We recently got back from a two-and-a-half-week trip through India and Nepal, with a brief stopover in Turkey on the way home. It was an incredible trip that took us from Delhi to Kathmandu, visiting amazing places like Jaipur, the Taj Mahal, the holy city of Varanasi, Chitwan National Park, Buddha’s birthplace, and a Himalayan base camp on the way!
Most of the trip was booked through G Adventures, so we traveled with 12 other 18-39 year olds from around the world. India was a bit of an intimidating country for me (and we did end up getting sick a few times!), so I was glad we booked through a tour, only heading off on our own at the end of the trip with some extra days in Kathmandu and the stopover in Istanbul. Check out the full G Adventures itinerary here. If you’re outside the 18-39 age bracket, they offer a very similar trip with no age limitations as well. Note you can also book this trip in the other direction, from Kathmandu to Delhi, but we’d recommend sticking with the way we went, since you’ll experience the chaos of India first and the more laid-back Nepal afterward.
If you’re looking for more information on traveling to India and Nepal, check out the following posts.
- Know Before You Go: North India & Nepal (coming soon)
- How to Stay Healthy While Traveling (coming soon)
- What to Pack (+ Wear!) for India & Nepal (coming soon)
- 5 Books to Read in India & Nepal (coming soon)
- One Day in Istanbul (coming soon)
Otherwise, read on for a quick summary and itinerary of our trip!
Day 0: flying from Minneapolis to Delhi via Chicago and Istanbul
It took quite a while to get from Minnesota to Delhi! All told, with flight time and layovers, we spent about 30 hours! There were two stopovers in Chicago, and in Istanbul (whose airport is amazing!) but besides trouble sleeping and being jetlagged, the journey wasn’t too eventful.
Day 1: New Delhi
We arrived in Delhi at about 5am local time, so we were pretty exhausted. The day started with a brief misunderstanding. When we stepped out of the airport, we noticed right away how hazy it was – we could barely see 50 yards out! We asked the G Adventures guy who was there to take us to our taxi (which was through the wonderful Women on Wheels organization, by the way). If that was the smog, and if it always looked like that, and he said yes to both! We were shocked and wondered how anyone could live there.
Later, of course, we realized that the effect was mostly from fog, not smog. Though New Delhi does have problems with air pollution, when we stepped out of our hotel later (after check-in and a nap), visibility was completely fine. Our walk was just around the neighborhood of our hotel, which was mainly auto parts shops. Just crossing the street was crazy, as we darted our way through the chaotic mix of pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles, tuk tuks, cars, dogs, and other street animals. We were a bit overstimulated and tired after only a few blocks and so returned to the hotel. Being culture-shocked by the ‘organized chaos’ of India’s traffic system would be a common theme during the trip. Everyone is honking all the time, and the lanes are more of a suggestion. It actually took me a couple of days to even realize India was left-side drive, since anywhere on the road is fair game!
That first evening we met Dushyant, our guide, and the rest of the group. After a brief orientation we piled into taxis and headed to Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a gorgeous gold-domed Sikh temple. There we removed our shoes, washed our hands and feet, and put on head coverings. Dushyant had a surprise for us, which was that we would help prepare the food for the up to 30,000 people the temple feeds each day, then eat with the locals. It was really interesting and definitely a “dive in headfirst” start to our trip.
We also stopped briefly at India Gate, a memorial for those Indians who died in the WW1. We also walked around the Connaught Palace for a bit, then went back to the hotel and went to sleep. The trip would begin in earnest tomorrow!
Day 2: Pushkar
We took a train from Delhi to Ajmel, which took about six and a half hours. On the way, we enjoyed some rail station chai masala and enjoyed the views out the window of the countryside – towns, fields, women carrying loads balanced on their heads, and lots of cows.
From Ajmel we took a cab to Pushkar (noting the crazy traffic again!), then settled into our hotel. It was quite nice and we sat out in a lovely garden after ordering food from the restaurant. I got to have my favorite Indian dish, muttar paneer (peas and cheese in a tomato-spice sauce)! Then we were off to see Pushkar Lake, where devout Hindus bathe.
