Well, after six long months, this trip has finally drawn to a close.  There are things we’ll miss terribly, and others that we will gladly cast away until the traveling bug bites again.  To distinguish the two, we decided to compile a list of both:

To view our favorite pictures from Punjab, click here.

One of the most intimidating aspects of India for foreigners is the staggering amount of cultural, ethnic, and ideological diversity that exists here. But, once you have the opportunity to observe these myriad distinctions in practice, you discover that all of these categorizations operate like Venn diagrams, rather than wholly separate spheres. There are a lot of people here who occupy a relatively small space (sometimes, this is a lesson we learn the hard way!) and as a result, they can’t help but influence one another.

The Sikhs are a great example of this. Their belief system is monotheistic and they pray by kneeling before a holy object and pressing their foreheads to the earth–practices they surely picked up from their Muslim neighbors–but they also believe in the Hindu-Buddhist principles of karma and reincarnation. Sikhism is the brainchild of a guru named Nanak Dev, who lived in what is now the state of Punjab during the sixteenth century. Unsurprisingly, Punjab is home to the highest concentration of Sikhs in the country. It’s also one of the more developed and affluent states in India, owing its prosperity to a relatively low population density and some of the most arable land in the nation. Punjabi cuisine is wildly popular in other parts of the north, though unfortunately it is by far the richest and oiliest of Indian foods (and as you can imagine, there is some pretty stiff competition in those categories!)

Chandigarh's famous "hand" sculpture.

There are two main tourist destinations in Punjab. The first, its capital city of Chandigarh, was designed shortly after Indian independence by the French modernist architect Le Corbusier. Chandigarh is divided into sectors (distinguished by numbers), which are each one kilometer in length, and contain Soviet-style grey concrete buildings that all look the same. This fastidious planning allows the streets to be relatively traffic free, and vehicles follow an orderliness that is lacking elsewhere in Indian causeways. There are also “westernized” eateries and an abundance of parks, but of course this is still an Indian city: the parks are filled with horrific smells, and the restaurants only westernize their decor, not their menus. What you get, as a result, is the outward exterior of “modernity” that is utterly devoid of the charm you’d find in Delhi’s old city, or a place like Pushkar, but on closer inspection the core of that modernity is completely putrified.

Luckily, Punjab’s second tourist center has enough character to cover for the deficiencies of its capital. Amritsar serves as Sikhism’s Mecca, due to the presence of the Golden Temple (which is actually more of a complex). It’s a pretty impressive venture: the administrators offer to house and feed anyone who walks through the gates for free, regardless of whether or not you’re a believer. The grounds are ripe for people watching, and the buildings are exceptionally beautiful. This might be the only occasion in my life where I see an example of traditionalism and religious ideology outperforming modernism and progressive ideology!  So this is what people mean when they say that anything is possible in India…

As an added bonus, I picked up this awesome piece of (Sikh) religious iconography for my future bedside! These guys really know how to pluck at my heartstrings. Who knows, maybe I’ll dump skepticism one of these days and start wrapping my head in a turban. Anyone have Dr. Lonnie Smith’s contact info?

After circumnavigating the subcontinent in a little over four months, we accomplished the same feet again in just two weeks! It wasn’t smart, or pretty, but there were a few things that we missed on our first go-round that we wanted to be sure to catch before our departure–an event which, sadly, is rapidly approaching!

Darjeeling: After enduring the scorching heat of Bodh Gaya, we fled to the cool climes of Darjeeling in West Bengal (or, just a little bit north of where we began our Indian odyssey). When the sky is clear in Darjeeling, you can apparently get a great view of Kangchenjunga (the third largest mountain in the world!), but our timing was poor and we didn’t see much of anything beyond a thick wall of fog.

We did, however, spend our time visiting a Tibetan refugee camp, an amazing zoo with a whole gaggle of Red Pandas, and a plantation that grows the world famous eponymous tea leaves. Since–in a classic case of Indian absurdity–it was not possible to actually drink tea at the plantation, we decided to spoil ourselves and order high tea at the formerly British-run Elgin hotel. With Shania Twain blasting at full volume from the hotel sound system, and fried pakoras (which were juicy with oil) served in lieu of traditional teatime food, it was almost like going back in history to the bygone colonial days. No, it wasn’t like that at all.

People from Darjeeling tend to look much more like their Bhutanese and Burmese neighbors, rather than their darker complexioned countrymen. It was also interesting to note that almost none of them seem to consider themselves Bengali–there is a near unanimous campaign for separate statehood, under the proposed name of Gorkhaland. Perhaps as a way to get their foot in the door (or keep their foot from being pushed out the door), the West Bengal government was going hog wild with public works projects to improve the mountain passes.

Hyderabad: Hyderabad is one of India’s most fascinating and perplexing cities. It is simultaneously steeped in traditionalism and vigorously refashioning itself as a center of cutting-edge modernity. Though its inhabitants are almost entirely Muslim, the state for which it serves as a capital (Andhra Pradesh) is 90% Hindu.

When we stepped off the train, though, we were greeted with some inauspicious news. Apparently, Hindu nationalists had incited a riot in the “Old City”, which contains most of Hyderabad’s character and tourist attractions. Consequently, we didn’t get to see the city’s best offerings, but we did have a chance to recharge our batteries in a fancy hotel for a day and spent the rest of our time in the rambling ruins of Golconda Fort, and its surrounding Shahi Tombs.

Ellora: Our next stop was Aurangabad, which is the closest metropolitan area to the Ellora Caves. These thirty-odd cliff dwellings were formerly places of worship for (at different times, and on different sites at the caves) Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains.

Next up is the land of the Sikhs, and then the western edge of the Himalayas!