India Map

I've always been fascinated by maps. There's so much you can understand about the world simply by looking at a map. It's perfect for someone like me who learns through pictures.

On the map of India, find New Delhi, which is in the upper left corner of the country. That will give you some reference for the detail in the other map. I'm showing the detail, because it contains the cities I visited while in India.

Delhi - also known as New Delhi, but as far as I understand, it's all one big city so there's old and new Delhi. It is the capital of India and is also it's own state. Kinda like Washington D.C.

Amritsar - along the border of Pakistan, north west of Delhi in the state of Punjab.

Agra - south east of Delhi, known for the Taj Mahal. It is in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Jaipur - south west of Delhi, known for the Amber Fort and a popular city with tourists. In the state of Rajasthan, which is known for being one of the areas that people are still very traditional - in dress and in lifestyle.

Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur create what is known as "the golden triangle."

As you can see from these maps, I spent my time in a very small part of the country. Because I was there for so long (10 days), I felt like I saw a ton of the country. But I didn't. I only saw a tiny piece. I guess it would be like visiting Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado and feeling like you've seen the whole United States.

While in India, we did most of our travelling by bus. Infrastructure in India simply isn't that good so it took a long time to go very short distances. Plus it was typically a very bumpy ride due to the quality of the roadways. I far preferred travelling by train (in an air conditioned car with reserved seating...not the local trains in which people pile on top of each other to ride). If I go back to India, I would most definitely travel more by train than by car or bus.

However, the benefit of travelling by bus is that you get to see so much of the countryside. I loved driving through villages and seeing people sitting around. I was shocked at how often children would stop and wave at our obviously marked "tourist" bus. I enjoyed seeing all the cows in the street and was amazed at their ability to stay out of most people's way. I enjoyed watching our bus driver maintain control and avoid a million accidents in a country which has very little traffic organization. It was fascinating seeing the different types of houses people lived in as well as seeing the different types of crops grown across the region. It was all so fascinating and a wonderful way to see the country. I wish I had more pictures, but it's simply too hard to take them out a window as we bumped our way down the road.