The evening was spent taking camels to a camp in the Thar Desert, where we had dinner. The camel ride was about an hour and a little uncomfortable, but it was a very cool experience and the desert views were beautiful. At the camp we dressed in traditional Rajasthani clothes and then were entertained by a magic show and traditional song and dance. There was even a fire eater! They then served us dinner and we ate under the stars. 🙂
Day 3: Jaipur
We traveled from Pushkar to Ajmel again, then took a local train from there to Jaipur. Our hotel in Jaipur (pictured above) was very nice, and actually used to be a palace! That afternoon we went shopping. First to a workshop where we got to see them cut gemstones (and then of course shop for jewelry) and then to a block-printing place, where we made our own small block-printed designs and then shopped. Ryan ordered a couple of custom shirts there and I ordered a couple of custom skirts, so that was fun! The evening concluded with a wonderful dinner and drinks on a rooftop bar.
Day 4: Jaipur
Our second day in Jaipur was very busy! After feeding some cows for good karma, we walked through the spice market with our guide, then took a tour of the impressive Amer Fort. We then traveled into the mountains/jungle outside the city to see the incredible monkey temple, where I had the opposing experiences of being shoved by a protective mother monkey and being blessed by a Hindu priest! That area was very peaceful (that one monkey aside), and I highly recommend visiting beautiful Galtaji Temple if you’re ever in the Jaipur area.
Then, in the afternoon, we went to beautiful Raj Mandir cinema, where we watched a Bollywood movie – Jawani Jaaneman. Though we were a bit disappointed that there weren’t any Bollywood dance numbers in it, we all enjoyed the story and were surprised at how much we understood, despite none of us speaking any Hindi!
That evening we took a cooking class at a lovely local home with a big garden in the back. They taught us to make a variety of North Indian dishes and the experience was very hands-on. Then we feasted on our creations around a fire. Ryan’s and my custom clothes were finished and the shop guy brought them to the cooking class house on motorcycle, so we actually got to change into and model them a bit at dinner, which was a lot of fun too!
Day 5: Agra
Ah, day five. Where things started to go a bit sideways.
Ryan and I both had digestive issues in the morning, which included him puking in the flowerbeds right before we were about to leave our hotel in Jaipur. Others in the group were also sick and vomiting, so some stayed behind to see a doctor. We chose to still take the train to Agra. Our reasoning was that, at least there are bathrooms on the train and, since the car ride wouldn’t save any time, we might as well get to the hotel sooner to rest. It was Taj Mahal day, and since it was Thursday and the Taj closes except to Muslims for prayer on Fridays we knew we had to get to Agra.
I regretted that choice when I woke up from a nap on the train and knew I needed to throw up. I rushed to the back of the car, where the toilets (one very filthy Western toilet and three squat toilets) were, but didn’t make it. So I ended up projectile vomiting in the aisle of the train – not my most glamorous moment. There was an Indian man in the back row of the train, and I found it humorous later that when he saw me coming he just picked up his briefcase and moved to the windowseat. He didn’t seem annoyed or grossed out – his attitude seemed very “just another day in India”. Our guide and the train manager were also very helpful and we got everything cleaned up. Ryan later puked off the side of the train, and several more group members got sick on that train ride too. I think over half ended up ill that day. 😐
Finally we reached our hotel in Agra and were able to try to eat and drink a little something to settle our stomachs, then nap. All too soon, though, it was time to head to the Taj Mahal. It was incredible of course – very beautiful and grand, but also a little sad since it was built by grief. We did have a bit of trouble enjoying it, as we still felt quite ill. We walked along the reflecting pool with our group and the guide, then stopped at the mosque to the left of the mausoleum. There they set us free to explore for 45 minutes before we’d meet up and hear more about the creation of this world wonder.
I think we spent the first 15-20 minutes of that time just sitting at the mosque. 🙂 Finally we forced ourselves to walk through the mausoleum – and were grateful that it was at least dark and cool inside – before walking back to the main gate and our group. We had to stop quite a few times on the way back, and I just kept telling myself “don’t puke in the reflecting pool, don’t puke in the reflecting pool”. 🙂
The others went to a rooftop bar to see the Taj Mahal and the sunset after, but we headed back to the hotel since we were feeling so ill and basically fell asleep immediately. They say 7 / 10 travelers to India will come down with “Delhi Belly”, but we hadn’t expected it to hit us quite so soon!
Day 6: Agra
We slept in since we weren’t feeling well, then got up around 11am so Ryan could get a screw in his glasses tightened at an eye doctor across the street (they did it no charge, which was nice!) and we could get some plain food at the Pizza Hut next to the hotel. After being able to eat a bit of lunch, we felt well enough to venture out again and see Agra’s other two main sights: Agra Fort and the Baby Taj.
