India ~a magical Journey

Spices and flavours are the two  things that are most important to me when I cook. I love the balance of sweet with sour, spicy with tangy and delicate fragrance of cardamom and saffron. Having Indian roots of course I grew up with spices, the aromas that filled our kitchen and from my mum’s spice box was something I will never forget.

Originally from East Africa I grew up in the UK and I had always dreamt that one day I would go to India, the country that is the king of spice. India is a city of diverse cultures and you will be greeted with a rainbow of colours, flavours, sights and sounds. A country that is so full of tradition and culture that it will leave you mesmerised.

Years went by and the trip never happened for one reason or another. This didn’t stop me planning my itinerary and dreaming of visiting the Golden temple in Amritsar, the Red fort in Delhi, Jaipur the pink city, the romantic and beautiful Taj mahal. I dreamt of visiting the golden deserts of Jaisalmer, and the beautiful Lake Palace at Udaipur.

I wanted to bathe in the Ganges, a must for any hindu once in their lifetime. I wanted to hear the cars honking and take a ride in rickshaw. I wanted to enjoy the sounds of  Ganges flowing from the mountain tops in Rishikesh.

I dreamt of tasting Indian Street food such as spicy chilli fritters and pav bhaji. Of course not forgetting vada pavs and the tangy hot and spicy pani puris, bhel puris and masala tea all served by street vendors.I wanted to taste the hot aloo parathas oozing with desi ghee(clarified butter) in the dabbas of punjab and savour the beautiful gujarati thali, a variety of gujarati cuisine served in little brass dishes .

How I longed to taste the sweet coconut water, savour the taste of sugar cane juice and enjoy refreshing squeezed tangerine juice all freshly squeezed on the spot by street vendors.

India, a country that has extreme poverty and slums but on the other hand there are rich  maharajas who live in palaces. You can hear the blaring sounds of the Bollywood  movie songs to the serene chants of the temple bells in the morning and evening. How I wanted to explore all this and much more. I dreamt and dreamt and my longing to visit India grew more and more each day.

I really wanted my dream to come true and like they say if you dream hard and you dream long you CAN make your dream come true and it certainly did….
Bags packed, jabs sorted, visas stamped and  flights finally booked, I left behind my two daughters and hubby  to go and live my dream for 4 weeks.(Ok not totally alone but with my sister)

I visited all the places I had dreamed of and many more over a four week period. I enjoyed the peace and serenity of the Golden Temple in Punjab, enjoyed  a camel ride on the sands of Jaisalmer, savoured the amazing sight of the Taj Mahal and visited Jaipur the beautiful Pink city.

I took a hair raising ride up the mountains to see the Ganges flowing at Rishikesh and I was fortunate to attend the Evening prayers to the Mother Ganges at Haridwar.
I also took a holy dip in the ice cold freezing waters of the Ganges a must for any Hindu to wash away ones sins.  I was crazy but this was a lifetime opportunity how can I go to Haridwar and not take the Dip!!! (Proof in the picture below)

I visited the slums to the palaces and saw the diversity of India. I visited mosques, temples and gurudwaras and prayed to all the incarnations of god. I ate to my content street foods I had dreamt of and enjoyed the sights and sounds of India to the fullest.

And finally I shopped till I dropped, I bought aromatic pungent spices, photography props, beautiful ornate sarees and kurtas and bangles all the colours of the rainbow till my suitcase was bursting at the seams. I wanted to bring back India with me and that I certainly did in my memories.

What a beautiful place my homeland is, this is where my roots are, how I wish I can return to savour and revisit this magical country once again.
Like I said “Dreams do come true” you just have to work hard at them…. so I shall start weaving my dream once more so that I can revisit this magical country once again.

This post is an entry in to the Trips100/Family Adventure Company blogger challenge.