I had some short stories, poems and photographs to share ... and so here I am

Saris & Spice

I am back, in one piece, with my head still awash with the sights, smells and sounds of India. Wow! Here is just a small selection of the 790 photos I took.

Suffice to say that I have fallen in love with the Indian people. They struck me as beautiful, welcoming and gracious. A smile given was always a smile received. From New Delhi to the Maharashtra region, and from Agra to Jaipur in Rajasthan, there was nothing but nourishment for the soul.

I left there knowing that I would definitely return, and not even the unpleasant aspects of the visit have put me off. My partner and I had no choice but to spend a night in hospital with food poisoning and sunstroke that left us seriously dehydrated, amid temperatures that rose to 46 degrees celsius. Also, there don't seem to be any rules on the road, which was nothing short of frightening, especially when our driver only just avoided a head-on collision at dusk in the middle of nowhere. Someone was on our side.

A mix of emotions and unique experiences made this trip one of the most memorable and rewarding so far. I'm looking forward to putting together a video with more of the most striking images I took, but that will have to wait for a bit as I'm off to a wedding in Spain on Friday. I really hope my still-fragile stomach and anti-malaria tablets don't hold me back!

Also, while we seem to be in hyper-travelling mood, I've just booked my tickets to go home to visit family and friends in New Zealand for three weeks in July. It's a 30-hour flight, and I really wouldn't be surprised if all this time in the clouds results in my brain being turned into mashed potatoes. Can I also have two weeks in the sun in France on my return? (NZ will be in the middle of winter). Would that be asking for too much? Have travel bug, will travel!

18 comments:

Chris Eldin said...

Wow!!! I hope everyone takes the time to view the slide show. It's well worth it!
You included a nice cross section of Indian life. Very nice!! I enjoyed each and every photo.
I live in Dubai part of the year, and I like to think of it as "Little India." But my experiences are much more negative than yours (regarding the people). Most of the construction workers and hard laborers in Dubai are Indian. Slaves really. Then there's a small set of wealthy Indians who have such an attitude of entitlement--I think it's the caste system mentality.
I've yet to meet the people you refer to, although I know they exist (been to Egypt and I know exactly the kind of warmth you're talking about)

YOu're off on some grand adventures!!! Keep the photos coming!

Unknown said...

Hiya Se - glad to see you back in one piece! And you're off travelling again - you lucky sod :)

Sarah Hina said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous photos, Seamus! I really enjoyed the slide show. :)

I'm so happy you fell in love, and that you enjoyed such a wide range of experiences. Hopefully, you will tell us about one or two of your favorites? I hope so! I've always wanted to go to India, so let me travel vicariously through you. ;)

Have a good trip, and I hope your stomach recovers!

virtualjourney said...

The photostream is out of this world - sorry you had a rough ride health wise!

I've moved over to WordPress - enjoyed being on blogger but couldn't resist the attractive WP management features including blog browsing in categories. Be good to see you if you're passing - follow links.

Kay Cooke said...

What colours! What sights ... truly beautiful. Glad to hear you are going to pay a visit to NZ ... Dunedin on your agenda at all?

Vesper said...

Absolutely beautiful photos, Seamus! Thanks for sharing them.
You've had a wonderful trip!
I like this "Have travel bug, will travel!" :-)

Debi said...

You may well be single-handedly racking up more air miles than the rest of us put together, but at least you share the experience with us!

Stunning pix as always. And sympathies re runny tummy.

Anonymous said...

Hey Shameless,

The images are absolute stunners! I am quite amazed at your vision. I know how overwhelming India can be and how much of a culture shock it is for those who visit the country from outside. Your sense of contrast, colour, diversity and sheer profundity of things as they appear has taken me by surprise. I believe if you wrote a travelogue on India, publishers who are aggressively targetting our market will lap it up. And I am certain the Indian reader will love your work. After all travellers of yore have crossed the seven seas and written stuff, much of it legendary. Thanks for sharing your experience

Suroopa

Unknown said...

Got a bout of wanderlust have you ;-)

Love the images and glad you contained yourself to just 790 pics - I took over 2000 of my Mauritius trip and have had to cull them radically!

Hope the wedding in Spain was good!

By the way, took some shots of stone lions at the company gardens in Port Louis, want copies for the Lions page? Let me know. ;-)

aims said...

What I noticed was the colours in each and every photo. Absolutely fantastic!

When we see the women here in their colourful saris - we have no concept of the beauty they come from.

I bet these pictures stand out as the most colourful of all your journeys.

And then there's the architecture. Wow!

Good luck with the rest of your journeys Seamus. How lovely for you to be able to do all this.

S. Kearney said...

Hey everyone - Thanks for your lovely comments, and I'm really glad you like the photos. I'm in Spain at the moment, so no time for the internet. It's wild to have gone so quickly from India mode to Spanish mode! Talk about the culture shock! I'm also calling in to Lisbon in Portugal for two days, before returning to France. It is soooo hot, but not as hot as India. :-)

Lane Mathias said...

That slide show is stupendous - a real treat. Thank you Seamus and enjoy your trip to Spain (and Portugal!)

Noni said...

nice pics...good observation..next time try north east part of india

Marja said...

The pictures are absolutely stunning. I am surely going there one day. My brother had the same experience with the Indian people he was struck by their happiness He only had some trouble with sales people. The Tash Mahal is my mums mst favourite building She visited there as well.
You must have had an absolutely great time
Hope you have a great time in NZ too. Are you from the North Island?

L.M.Noonan said...

I've been foiled each time I've been about to go to India. My partner spent a very long time there and son number one has been several times , both love it and both say it is a very hard place to travel . I've decided to go back to nepal this year...my personal favourite. gorgeous photos!

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

Welcome back!

Seamus, the photos (as always), are incredibly breathtaking. I am completely enchanted.

You have such an eye for capturing essence everywhere you go.
Thank you so much for sharing those, they are incredible.

What a fantastic journey, can't wait to hear more about it, and hear some more music from you!!

Have fun in Spain, hope you are feeling 100% soon.

Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Jon M said...

Ace pictures, Seamus. I loved India and would like to return one day.

Your photos brought it all back!

The Quoibler said...

Seamus:

You are so fortunate to have met all these wonderful people.

I agree -- the individuals I have met who hail from India are absolutely fantastic. They are so welcoming and warm.

On a side note, I've been letting people know that (on the sly) I run an eating disorder blog called Breaking the Mirror (www.breakingthemirror.com). Unfortunately, I've had plenty of opportunities to recently talk about Indian women and their disordered eating thanks to new ideas of "perfection".

It's very sad, because I've always felt that Indian women were happy in their own skins.

I'm glad you had such a fantastic time!

Angelique