Agra Fort was a large structure made of red sandstone that was the home of the Mughal emperors for many years before the capital moved to Delhi. There were tons of rooms, courtyards, and gardens so it was fun to explore and get a little bit lost. Our tuk tuk driver said that the Baby Taj had better inlay work than the Taj Mahal, and we found out that he was right. There was also a lot of paint or fresco work there that was very pretty. Dushyant suggested the Baby Taj should really be nicknamed the “Mother Taj” since it came before and inspired the Taj Mahal.
After another rest at the hotel, we set off again with Dushyant and two others from our group who had been unable to see the Taj Mahal since they had stayed behind for the doctor in Jaipur. We were heading to the rooftop bar from the night before so they could see it and we could see what we’d missed. Afterward Dushyant surprised us with a boat ride to see the Taj Mahal and its reflection out on the river, which was incredible and – we were happy to tell the other two from our group – almost better than going inside it.
That night we took a sleeper train to Varanasi, which was a bit of an adventure, but overall we didn’t sleep too badly and were happy that it wasn’t too late leaving Agra or arriving in Varanasi, since Dushyant said there are sometimes up to 12 hour delays!
Day 7: Varanasi
We arrived in Varanasi in the morning and walked to our hotel. Then Ryan and two others from our group had a nice lunch at the restaurant next door. I stuck to rice in case of more stomach issues, though I was feeling quite a bit better. Then the women from the group went to a local salon, where we all got henna designs (or mendhi) done. It was fun to get done together, and though not everyone in the group loved their design they were quite cheap – about $4 for both sides of one hand. For reference, I later got a henna design (which I absolutely loved) done at a spa in Kathmandu, but that cost about $17.
After another quick break at the hotel, we visited a colony of 10-15,000 people who have worked in the manufacturing of silk since the Mughal dynasty. It was cool to see parts of the process and the machinery, though they said the delicate handwork is still done in rural areas. I bought a few pashminas and a scarf there before we left.
A few of us in the group went out to dinner at a restaurant near our hotel, where we had some good Indian food and Ryan and I introduced the others to Thums Up, an Indian cola with less sugar than Coke and a very nice flavor. We then hit a bar afterward and all drank Carlsberg “strong elephant” beer, which seemed to be the only thing they served. We had a good time laughing about our train-puking adventures and also took some time to reflect on our trip and how eye-opening the poverty and some of the other things we’d experienced had been for all of us.
Day 8: Varanasi
The day started around 9:30am, with about half of our group heading out in tuk tuks for a trip to see Sarnath, the archaeological site where Buddha made his first five disciples. Nearby we also visited a Sri Lankan temple, Dhamek Stupa, the Sarnath archaeological museum, and a lovely park with an 80-foot statue of Buddha.
We grabbed a quick lunch from McDonald’s (across from which I spotted a statue of the Rani of Jhansi, who I was reading a historical fiction novel about on the trip!). After scarfing down our lunch at the hotel, we were off again in tuk tuks toward the Ganga River. (Ganges was the name the English gave it). We walked down the winding, shop-filled streets of Varanasi, which were especially busy because of the full moon. We saw a prayer school, a hospice (there are many in Varanasi since Hindus believe that if you die there you’ll be released from the cycle of reincarnation), and the Golden Temple (though only from afar).
Then we went out on the river by boat, which was very peaceful and pleasant. We went close to one of the cremation areas and were able to see about eight funerals in session, which was an incredible experience. Dushyant gave us a primer on the Hindu religion then, and also pointed out that though there were so many cremations going on, there was no smell, only that of burning wood. There’s a legend that says Shiva made that so in Varanasi.
After our first of two boat rides for the day, we wandered back through Varanasi’s winding streets to have lassi (a sort of Indian yogurt-and-fruit smoothie) at the Blue Lassi, which was quite good. We then returned to the riverside and got on a boat again, this time floating in the other direction. As night fell and the red full moon rose over the river, we were able to see monks perform a prayer ceremony with singing, bells, and fire. The evening ended with us making wishes on flower-candles that we set afloat down the Ganga River.
Day 9: Border Crossing
This day was all about crossing from India to Nepal. We woke early and caught a train to Gorakhpur, then got on a small bus, stopping briefly at a restaurant where we had some great veggie fried rice and noodles. The views along the way, of fields and rural towns, were quite nice and the terrain slowly became more jungle-y.
