A Weekend in Stockholm: Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this post if you haven't already.

The next morning we explored Södermalm, a creative and trendy district just south of Gamla Stan.

A Weekend in Stockholm: Part 1

It's strange how the act of travel so frequently defies our expectations. Rarely does a country feel precisely as we imagined it, and no matter how many stories we've heard or photos we've seen, nothing compares to living and breathing the real thing. One thing I've learned from travel is that no country or city is a fixed constant, that they are always evolving, and places never feel quite the same when you return to them for a second or third visit. I think part of this is physical change - change of weather, new buildings, fashion trends, and so on - but the traveller's internal changes can also have a marked effect on the surroundings. Your mood, your energy, your circumstances...these can change the atmosphere or quality of a place in immeasurable ways.

Rishikesh - City of Yoga

Barring a brief return to Delhi, our final stop in India would be the small city of Rishikesh. It was only a half-hour tuk-tuk drive from our previous stop, Haridwar, and it's said that if you visit one you may as well visit the other. Plus, we'd met some fellow travellers who'd recommended Rishikesh to us for its relaxing, zen atmosphere, as a place to escape from the craziness of so many other Indian cities. Known as the yoga capital of the world, the Beatles famously stayed at an ashram there before returning to the UK to record the White Album.

Haridwar - City of Colours

It's pretty cool that after leaving Varanasi, which must have been the greyest, gloomiest, most shadowy city that we visited in India, our next destination was Haridwar, easily the most multicoloured, vibrant city on our journey. Like Varanasi, it's a holy city where people from all around flock to bathe in a river, though up here in the mountains of Uttarakhand, it's a much cleaner affair. In Varanasi, the Ganges looks like a fetid, moving swamp, whereas in Haridwar it's much cooler and more crystalline. Granted, this is India so I'd be surprised if it's that clean, but at least it looks the part. In any case, while it might not have the same wow-factor as Varanasi, it's a much more accessible, relaxing place for a tourist to explore, with fewer touts and a much more sanitary atmosphere.

Varanasi - City of the Dead: Part 2

Click here to read Part 1 of this post if you haven't already.

Varanasi - City of the Dead: Part 1

I've been keeping this blog for over two years, and for most of that time I've updated it at a steady pace, rarely documenting anything more than two or three weeks after the event. However, since Angela and I finally made it to the UK towards the end of last month, and since we've been visiting friends and family that I've not seen for two years, as well as doing lots of job-hunting, I've now lost all motivation to finish these remaining blog posts. Well, not all motivation, otherwise I wouldn't even be writing this. But let's just say I'm too preoccupied by other matters to churn out these things at the rate I once did. I'll finish, eventually. But I don't know if I have the energy to put out more than a few per posts month, and I may not always write them with much depth or clarity of thought.

Agra - City of the Taj

No visit to India would be complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal, so on our way out of Rajasthan, Angela and I travelled with our driver Bubloo to Agra, the host city of the world's most famous mausoleum. The Taj Mahal may be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, but Agra itself is a dirty rundown dump of a city, even by already very low Indian standards. As we drove in and searched for our hotel, we passed streets piled with so much rubble and trash it felt like the aftermath of a war. We tried to find some character or charm during our navigations of the city, but every single street seemed just as grimy and drab as the next, all of them completely lacking in the colour and energy that permeates much of India.

Pushkar - City of Camels: Part 2

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Later that evening, we rode some camels out into the desert.

Pushkar - City of Camels: Part 1

Angela and I were almost finished with Rajasthan, but we had one final destination left to see in this ancient realm of royalty and dust. Centred around a holy lake said to have appeared when Brahma dropped a lotus flower in the middle of the desert, Pushkar is a pilgrimage town that draws a colourful melange of characters: bearded babas and bathers, Hindu devotees, tourists and tribal musicians; all of them congregate along the bazaars and ghats that encircle the sparkling lake filled with holy water.

Udaipur - City of Lakes: Part 2

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The next morning, we were off to explore the City Palace, which was built over the course of 400 years by several different Rajasthani kings.