Ten things I learnt on my first visit to India

I’m anxious about my first visit to India. Faced with its vast scale, history and humanity, its crowds, poverty and colour, I’m determined to channel Judi Dench’s intrepid, open-hearted character from Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Evelyn Greenslade. I fear, however, that I will quickly turn into Penelope Wilton’s uptight and unadventurous Jean Ainslie, who soon flees back to her less challenging English homeland.

My apprehension increases when I hear that even Traveller’s resident Tripologist and Indophile, Michael Gebicki, has succumbed to illness while there, despite more than 20 visits. What hope is there for a first-timer like me?

The journalist visa process is a frustrating jumble of red tape and clunky websites, and my first (domestic) flight is booked in the wrong direction. It feels like the universe is warning me not to risk it.

India is a sensory overload for the first-timer.Credit: iStock

I’m travelling with a small group on a brief yet unquestionably luxurious journey to Rajasthan with Abercrombie & Kent. The flight from Melbourne to Delhi is jam-packed with members of Australia’s Indian diaspora, regarded as the nation’s most successful.

There are crying babies, pungent wafts of curry and a handful of passengers ignoring (or not understanding) the attendants’ instructions to remain seated after landing, resulting in frustrated yelling from said attendants. It seems like another sign of the chaos that’s undoubtedly to come.

As we land at Indira Gandhi International Airport, I help a family laden down with bags and toddler paraphernalia until they get to passport control, where we part ways.

But later, as I emerge with my own luggage into the arrivals hall, their young daughter spots me in the crowd, runs over and gives me the biggest hug – and suddenly I begin to understand the warmth of India’s welcoming embrace.

Here are some other things I learnt.

New Delhi feels like a subcontinental Canberra

New Delhi claims to be one of the greenest cities in the world.Credit: iStock

The modern airport is much calmer and more efficient than I was anticipating, and we’re soon met by our guide, Ajay Paliwal, and transported to the grandiose Leela Palace Hotel. En route, I’m pleasantly surprised by the wide boulevards and vibrant flowerbeds; Ajay patiently explains to the India novices that New Delhi, as opposed to Old Delhi, is one of the greenest cities in the world.

We quickly learn that its early 20th-century design, by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker after the British moved the capital from Calcutta, created a symmetrical grid layout reminiscent of Canberra or Washington DC (albeit with sacred cows on median strips and monkeys in the abundant trees).

You won’t stop eating

Endless rounds of thali mean you won’t go hungry on an Abercrombie & Kent journey. Credit: Getty

Planning to eat cooked vegetarian food only, and avoid tap water, ice cubes and salad, I even have a box of Carmen’s oat slices in my Samsonite in case of emergency hunger. This turns out to be true Jean Ainslie behaviour, though, as from the first spicy potato dosa for breakfast to endless rounds of thali, dal, chicken tikka and every kind of bread from naan to roti to paratha (not to mention desserts fragrant with saffron, almonds and pistachios), we are constantly eating.

Even so, we only scratch the surface of the country’s hugely varied cuisine, trying Delhi favourite, chole (spiced chickpeas); Rajasthan’s dal baati churma, a signature mix of lentils, unleavened bread and crushed sweet wheat, and Goa’s coconut-heavy fish and tomato curries. And at no time do I suffer Delhi belly, despite bringing a pharmacy’s worth of medication.

Holi is India’s best party

Holi is India’s most fun festival: a riot of colour, music and dancing.Credit: iStock

The Hindu festival of colours that celebrates spring, togetherness and forgiveness is the most fun you’ll have in India (if personal experience is anything to go by). A riot of drinking, dancing and powdered-paint throwing, Leela Palace’s Holi event is a wild introduction to this annual bash with excellent Palomas (there goes my ice-cube ban), chilled beers and a huge buffet lunch plus some pretty loose mingling on the dance floor. The vibe is super-friendly – traditional societal rankings such as caste and status go out the window during Holi, so get ready for a lively party with expats and locals.

Two Delhi monuments look familiar

Look familiar? The Lotus Temple at New Delhi.Credit: iStock

The Baha’i House of Worship, or Lotus Temple, bears a more-than-passing resemblance to the Sydney Opera House (it was built in the 1980s, at least 10 years after the Opera House was completed). Its marble-clad concrete shells, in the form of a half-opened lotus flower and its leaves, call to mind the SOH’s sails, although this a silent place of prayer and meditation, and shoes need to be removed before entering.

Meanwhile the symmetry and raised square platform of Humayun’s Tomb, built in 1570, mean it’s considered a precursor to the Taj Mahal (1648), although the former was built from brick-red sandstone rather than the blinding white marble of its more famous relative.

There’s no such thing as a relaxing drive

The deafening honking of horns, expected in the city, continues on the open road.Credit: iStock

As expected, city traffic is a crazy free-for-all of bikes, electric rickshaws (our guide Ajay calls them Indian Teslas), cars and trucks – even the occasional elephant. There are traffic rules, it’s just no-one follows them. “You need a good horn, good brakes and good luck,” he explains. The system, or lack of it, appears to work regardless. The constant blaring of horns on the new fast-moving expressway between Delhi and Agra is more of a shock, however, and prevents a snooze on the otherwise peaceful four-hour coach journey – everyone honks loud and long when overtaking (or just in general, it seems).