Finally we reached the Indian Immigration side. A new building had just been built there, so things were a bit disorganized, but we eventually all got our exit stamps. There was also a coronavirus info booth set up outside the building. We then walked for a few hundred yards through a busy market area and across the India-Nepal border. Then we each submitted our visa applications (complete with passport photo and 30USD) and eventually all got our visas approved. Then Dushyant surprised us with an amazing private tour bus, complete with A/C! We were all so happy that he’d been able to pull some strings and get us a private bus all the way to Pokhara (Nepal public transportation is a bit less reliable than India’s and a bus would be faster for many areas).
We then took our new bus to the hotel, where we checked in and noted how peaceful and quiet Nepal seemed compared to India. Then we joined the group for dinner, having Gorkha beer, a Khukhuri rum & Coke, and chicken momos. (Momos are stuffed dumplings and definitely Nepal’s must-try dish). We had some great discussions with the group about travel, politics, prisons, weddings, and more, comparing differences between our different countries and backgrounds.
Even that first night I started to feel that Nepal was a bit of a double-edged sword. While we were enjoying ourselves, with nicer amenities and less noise and crowds, the reasons for our more relaxed circumstances there compared to in India all had to do with Nepal’s poverty. Our dollars went further, so the hotels we stayed in and restaurants we ate at were very nice, and the main reason for less-crazy traffic is that fewer Nepalis can afford cars. Even the streets were cleaner, but mostly because things were reused so much and single-use plastics, wrappers, and other things that make up so much of garbage are not as readily available to the average person in Nepal as they were to Indians. Many houses were very nice and had interesting architectural details, but we learned that was a sign that one of the children was working for the family in another country, usually India or countries in the Middle East.
We absolutely loved Nepal and hope things are improving and the government is becoming more stable. They launched a Visit Nepal 2020 initiative, which was really fun to see while we were there (loved all the yeti sculptures around Kathmandu!). Tourism is a huge part of their GDP and source of income for Nepal. Unfortunately with the current pandemic I’m afraid it may have been a bad year to choose for such an initiative. 🙁
Day 10: Lumbini / Chitwan
The Peace Pagoda in Lumbini was our first stop of the day after all piling back into our bus. After WW2, a Japanese monk set out to build 80 peace pagodas around the world, and one of them is in Lumbini, near Buddha’s birthplace. We actually visited the Maya Devi temple, which contains third-century BC archaeological ruins depicting Buddha’s birth. Outside the temple is a sacred pool and the (very old) tree against which Buddha’s mother leaned when he was born. Between that tree and the others in the garden are strung colorful flags and prayer lanterns that blew peacefully in the breeze. We each placed an incense stick at the base of the tree and then were blessed by a Buddhist monk.
Our next stop was up in the mountains, at a roadside restaurant where we ate veggie noodle soup while overlooking the jungle. Finally, after a bit longer on the bus, we reached the Barauli Community Homestay. We were warmly greeted by local Tharu women, who marked our foreheads with bright pink powder, put necklaces of roses and folded leaves around our necks, and handed us glasses of delicious hibiscus juice with lime, cinnamon, and apple slices.
Each pair/couple of our group stayed in half of a thatched-roof hut with nice beds, rainfall showerheads, and the fluffiest towels of the whole trip. All the food we ate there in the hall throughout our stay was also great – especially breakfast! – and there was a bar area where the wifi worked pretty well.
After we’d settled in, we bugsprayed up and Dushyant took us off for a surprise, which turned out to be watching the sunset across the river from Chitwan National Park. We ate chai masala and cookies, saw rhino footprints in the mud, and enjoyed the serene environment. Then we returned for dinner and a safari presentation, where a local man talked about the types of plants and animals we might see on our jeep safari the next day. Before bed we sat around a campfire and swapped ghost stories under the stars.
Day 11: Chitwan
After breakfast, Dushyant took us on a walk around Barauli village. Being there in springtime was great because we were able to see baby goats, puppies, chicks, ducklings, etc. It was also interesting to see some water buffalo, which show up on many Nepal menus as “buff”. People smiled or greeted us with a friendly namaste as we walked, and the school bus full of kids passed us twice, the kids excitedly waving to us all the while.
