India Travel Journal part 1
As an HSP, highly sensitive person, one of my self soothers when traveling is my art journal.
Travel can be exhilarating and super stimulating, and I love this! AND I need to soothe my jangled nerves most every day at some point.
I made two mixed media art journals while I was traveling, while I was backpacking for 4 months throughout incredible India. This is my larger journal, which I played in when I was in a locale for a couple of weeks. We stayed in Pushkar Rajasthan for 3 weeks, and in a tiny village in Goa in South India for 4 weeks. The rest of the time we were riding trains and buses and rickshaws and moving about.
I also created a smaller journal, which I will share in my next post. It is more of the day to day of travel, I had it with me in my daypack most of the time, unlike this one which I mainly worked on in my own room.
Travel and Play in Rajasthan, India
My traveling companion, life partner and creative collaborator and I traveled to Rajasthan India this past winter, spending almost 3 months in the state! This truly was the journey of a lifetime, and I have no doubt I will go again someday. T
Oh India how I love you!
My traveling companion, life partner and creative collaborator and I traveled to Rajasthan India this past winter, spending almost 3 months in the state! This truly was the journey of a lifetime, and I have no doubt I will go again someday. Textile much?? ohhh la la!
India always has an abundance of colour and light and Rajasthan was even more intensely flavoured than I thought. We arrived in Delhi in December and left the city within hours as we saw and smelled for ourselves how smoky and polluted the air is at that time of year. We had planned to spend a few days, having never been there and knowing that in the city there is one of the biggest markets in South Asia, Chowdi Chowk, amongst many other delights.
We instead headed to Jaipur! The PINK city. 6 million souls, a HUGE city by Canadian standards. This was our first taste of north India, after having only traveled in the south in the past. We LOVED it. And we were overwhelmed by it. The wonders and charms though won us over, with glorious streets filled with sari shops, bangle shops, and the thriving intensity of a city on the move. It felt stimulating beyond measure coming from our quiet west coast tiny island life.
We ate and drank street food, always a no no, but still we did and we survived and thrived. Fresh whipped lassis, fresh veg juice and samosa stands with yummy chutney!
And yes, it was very busy, extremely noisy and polluted too! We went to Amber Fort, nearby the city and it was a blessing to be within a palace and fort out of the hectic big city. It was filled with many tourists, mostly Indians visiting their own landmarks. It felt very fun to be touring with people of India admiring their own heritage.
The palaces are incredible! And the PEOPLE?? Amazing!!
p.s. also, my big love…TEXTILES! pix to come.