Thursday, April 15, 2010

Vacation to India

Just returned from a FABULOUS trip to India! Read on if you are interested in finding out about the trip. You are sure to see some of these pics again in some scrapbook pages!

We went for only 2 weeks...we needed more time to spend with family. We were traveling practically every day, usually by car. If you have ever been to India you know how the traffic and roads are there, bumpy and VERY congested. If you are interested in knowing what traffic is like, watch this video, Only in India. This is EXACTLY how it is!!! Amazing, huh? What would normally take 2 hours would probably take 3 1/2 there. The video does not show the dogs, goats, cows, camels, monkeys, elephants and bull drawn carts that also share the road. The video was shot in the city instead of a rural road. I do have to admit that the roads have improved since I was there 10 years ago. They are building highways to and from all the cities. They will, however, always have the same issues on the highways also...people and animals crossing.

Navjoat's (dh) family is so gracious and loving. We stayed in Delhi for several days with Navjoat's elder brother, Gurwinder, his wife Manjula, their daughter, Cheryl and Manjula's sister, Nilou. Manjula had everything in Delhi taken care of from lodging to dance lessons! My girls LOVED their cousin, Cheryl! They played for hours on end together and had such fun!


This was the first time my girls met their Grandma and Grandpa. I know....I feel really bad about it! I am so glad that we finally had the chance to go. Navjoat's mom was happy as a peach to meet her grand daughters! I suppose I would be too if I were in her shoes.

We traveled to Chandigarh with her and visited family in Jalandhar. The girls took a camel ride at a place called Rangla Punjab. I didn't have my camera with me!!!! We went to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple, but it was so crowded that we didn't get to actually go in.

We went to Agra one day to see the Taj Mahal. This is one gorgeous place!

We took a few days for ourselves in Jaipur. This was a very pleasant place. We saw forts and palaces and just took it easy and shopped the rest of the time. Temperatures were in the high 90's and into the 100's!!! The girls took an elephant ride at Choki Dani, a place to go and experience the Rajastan culture. The food was hot, hot, HOT here! I can usually handle spicy food, but this was beyond spicy!


The last 3 days were spent with Navjoat's younger brother, Jawahar Pal, and his family, Aru and Jasleen. We had great fun there also. There was just not enough time to do everything we wanted. Aru and I could have shopped for days together! She is so kind and BRAVE for driving those India roads!!!

We will be going to India again soon. BUT, we will definitely be going in the winter when it is not so hot. Every time I return to the US, I feel very fortunate to live in such a wonderful country. India is good, don't get me wrong...just different...like night and day. If you every have the opportunity to visit, DO IT! You won't regret it for a moment!

3 comments:

Mima said...

Hola Joanna,
How exciting is that! I am glad you got a chance to go to India with your lovely family. I am sure you all have lovely momories.
TFS, Mima

Amber H. said...

Oh my gosh Joanna! How amazing! How wonderful that your girls were able to meet their family for the first time, and have such an amazing experience to boot! P.S. I'm so glad to see a personal post on here finally!

In the Light of the Moon said...

Looks like such a wonderful trip full of memories!!!Thanks for sharing photos.Warmest Regards,Cat