India

It was a little surprising that India ended up being my 192nd country. Given its size and global significance, I had expected to visit much earlier, but that’s just how my route around the world unfolded. I was joined by my friend Kuhan, whom I’d known through tennis for years. Although he’s from Singapore, his family is ethnically Indian, making him the perfect person to experience the country with.

We began in Delhi, where the crowds, traffic, pollution, and constant energy made for an intense introduction to India. From there, we continued to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. Despite having seen countless photographs over the years, nothing prepared me for seeing it at sunrise. There was something almost magical about it, and it easily lived up to every expectation. Our next stop was Jaipur, India’s famous Pink City. Wandering through its colorful streets was a welcome change of pace. It was there that I found a handwoven carpet depicting the Taj Mahal, which remains one of the only souvenirs I collected during all of my travels.

From there, we traveled to Varanasi, India’s holiest city. Watching pilgrims gather along the banks of the Ganges River and witnessing the evening ceremonies made it easy to understand why the city holds such profound spiritual significance for millions of people. We also visited the cremation ghats, where Hindu funeral ceremonies take place around the clock. Unfortunately, our visit there was also marred by a scam. A man insisted on showing us around the cremation grounds and later pressured us into paying an outrageous amount for what he claimed was a donation of wood used for cremations. It was disappointing to experience something like that in such a sacred place.

We finished our trip in Mumbai, where we caught up with two friends. Kuhan introduced me to his friend Dev, while I reunited with Bhavik, whom I’d met months earlier while traveling through Georgia. One of my favorite parts of traveling is realizing that, over time, you build a network of friends all over the world. India was exactly what people had always described to me: chaotic, overwhelming, beautiful, frustrating, spiritual, and unforgettable. Not all of my experiences in India were positive, but I’m grateful to have experienced them all.