Locations visited: Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram, India
Languages Spoken: Hindi and Telegu
Words Learned (Telegu): Thank you– ధన్యవాదాలు (Dhan’yavādālu) Goodbye- వీడ్కోలు (Vīḍkōlu)
Hello Young Adventurers!
Welcome back to India! We’re going to hit the ground running and jump right back into the adventure. The second half of my time in India was some of the most amazing days of this entire journey, and it all came down to the kindness of my friend Priya and her family who welcomed me into their homes with open arms, open hearts, and the most kindness that I’ve ever experienced. They were amazing enough to allow me, a total stranger, to not only come and stay with them, but also do so during the crazy time that comes with the final prep for a wedding. Here’s the deal friends- kindness really is what makes this world go around, and if I learned anything over the next few days, it was that it doesn’t take much to completely change someone’s life like they did mine.
My flight arrived early in the afternoon in Vishakhapatnam. I was greeted at the airport by Priya’s brother-in-law, Guru, who was kind enough to not only pick me up from the airport, but had an entire day of experiences planned out to allow me to see real daily life in India. We jumped in the car, and he took me to a beautiful Hindi temple called Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Temple. Guru led me through the rituals and taught me how to be respectful within the Hindi faith and in the temples. We were exceptionally fortunate when we were allowed to enter the inner sanctum and participate in a blessing ritual. They were kind enough to explain everything to me, and were very patient with me while I asked more questions. Honestly, this experience was beyond words, and I was so fortunate for the opportunity.
After our time in the Temple, we headed off into the country side to a small village called Boni where I got to sit in the home of the kindest lady, walk around the village, and then visit her rice paddies where her family has grown rice for years. I never expected to have the opportunity to wander through these beautiful fields, and it was honestly more beautiful than I could have words for. Rice is grown in shallow ponds. The water helps keep weeds from growing, while the rice can handle and thrive in the water. It creates a really beautiful and unique landscape to walk around. There were also some really cute puppies living in the farm. Overall, just an amazing experience.
Guru then took me up a beautiful mountain nearby to visit another smaller temple. On our way up, we met a man from the US who was planning on parachuting off the mountain. Unfortunately, the wind wasn’t right for it, so after waiting for a while, we decided to continue up the mountain before the sun set. The temple here was beautiful, and it was stunning to get to watch the sun set from the top of this mountain over the Southern Indian countryside.
Following our adventures, Guru took me to the family house to put my bags down, meet everyone, and get some much needed rest from a full day of travel and adventuring. It was so good to see Priya and her son again! It’s amazing how quickly you can become friends with people when you’re on the road and always moving. It had already felt like we had been friends for years despite only spending a few days getting to know one another the week before. It was so nice to catch up and meet the rest of the family, but I had to get to bed after a long day of travel and adventuring. We had a big morning and day planned the next day, so I headed off to sleep.
The next morning, we woke up early and I set off with Priya’s sister Roja, her niece, and brother. We were off to do a hike in the mountains near Vizianagaram ini a village called Rama Theerdham. This place has a lot of sacred significance, and is a Pilgrimage site for spiritual growth and understanding. Roja and the crew took me along the path- climbing high up the mountain, exploring ponds nestled at the top of what once was the crater of a now extinct volcano. We crawled through cracks, wandered into caves, saw ancient temples and relic sites, and I was given a lesson with each new stop. It wasn’t hard to believe why this was such an important and sacred site seeing how beautiful it was from every turn. I was really lucky to have gotten to also enjoy it all with such wonderful teachers and friends explaining and sharing everything with me as we went! Check out some of the beautiful views of the hike- and feel free to let me know if you want me to go more in-depth on anything!
Following the hike we went to another beautiful temple nearby. Roja had called ahead to get us permission to experience another blessing ceremony, and continued to share with and educate me on Hinduism. What I loved about this whole experience was we were able to find common grounds in our faiths and share with each other without anyone ever getting offended because we believe or think differently. Our different viewpoints gave us a connection, and her willingness to share her faith with me was beyond kind. I, regrettably, had not done much research or had much info on Hinduism before I left on this journey. Getting to learn more while here from a friend and experience it all first hand was just more incredible than I can put words to. This morning really was an experience I’ll never forget and always be thankful of having.
