Tuesday, February 23, 2021

10 Best Places to Visit in India

India is an enormous and diverse destination.

Bordered by seven different countries, not to mention the Arabian Sea and the Bay of

Bengal means that there are many different sides to the country.

More than 20 official languages, multiple religions and a variety of cuisines exist

Within India’s borders.

To truly experience the breadth of Indian culture and history, travel is key.

Here’s a look at the best places to visit in India:

Number 10.

Udaipur.

The city of lakes, Udaipur glistens romantically on the edge of the desert in Rajasthan.

The city is protected by lush hills and is where you can find the mesmerizing Lake Palace in the middle of a tranquil lake.

Another captivating sight is the imposing but graceful City Palace, along with the Monsoon Palace, which stand out with walls made of gleaming white marble.

Explore old temples, walk the winding streets of this fanciful corner of India, and slip into times past inside its ancient bazaars.

Number 9.

Amritsar.

The Punjabi city of Amritsar lies on the border with Pakistan and is home to the holiest of Sikh sites.

The Golden Temple is in the heart of the old walled city; this serene Sikh shrine provides a place for reflection and inspiration.

You can tour the Golden Temple regardless of religion, but you will need to show respect by covering your head and removing your shoes.

The streets surrounding the temple are a frenetic fusion of people, markets and activity.

Be sure to pick up some traditional goods, such as hand-embroidered fabrics and delicately ornate shoes.

Number 8.

Ladakh

In northernmost India, in the heavily disputed Kashmir region is the mountainous destination of Ladakh.

This region is large, but it has a low population density and a number of nomadic residents.

Breathtaking, pristine scenery is a major draw to the area, but virtually all travelers will also spend time in the town of Leh.

The town is located at a very high elevation, and it is home to the 17th century Palace of the King of Ladakh.

Buddhist culture is also prominent in Leh, and you may wish to explore some of the many Buddhist monasteries and temples.

Number 7.

Goa Beaches.

On the western coast of India is Goa, a former colony of Portugal that blends Indian culture with colonial influences and plenty of international tourism.

Goa is popular largely because of its spectacular beaches.

The busiest of all is Candolim Beach, where travelers from around the world flock to soak up the sun.

Anjuna Beach, by contrast, is far less crowded.

It is also an amazing place where you can walk to Chapora Fort and admire the sandy coastline from a new perspective.

Palolem is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Goa with its natural bay surrounded by lofty headlands on either side.

Number 6.

Delhi.

If you’re spending any time in Northern India, you will almost certainly visit the capital city of Delhi.

The enormous sprawling destination is home to several districts, and it is considered to be one of the oldest cities in the world.

One of the top sights in Delhi is the Red Fort, which was built in the 17th century.

The Red Fort is made from sandstone, and you will be able to walk through its Lahore Gate, into the bazaar, through the jewel palace and even into the former residence of the sultan.

While in Delhi, you should also make time for the many museums and religious structures that make up the city.

Number 5.

Ellora and Ajanta Caves.

In the state of Maharashtra, you can explore the caves of both Ellora and Ajanta.

At Ellora, there is an enormous complex of shrines carved from the rocky landscape.

These 34 cave shrines are up to 1,500 years old, and they are from three distinct religions:

Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism.

Two hours away is Ajanta, which is home to 29 caves.

The Ajanta caves are covered in murals and paintings, most of which reflect Buddhist stories.

While the two cave complexes are two hours away from one another, it is well worth visiting both to compare these incredible attractions.

Number 4.

Varanasi.

A city that may seem strange to many Westerners, Varanasi is of great religious importance.

The holy city sits on the banks of the divine Ganges and is believed by Hindus to be a sacred place of pilgrimage.

The city is known for the religious practices that take place on the Ghats alongside the river; pilgrims wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges and the bodies of Hindus are cremated.

The sights of life and death along the riverside can be shocking, but a visit to Varanasi is also contemplative, and ultimately, helps visitors to further understand India’s deep cultural and spiritual practices.

Number 3.

Kerala.

The southwestern state of India known as Kerala is a place of tropical beauty.

Palm trees, white sand beaches and eco-tourism are all big reasons to explore the region.

Besides its famous backwaters, elegant houseboats and temple festivals, Kerala is also home to the Thekkady Tiger preserve.

The hub of Kerala is the city of Kochi, where you can see the local fishing industry thriving along with modern high-rises and colonial architecture.

Number 2.

Agra.

Agra is known for one thing – the iconic and ultimately impressive Taj Mahal.

Set on the south bank of the Yamuna River, the Taj draws millions of tourists a year.

Built by an emperor as an extravagant memorial to his wife, the mausoleum’s porcelain white marble is an emblem of romance and adventure.

