India – Introduction
The time has come and our trip to India has started. The journey was a mix between sightseeing trips like visiting Mumbai, travelling to Sikkim, road trip in North Punjab and family visits in northern India (see map below).
Out of precaution reasons, I left my drone in Bangkok. Officially, India is on the list of countries that bans drones owned by foreigners. After Myanmar, I didn’t want to have issues again just because I have it in my luggage. So unfortunately, no drone videos from India!
15th – 20th March – Mumbai
Mumbai International Airport
The trip for us starts in Mumbai. We flew from Bangkok to Mumbai. After some minor troubles at the border control about our visas, we finally arrived at 1am in the morning at the airport. We pre-booked two nights in the hotel Le Grande in the Andheri east area. The first challenge we had was to find a transportation from the airport to the hotel. I’ve got told to take a “auto”, the Indian version of tuk-tuk, to the hotel. As arrived at the auto area, I have seen the big eyes of the drivers as they get wind of a big business and started to circle around me and gave me barely any space to breath. The prices reached from 300 to 400 INR (~$5) for a 5min drive. I was happy that my wife was with me and as soon as they heard that she can speak Hindi and understands their private conversations it got quiet all the sudden. She started to bargain the price down and after a few minutes we found a guy who brought us there for 50 INR ($0.70).
Lesson learned
This was my first experience of India in the morning 1am standing at the airport of Mumbai and I realized three things:
BARGAINING and knowing the thresholds is KEY!
If you think as a tourist that after bargaining you got a good price, forget it. You will always pay at least the double.
Personal space DOESN’T EXISTS.
Therefore, I was more than happy to have Alisha with me and from now on she was responsible for bargaining and the communication with the drivers as they mostly were not able to speak English. I am really bad in bargaining as I am just not used to that!
Finally, we arrived at the hotel. One thing that was an eye catcher for me is that there are not many women working in hospitality areas as in our case at the hotel reception or even the housekeepers were all men. Anyway, it was just an observation that repeatedly came up during the trip in India.
We first had to get used to the “Indian rules” that I am not used to. The interactions are a bit harsher than I am used to and you also have to put some assertiveness into your pronunciation to make your wish/order heard. It also needs a certain flair to know how to order what you want. Not being upset or disappointment when it doesn’t work at the first time or that the order doesn’t arrive as your ordered it is one attitude that helps.
Let’s say the right way is to be/act with patience mixed with a coefficient of determination.
Sightseeing Mumbai
Anyway, after we adjusted to that we had a great time. Mumbai was our first stop and we were ready to dive into the crowd. First, we had to organize ourselves a sim card. Having your own sim card is essential in India as it helps you not only to call local numbers, it is also needed to login into every WIFI, using OLA for taxis or simply to order food over a local app. We have chosen Vodafone and after a 24h activation time we were finally online for our friends & families.
After two nights in the Andheri east area we moved to the more touristy part of Mumbai, Fort and Colaba. We stayed for the rest of the days in the Chateau Windsor. As we had a bit a hard time to find our way around Mumbai we decided spontaneously to book a tour guide. We decided to go with Amaze tours. We booked a tour through the Dharavi slums in Mumbai which is the third biggest in the world with around 700’000 residents. It is also known world wide because of the movie Slumdog Millionaire which was partly shoot in that slum.
Dharavi slum tour
Dharavi, Mumbai
We met our guide the next day around lunch time for the tour at the Mahim Junction train station. He showed us the slum first from outside. We also learned that the word “slum” means per definition nothing else then occupied government land. We started smoothly from the side of the slum.
As a first part, we visited the working districts of the slum. Dharavi has an active informal economy in which numerous household enterprises employ many of the slum residents. Leather, textiles and pottery products are among the goods made inside Dharavi. The total annual turnover has been estimated at over 1 billion USD.
It was impressive. One example was that used paint cans were fully recycled. You have to imagine, they clean the full can and that means it is so clean that you could drink water out of it. Afterwards, they beat out the full can until it looks like a new one. They re-sell these cans back to the paint companies. This and many other recycling processes happening in Dharavi and therefore it is known as the biggest recycling place in India and I have never seen such detailed recycling processes.
