lanes which dead ended into spaces with nowhere to turn around. After some stressful unsuccessful explorations with Google Maps, we re-booked into a place we saw in the outskirts and parked, ready to explore on foot.

Overall in India, we stayed in more guest houses and ate in more restaurants than in any other country we had driven in. The lack of remote camping spots made guest houses more practical and they were generally inexpensive. We quickly realized that the $10 variety was not at our hygiene level (questionably clean sheets and toilets) but the $20 room was reliably safe and clean. We missed sleeping in the truck, and sometimes opted to use our own bed but it was practical to to use the guest houses as safe and private retreats.

As far as restaurants, buying the kind of groceries that Dawn was used to cooking with was more expensive than eating locally at the many dhabas. We learned to plan for a relaxing lunch, usually waiting 45 mins for a freshly cooked meal.

*Wandering the pedestrian streets of Shimla. Despite being built on a steep hill side, on foot it was a pleasant city to explore.*

*You could still see remnants of its days as the British summer capital*

*Typical Indian breakfast, chapati, poha and spicy chai to drink*

*Climbing the hill to view up close the giant statue of Hanuman, half monkey half man Hindu god known for loyalty and strength. Towering over the city, he can be seen for miles.*

Winding our way out of the hills and into the flat farmlands below, our next stop was Chandigarh which became capital of Punjab when the area was split between Pakistan and India in 1947. “Partition” led to one of the largest displacements in history with millions of people fleeing, Muslims to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs to the Punjab region of India.

The highlight of our visit to Chandigarh was Nek Chand Saini’s Rock Garden. A man made garden built completely from the waste from demolition sites around the city, Nek Chand built it in secret over 20 years, starting in 1957, eventually covering 25 acres with interlocked pathways, waterfalls and rooms. He and his family had to flee Pakistan to the Indian side of the border following Partition and witnessed the community violence first hand. Creating his fantasy garden was a way of recreating the mythical stories of his childhood.

*Nek Chand’s imagination brought to life in 1000’s of human and animal figures throughout the garden*

*A spectacular place created by a self-taught sculptor*

Next up for us was the beginning of our unsuccessful saga of trying to see a Bengal tiger. Dawn noticed that there was a national park along our route and since we always are drawn to national parks, we decided to drive in and check it out. There was minimal information online but we thought that if we booked a guest house we would be able to drive through the park to it in our own vehicle. Luckily this turned out to be the case.

Found a forest wild camping spot on the way to the national park! Some villagers came by and let us know we were on an elephant trail, so we moved to the other side of the road at their suggestion. We never saw an elephant.

*Driving into Rajaji National Park. Although it is a tiger reserve, we knew there were not many in the park so were not too hopeful.*

We showed up at our riverside lodge where the caretaker was surprised to see us as he had not received word of our online booking but with typical Indian hospitality he quickly prepared a room and offered us tea. (No camping allowed in the park.) As expected we did not see a tiger and made our way out the next day.

Our next attempt to see a tiger was at Jim Corbett National Park. We were slightly more hopeful about seeing a tiger here and booked a safari (the only way to enter the park).

*River bed in Jim Corbett National Park*

The first half of our time in India was almost over and we headed to Delhi where we planned to find a place to park the truck for a few months while we returned home to see family for the Christmas holiday season.

We booked a hotel for free on our travel points (thank you Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card), parked the truck and set off on free walking tours to explore the city. We had been prepared for absolute insanity in Delhi and were pleasantly surprised - again. Driving was not as bad as we thought it would be (we did not attempt to drive in old Delhi) although we did have one of the aforementioned minor vehicle taps here. People were also not as apt to hector us as obvious tourists as we had feared. Usually there would be a question about whether we might want something (taxi, souvenir, tour, restaurant, etc) but once we declined with a “no thank you” and a smile we were generally left alone. Over the years we have also become somewhat adept at walking quickly through crowded areas and not making eye contact with would be hawkers.

*Actual site where Gandhi was shot and killed in 1948 by a Hindu nationalist*

*Birla House - where Gandhi was living and studying in the last part of his life*

*Posing at Delhi Gate because when in Delhi . . . .*

*14th century stepwell in Delhi - used for storing water*

*Posing at one of the most spectacular Mughal tombs, Safdarjung Tomb built in the mid 1750’s*

It’s impossible to describe Delhi without addressing the food - it is inexpensive and outstanding. Despite ubiquitous stories of tourists and “Delhi Belly,” we are happy to say that we were never afflicted. We were moderately careful where we ate and never drank tap water.

