Why India?

Why am I going to India?

Annette Langen, Constanza Droop: Weltbeste Briefe von Felix

Well, I have been fascinated by this country since I was a little child. At that time I got a book called "Weltbeste Briefe von Felix", a book about a plush bunny who travels the world and writes letters to his owner Sophie. In this book (there are more of them), he visits India and sends back a picture of him with the Taj Mahal. When I told my aunt about that cool building, she said that she owned a book about the Taj Mahal with lots of pictures in it and I loved that book. I couldn't believe that those people were able to build such a beautiful building. And I thought that Mumtaz Mahal was kind of lucky to have such an amazing mausoleum (although she wasn't lucky because she died quite early).

Jean-Louis Nou, Amina Okada: Taj Mahal

I must have sat there with the book for hours because at some point my aunt told me: "Once you finished your a-levels, I'm going there with you." I didn't really believe her but I liked the idea. Going to India. Seeing it with my own eyes.

I grew up, went to school and some years ago I remembered that promise. My aunt remembered it too and said it was still valid. We decided to do a trip to Asia after I finished school. First, we weren't sure where to go exactly because in the meantime I got interested in Japan, China and Tibet and nearly forgot about the Taj. But my aund had already been to China and Tibet and Japan was kinda expensive, so we decided to go to India after all.
It took us some time until we found the perfect trip. Going to Ladakh, where there is a lot of tibetan influence, high mountains and a beautiful landscape, and to visit the "typical India" including Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri sounded very interesting. In addition, the catalogue said that there would be some hiking tours and native guides, which I like very much.
Before booking the trip, I contacted a friend of mine in Delhi and asked him whether we could visit him after the guided trip was over. I wanted to see Delhi too, which isn't included in the journey. He agreed and we booked a hotel in Delhi for two nights and got a later flight.

I have never been to Asia before and I am very curious what awaits me. :)