Agra itself sits in the shadow of its imposing monument, but is a small and welcoming city.

The ancient Mughal-era Agra Fort is an attractive spot to visit – peer over the walls here and catch your first hypnotizing glimpse of the Taj.

Number 1.

Jaipur.

The Pink City of Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and is where you can find the beautiful Amber Fort – a sprawling, stunning complex set in the hillside overlooking a lake.

Located just outside of the city and built in 1592, the grandiose citadel was also a palace for some time but is now an impressive tourist attraction.

Make sure to take a trip to the opulent city palace with its stunning courtyards and gardens, plus the amazingly intricate Palace of Winds.

Jaipur forms one corner of the Golden Triangle, and it also makes a great gateway into the lesser-known destinations within Rajasthan.

INDIA vs PAKISTAN: 10 Unexpected Differences

As no Indian Pakistani used to be you know the same thing for quite a long time but then when the British left the region they eventually became divided into once again India and Pakistan and very unfortunately the division was you know a very hard thing for so many people until this day there's quite a few unresolved conflicts there you know with Kashmir and other places and even though you know all those people are really nice and really kind and really awesome apparently you know there's a bit of division still going on and I really hope that changes in the future however I've spent quite a few months traveling all around India and I just finished traveling ten days all over and Pakistan so if you like I have a you know pretty decent idea of how different those two countries are and how different their people are did you actually want to compare them and talk about the ten unexpected differences of my life in Pakistan vs. India let's go

difference number one is beeping I don't know if you know this or not but one of the worst things for me in life is when people beat now when you're traveling around Asia especially for example India people therapy all the time especially please like Mumbai you know like they beefing they smilingly way because they just want to say hi or tell you they're there you know and actually when I was going to pack is unexpected exactly the same thing and even though there are some areas of the package that were people hate a bit but in most of the areas they don't for example in Islamic but right like no one ever abused and that it was so surprising to me cuz I never expected it you know so even though once again those countries used to be the same thing but the beeping is definitely better on Pakistan's site so now this more is one-zero

let's see what happens next difference number two is vegetarian options I've been a vegetarian for what seven years now I think and actually traveling around a lot of countries in a way it's kind of hard to find the vegetarian options but India is one of the best countries in the world for that because literally every place has been sharing options even my guitars are you kidding it's a and Baggesen food is great too but it's very hard to find vegetarian options so one point goes to a big one out that's good.

Number three is cleanliness obviously you know with both those countries that of course very much depends on where you're going cuz you know some places could be the fanciest places I've ever seen and some places could maybe be no defenses exist forever scenes for example in India cities like Mumbai are actually really good except for the slums of course or Bangalore or you know quite a few there places but most of the time you would see you know some trash and this and that because once again there's so many people and stuff but going to Pakistan of course there were some places that weren't the best but if we look at cities like Islamabad or once again Lahore and the places in the mountains and stuff everything was really cleaner it was insane there were signs everywhere saying don't litter don't litter you'll get fine and you know so when goes to Pakistan.

Difference number four is religious diversity as you know Pakistan is a majority Muslim country meaning this way over 90 percent of the people are Muslim there but India is basically the cradle of pretty much most of the religions in the world you know there's millions of Hindu people millions of Muslim people millions of Sikh people millions of Buddhist people and a lot of Christians and whatnot so when you traveling around India every single day you'll see people from so many different kinds of religions all living together for the most part peacefully and continues I know that Hindus and Muslims seem to you know have a few fights here and there and that's very unfortunate but I really hope they will you know solve their differences hopefully and in Pakistan they also have people of other religions like yeah you know Christian churches and in the mountains people have their own ancient religions and stuff but yeah the majority the people are definitely Muslim so another point oh sure India thing number five is English fluency so once again the whole region used to be a British colony for a long time and that is why millions and millions and Millions of people speak completely Fluent English traveling around India notice that anyone who goes to like school or university will be glued with fluent in English I'm actually going to Pakistan I noticed that it's exactly the same thing a lot of people speak super fluent English even no accident stuff you know this corner okay you legend now that I told you the five differences of my life in India and Pakistan.

