Articles - Miscellaneous

Leeds County Rangers' trip to India: 29th July - 27th August Part 1

A Fantastic Experience!!!

We started the trip as tourists in Delhi. This was a real introduction to many of the contrasting characteristics of India. Immediately the heat was a shock to our systems and most of us struggled with the amount of water recommended (over 3 litres a day). Despite this it was an enjoyable coach journey, through which we were introduced to the techniques of the traffic. According to our guide you need 3 things to be a successful driver - good breaks, a good horn and good luck - it brought new meaning to the term 'organised chaos'!

Our next travelling 'experience' was the twelve-hour overnight train journey to Bikaner. It was here that we started our three day camel trek. I have to confess I was not looking forward to this part of the trip. However, after plucking up the courage to mount my camel, despite all my preconceptions (and the weather which included a heat wave, thunder and sand storms), I really quite enjoyed it.

The final destination of our trek was Jodhpur. We visited a fascinating fort with incredible views over the city and a beautiful material shop that had previously been visited by Stella McCartney. Unfortunately it was raining heavily, and there were many animals on the streets (it is not uncommon to be overtaking herds of ox or cows) along with the large deposits of rubbish and the constant persistence of the child beggars. This all created a particularly unpleasant environment to be walking through and I found Jodhpur to be one of the most challenging areas we visited.

 

Things picked up quickly as we took the 13-hour train to Agra. Visiting the Taj Mahal which was to be the highlight of my trip. It was a fantastic day and the Taj Mahal was stunning. Made completely out of white marble and precious stones I was in awe of the quality and detail of the building's decoration. From Agra we took our final train journey (a mere 24 hours!) to Pune. Where we met with the world guiding staff to take us to Sangam (one of the 4 world centres), which is where we were going to be staying for the rest of our trip, working on our service projects in a few days.

 

Joanna and Penny Hinchcliffe & Sarah Milburn

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