Next, he showed us how and where the people from Dharavi live. He is also living in Dharavi and you could see that he was proud about that. The answer to my question if he would like to live in another area in Mumbai was simply no, this is where he grew up and where he wants to live. Nevertheless, the living area was nothing for the faint-hearted. The paths got narrower and darker. We were also told not to stop during the walk through these areas. We were able to quickly sneak into some “rooms” which means a 10m2 room that contains a kitchen, shower and sleeping corner for a whole family. The toilets were shared and located in designated areas.
Overall, it was sad how people there had to live but on the other hand it was impressive how business driven that slum was. It changed my impression of a slum as it not always implies only bad things.
Mumbai Bazaar & Mumbai city tour
We were that happy with the tour that we booked another tour with Amaze tours and went for a Mumbai Bazaar tours combined with a Mumbai City tour at the next day.
We started the day with the impressive Gateway and the famous Taj Mahal Palace hotel. Then we took a local bus to the Victoria train station nowadays called Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. We took a local train and got fully introduced with the train rules in Mumbai. Yes, there are rules! We got a glance of what it means to travel with the train around rush hour. We had a good guide and felt comfortable but knew that we wouldn’t have done that without professional help. It was a really special and cool experience especially as a Swiss citizen where trains are an essential public transport too. Last but not least, we got a glance of the famous Dabbawala food delivery system.
On tour with Amaze tours
In the afternoon, we started with the flower bazaar, another impressive part of Mumbai or overall India. I have never seen so many different colored flowers than at that market. It is the pivotal point for a lot of businesses within Mumbai and whole India. Afterwards, we went to different craft and wholesale markets. It was impressive in a way that they just had everything, literally everything. Another interesting part is that the streets are organized by “topic”. One street/area just for kids toys another one for kitchen stuff and another one only for car spare parts. If I say car spare parts I mean that if you would place your car at that street as scrap, at the next day your car wouldn’t be there anymore. But you may would find in every store at that street a piece of your car that you are able now to buy for a few rupees.
Summarized, the tours we had in Mumbai were really good and we were able to dig into Mumbai’s busy life and culture.
Off we go up north to Punjab. Next stop Amritsar.
20th – 22th March – Jalandhar
Family visits
We got picked up by family members at the airport in Amritsar. For the first time since we started in Switzerland mid January, it was below 25-30⁰C. It was kind of a relieve to get some colder temperature for a while. We drove from Amritsar straight to Jalandhar. Arrived in the northern area of India Punjab, the landscape changed. We changed from the mega city Mumbai into the more “quiet” countryside of India. It was our first family stop and we stayed in Jalandhar for two nights. Jalandhar is a more quiet area but what didn’t apply to the traffic. The traffic was most likely as hectic as in Mumbai maybe a bit on a lower scale. A quick ride through the town on the back sit of a stylish Royal Enfield gave me a bit of an inside. I kind of fell in love with these Royal Enfields. A proud old school looking bike, a comfortable drive with a good sound what do you want more. Maybe one for Switzerland as soon as I am back?! We will see.
22th – 23th March – Ludhiana
The time flies and after two nights we got picked up in Jalandhar to drive to Ludhiana, the biggest city in Punjab. Next family meeting stays ahead. The first stay in Ludhiana was short as it was just for one night but I’ve got told that we will come back to spend some more days here.
23th – 25th March – Rajpura
Next stop was a two hour away city called Rajpura. We’ve stayed here for another two nights to spend some quality time with family. A quick ride on a back of a bike gave us some insights about Rajpura which ended in an amusement park in the city center. We played some fun games before we tried the Paan. It was my first time trying it and at the same time it was a huge load. I could barely close my mouth. 🙂
25th – 27th March – Ludhiana
Back in Ludhiana we used our time to relax a bit before we start the next trip. In the mean time the temperature increased and the hot weather made trips again more exhausting. Therefore, we were happy to get some rest time.
27th – 29th March – Trip to Dharamshala
The first family trip started. The target was to drive to Dharamshala via Chintpurni and visit Chintpurni Mata mandir, Sheetla Mata mandir, Mata Shri Bajreshwari Devi mandir and Chamunda Devi mandir along the way to Dharamshala. I also was looking forward to visit Dharamshala as the home town of the 14th Dalai Lama and an important place to learn more about the Tibetan history. It is also a part of Swiss history as we were one of the countries welcoming Tibetan refugees in 1963 and constituting the largest Tibetan exile community in Europe. Lastly, who knows maybe we are able to meet the Dalai Lama.
