Site search
sponsored by
News
Outdoors
ENLARGE
During winter break, a group of Mesa State College students explored the tropical Hindu lands of Southern India.
India, with more than a billion people, an average annual income of $977, and a landscape that stretches from the highest peaks on the planet to the tropical lowlands of Kerala, is one of the greatest destinations on earth.
No place challenges your pre-conceived notions of the world more than India. High rise luxury apartments stand adjacent to slums of a million people. Bustling markets sell everything from garlands of bright flowers and fresh vegetables to pirated Hollywood movies and miles of silk fabric. One moment you're watching children playing cricket in the streets, the next moment a cow painted yellow for a Hindu festival crosses your path. You never know what India will throw at you.
While backpacking for five weeks, we traveled from the rock-cut temples of Ajanta and Ellora to the palm-fringed rivers of Kerala's backwaters. We explored the mysterious landscape of Hampi, getting lost in the maze of boulders and temples of this ancient Hindu empire. We marveled at the grandeur of Mysore palace, hiked in the endless sea of green tea plantations, and contemplated the meaning of peace in the house where Gandhi started India's independence movement.
The students learned how to travel independently, taking public transportation, staying in local hostels, eating at local restaurants, and living out of a single backpack. Backpacking travel is not easy, it requires patience, courage, stamina, open-mindedness and a willingness to go with the flow. The best part about this trip is that students got to learn about international issues first hand, away from the classroom and into the real world. Along the way we learned about the harsh realities of being a street kid in Mumbai and the community atmosphere of the slums. We volunteered in Goa, building an entire hygiene station and play yard for the Leading Light Slum School. Most of all we learned about a culture that is often strange, but yet so similar to ours. It just doesn't matter where you are in the world, people pretty much want the same thing, to live in peace with their families and friends and have the basic necessities to realize that dream.
Come experience what it takes to travel to India, from trekking in Mudumalai Tiger Sanctuary to learning meditation in an India ashram. India is the ultimate destination; don't miss a fascinating night of stories and photos of this amazing part of the world.
India, with more than a billion people, an average annual income of $977, and a landscape that stretches from the highest peaks on the planet to the tropical lowlands of Kerala, is one of the greatest destinations on earth.
No place challenges your pre-conceived notions of the world more than India. High rise luxury apartments stand adjacent to slums of a million people. Bustling markets sell everything from garlands of bright flowers and fresh vegetables to pirated Hollywood movies and miles of silk fabric. One moment you're watching children playing cricket in the streets, the next moment a cow painted yellow for a Hindu festival crosses your path. You never know what India will throw at you.
While backpacking for five weeks, we traveled from the rock-cut temples of Ajanta and Ellora to the palm-fringed rivers of Kerala's backwaters. We explored the mysterious landscape of Hampi, getting lost in the maze of boulders and temples of this ancient Hindu empire. We marveled at the grandeur of Mysore palace, hiked in the endless sea of green tea plantations, and contemplated the meaning of peace in the house where Gandhi started India's independence movement.
The students learned how to travel independently, taking public transportation, staying in local hostels, eating at local restaurants, and living out of a single backpack. Backpacking travel is not easy, it requires patience, courage, stamina, open-mindedness and a willingness to go with the flow. The best part about this trip is that students got to learn about international issues first hand, away from the classroom and into the real world. Along the way we learned about the harsh realities of being a street kid in Mumbai and the community atmosphere of the slums. We volunteered in Goa, building an entire hygiene station and play yard for the Leading Light Slum School. Most of all we learned about a culture that is often strange, but yet so similar to ours. It just doesn't matter where you are in the world, people pretty much want the same thing, to live in peace with their families and friends and have the basic necessities to realize that dream.
Come experience what it takes to travel to India, from trekking in Mudumalai Tiger Sanctuary to learning meditation in an India ashram. India is the ultimate destination; don't miss a fascinating night of stories and photos of this amazing part of the world.
