The beggar backflips between gridlocked traffic. She begs for rupees. Eight men pee on public property. The fiery sun sits atop marble mausoleums. To walk in a shadow of a king’s memorial. A young female taxi driver says she will worship me like a God.

Sacred cows eating produce block traffic. The children call a cow “mother”. Spiders in my bed force dreams on a tiled bathroom floor. I eat fried cheese soaked in tomato gravy. The snake charmer suspends cobras.

Islamic architecture at the Grand Mosque. Human-faced monkeys gallop toward our group. The tour guide is thorough, patient. Bollywood cinema has supreme surround sound. Vehicle horns wail incessantly. The coral pink palace enchants visitors. I take Imodium for the first time in my life.

Textile shops entrance our entourage. A print block shirt is added to my wardrobe. Lightning strikes the plane before landing. Pilgrims’ stomach-roll 70 kilometers to worship. The sacred third eye is inscribed in scarlet on my forehead. The Temple of Happiness. Narrow alleys of sewage and spice. A pamphlet on Transformation of Egoistic Consciousness. Let sleeping dogs lie.

The teen clings to my arm for cash. Everyone has an iPhone. Lattice staircases in world’s deepest water well. Armed militia at Starbucks. In Jaipur, camels stride the streets. My bare feet are washed at the Sikh temple. I wrap hair in a turban. Feet on hand-woven rugs. Visiting a Soviet era mall. Do not drink tap water. I stop eating.

Our multicultural group share adventures and adversities. In yurts next to turquoise pools we sleep. Pollution chokes lungs and swallows the sky. The Amber Fort. An ancient red sandstone façade for Indian royalty. Historically, elephants crush wrongdoers. In India she says: “except the unexpected”.