India!

India. They say you either love it or you hate it. We went to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra and Varanasi (and to Nepal from there) 5 years ago and we've been dreaming of going back ever since. We've been to other countries in Asia and absolutely loved it, but there's just nothing that can compare with the overwhelming, all-embracing, otherworldly, incomprehensible experience that is called India. And finally we're going back! Well, in January that is, so we have to wait for a bit, but still...  YAY! It is such a wonderful feeling, I could dance all day!

Over the past weeks I've been checking out possible routes to follow, places to visit, train schedules and so on. This time we'll be visiting the south of India, the states Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The south is a whole lot more relaxed and less crowded than the north and since there are three of us now, we've decided to take it slow! Our little boy is all kinds of excited and wants to see the elephants!

And of course I just had to dig up all the old photos I had from India. Believe me, that took some time! My computer crashed a few years ago and I lost some files, got some back after a while and now they're scattered all over the place. Let's just say my computer could do with a clean up, which I now have done ;)
I really enjoyed looking through these pictures, reliving all the wonderful adventures :)

The holy city of Varanasi (aka Benares) is by far the most beautiful place I've ever seen (and possibly the oldest living city on earth)! Watching life, death and religion go together hand in hand from the sacred Ganges river was an amazing experience..

I miss the hustle and bustle and the complete craziness on the streets. Traffic in India is like nothing you've ever seen! Everybody is honking and it seems there are no rules in traffic whatsoever! To us it seemed the biggest vehicle or the loudest one got to go first. And of course the holy cow is king on the streets. Everywhere they go, drivers go out of the way! I can't wait to get in a tuktuk again!
I even miss the famous Indian head-wobble. It can mean 'yes', 'maybe' or even 'no' and you just have to trust your feeling when asking to take pictures of people!  

India is a world of contradictions. It breathes magic and its beauty is overpowering. India has it all: from the snowy tops of the Himalaya, to the lush green tea plantations, the vast plains, palm beaches, holy cities, sacred rivers, fantastic wildlife... But it has its downsides too. There is extreme poverty, pollution, corruption and so on... We'll be on the look out for schools and orphanages we can provide with books and other things they might need, which we will buy there to stimulate the local economy.  

Do you have a favourite place in the world? It doesn't have to be a specific country or even far away! It could be your own back yard! A place that makes your heart leap when you think of it? Please tell me, I'd love to hear it! xxx