After our adventure in the temple, we headed back to the house to rest a bit before Priya’s other sister, Sindhuraj, picked me up for the next excursion! Sindhuraj is a teacher at a local school that is housed within the now renovated fort in Vizianagaram. She took me to get a chance to see the remains of the fort, as well as get a glimpse of school life here in India. The fort was beautiful, and it was wonderful getting to see it become a place of higher learning. As a teacher, I was just in my element! We wandered around and then she took me to a local music hall. Unfortunately, they were closed for the day, but we got to explore around it for a bit which was still really fun!
Priya then picked me up from the fort and we headed off to watch her local dance class do a quick traditional performance! It was SO COOL. This right here is why I travel- to get to see and learn more about the world’s musics, dances, and art forms. I could sit here and describe this for you, but why not just show you? Here’s the video I took of this amazing traditional Indian dance!
Afterwards, I got an opportunity to take a nap and relax a bit. The wedding was this evening, and the reception started around 8, but the ceremony itself wasn’t until 2AM! After my nap, my good buddy Guru picked me up and headed off to go see one more special place before the reception called Ramanarayanam. This was a temple of sorts, but slightly different in that it was made more to share the story of the great epic of the Ramayana- the events of the Vishnu Avatar Rama and his defeat of the 10-headed demon Ravana. This was really great because it really helped me piece together everything I had seen and learned over the past few days. Also here was a giant statue of the monkey god, Hanuman. Hanuman is also one of the major characters involved in the Ramayana.
The wedding and the ceremony were so much fun! I don’t have any pictures because I wanted to just enjoy the evening with my new friends and take it all in. I was super lucky, though. Priya was kind enough to let me wear a traditional outfit for the wedding, since the nicest thing I have packed in my bag was wrinkled beyond imagination and more than likely in need of being washed anyways. This may have been the single nicest thing I’ve ever worn! We danced and laughed and enjoyed the whole evening. Indian weddings are so much fun- they’re such an amazing celebration of love and the energy is unlike any wedding I’ve ever been to in the US. The colors and sounds were bright and beautiful, and everything had meaning. It was really special, and I’m so honored I was able to be included in the evening!
We got back from the ceremony around 3:30AM, and I had a wake up call at 5:30 so that we could go on a day-long adventure with the family through some of the major sites around Vishakhapatnam and Vizianagaram. I was so excited about our adventure for the day, but unfortunately was feeling pretty under the weather. One of the hardest parts about traveling is that your body never has a chance to truly adapt to the foods, water, and just environment in general of where you are if you’re constantly changing countries every few weeks. What that means is food poisoning can be pretty common for a traveler. Unfortunately between that and general exhaustion, I was not feeling well. BUT! I was not going to let this stop me- I was determined to make the most of my time!
We jumped in a large van, and the family and I headed off on our adventure. I won’t lie, optimism aside, I basically slept every time we were in the van. Our first stop was this gigantic beautiful cave. We spent some time exploring all around it, admiring the rock formations and watching the monkeys play around!
Following the cave, we went to one of the smaller villages to pick up some grains and spices for the family. This was so fun to get to see a real market outside of the big cities and major tourist sites.
We made our way next to the Tribal Village Museum where we got to see how the tribes of India used to live in a model village we got to walk around and explore. Following that we went and played at a river where you can slide down the rocks! Overall it was a really amazing day, even if I didn’t feel well made better by the kindness of my friends!
My last day in India found me exploring more into Vishakhapatnam with Guru and Sai. I still wasn’t feeling great still, and was excited to explore nonetheless. We walked along the beach and I got to put my feet in the Indian Ocean! We went to the top of a mountain and saw some stunning views as well. We even got to explore a submarine and airplane museum which was really fun. When the day ended and we were back home, we all hung out and enjoyed our final night together before I left the next day. I won’t lie- I was really sad to leave my new friends and family here in India, but I know that we will stay in touch and one day see each other again.
These past few weeks in India were some of the craziest, exhausting, and most amazing weeks of my life. I don’t have words for how incredible it was, and I’m leaving a different person than I was when I arrived, and it was largely thanks to Priya and her amazing family. Thank you to all of you for taking this strange backpacker and allowing me to feel like part of the family. Thank you for giving me a taste of home all the way from the other side of the planet. I’m off next to a country known for its beautiful beaches, stellar food, and beautiful temples next in Southeast Asia. The adventure must go on, so until then,
Have Courage, & Be Kind,
Mr. Weavil