India, January 2005

They say that your either love or hate India...we ended up much more in the middle.  We had a great trip and a fascinating cultural experience, but were not "blown away" by sites.  That being said, we had a great experience, despite some of the harships of the travel.  We started with a few days in Mumbai and saw friends who were also visiting.  Then we flew to Varanasi to see one of the holiest cities in India and the Ganges.  From there it was overnight trains and buSses to Agra for the Taj and then south to Fatehpur Sikri, Keolodeo Bird Sanctuary and Ranthambore tiger preserve.  Over to the "lake city" of Udaipur, the blue city of Johdpur and then the golden city of Jaislmer for a camel trek in the Thar desert.  Back to Mumbai and home.
Go to the pictures

Mumbai :: Varanasi :: Agra :: Fatehpur Sikri :: Keolodeo :: Ranthambore :: Udaipur :: Johdpur :: Jaislmer

Obligatory Overview Stats
Area: 3.28 million sq km
Population: 1 billion
People: 72% Indo-Aryan, 25% Dravidian, 3% other
Language: Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Bengali, Kashmiri, English, , Marathi, Gujarati, Malayalam
Religion: 80% Hindu, 14% Muslim, 2.4% Christian, 2% Sikh, 0.7% Buddhist, 0.5% Jains, 0.4% other

Government: federal republic
GDP: US$2.2 trillion
GDP per capita: US$3,100
Annual Growth: 5.4%
Inflation: 5.4%
Major Industries: Textiles, chemicals, food processing, steel, transportation equipment, cement, mining, petroleum, machinery, rice, wheat, oilseed, cotton, jute, tea, sugarcane, potatoes, cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats, poultry, fish