India is a bucket list destination for me. After spending many years traveling in Europe, Thailand, Greece, and Turkey.  I was ready to immerse myself in incredible India.

Day Drinking:

After drinking half a bottle of wine, in my PJs in the very early afternoon, my partner and I decided to book our tickets to India.  We giggled and found the cheapest flight from CPT to Delhi to return.  Picked a date and had 5 months to save and plan.  It was exciting, and I was finally thrilled it was done.  There was no turning back. 

I woke up the next morning with a hangover and realized that we had paid for the tickets. And booked the journey with very little research.  Don’t laugh, I am 42 years old and am entitled to be irresponsible sometimes!! With a very dry mouth and a lot of greasy food, we mapped out our 2-week wiz in India, Rajasthan. 

Rajasthan, here we come:

I hit the accommodation sites to book and map out our adventure.  I was pleasantly surprised at the cost. Excellent four-star hotels were affordable, and train fares were cheap.   Flights were a steal, and I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. India, here we come.

Following all the Indian photographers on Instagram. My dreams began with photography in India.  It felt like I slept, ate, and lived for this trip!

I mapped our way through the gorgeous Rajasthan, making sure we ended in Varanasi.  The most spiritual capital of India.  Planning only 3 nights, this is where we wanted, I mean, I wanted to end our short, but sweet India experience. Thinking that the absolute shock of Varanasi would be a breeze, as we would be used to the Indian way by then. 

No Negativity:

And so it began the negative talk, and the famous line “My aunt went to India and hated it” Shoving all the negativity of its dirty, overpopulated, poverty-stricken masses of people, animal cruelty, and bad smells!!

Well, it does all of that. Although coming from Africa, I have some life experience.  You either put on your big girl panties or stay home in your comfort zone.  Or you travel to a first-world country where everything works and the trains are on time. 

India changes you. 

It makes you realize a great deal about yourself, your own country, and how life works. It took me 4 months to edit 5000 photographs.  80% are skewed, unfocused, and completely over-exposed.  A few are just perfect.  I have not deleted the bad ones; I never want to delete anything I captured in India. I fell in love with it over and over.

Travel Photography is a rush:  

You have no time to set up; it’s moving at all angles.  When you see something you love, you have only a few minutes to shoot it.  Most of the time you fail, but now and again you hit the mark. 

Slog your large heavy camera bag, your 3 lenses, Vicks for your nose, and buff around your face to protect yourself from the smog.  It’s hot, and you are walking everywhere. Make sure you are wearing a good pair of closed shoes to avoid the human and animal poo.  Never lose your sense of humor or have the right attitude. 

I forced myself into situations, pretended to be lost, couldn’t speak English, sat with locals as they were making dinner, sat with construction workers as they laid bricks, and watched a cricket match with my partner playing with strangers.

Such a humbling experience:

India is friendly and accommodating; they welcome you with all their hearts and souls. They are very humble and never once did I feel scared or afraid for my life, as I often do at home.  I am blonde, I have big boobs, and green eyes.  And wear red lipstick, the men gawked at me constantly, but out of pure curiosity.  After day 3, I ignored it.   I let it be and carried on regardless. Sometimes it was too much, but I reminded myself to imagine walking into a rural African village,  and the same thing would happen.  I was more harassed by men in Turkey than in India. The fact that my partner was 2 meters tall did help. 

Drool nap in a 5 Star hotel:

By day 9, I was over and out.  No doubt, I was overexhausted and n;eded a long afternoon nap; my right eye had a camera imprint on it, and I needed time out. Therefore, I sneaked into a five-star hotel, sat at a bay window overlooking the lake, and fell asleep for 2 hours.  Eventually, I woke up, drooling all over myself. Everything was still intact, not a thing was stolen.  Like a queen, I ordered a chai tea and a delicious dessert.  Coming from South Africa, you must close 100 doors and lock & chain yourself before sleeping.  

After a pleasant nap, good tea, and a sugar rush, I was back to the stinky, vibrant crazy world of India.

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