We have just returned and recovered from a really incredible trip to India. We visited a few new states; Gujarat to the West and Assam and Meghalaya in the far North East. We went back to Rajasthan for the Holi festival and passed through glorious Delhi on the way in and out again.
We will be publishing a trip report, youtube slideshow and some Facebook updates in due course, but for the time being this post will try to capture some of the highlights while fresh in our minds!
Holi
Holi is an ancient Indian festival known as the "Festival of Colours" and involves a tradition of covering anyone at home or out in the streets of India with lots of colours. This is the 3rd year we returned to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, for the Elephant festival and the Holi colours.
The Elephant festival is held at the Polo ground and this year seemed to attract fewer elephants than the last two years. In any event, it is a chance to see Elephants painted with all sorts of colours:
There is a great competition by the men sitting on top of the elephants to look as regal as possible in the hope of winning one of the prizes. This guy with the flag did pretty well.
The next day the people of Jaipur go a little crazy playing Holi, the streets are full of people running about trying to cover each other with dye. Some would say we are foolish, but we love travelling about in an open Jeep built in the 1940s with our good friends Devendra and Praveen. No Health & Safety, no seat belts and no harm done at all!
You have two options with the dyes. Natural ones which are bright and relatively easy to wash off or chemical dyes which turn your face are more indelible black or dark shade!. Anyway, lots and lots of fun for everyone whether you are crowded on a motorbike:
In your car:
Or having a quiet walk in the streets:
The tourists with the right sense of humour really get stuck in:
And even those who had no intention of getting covered in colours can be encouraged to do so:
At the end of the day, to avoid annoying our hotel we like to use a garden hose to get rid of the worst of the dyes:
Gujarat
After Holi, it was a quick flight down to Gujarat to capture some of the festivals which some of the local tribes celebrate to continue the fun. The first was in the small town of Kavant. This is a gathering of the Rathva community to recreate the joy of existence and life. We arriving there and not much seemed to be happening. A daily empty street, a tattoo artist applying small tattoos for about £1 and which took about 30 seconds (no change of needle):
Then suddenly the town filled up with all sorts of people from many miles around. Crazy guys with a little too much makeup but great attitude:
Lots of girls, many of whom we understand are looking for prospective husbands:
And really energetic crowds with people shouting, singing and having a great time:
We thought this was pretty mad, but the next day it got even better. Another village and again starting very slowly. A few of the local men started off the morning with some of the local hooch:
But after a few hours, again thousands and thousands of people started to descend on the village either walking, or arriving on overloaded jeeps:
We thought something special was going to happen. Well it was a pretty unique ceremony in which some sort of priest was strapped to a large contraption:
Then someone else climbed on the other end of the contraption and it was spun round and round and round:
And this was after half a dozen chickens had their heads chopped off and a few people walked across some burning coals ...
This was another chance to see some of the really great colours the girls wear:
And their nails:
And jewelery:
And men with their great moustaches:
Once we got out of the main cities, Gujarat was exceptional. The colour, the people, the festivals and the food. It exceeded all our expectations. Then a flight east to Kolkata and then north to Guwahati in the remote north east of India.
Living Root Bridges
The main reason for travelling so far was to see the Living Root Bridges. These are bridges across rivers which are made from the Indian Rubber tree (Ficus Elastica) and which are trained over many years to form a bridge. Quite extraordinary. We saw five or six of these over the couple of days we were based in the region. There were two that really impressed us. The first was a double decker! To say that this was not easy to get to was an understatement. We drove to the end of the road and a sign pointed down into a ravine. The good news was there there were concrete stairs. The bad news... there were 2,800 steps down and another 2,800 back up. Did we mention we were staying at Cherrapunjee which is the wettest place in the world?
It was well worth it to see this amazing fusion of nature and man.
The bridges are very sturdy and can easily take the weight of 10 men. They have stones placed along the bit you walk in and are a very natural structure. 
We then travelled to what many regard as the most beautiful of the living root bridges at Mawlynnong. This was easier to walk to and was stunning:
When driving along in India there is always something to look at and often things that make us stop and get out!
Horses and their trainers in the desert:
People watering their animals:
Or people playing cricket with home made bats and balls!
What did this trip tell us? No matter how many times you visit the country there is always more to see. A festival, new wildlife or some wonderful scenery. The food is varied and if you are slightly brave there is always a new dish to try. And finally the people offer different tribes to get to know and they almost always love having their photographs taken.
Thank you India.
Julie and Adam
INCREDIBLE India! 25 March 2012
