India: Our Top Picks...

#5

BECKY: Alleppey Backwaters

Don't judge the town of Alleppey until you've boarded a small boat and taken a ride through the small canals of the backwaters. It is a whole different world amongst the waterways, houses and bustle of daily activity going on, hidden away from the traffic and noise. I would recommend taking one of the small, paddled boat and the local ferry to get a real feel for life in this area- the larger boats can only get into the larger canals. Ask to stop at a Toddy Shop for a true local experience (and some pretty average tasting palm alcohol)!

SHANE: Goa 

A cruisey little state on the west coast. Everything seems a little more relaxed and slow paced here and after three weeks was the perfect place to chill out for a few nights. We spent most of our time at Agonda beach. Situated in a small village our accommodation backed onto the beach and we spent a majority of our time eating, swimming and you guessed it....drinking. Alcohol is half the price in Goa as opposed to other states and when your watching your wallet it means you can enjoy a few more sneakys without feeling the guilt of blowing the dinner budget.

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#4

 SHANE: Jaipur

Jaipur was our first stop and I'll be honest day 1 and I wasn't impressed. It took some time on foot and a bit of a mind set reshuffle for me to begin to enjoy Jaipur. At times it feels as though you have wandered into another century, a very distant past. Markets line the streets in the Pink City (Jaipur's old town) with retailers selling spices, fresh fruits and vegetables among a wide range of other things. Cows, camels, goats and poultry roam the streets freely and the retailers are yelling and people are hustling all around you, it's new and exciting and you just can't help but feel you've just hoped out of the DeLorean. To match the turn of the century feeling, Jaipur offers so much history with its forts, museums and palaces. A really interesting city that at first I didn't think I would recommend.

BECKY: Munnar 

​Munnar was a little slice of cool and calm in the hot Indian summer. The beauty of the tea plantations, the colder climate, and the fresh air are a perfect way to take in a moment of serenity.  Take a hike to the top of one of the nearby mountains to really appreciate the view (especially if you're not like me and enjoy climbing up large elevations). 

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#3

BECKY: Mahabalipuram

​Mahabalipuram was an unplanned stop between Chennai and Pondicherry. It doesn't get as much recognition as the two other cities, but it was my clear favourite between them. Various temples, carvings, and large rocks are dotted around the small city (walkable from end to end in less that an hour) for exploring during the day and the sea front restaurants give a great place to have dinner and relax in the evening.

SHANE: Hampi

Hampi was an incredible surprise! A UNESCO world heritage site made up of ruins scattered across 25 square kms, Hampi has so much to offer. Trying to see as much as we could in one day was as exhilarating as it was exhausting. The ruins themselves are impressive with the detail and scale that they are built but there is something about the scenery that really adds to the experience. Nestled in between hills littered with boulders and palm trees that have grown sporadically among the ruins there is a real feel of a desert oasis, especially with the river to one side of the site. 

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#2

SHANE: Taj Mahal (Agra)

I've been dreaming of visiting the Taj Mahal for quite some time and it really is spectacular. A tomb built for the then king's deceased wife (costing him money even from beyond the grave) the Taj is an incredible piece of architecture especially considering when it was built. We were there for sunrise and snuck past the angry rushing tourist mob who pulled up at the first site of the Taj and pulled out their cameras (some bigger enough to scare an elephant......the cameras not the tourists). We headed  to the front took a few quick happy snaps then headed for the stairs up to the base of the building. We pretty much had the whole place to ourselves for about 10 minutes and it was something truly special. As I always say, these kinds of places are touristy for a reason.

BECKY: Hampi

​Hampi blew me away...my only regret is not having an extra day to explore. It is a bit of work to get here (we took an overnight bus from Panjim) but well worth it. Everywhere you walk there is something new to explore. Two of the sites are paid (500 INR for a ticket that covers both the Elephant Stables and Vitthala Temple), but the rest are free. Achyutaraya Temple was my favourite. Make sure you take the walk along the water from the town center to Vitthala, not the road. The views along the river are stunning.
 

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#1- Our Favourites

BECKY: Bandhavgarh National Park

We booked a few days in Bandhavgarh hoping to see a tiger in the wild (one of the few remaining places in the world you can do this) and we were not disappointed. We saw 5 tigers the first day, 2 tigers the second day, countless monkeys, deer, birds...and we were incredibly lucky to spot a leopard (something that happens very rarely...even the guide took out his camera for some photos!). It is hot, but worth going in the summer (we were there in mid April) when the foliage is thinner and the animals are looking for water sources, as this makes it more likely to see them. Again, a bit out of the way, but not too difficult. We took an overnight train from Agra to Umaria and the hotel we stayed with picked us up from the station and drove us to Tala (where the national park entrance and hotels are located). 

SHANE: Bandhavgarh National Park

One of my favourite things about traveling is nature and especially animals. Some organised safaris can be hectic with the amount of vehicles and people that visit. At Bandhavgarh they have a vehicle limit for each gate to help with congestion and over crowding. We were incredibly lucky on our safaris not only getting to see the majestic tigers but at times being within metres of them. If your a nature lover or animal enthusiast this is definitely a must do, and unfortunately if we keep running the track we are on one day this experience may not be possible as the wild  Bengal tiger may no longer exist. 

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And our least favourites...

SHANE: Everyone seems to have an ulterior motive

I'm a little bit of a people person and I love talking to locals and asking them about there community and country. I found having a genuine conversation in India really difficult because 95% of the time it lead to being asked for money or a favour and  after awhile you become extremely skeptical. I fully understand the difficult lifestyle that people face and money can be hard to earn but I felt here more then anywhere I have been that no matter what was being said or how friendly someone may seem that there was always an ulterior motive.

BECKY: Rubbish EVERYWHERE.

​The trash problem in India is out of control, which is really sad to see because it detracts so much from the cities, nature and sites. There seems to be a gap in education about disposing trash (I saw so many people give no second thought to throwing whatever they had as trash onto the side of the street), but there must be a much bigger infrastructure problem for dealing with the disposal of so much waste, as any bins we did see were always overflowing. It's nice to see some cities trying to take the right steps (Goa was the cleanest we saw, with proactive teams of people picking up trash daily; Munnar was clean in the hills of the tea plantations; Mumbai has signs about keeping the city clean; some cities discourage the use of plastic bags), but a serious overhaul is needed or the problem will only continue to get worse since almost everything comes in some sort of packaging nowadays.  

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