*Tasting Delhi street food - first stop - samosas, savory pastries filled with spicy potato*

*Watching women skillfully and speedily make naan - Indian flat bread*

*Dizzying array of tasty fresh food wherever we looked*

*One of our favorites - parantha restaurant, fried stuffed bread*

*Aloo parantha - potoato stuffed bread with a variety of sauces*

*Masala dosa - crepe with spicy potato inside served with coconut sauce, it quickly became Dawn’s favorite breakfast*

*Visiting the Red Fort (Lal Qila) in Delhi, another impressive Moghal building, this one dating to 1638*

*Indulging Indian family tourists with requests for photos with us foreigners*

*Beautiful and intricate architecture at the Red Fort*

*More family photos, people asked so nicely it was hard to say no*

And that was our first two weeks! Coming up was our longest break since being on the road for 5 years - a planned three month visit back to the US. Luckily, our hotel agreed to store the truck for us.

When we returned three months later, all was good, the truck battery had died since the last engine run but we quickly got it going, got ourselves moved back in, re-supplied and hit the road. First stop, Taj Mahal, a place we had always dreamed of visiting.

*Entering the Taj Mahal grounds with the first crowds early in the morning*

In general we have an inherent aversion to hiring guides, preferring to wander at our own pace. But we usually make an exception for iconic history sites and in this case were glad we did. Our guide was excellent and learning more about the ruling Mughals, (Muslim dynasty that ruled much of India from the 16th to 19th centuries) and the love story that lead to the building of the Taj Mahal definitely made the visit more meaningful. The fifth Mughal leader Shah Jahan built the mausoleum in 1638 to house the tomb of his favorite wife who died as a result of giving birth to their 14th child.

*The other benefit to having a guide, we ended up with our own private photo session*

*Andy taking a moment in the Taj Mahal parking area to work with a willing helper and a ladder to wash the solar panels - it brought them back to life after a few months in dusty parking*

*And then a visit to the other iconic Agra site - Agra Fort*

We visited Agra Fort with the same guide who took us to the Taj Mahal and his stories were equally fascinating at the fort. We learned of Shah Jahan’s plan to build a second Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife. But his son was concerned about him bankrupting the kingdom and sent him into exile at Agra Fort to prevent any more expensive building. The story goes that the son granted his father’s request to imprison him in sight of the Taj Mahal so he could enjoy the view and remember his wife.

*Agra Fort, main residence of the leaders of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638 when they moved their ruling seat to Delhi.*

*Exquisite carving and peaceful inner courtyards*

*Dawn got tricked into holding and feeding a chipmunk*

And then we were back on the road to explore some smaller cultural sites. Our next stop was Fatehpur Sikri which although lesser known, was in many ways equally beautiful to Agra Fort or the Red Fort in Delhi.

If unable to wild camp, our second favorite option in India was to park at a guest house and pay a small fee to use the facilities. In this case, we paid about $3.50 to park in the garden and use toilet and shower rooms.

*Fatehpur Sikri Fort, briefly the capital of the Moghal Empire in 1571 until a lack of water forced them to move the capital to Agra*

*Beautiful blend of Indian and Persian architectural styles*

*Inlayed stone work and ancient frescos*

*Built in a region known for its artistry in stone carving, the art continues in the village today*

*Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, still in use*

*Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti, a revered Sufi saint*

Working our way south, next we entered our favorite Indian state - Rajasthan. A spectacular cultural and architectural journey awaited us in cities filled with fascinating historic sites. The main three attractions - Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer are known as the "Pink City," "Blue City," and "Golden City," respectively, and they live up to their names.

*Imposing entry gate into the pink city of Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan*

*Distinctive pink sandstone with white carving and painting*

*Hawa Mahal, Jaipur’s most famous building - a palace built in 1799 with over 950 windows, allowing the women of the palace to view the action below on the street without being seen*

*Gate we exited at the end of the day - tired but fulfilled*

While in Jaipur, we learned about Amber Fort on the hillside above and decided to throw in a last minute visit. It was one of those happy travel decisions - we thought it was one of the most impressive sites we visited in India. Even the tuk tuk journey up the hill was fascinating.

