Sunday, January 28, 2018

On our way to India - India 1 - February 1, 2018


We are very excited about our latest adventure, our first visit to India.


We never really had India on our "bucket list" but then we had occasion to speak to a number of friends (including Abe and Eva Kaplan) who raved about the experience, the colours, the culture and the exotic environment that makes up India. And so, what was not in the list jumped to the top of the list and our adventure is about to begin.




At the same time, many people to whom we spoke, shared with us the negatives of the India Experience, the poverty, the lack of a standard of cleanliness, the fear of disease, the great distances within India that one would have to travel, the overwhelming numbers of people, and the number of scams that locals attempt on tourists. 


But because we have a desire to explore the wonders of God's creations, and to interact with people of varying cultures, we nevertheless decided to go and we will be happy to share our own personal perspective with all of you based on actual experiences over the next three weeks.


As with all of our travels, the first posting on this blog is a collection of facts and figures presented below. Over the next few weeks, while we are sharing the actual day to day experiences, we will also share with you our observations on Indian life and interesting tidbits that we pick up along the way.



The Republic of India, the seventh largest country in the world by total area, has the second largest population in the world, with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy. 


India belongs to the continent of Asia, it is bordered by the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma or Myanmaar, China, Tibet, Nepal, and Pakistan. Its highest mountain is Kanchenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world at 8,598m (28,209 ft), which it shares with Nepal.


Many different languages are spoken in India. The main ones are Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu. 


Only 75% of males and just over 50% of females are literate


The capital city is New Delhi, while the most populated city is Mumbai. Other major cities include Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. New Delhi has over 25 million people, which has doubled in the past 25 years. 


Because of India's location, it experiences periods of heavy rain called Monsoons. However, the time of year that we have decided to visit and the specific region where we are visiting, is supposed to have average temperatures between 20 and 26C., with nighttime temps in the 8 - 11C range with abundant sunshine. We will let you know how good they are at forecasting. 


India became an independent nation in 1947 after ending British rule that began in 1858. 

Mahatma Gandhi is famous for the important part he played in gaining India's independence. Once British rule was over, India was split into the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.


The national symbol of India is the endangered Bengal Tiger and the most popular sport is cricket.


The most popular tourist attraction is the Taj Mahal, located in the province of Rajahstan (where we will be spending the bulk of our time in India), and in the city of Agra. 



Four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated in India, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived in the first millennium CE and shaped the region's diverse culture. Hindus represent over 80% of the population and Muslims represent 12%. There is less than one percent with no religion and Jews make up a small fraction of one thousandth of one percent. 


There are about 5000 Jews remaining in India, many having made aliyah to Israel. 3500 live in Mumbai and the rest are scattered in smaller Jewish communities like New Delhi, Colcotta, and Cochin.


There are Chabad Houses and Centres located in all corners of India, mainly to provide service to backpacking Israelis who have made India a significant Jewish destination (there is even a hiking route in India that has been renamed "The Hummous Trail" because of the numbers of Israeli backpackers) and to service the many Jewish tour groups who visit from all corners of the world. 


On our trip, we will be in India for three Shabbatot and will visit the Chabad Centres in New Delhi, Pushkar and Rishikesh. Chabad will also be providing food and meals for us during the course of our travels. As we have said many times before, without Chabad, it would be very difficult for the kosher traveler to see the world. 


Our visit to India will begin in New Delhi where we will land on Thursday evening after a nearly 14 hour direct flight on Air Canada. As we wrote above, we will be spending the bulk of our time in the province of Rajahstan, India's largest province. 


Rajahstan is Hindi for The Land Of Kings. A major portion of the state is covered with Thar Desert, also known as The Great Indian Desert. Rajahstan, with a population of close to 70 million people, is a land of wonderful palaces, forts, colours and festivals.



Jaipur, the largest city of the state, is its Capital City. Jaipur is also known as the “Pink City”. Other cities known by a specific colour are blue Jodhpur, golden Jaisalamer and white Udaipur. We are not really sure at this point of the significance of the colours, but once we visit, we should be able to explain this in greater detail. 


During our visit which is primarily in the Northwest of India, we will be visiting New Delhi, Udaipur, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Nimaj, Agra, Varanasi, Pushkar, Rishikesh, and Amritsar. We can honestly say that other than New Delhi we had never heard of any of these places. We did know about the Taj Mahal but did not know that it was in Agra or where Agra was located in relation to the other places we are visiting. 



Most of our independent travel itinerary is being handled by India Kosher Travel, a Chabad related travel company that specialises in Jewish group tours of India. We will have about 7 internal flights within India over the next three weeks and will be doing a lot of driving as well, or if I must clarify, we will be driven over many hours and kilometres by drivers and guides supplied by India Kosher Travel. We are taking very little food with us as India Kosher Travel will be supplying the bulk of our meals, delivered directly to the hotels along our route. 


We have taken the necessary vaccines against all sorts of illnesses that one could pick up on such a trip and will definitely be heeding the advice contained in every guidebook against drinking anything but pure bottled water. 


Thanks for traveling with us and we will hopefully be posting every day or two as we visit India.


All the best


Fran and David






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