As we approach the end of our month long visit to India, Margaret and I took advantage of a WiFi-free day on a ‘Kettuvallam’ - a houseboat on India’s longest lake, Vembanad to discuss our top 10 experiences - intense, spiritual, picturesque, humorous - during our trip. Not an easy task from a very long list of candidates which included visits to tea plantations and spice farms and are cataloged in hundreds of photos and videos.
If Margaret had made the list by herself it would likely include many Shiva, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Baha’i and other temples and churches, mosques and synagogues we have seen. If I were to do the list alone it would include spectacular fruit buffets (mounds of papaya and muskmelon) and much more humble meals served on banana leaf and some of the wind farms and other technology we saw in our travels
Here they are in no particular order
Old Delhi spice market - the wild cycle rickshaw ride through narrow streets. The sinus clearing walk through lanes of red pepper and other spices. The admiration of workers who carry heavy bags while politely dodging the vehicular and tourist traffic
Taj Mahal under a full moon and next morning we saw its remarkable Makrana marble gleam as the sun shone at it from different angles
A boat ride on the holy Ganga along the ghats in Varanasi, supposedly the oldest city in the world. The steep climb down and up, the cremation fires and jostling with other boats to participate in the aarti - the fire ritual made for an intense experience
A visit to the spot In Sarnath where Buddha gave his first sermon after reaching his enlightenment
A ‘drivethru’ meal - on the way to Tenkasi the Zoho bus stopped for what looked like a traffic jam. Next thing we knew folks boarded and handed each of us a choice of packaged veg or non veg meals. Bags with very filling lunches.
A langur - long tailed monkey - hitched a mile’s ride on our vehicle in Rajasthan
A visit to the Zoho village in rural Tenkasi. Kids during traditional dances, songs and martial arts. A guided tour of schools, farms, local architecture and more from Sridhar Vembu, the CEO of Zoho and his team
A room In Haridwar where you could walk into the Ganga. Margaret took a dip in the fast moving holy river and was glad she could hold on to the metal cage
A room overlooking Munnar - rightfully called “God’s own country”
A pedestrian bridge in Rishikesh. The 1st and 3rd lane are for two wheelers but the walking humans opportunistically take advantage of them and the cows use all three. Brought home the hustle and bustle which defines India. Everybody is on the move all the time!!!
Bonus - the gentle houseboat ride through the Wetlands at 3 knots with room and board included. We went by countless snake birds and snake boats. On a busy Sunday the lake has over a thousand of these boats. At times, we felt an armada was coming towards us and headed to and from one of the ten rivers which feed the lake.
I've really enjoyed your India posts, Vinnie. This stuff is way more interesting to me than your and my usual beat of SAP, Oracle, NetSuite etc etc! Sign of my aging I guess!!
You've been to gorgeous places that I haven't and now I have new travel list. Thanks buddy.
Posted by: Nimish Mehta | March 04, 2023 at 10:59 AM
Nimish, thanks for your kind words. We need to meet up - perhaps on my next trip West?
Posted by: Vinnie Mirchandani | April 30, 2023 at 11:00 AM