We leave Dehradun and drive to Delhi – this is a drive that would take 2.5 hours in Europe and takes about 7 in India. The countryside is beautiful and it’s immediately obvious why India is the second largest grower of sugarcane in the world – the stuff is everywhere. As well as growing sugarcane we see it being harvested and taken for processing. This might sound simple and industrial but…… remember where we are! The Sugar Cane is grown by every farmer and smallholder, it is then cut by hand and loaded onto small farm trailers pulled by Oxen, then transported to the local processing factory. There are Ox carts everywhere, going at Ox pace! And you know when you are approaching a cane-processing site as there are Ox and Cart traffic jams that are the longest and most orderly queues in India.
As we arrive into Delhi we pass some of the notorious land-fill areas. These are heralded some distance away by the sulphurous smell of decay and by the cloud of thousands of buzzards in the sky looking for their next meal. There are so many, that from a distance these raptors look like tealeaves swirling in a glass cup.
After we get to our hotel we decide to get ahead on our Christmas shopping and head to Delhi Haat for retail therapy and get some lovely and unique gifts for people at home. Then we have dinner in a great Biryani restaurant. The place is tucked away under a flyover and shakes every time a car passes overhead. The food is fantastic and the restaurant is rightly famed for its specialism. Following dinner we book a taxi for the next morning to take us to the airport and then home.
So five weeks, many thousands of miles, countless experiences and many different India’s visited we have time to reflect on our trip. India is a vibrant and colourful country, rich in history, sights and experiences. It is not always the easiest of places to experience or understand, but with a little effort you can reap great rewards. With the exception of a few, the people we met were warm, generous and fascinating to talk to. Many of the sights left us in awe and the mix of desert, mountains, rivers and ocean landscapes make it a diverse and rich country to visit. The food we tasted tantalised our taste buds and going for a curry will never be the same again.
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