Bikaner Camel Safari

 

Camels, sand, fresh-cooked meals, and sleeping under the stars in Rajasthan's desert dunes.

Pushkar

I am not, in my opinion, a world traveler, but I have to say with confidence that India must have one of the friendliest, or if not the most friendly, the largest percentage of friendly people in the world. I could fill terabytes of electronic space with images of  people smiling... Even if the smile precedes or follows a request for money, it's still a contagious gesture 99% of the time.

Hampi Island

If this is a backpacker's paradise, it's unquestionably a rock climber's utopia. Hampi Island is the "other side of the river" from Hampi Bazaar. It's a quiet oasis surrounded by lush rice fields and a desert of boulders.

I stayed here for nearly two weeks. I made friends. I was totally at peace. 

But this is India, there are many more jewels to mine, and so I moved on.