My Journey to Loving India
I have always been drawn to India. As a little girl I used to think Indian girls were the prettiest in the world and I always said if I could be any other nationality other than Australian I would be Indian. Maybe it’s the jewellery or the colourful clothes - whatever it is, India sure has a magnetic pull on me.
I’ll be here sharing a bunch of tips about travelling in India and also stories about things I get up to here.
Here is a bit about my story of growing to love India.
Remember you are never ready for India but India is always ready for you.
I don’t actually ever use Lonely Planet books :-)
I first came to India as a tourist and did a big trip essentially from the North to the South.
I had come straight from travelling in Japan so it was like going from THE most organised country in the world where people form an actual single file to board the on time (to the second) trains where it is rude to be on the phone or talk too loud - to landing in THE most seemingly disorganised country where people ride on the roofs of trains and are on the phone for literally 12 hours straight on a sleeper train that was 6 hours late (not kidding this happened). I had been travelling in Asia before but India was a bit of a shock to my system to say the least.
First few days I was considering buying a flight back to safe ‘ol Japan and chilling in onsens eating ramen for the next couple of months instead of doing my adventure of India. Obviously I chose against and pulled my socks up but did decide I would never choose to go back to Delhi for more than transiting. I travelled from the North to the South, enjoyed a lot of the classic India things like THE FOOD, the trains, the hospitality - Indian people truly are so so gracious and giving, the shopping, the temples, yoga etc but I just knew there was more to this country and that I was just scraping the surface.
Jaipur - The Pink City
The next year I returned to India on a Health Exchange program as a Naturopath with an NGO (Non-Government Organisation), Jagran Jan Van Simiti (JJVS) based in Udaipur, Rajasthan. I had actually never heard of this city until I got there. They call it the Venice of the East, and it’s a very famous marriage destination as well. Udaipur is SO picturesque, not too big, not too small and close to nature.
JJVS is an NGO that works in a lot of different areas (Health care, Agriculture, Education, Research) in villages surrounding Udaipur. Our team of Naturopaths worked in the Health clinics in both Bedla and Vali. We worked and learnt off the Ayurvedic Doctors with JJVS to see how they assess, diagnose, prescribe and implement treatment for patients. I will write another blog here about the more specific things we see in the clinics in adults and children.
Another project that JJVS worked on is their Women’s Health pilot study covering approximately 11,000 women in villages surrounding Vali. JJVS aim to close the gap in knowledge about menstruation and hygienic practices among women and girls. Women’s Menstrual Health is still a very taboo topic in India with many reasons surrounding this. For example, did you know that some women in India have never seen a sanitary pad before and usually use old cloths and some even use dirt/ mud to soak up their menstrual blood. Thinking about how many health issues this can cause for women and how huge of a topic it is, I am currently working on a blog to delve deeper into my understanding and learnings. In the meantime there is a documentary on Netflix “Period. End of sentence” that can explain a little further.
Period. End of Sentence. - Oscar winning documentary spotlights stigma of women's periods in India
So other than the NGO work I also have travelled to some beautiful places in India such as Varanasi, Jaipur, Pushkar, Agra, Goa, Kerala and Jaisalmer. India is such a diverse country that offers so many different experiences. The differences in food, people, culture really is so diverse from state to state. India is described as a subcontinent because you honestly wouldn’t even think you are in the same country going from the north down to the south.
Hawa Mahal - Jaipur
So after getting over the initial differences of India which I had never experienced anywhere else in the world - I actually adore the country and all the quirks I experience here everyday.
Excited to share more.