We started mid-afternoon towards Chintpurni for our first overnight stay. First, let me introduce you into the Indian way of road trip. One important thing, you don’t leave the house without enough food to be prepared for several food stops during the trip. Roti, Naan, Dal, Limca and whatever you can imagine that needs to be on the table got packed into several food boxes. One thing I can tell you straight, no Indian is leaving the house without knowing where and when the next food stop will be. Ok, I am exaggerating a bit but they are proud about their food. Indian food is so delicious especially when it is made in India itself that you cannot get enough of it. If it is one thing that India is famous for than it is the delicious food with its big variety of various vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes. I just loved it and we were more than spoiled in that manner.
But back to the road trip. After 4h we arrived in Chintpurni including at least two food stops. As this is a cultural thing, there were multiple resting spots on the way where you are able to stop, order some additional dishes to the food we brought already with us. Time for feeling hungry? No way, the food was just always that good and delicious that I couldn’t say no.
Mandir tour
The next day started early. We had a tough program by visiting five temples on the way to Dharamshala. The first stop is Chintpurni Mata a major pilgrimage center and one of the Shakti Peethas. After approximately an hour we were back in the car and on the way to our next stop. We spend some time at the Sheetla Mata mandir which is an ancient temple dedicated to the Mata Sheetla Devi. It was less busy as our first stop and therefore we enjoyed the calm atmosphere before we stepped back into the car. After a 2-3h drive we arrived in Kangra. Next target was the Mata Shri Bajreshwari Devi Mandir. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Vajreshvari. Last stop before arriving Dharamshala was Dadh. The Chamunda Devi Mandir was the last one on our list. The temple is a fearsome aspect of the Devi and one of the Matrikas also considered as Divine Mother in Hinduism.
After a long day and a lot of impressions, we arrived at our overnight stay in Dharamshala. We checked in at the Sterling resort. We went for a quick dinner before we went to bed. It was a long and intensive day and it was time to go to sleep.
Sightseeing in Dharamshala
At the next day, sightseeing in Dharamshala was on the plan. We drove through a scenic mountain road where we arrived finally in Dharamshala. After several plates of delicious Momos we made our way to the temple of his holiness the Dalai Lama. It was a spiritual place even if it was pretty touristy. It was a good place to go into yourself for a while. Unfortunately, his holiness Dalai Lama was not present at that day nor there were any scheduled classes at that day. The Tibetan museum was in the same complex and therefore another must on that tour. It was an informative museum which shows that these issues in Tibet are still present. Here, I have to give big credits to India. India is not holding back or let’s say was never holding back to openly criticize China in what they did in Tibet and to the Tibetan community.
Temple of the 14th Dalai Lama
The time flies and we had to hop on the car again as we had the plan to drive back to Ludhiana within the same day/afternoon. After another long drive we arrived save in Ludhiana. I really enjoyed the three days family trip.
01st – 03rd April – New Delhi
After another two days in Ludhiana it was time to visit further family members. We took a direct train from Ludhiana to New Delhi. Within 4 hours and a scenic train ride we arrived in New Delhi. The big city feeling came back. We stayed in New Delhi for another two nights before the next India trip was awaiting us.
03rd – 08th April – Sikkim
West Bangal – Darjeeling
Early morning, we flew from New Delhi to Bagdogra, West Bengal. Our final target was Sikkim. A small state trapped between Nepal (west), Bhutan (east) and China (north) which is a part of the Himalayas. At the same day we drove to Darjeeling and checked in at the Sterling hotel. We had to go to bed early because our first sightseeing target of this trip was the sunrise at the Tiger hill observatory. It started at 4am as we had to be ready up there at 5am. Unfortunately, we were unlucky and it was a cloudy morning. We only saw the sun for approximately 10 seconds before it was hiding again behind the clouds. Nevertheless, it was worth it as we had a lot of fun up there. Of course, it could have been a bit later time wise ????
The day was followed by a sightseeing tour in Darjeeling. We visited the Ghoom Monastery, the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and of course the famous Tea Estates. We also visited the train station of Ghum. One of the stop of the UNESCO world heritage the Darjeeling Himalayan railway built in 1881 by the British. It was a steam lok with little passenger wagons driving along the mountain streets using not more space than a normal side walk. Incredible engineering for that time and a must to take a ride on it. We found out that it is possible to purchase tourist tickets and bought tickets for a ride from Ghum – Darjeeling – Ghum with the original steam train.