Difference number six is infrastructure so as you know because of you know the problem is Pakistan faced in the past it's not a very touristic engine as a lot of people still think it's very unsafe and dangerous and stuff that being said there are tourism industry is many times smaller than that of India's cuz I mean millions and millions of people visit India every single year and because of that the infrastructure for a traveler like myself in India is definitely better you know the stels the hotels you know the buses the trains and everything is a bit more easier for tourists to use but at the same time it's still very much possible to travel in Pakistan like you saw you know I did it didn't really have any problems that being said this year those two in DIF number seven is tourist place aggressiveness um so as you know if you travel in a country that's very touristy sometimes the people working with tourists will get a bit aggressive for example in countries like Morocco and stuff you know like sometimes people grab you by the arm and say give me five euro because I did something for you know like sometimes it gets pretty intense and so if I compare the aggressiveness in the tourist places of Pakistan vs. India I would definitely have to say that in India it's a lot more aggressive once again because there's a lot more people and once again go to Pakistan expected it to be similar but I've never been scamming even once in fact a lot of people would give me things for free are buying me things for free and stuff you know no one want to take advantage of me as a tourist why because there's very few tourists you know and now they don't have the kind of people that try to take advantage of it so it's not really a problem with Indians the fact that there's so many tourists going there and obviously some people you know will want to make maybe more money then we said this one goes to Pakistan.

Difference number eight is bus trips back in the day I used to take quite a few different buses in India because it didn't have other transportation options and if I'm being completely honest with you it was so bad oh my god it would be so hard because I would always take overnight buses and in the middle of the night they would turn on the lights and people will start shouting and screaming and trying to sell you things and waking you up like hey you want some water or water you know I mean it was a great experience for me but me and other part is like what's happening here I've never experienced before you know so maybe it was just my experience I don't know maybe other people have it a bit better but my experience traveling in Weston and it wasn't the best now I take either motorbikes or cars or taxis or trains are actually amazing and so I did take a few buses in Pakistan as well and once again expected them to be similar but actually they were very much different you know because once again I think there's not a lot of people who are trying to take advantage of tourists because there's no wrists there you know and so Lewis calm and peaceful and the lights were off and no one woke us up in the middle of the night we can do whatever we wanted you know so at least me personally I had a more comfortable experience traveling in buses in Pakistan but I could have just gotten unlucky so if you have a great experience of traveling in India by buses let me know in the comment section down below I'll apologize a hundred times but that was definitely I expect so this one goes should Pakistan oh so far Pakistan is winning yeah let's see what happens next.

Difference number nine is places to see as you know India is a much bigger country than Pakistan I mean Pakistan is huge you know but at the same time India is one of the largest countries in the world with a second largest population in the world over a billion people and because of that obviously India has more places to see that are I guess a bit more diverse that being said this for those two.

And finally difference number 10 hospitality as you know from the people who have been to both Pakistan or India both those owners are incredible you will get into many situations where people will pay for you or not ask you for money or host you for free or give you food and actually force you to eat because they care so much about your like these situations I had in India where people would wake me up in the middle of the night because I was staying in some sort of a shrine and they say no you have to eat if you don't need you're not going to be healthy come please have food with us you know like these amazing situations and in Pakistan as well there would be situations where people would pay for me and rest and simply because I was a foreigner and they wanted to be nice to me and they

wanted to be kind to me and it was really beautiful and so I have to say that when it comes to hospitality both these countries are the same meaning the score is five yeah and that's exactly the point of this video even though these countries separated but at the same time they're both absolutely random they have their differences they have their similarities but both them are really nice really beautiful really awesome places to visit so if you ever get the chance to go to both you know India and Pakistan just make sure you always look at everything with open eyes and whatever happens to just you know treated as wonderful experience and learn as much as you can from wonderful local people that's pretty much it let me know what you think about these differences in the comments section or below see you next time peace.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Sonia Gandhi gives first public speech since surgery

Sonia Gandhi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on 2 October 2011.

Sonia Gandhi has not commented on the exact nature of her illness

India's governing Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi has made her first public speech since undergoing surgery in August in the US.

She spoke at a Congress youth rally in the capital, Delhi, that was organised by her son Rahul and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Mrs Gandhi was greeted by cheers from thousands who attended the rally.

Her party has repeatedly refused to comment on her illness, but reports suggest she was treated for cancer.

The 64-year-old is seen as India's most powerful politician. She holds no official post, but many consider her to be the de facto head of the government.

Reports said Mrs Gandhi looked tired but spoke for more than 10 minutes at Tuesday's rally.

"You have the power to beat back the forces of oppression and injustice and to make a beautiful life for yourself and for others," news agency AFP quoted her as saying.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also made a speech to the thousands of party members who had gathered ahead of crucial state elections next year.

Correspondents say the Indian government faced serious problems during Mrs Gandhi's month-long absence - particularly in relation to corruption scandals - and might have coped better had she been around to give advice.

Mrs Gandhi is the widow of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. She nominated Manmohan Singh to the prime minister's post in 2004 but is frequently portrayed as being more powerful than him.

She is at the head of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which has ruled India for most of the time since independence in 1947.

Many observers and party supporters see Rahul Gandhi, who is currently an MP, as a future prime minister.