India

India or the Republic of India is the seventh largest country in the world with over one billion inhabitants. Although it may seem that India is a developing country, it is not. India’s economy is, after China, the economywith the largest growth potential. The evidence might be the large sums that India invests in its nuclear and space programs. We have chosen India for our trip around the world mainly because of the contrasts with Western countries. At the same time it is one of the countries in the world that offers a wealth of history in many of temples, buildings and shrines that are visited every year by hundreds of thousands of travellers. Due to the large number of these sites, and because of the country’s area, we plan to spend there about two months there. And, after a short vacation in Sri Lanka, we will experience a huge shock in India – it will be tight for us – no space at the beginning but we believe we will able to get used to it. And we will have to because it is not the only country in Asia where we will meet so many people everywhere.

Travelling in India

Our vacation in India begins in the city of Madurai. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. During its great era, it used to be a center for the trade in spices. Here we want to visit mainly the temple Meenakshi Amman Temple. This temple consists of 14 towers that reach up to 50m. Another place we want to see is the palace of Thirumalai Nayak. Then we will move to the city of Mysore. This city, with about eight hundred thousand inhabitants, will offer us more interesting places to see. Later we will journey to the city of Bangalore where we plan to visit the local palace and the temple of the God Shiva. Among the other places we want to visit when travelling in India is Chennai. Chennai has a few beaches and historical places to see. Next stop will be the city of Hyderabad, which is one of the largest southern cities and also the fourth largest city of India. Here we want to see Charminar, the temple built as four minarets. Other attractions of this city are definitely Chowmahalla Palace and the local catacombs Qutb Shahi. Also, we intend to relax in the local parks. There’s a lot of what we want to see in this beautiful historical city. Our vacation in India does not end here. Our travelling in India will take us to the distant city of Pune, which is considered to be the cultural center of the country. The town has a number of universities, therefore it offers many interesting and fun places for the younger generation.

One of the most well known places in India, which we intend to visit is Mumbai. This city is in the top ten most populous cities in the world. It played a significant role in the movement for Indian independence.The city is a mixture of history and modern influences. We are looking forward to see there many of the museums, ancient temples, and buildings with elements of British culture. And finally, we would like to see the city from the local skyscrapers. We want to spend several nights here and feel the energy of this cosmopolitan city. Part of our itinerary will also include Indore with its historical palace Rajawada. Across the city of Kota, where we will visit local temples, we will get into the city Jaipur. This city, which is also known as the “Pink City”, is the capital city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Unlike other Indian cities, which grew according to current requirements, this city was carefully planned from the very beginning. This is obvious from the local streets’ structure and infrastructure. In this city we plan to visit the city palace and several temples like the Chandra Mahal and Hawa Mahal. Perhaps the biggest attraction for every traveler in India is to visit city of Agra. The reason is an architectural gem that everyone connects with India, the Taj Mahal. This magnificent mausoleum is breathtaking sight for everyone who has visited this place for several centuries. The specialty of this place are the minarets, which are built at a slight angle so that from a distance they look perpendicular to the ground. Another interesting fact is that Taj Mahal was included among the new seven wonders of the world in 2007. But we plan to visit other sites, one of them is the Agra Fort. Across the city Varanasi we will travel to our next destination, which is the well-known city Calcutta. Calcutta is the capital city of the Indian state of West Bengal. This area, which was already inhabited two thousand years ago, offers a number of beautiful places to see. In this city, where we are going to spend a few days we also plan to visit the Victoria Memorial or Calcutta Panorama. As we don’t want to waste much time only in the big cities, we plan to visit several parks in Patna. And finally, our travelling in India will finish in the capital city of India, New Delhi. We are interested in New Delhi mainly due to the numerous historical sites. We plan to spend here few days and visit the local temples and shrines. And if we are lucky, we will celebrate the Holi festival.

Indian cuisine

Indian cuisine is, right after the historical beauty of this country, something we have to try. Its typical features are the use of spices and the dominance of vegetarian dishes. Indian cuisine is therefore healthy, but not for everyone. At least spicy meals, which are normally offered here, are not ordinary meals which Europeans are used to. Among the foods that we want to try, we can mention the soup Sorba, which consists of boiled meat, beans and onions. The main dishes are meat dishes, such as Kabab, which is prepared from grilled meat. And certainly we will not miss the desserts. One example might be the sweet balls of curd called Rasgula. Overall, Indian cuisine is very exciting and we hope that we will not suffer any side effects. 😉

India is a country that brings together many contrasts. On one hand there are large poor areas, on the other hand fancy cities. It is, along with China, one of the fastest growing economies and we are very pleased that we will visit India during our trip around the world. From there we will continue northbound into Nepal.

इंडियामेंआपकास्वागतहै। Welcome to India!

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