Next our group played a quick game of cricket (which I don’t think we ever quite understood the rules of, lol) before going on a bike ride to explore more of Barauli. The most exciting part of that was seeing elephants! We saw three, all owned by a local hotel, and two were quite close to the fence and came over to see us! Our local guide also kept stopping so we could play with puppies and baby goats. 🙂
Then after lunch it was time for the safari in Chitwan National Park! All 14 of us got on top of a large Jeep with the guide from that morning’s bike ride and cricket game, who would also be our guide as we looked for tigers, leopards, rhinos, and other animals. It’s fairly rare to see tigers (because they’re nocturnal and no one is allowed in Chitwan between sunset and sunrise) or leopards (because their coats make them hard to spot up in the trees), but we were assured 9 / 10 safaris would see rhinos. We saw lots of spotted deer, hog deer, and macaque monkeys. There were also Siberian ducks, a few peacocks, a stork, a baby owl, and several other birds I had no name for. We stopped at a lookout tower over the river, but saw no rhinos or tigers.
Then, finally we saw a rhino eating in the undergrowth quite close to our jeep! We all got excited and took lots of pictures. Shortly after moving on, we saw another rhino out walking in the river (pictured above). Finally as we were leaving, we spotted one more rhino and her baby, though they were hidden in the jungle and we only caught glimpses of them. All in all, quite a wonderful safari!
Back in the village, the locals dressed us in traditional Tharu clothing (which involved a lot of tying and draping), then gave us delicious ‘mint cooler’ drinks before their song and dance show began. The dances were very cool – they involved ‘fighting’ with sticks and balancing pots on their heads, plus lots of singing and drums. Many of the families of them women who were dancing and men who were drumming came out to see them as well, and at one point we were all pulled into the crowd to dance too. It really felt like we were participating in the show and not just watching, which was really nice! After a tasty dinner (more momos!), we headed to bed, a bit sad to leave behind such a wonderful community.
Day 12: Pokhara
The trip from Chitwan to Pokhara was a long one, but luckily there were beautiful views of mountains, forests, and rivers along the way, and the trip was broken up by two stops. The first was at gorgeous Lamo Jharana, a 60m waterfall in an idyllic jungle setting that we were able to enjoy after a 20 minute hike. The second stop was at a tourist restaurant along the way, where we had delicious Oreo and Kit Kat milkshakes!
Our first stop upon arriving in Pokhara was at a Tibetan refugee community. We saw women weaving rugs and then looked through a photo gallery full of photos and information about the Chinese invasion of Tibet and the plight of the refugees, as well as the Tibetans left behind. I didn’t know much about any of that before, so it was very eye-opening! Afterward we shopped from Tibetan merchants. I bought some bracelets, hand-painted elephants, and (best of all) found four new antique brass camels for my collection!
We then stopped briefly at Devi’s Falls nearby and made wishes in the fountain there. After checking into our hotel, we went to dinner with the Sisterhood of Survivors (SASANE), where we got a lesson in making momos, ate dinner, and learned about the terrible impact of human trafficking in Nepal, and the difficulties that come from escaping from that life and reporting crimes against women. It was safe to say it was a very eye-opening day!
Day 13: Pokhara
We got up quite early and were off to the airport for our helicopter ride to Mardi Base Camp. My stomach lurched a bit as we flew over the city of Pokhara, but quickly we were among 20,000+ feet Himalayan mountains before landing at the base camp. There we had about 25 minutes to walk around and get pictures of the Annapurna range surrounding us, including the sacred peak of Machapuchare (meaning “fishtail”) mountain. It was definitely a cool experience – our first helicopter ride! – that ended all too soon.
There wasn’t much else planned for the day, so we ate breakfast and then walked the road along the edge of Fewa Lake, enjoying by turns the shops on one side of the street and the beautiful views of the lake and colorful boats on the other. The day was clear enough that from some parts of the lake we could even see a few snow-capped peaks of the Annapurna range. When we were all shopped out we returned to the hotel.
Since one of our group members was staying Pokhara (and I guess also as it happened to be Valentine’s Day), we went out to a nice restaurant together as a bit of an early farewell dinner. We joked and laughed, shared favorite memories of the trip, ate pizza and drank cocktails, and were presented gifts (decks of cards featuring Kama Sutra positions!) from our guide. It was a fantastic evening, even if the trip wasn’t quite over yet.