After a long day and especially with an early start at 5am we went to bed early after our well-deserved dinner.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Before we left to go to Gangtok the famous UNESCO world heritage steam train ride was on our schedule. It was an awesome ride and felt like back in time. The steam Lok was hauling the whole ride and I was sure nobody was sleeping anymore along that route. It was a fantastic and scenic ride up to Darjeeling and back down to Ghum. You can see a glance of the train experience on our YouTube channel.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
Darjeeling to Gangtok
After the steam train adventure, we started to drive with our final target Gangtok. The trip time was around 3-4 hours and on the way, we approached the border of Sikkim. You need a special permit to enter Sikkim and this means that we got another specific stamp in our passport stamp collection. We arrived in Gangtok late afternoon and checked in at the Sterling hotel in Gangtok. We had an awesome view from our hotel balcony and just enjoyed the hotel amenities and view. The trip up to Gangtok was pretty rough and mainly curvy. I mean, we finally realized what it means to go for a road trip in the Himalayas. We were happy to relax a bit and were planning for the next day.
Gangtok local sightseeing
On the next morning 9:00 am after breakfast we explored Gangtok. We visited the Institute of Tibetology, Ganesh Tok, Hanuman Tok, Cottage Industry, Tashi View Point and stroll around the markets.
Tsomgo lake & Nathula pass
The official plan for the next day was to split the group into two. One with all Indian passport holders and the other one was me and my wife.
The reason was that the Nathula pass region is protected. The Tsomgo lake is a level 1 security zone where Nathula pass is a level 2 security zone as it is the pass to China. There are ongoing issues between India and China which got increased within the last year. Therefore, Nathula pass is a military zone (zone 2) and only accessible to Indian passport holders. So that means for me the closest I was able to go direction China was the Tsomgo lake.
We left early morning and got picked up by the tour guide. It was a rough way up the mountain but on the other hand it was a awesome scenic ride. After the first military checkpoint it got up the mountain. You could also feel how it got colder and colder. We passed multiple military camps until we finally arrived at the first stop. We got some food and were able to rent rubber boots and jackets. After another 30min drive, we arrived at the Tsomgo lake. It was cold and it had around 10cm of snow. It was pretty touristy up there but we enjoyed the walk around the lake anyway. Pretty funny how the people were celebrating seeing snow up there 😉
After 2-3h at the Tsomgo lake it got cloudy and it even started to rain a bit. Time to leave and as we were back at the car we started heading back to Gangtok.
Back to the capital
After an awesome trip in the north-east Himalayan region Sikkim, it was time to go back to New Delhi. At the next day, we drove the whole way from Gangtok back to Bagdogra, West Bengal where we took the plane at the same day back to New Delhi.
08th – 10th April – New Delhi
Back in New Delhi, we had only one day left to do some sightseeing. Of course, this is not enough to see the whole city but at least it gave us a bid of an inside. We had some time to visit the red fort, a big mosque, a gurudwara (Sikh temple) and an impressive Hindu temple. We also used rickshaws to move forward. Overall we were able to cover some point of interests from New Delhi.
The next day 7am, we took the train again from New Delhi back to Ludhiana. Another scenic 4h drive through India’s north.
10th – 13th April – Ludhiana
Back in Ludhiana, we used the time again to relax a bit from our trip. We used the time to be with family as our trip in India was ending soon. Time is running fast and a family party was planned as one of the last events. In the evening all family members came together and we had a fantastic party and enjoyed the get together to the fullest.
13th April – Departure at Chandigarh
The 13th of April was our last day in India. We stayed over a month in India and had the pleasure to travel around India with my wife’s parents. I met a lot of family members around the north of India and had an amazing time and enjoyed it to the fullest.
It was of course not my last time in India. Nevertheless, saying goodbye to family is never the nicest thing to do. After a warming goodbye, we took a Uber taxi from Ludhiana to Chandigarh international airport. We took a direct flight back to Bangkok where my two best buddies were waiting for us. It was time to celebrate the Thai Songkran festival followed by a trip to the Philippines. But more about that on our next post.
Cheers,
Ueli
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