*Our first time spotting elephants in agricultural use*

*And seeing a camel on a leash with a motorcycle*

*View approaching Amber Fort, residence of ruling maharajas*

*Visitors have the option to climb the hill on foot or ride an elephant*

*Setting with scenic hillsides as a backdrop*

*Beautiful stone and painting work - in this case we were not the only visitors*

*Each living space with its unique character*

We left Jaipur impressed by the architecture in the region but also overwhelmed by the throng of foreign tourists accompanying us everywhere. We had been consistently spoiled in the last few countries feeling like the only visitors in most regions.

Continuing our learning about Hinduism, we journeyed farther south to Pushkar, at the edge of the desert. An important Hindu pilgrimage site, Pushkar has one of the few temples dedicated to Brahma, the god of creation.

*Camel drawn carts, a common sight in Pushkar*

*Found a “French Bakery” - it wasn’t really but the coffee was good and the croissants loaded with chocolate. The only place in India where we dined with majority of white patrons.*

*Bathing ghat -place where pilgrims enter the sacred waters*

*Wandering the streets of Pushkar - along with the ever present cows*

*Closer to the temple, streets thronged with pilgrims*

*Typical village scene in India, women in saris, young men on motorcycles*

Finished with the pink city and the pilgrimage site, next was the blue city - or Jodhpur. Many of the homes and businesses were painted a friendly periwinkle blue - reminding us of exploring Chefchaouen in Morocco, several years ago.

*In addition to being painted blue, murals adorned the narrow winding street walls.*

*Made our way to the fort at the top of the city, looking down at the blue landscape. Dawn looking bewildered for some reason.*

*Mehrangarh Fort at the top of hill overlooking Jodhpur*

*Covered in intricate stone carvings. Built and re-built from the 15th to 18th centuries.*

*Haveli architectural style common throughout Rajastan*

*The fort complex is huge - spanning over 1200 acres*

*Back on the road - stopping at a dhaba for lunch*

*Found a wild camping spot at the edge of the desert!*

Then we made it to the last of our colorful cities, the golden city of Jaisalmer with its huge fort guarding western Rajasthan.

*Jaisalmer fort, a living city filled with intriguing art and history with lots to explore.*

*Dawn took many photos with the local women*

*The amount of work the artists put into creating these buildings is mind boggling*

*Definitely a living city with laundry hanging between ancient columns*

*Even the Haveli style homes outside the main fort are beautiful*

Few place in the world can match Rajasthan for historic architecture. We were impressed and sated, at our saturation point for seeing and appreciating any more. So a little rest time was in order.

*Found one of our favorite camping situations - an abandoned quarry. But then the local youth found us- peace and solitude is hard to find outside in India.*

*And sometimes the camping is a little grim. Parked up with the cows and rubbish.*

*Taking a local taxi - jeep with 9 seatbelts holding 15 people*

We found throughout India, and later Sri Lanka and Nepal, that often the most sacred sites required climbing literally thousands of steps to reach the temple at the top. Usually the steps are lined with tea and snack shops and people are cheerfully taking their time, sharing bags of sweets along the way.

*Climbing the steps to Mahakali Mata Temple, a Hindu goddess temple complex and pilgrimage site*

*Shrine in the temple at the top of the hill*

*Temple dates back to the 10th-11th centuries*

Maybe our rest time wasn’t so restful, climbing 2000 steps up to a temple and back, but we are terrible at resting.

*A stressful moment being flagged down by a police car on the highway led to requests for for photos and an invitation to tea.*

*Andy scoping out the sand for a possible beach camp*

*Selfies with lovely young women at the beach*

After what was truly a brief respite at the coast, we took a deep breath and headed to our last major Indian city - Mumbai. We had initially considered driving further south but a month in India felt like enough for us. The cultural sites and people were outstanding but the traffic and crowding was wearing on us. So we parked our truck at a free hotel (that credit card point system again) and took off on foot, tuk tuk and Uber to explore Mumbai. The congestion in the city was worse than Delhi, exacerbated by the fact that it is a huge peninsula that narrows down the further south you go. There was a lot to explore.

*Dawn visiting “fashion street” in Mumbai - endless stalls and racks of clothing making for an overwhelming shopping experience - she did not buy anything*

*The old (British) area of Mumbai, anchored by the Central Train Station*

*Statue at the entrance to Mumbai’s financial district. We thought he looked like a cross between Gandhi and Einstein, our walking tour guide told us he represented the “common man.”*

*Preparing sugar cane for a local favorite drink - the sugar cane is ground and crushed through a giant wheel press then flavors added - our favorite was ginger and lemon*

*Gateway of India built in 1924 -built to honor England’s George V’s visit - the first British monarch to visit India*

*Another thing that was wearing on us a little - despite being early March - before the monsoon season, it was HOT!*

Our time in India was coming to a close but we still had some important sites to see and a continuation of our efforts to see the great Bengal tiger.