Day 14: Pokhara / Kathmandu
We rose early and headed up Sarangkot mountain to view the sunrise over the Annapurna range. Unfortunately it was too foggy to see that far, so we saw views of terraced fields and little villages instead. Then we were packed up and off on our way to Kathmandu!
It was a very long trip. We took several breaks along the way for food and bathroom use, but mostly I enjoyed the views from the bus window again. Kathmandu is situated in a valley, so we had to go up and then down to enter it. During the ‘up’ part there was quite a traffic jam, so we were stuck for a while and passed the time with a game of I-Spy.
Finally, after dark, we reached our hotel in Kathmandu. We had another goodbye dinner at a local restaurant, which was partially a goodbye to our guide. Most of us were staying Kathmandu for at least part of the next day, but he had to leave quite early the next morning. It definitely felt like our trip was coming to an end, though we had two more nights in Kathmandu!
Day 15: Kathmandu
Ryan and I joined up with another couple from our group who were leaving that afternoon for a whirlwind tour of Kathmandu’s main sites. We ended up hitting everything on their list before they had to return to the hotel and take a cab to the airport, so we were quite happy with that!
On our guide’s advice we started with Durbar Square. There were so many monuments and temples there, and seeing people visit them and leave offerings really made you feel how small a tip of the iceberg we’d really seen with the local cultures and religions. Sadly some of the monuments were destroyed during the earthquake in 2015, but most were in the process of being rebuilt and there was still a great deal to see. By the time we were done the crowds were picking up a bit, so I think that square is best seen in early.
Next we visited Swayambhunath Stupa, nicknamed ‘the monkey temple’ by tourists for the tons of monkeys that live around there. I purchased some old coins from a man and we made wishes in a fountain, then headed up the stairs to the stupa. The views of Kathmandu from up there were also very nice, and there was noticeably less air pollution. I was a little afraid of all the monkeys, but it was cool to see the stupa and all the smaller monuments around us. A man there also told me a lot about the site, including that the colors of prayer flags represent the five elements (red = fire, yellow = earth, green = water, white = air / wind, and blue = sky). After seeing the stupa, we walked up the stairs opposite to a very peaceful area with more smaller stupas and a monastery flanked by prayer wheels and strung with more prayer flags.
The last place on the list was Boudhanath, one of the largest stupas in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s in a lovely square with shops, restaurants, and monasteries, one of which we were able to visit briefly that was quite beautiful inside. After taking a cab back down into the valley, we said goodbye to the other couple and then went to lunch.
The rest of the day was spent shopping for souvenirs in the the Thamel district near our hotel. This mostly consisted of window shopping for silk rugs hand-knotted in Kashmir, India, and we had a very hard time keeping our willpower intact and not dropping $2000 on a rug, they were all so beautiful!
Day 16: Kathmandu
On our last full day in Kathmandu, Ryan did a one-day mountain biking excursion. I decided to spend my time in a more relaxing way, so I set up a massage and henna appointment at a spa, then walked around doing a bit more shopping for souvenirs. I met a very nice woman who invited me into the back of her shop and made me a chai masala. We chatted for a while about our families and my trip (she grew up near Chitwan) before I had to leave for my appointment, and it was really nice getting to know her.
Then it was off to the spa, where I first spent some time in the sauna and then had a one-hour Ayurvedic massage. I also got a henna design that I loved (and was complimented on by several locals since I was letting it dry while finding a place for lunch and doing some more shopping). Finally Ryan was done mountain biking (which he thoroughly enjoyed) and we switched to our other hotel before eating our last dinner and having a few cocktails before leaving Nepal.
Day 17: Kathmandu / Istanbul
The hotel staff at breakfast noticed I had a bit of a cough (I think mostly from the air pollution in Kathmandu, which is some of the worst in the world) and immediately made me a special lemon-ginger tea that helped a great deal. I was touched, and it made me sad to be leaving this country where everyone has been so friendly and welcoming to us!
We made it to the airport and through security without issue, and were able to wave goodbye to the Himalayas from the airplane shortly after we’d taken off.
Day 18: Istanbul
If you’d like to read more about our time in Istanbul, check out One Day in Istanbul [coming soon].
Day 19: Home sweet home!
Finally we returned home, driving from the airport and arriving home around 3am!
I hope you enjoyed this quick blog of our trip to India and Nepal! We had a very memorable trip, and so many experiences that we couldn’t have had anywhere else. Feel free to post any questions about the trip or about traveling to that part of the world in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer!