North of India - Complete!

After our time spent in the tranquil scene of Dharamkot, we eased ourselves back into civilisation gently by taking a night bus to Rishikesh; a quirky little town in the Himalayan foothills, heavily populated with westerners attending yoga programmes and visiting Israelis.

We instantly enjoyed the laid back feel of Rishikesh, helped along by it’s fantastic selection of places to eat and cute little riverside ‘bars’ (all non-alcoholic!). We managed to slow down our travelling pace considerably here, and spent a lot a lot of our time exploring the area, meandering round the streets and enjoying (far too many of) the German bakeries.


Surrounded by mountains and engulfing the River Ganges, Rishikesh made for some excellent trekking and we soon found a beautiful waterfall. As the temperature was now firmly back in the 30+ degree region, we celebrated the midway point of our trek by stripping down into bikinis and cooling off in the refreshing water. Having been fairly isolated when we arrived, the area quickly started filling up with locals, and we soon became the main subject of various photoshoots, which was incredibly awkward!! We were even asked to stand in between a husband and wife whist their kids were instructed to take a variety of snaps of us in our swimwear!!! 

Over than that, our time in Rishikesh was fairly uneventful, with the exception of being kicked by a cow in the street. In fact, one of the more memorable things to have happened was actually as were leaving to get our night bus to Agra. Having booked our travel through our hostel, the pick up destination was somewhat vague, namely being ... ‘Rishikesh’….. helpful. We asked countless people for help, and after many calls being made and a whole crowd of people trying to help us (a trait common in India where for every one person trying to scam you, there is a whole host of others who just want to help), we made it to the bus stop. I say bus stop, it was just a section of back street road with one tiny shop attached to it. As we patiently waited for our bus, I grew more and more desperate for toilet. There was clearly nowhere to go, so I went for a walk to find somewhere discreet and hidden. It was very dark by this point, and stupidly I had no torch, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise when the ground disappeared from beneath my feet and I fell in a collapsed heap, landing in I-don’t-want-to-know-what!! Apart from being a bit shaken, I was lucky not to have undergone any more damage than a grazed elbow, cut toe, and damaged pride. The lovely man in the shop cleaned up my toe and put a plaster on – again, another example of the incredibly kind people in India.

The next morning we arrived in Agra, and were quickly accustomed to being hounded on the street once again. Agra is a city who’s tourism is purely centred around the Taj Mahal, with there being very little else to see, so it was really no surprise when every second person is trying to either; A) give you a lift to the Taj Mahal B) trying to sell you a Taj Mahal fridge magnet, or C) trying to sell themselves as a guide for the Taj Mahal!! That being said, it was well worth the trip because it is difficult to describe the feeling you get when you see the Taj Mahal for the first time. After waiting in a queue for about an hour at 4.30 in the morning, we stood in absolute awe at the imposing beauty of the world-renound Taj Mahal. In true Butty-Katie-budget-travel fashion, we were invited to join some Aussies who had paid for a guide, so got to listen in to the history of the building for free which was a bonus!

A night in Agra was definitely enough, so we quickly moved on to the bustling city of Delhi. Safe to say; we hated it. If we thought Mumbai was crazy, Delhi gave a whole new meaning to the word. Absolutely jam-packed with people, cars and market stands, it was difficult to even move, let along cross a road. Although the sun was shining brightly, you could barely see it through the intense pollution, which filled both the air and your lungs in an all-encompassing fashion. The smell and sight of rubbish was overwhelming, and it was difficult to be faced with the division of wealth in such a blatant way. One minute you are surrounded by skyscrapers and designer shops, and the next you were witnessing overwhelming poverty. I am sure had we given ourselves more time, we may have conjured up a more positive impression of parts of Delhi, but as we were there for just 24 hours we were very much acquainted with just the surface of the major city.

And with that, the first stint of our trip came to an end; North of India – complete! It has been quite the journey, covering; Mumbai, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Amritsar, Dharamkot, Mcleod Ganj, Rishikesh, Agra and Delhi. We have experienced a huge variety of environments, from the bustling cities to the beautiful mountains to the stark desert. The last four weeks have been action packed, exhausting, and eye opening. It is now time for some much needed R&R down south as we jump on a flight from Delhi to Goa!