We had heard some disparaging remarks about Ellora and Ajanta Caves being “touristy” but we ignored that and went anyway. Sometimes places attract tourists because they are so amazing and this was the case with Ellora and Ajanta Caves - once again the ancient artists and engineers of India had created something extraordinary. The sites were in some ways similar but also very different and we were glad to have made time to see both. Ellora Caves had extraordinary large scale carving, while Ajanta Caves had more detail and exquisite paintings.

*Ellora Caves, 34 caves dug into the hillside*

*Temples dedicated to Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism side by side*

*Kailasa Temple, the largest one at Ellora Caves, dedicated to Shiva*

Kailasa temple was completely carved out of solid rock

*Ancient monastery cave, more simple but still exquisite. Again carved out of solid rock into the side of a hill*

*Found a guest house that let us pop up in the front parking - we were the only guests, kind welcome and access to an empty room for a toilet and shower*

*Our second cave stop - Ajanta Caves, 30 caves carved into the hillside*

*Aganta caves had extraordinary paintings and frescos*

*Temples at Ajanta were dedicated to Buddha*

*Walkway along entranced to Ajanta Caves*

*Many Buddhist monks visiting alongside the tourists*

So much history to explore! Then we were back on the road, laser focused on finding a tiger.

*Dawn loving her masala dosa at a roadside dhaba*

*Arriving at Bandhavgarh National Park - the place we were statistically most likely to see a tiger (50% chance).*

We managed to secure a last minute spot for a safari at Bandhavgarh National Park - $170 for the two of us. (Reservations open up three months in advance and fill quickly with all inclusive tour companies taking most of the spots) We got ourselves up before dawn and headed into the park with our jeep and driver. Despite our guide clearly knowing the patterns and habits of the tigers in the park, we had no luck. No tigers for us.

*Local villager in the park using elephant for transport*

Because of the cost at Bandhavgarh we opted not to try again so we set off on the road. But Dawn noticed another national park along the way that was showing an almost 50% chance of seeing a tiger (according to Google). So we pulled into Panna National Park and asked about a safari. They said to return at 5:15am and see if there were any cancellations. They also kindly welcomed us to camp at the entrance so we popped up.

*Camped at the entrance to Panna Tiger Reserve*

The next morning we were lucky and secured two spots in a shared jeep for a much more reasonable $30.

Talking to other tourists exiting the park we did hear that other people had seen tigers. Not willing to give up and because of the reasonable cost, we decided to try one more time. In the meantime, we made an afternoon excursion to our last extraordinary temple site in India - Khajuraho.

*Temples at Khajuraho - built in 885 AD*

*Known for their intricate and amazingly preserved carvings - many with erotic themes*

*Both Hindu and Jain temples on the same grounds*

Then we were back to camping at the entrance to Panna National Park, hoping for an early morning safari - our last chance to see a tiger! Unfortunately, we got up at 5am to find out there were no spots available. Not in the cards for us to see a tiger this time. But we are adding it to the bucket list - maybe a future trip back to India with more advance planning for signing up for safaris. We were meeting Indian families who had booked multiple days of safaris months ago so realized this was something we probably should have planned for more in advance, lesson learned.

*Last night camped at Panna National Park - not a bad place to be*

Our final stop in India was one of the holiest for Hinduism - Varanasi. The fabled place where bathing in the Ganges absolves you of all sin and people bring their loved ones to cremate riverside.

It was an extraordinary place to visit and once again we hired a guide to explain local traditions to us. The tour featured an early morning boat ride along the river as people climbed down the ghats to bath in the sacred water.

*Boats up and down the river Ganges at Varanasi, taking people across to more secluded spots to bathe*

*Cremation fires - a constant presence for more than 350 years, 24 hours a day*

*One of the many HIndu temples in Varanasi*

*Exiting India - gateway to Nepal ahead*

Well that’s a wrap for India! We spent a total of a month and if we had more endurance could certainly have spent longer - it is a huge and complex country. We felt relief upon leaving and a certain nostalgia for all the beautiful experiences. For the way we like to travel it was one of our toughest countries to navigate. But all the memories and learning made it worthwhile. Thank you for reading and coming along with us!

Sri Lanka

Tajikistan and the Pamir Highway