Not every palace hotel has a royal history

Palatial but relatively newly built – the Amarvilas at Agra overlook the Taj Mahal.

Former royal residences previously home to maharajahs and now converted into hotels include the Taj Lake Palace at Udaipur, built in 1743 as a summer escape for the Mewar dynasty. But other hotels, set in luxuriant gardens with equally intricate architecture, opulent domes and jali screens, are deceptively modern.

The Oberoi’s Amarvilas at Agra and the Leela Palace Hotel at Jaipur are two of the most stunning properties you will ever encounter, with walled pool villas, marble floors, intricate craftsmanship and warm, professional service. But read the hotel descriptions carefully and you’ll see phrases such as “a reincarnation of a royal mahal” or “paying homage to Mughal splendour”; despite appearances (and their indisputable allure), these are not ancient palaces.

A walled pool villa at The Leela Palace, Jaipur.

Transport is being transformed

India’s Regional Rapid Transit System is just one of its progressive transport options.Credit: Getty

Notwithstanding cows on the roads, the country is on a mission to expand and modernise its transportation. Air India’s merger with Vistara and AIX Connect, and historic order of 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, aims to create an airline capable of carrying more than 120,000 passengers daily.

Plans are in place to introduce 400 high-speed trains by 2027, while the national highway network has grown 60 per cent in the past decade, including the new road from Delhi to Agra. Meanwhile, the cruise industry’s global rise has not bypassed India. Mumbai’s cruise terminal, opened two years ago, is one of the newest in the world, and the cruise market in India is expected to grow 15 per cent annually in the next five years.

Locals are obsessed with taking photos

Engaged couples at the Amber Fort, Jaipur.Credit: Trudi Jenkins

You might be tired of seeing pix of people’s breakfast on Instagram, but in India photo and video shoots are hugely popular, particularly for weddings. I’m pretty sure I end up in the background of several engagement photos at Jaipur’s Amber Fort, where dozens of couples elaborately dressed in silk brocade lehengas or sherwanis are being carefully primped and positioned for the ultimate Mills & Boon result. And boy do they look gorgeous in their bold jewel colours and intricate jewellery.

You’ll also get many friendly requests to pose for family photographs, which is disconcerting at first – especially if, like me, you’re wearing drab cargo pants and T-shirt – but does make you feel a little like a Hollywood celebrity (Judi Dench, maybe?).

Delhi v Mumbai is a thing

According to our guide, Mumbai is the “city of big wallets”.Credit: iStock

A bit like Melbourne and Sydney, Delhi and Mumbai have a somewhat competitive relationship. According to Ajay, Delhi is a “city with big hearts”, while Mumbai is a “city with big wallets”. (He’s from Delhi though, so you can take that with a pinch of cumin.)

The key agreed differences are the weather (Mumbai is much more humid), the population (Delhi’s 34 million compared with Mumbai’s 22 million) and the industry (government, IT and education in Delhi versus finance, media and Bollywood in Mumbai). There are 60,000 millionaires in Mumbai versus Delhi’s 16,000, though both have large slums.

Suffice to say, both cities are worth your time, whether it’s a deep dive into Delhi’s colonial history or a taste of Mumbai’s fast and colourful street life.

It’s best to travel with a local

Humayun’s Tomb, a precursor to the Taj Mahal.Credit: iStock

As a sub-continent newbie, it’s a relief to have Abercrombie & Kent take care of all logistics, including tipping (expected at public toilets at tourist sites, among other places), tickets, luggage and transportation (when our private bus gets stuck under a deceptively low bridge, a replacement arrives within minutes).

Ajay’s local knowledge means we walk around temples in the right direction, learn how to cross busy roads (keep walking and don’t make eye contact with drivers) and avoid hawkers (again no eye contact “or they’ll still be there at breakfast”). We even discover how to attract good karma if ever making roti: give the first one to a cow, the last one to a dog.

Ajay also has a ready supply of dad jokes, calling cows “shoplifters” when they’re munching on produce at a street market; explaining Indian “stretchable” time (instead of Indian standard time), and, as we pass Delhi’s parliament, commenting on how there are monkeys “both inside and outside” the buildings.

Abiding memories of a first trip to India: colour and smiles.Credit: iStock

Overall, though, the main attraction of travelling with an experienced operator was letting go of that initial anxiety and becoming relaxed enough to channel Judi/Evelyn rather than Penelope/Jean on my first best exotic trip to one of the world’s friendliest and most fascinating countries.

The details

Tour
Abercrombie & Kent’s The Taj Mahal and the palaces of Rajasthan is an eight-day Tailormade Journey that allows you to travel independently, visiting Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Jodhpur. From $6695. A&K also offer small group (no more than 18 people) and ready-to-book journeys. You can combine a land tour with a cruise from Mumbai to several destinations including Mahe and Singapore with A&K cruise partner, Crystal. See abercrombiekent.com and crystalcruises.com

The writer travelled as a guest of Abercrombie & Kent, and Crystal Cruises.