Hiking Backpacks

India is a thrill.

Of all the places I’ve traveled, it feels the most like time traveling. Sadhus dressed in pale orange robes wearing elaborate face paint look like they stepped out of the 1st century - and they walk the same streets, share the same train seats, as high-power technology entrepreneurs wearing expensive suits and too much cologne.

It’s mind boggling.

I spent a day in Delhi dodging cows and the fast talking touts. I went to a few of the obligatory tourist destinations.

I visited the Red Fort and was amazed by this guy:

I spent a lazy couple of hours wandering around deer park in the sunshine:

I was amazed at the variety of religions - and the legions of worshipers at the Bahai Temple:

I headed up to Haridwar where I saw the Ganga Aarti, a river ceremony where thousands of pilgrims come to pray every evening-it was amazing.

A rural family buying flower & candle offerings.

The candles are lit and the offering is put into the river. Legend has it that Vishnu left his footprint in Haridwar, hence its importance in the Hindu religion.

You can even take a little bit of the Ganges home with you in one of these convenient, water-tight containers:

I continued up to Rishikesh and stayed for a day - just long enough to meet a lifetime’s worth of yoga obsessed westerners, watch the monkeys who came to visit my hotel balcony and go on a day hike up to a mountain-top temple.

Ready for some hiking stories? I hope so, because I just returned to Delhi from a 5-day trek in the Himalaya. I’ll post the story and pics as soon as I can :)