Five Years in India (20202025). Information about tourist destinations and more.
The original document was written in Spanish.
This is a translation of the original document, using ChatGPT.
Original blog entry in Spanish.
The blog entries are in Spanish, but if you’d like to read them in English, you can right-click and select "Translate to English."
Hello:
From September 2020 to May 2025, I worked as a Spanish teacher at the American Embassy School in New Delhi, India. It’s a country that fascinates me and where I have enjoyed myself immensely. During this time, I have written over 300 posts on my blog related to the country, and I have linked thousands of photos to those posts. There are also dozens of videos you can watch.
Now that I’m moving to Malaysia, I wanted to better organize all the information I’ve published on my blog, in case it might be of interest to residents or future visitors. I have arranged the information as follows:
- Tourism in the different states of India
- Delhi
- Trekking in India
- Literature
- Cinema
- Indian celebrations
- Curiosities in India
- Trains in India
- Sporting events
- Animals I come across in Delhi
- On a motorbike in India – Royal Enfield
- Topics related to my school and academic work
- Interesting neighboring countries
- Covid times in India
- My first visit to India
As a summary, I’m sharing the farewell speech I gave at the school when I left.
I hope you find it useful!
1. TOURISM IN THE DIFFERENT STATES OF INDIA
1.1. WEST BENGAL
● Trekking: Sandakphu Trek
1.2. DELHI (National Capital Territory)
(See Section 2 – Delhi)
1.3. GUJARAT
● Vadodara: Statue of Unity and Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park
1.4. GOA
1.5. HARYANA
Everything I’ve visited in Haryana was on a one-day trip from Delhi:
● Throttle Shrottle (biker bar) + Sohna Fort
● For climbing enthusiasts: Magan Valley, about 57 km from Delhi (The Crashpad – Delhi Climbs)
1.6. HIMACHAL PRADESH
● Trekking: Hampta Pass
1.7. JAMMU & KASHMIR
● Trekking: Kashmir Great Lakes
1.8. KARNATAKA
● Hampi
1.9. KERALA
● Kerala
1.10. LADAKH
● Ladakh
If you’re planning a trip to Ladakh, this contact in Leh is reliable — highly recommended!
1.11. MADHYA PRADESH
● Orchha
● Bhopal (I wanted to visit that city after reading Five past Midnight in Bhopal by Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro)
An interesting anecdote from this trip: The Traveling T-Shirt
1.12. MAHARASHTRA
● Ajanta and Ellora Caves + Daulatabad Fort + Bibi-qa-Maqbara
● Ellora Caves: Avatar of the god Vishnu as a boar in Cave 14
● Daulatabad Fort: a dark passage full of bats
● Mumbai: ASB Un-Plugged Conference
1.13. PUNJAB
● Lahore (Pakistan) – Amritsar (India) (March 2008)
● Amritsar – Delhi – Agra (March 2008)
● Kapurthala: Literary tourism after reading Passion India by Javier Moro
1.14. RAJASTHAN
● Alwar
● Chand Baori (Abhaneri)
● Sariska and Ranthambore National Parks
● Neemrana Fort Palace, a 15th-century hotel
● Udaipur–Chittorgarh–Kumbhalgarh–Ranakpur
After visiting Udaipur, I watched Skater Girl on Netflix, shot in the village of Khempur, about 50K from Udaipur. They built a skate park for the film, which is still there. If I ever go back, I’d love to visit it.
● Jaipur: Family visit (June 2022)
● Jaipur: Family visit (April 2023)
● Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Bikaner by train
1.15. UTTARAKHAND
● Road trip across Uttarakhand
● Rishikesh (March 2021)
● Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Ashram, where the Beatles stayed
● Haridwar (March 2021)
● Sadhus in Haridwar and Rishikesh
● Rishikesh & Haridwar: Family visit (June 2022)
● Rishikesh & Haridwar: Family visit (June 2023) with Edu and Eli
● Trekking: Har Ki Dun
● Trekking: Nag Tibba
1.16. UTTAR PRADESH
● Shikwa Haveli (Katha village, a one-day trip from Delhi)
● Prayagraj/Allahabad during Maha Kumbh Mela (January 2025)
● Agra – Taj Mahal (March 2008) Amritsar – Delhi – Agra + Agra + Fatehpur Sikri + Agra – Delhi.
● Several visits to Agra with family (June 2022, April 2023, June 2023) and friends (October 2022, November 2024)
● Sixth visit to the Taj Mahal
My contact in Agra = Mr. Bunty Khan (+91 96900 47428).
Super efficient, friendly, and trustworthy tuk-tuk driver.
If you need a tuk-tuk in Agra, don’t hesitate!
Whenever I go to Agra, I always call Mr. Bunty.
● Delhi–Mathura–Vrindavan–Agra with Archana
● Vrindavan: Banke Bihari Temple
● Varanasi: Visits with colleagues (Oct 2022) and family (April 2023)
1.17. TAMIL NADU
2. DELHI
2.1. THE SEVEN CITIES OF DELHI
To visit many historical places in Delhi, I used this website as a reference: Visiting historical places in Delhi — PDF guides for reference by Delhi Heritage.
● 2.1.1. Quila Rai Pithora (1180)
● 2.1.2. Siri (1303)
● 2.1.3. Tughluqabad (1320–1324)
● 2.1.4. Jahanpanah (1325–1351)
● 2.1.5. Ferozabad (1351–1388)
● 2.1.6. Purana Quila (1540–1545)
● 2.1.7. Shahjahanabad (1638–1649)
2.2. RASHTRAPATI BHAVAN
Changing of the guard, main building, museum, and gardens.
2.3. JAMA MASJID
Views from the minaret of Jama Masjid.
2.4. STEP WELLS IN NEW DELHI
I love step wells. The most famous one in Delhi is Ugrasen ki Baoli, but there are many more. In practically every one of the seven cities of Delhi, you can find one. Here are two others that usually get missed by tourists:
● Stepwell and Gumbads in RK Puram
2.5. HUMAYUN’S TOMB
2.6. SULABH INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM OF TOILETS
2.7. SIGNATURE BRIDGE OVER THE YAMUNA RIVER
The first time I saw the Yamuna River in Delhi.
2.8. WASTE TO WONDER PARK (link)
2.9. STATUE AND TEMPLE OF THE MONKEY GOD HANUMAN, KAROL BAGH (link)
2.10. LODHI ART DISTRICT
2.11. THE RIDGE & MALCHA MAHAL
Malcha Mahal are ruins inside The Ridge Park. It’s one of my favorite places in New Delhi, which is why I’ve dedicated so many posts on my blog to it.
If you only read one, make it this main one.
It includes:
● An article from The New York Times about Malcha Mahal (check the comments too — you’ll find access to them there)
● Three GPS routes you can take in The Ridge
And here, thirteen more posts showing my connection to this place:
● 5K at The Ridge (Nov 2020)
● Jackals in The Ridge (Feb 2021)
● Running at The Ridge (Aug 2021)
● Showing “The Ridge” to Toño (Aug 2021)
● Butterflies in The Ridge Park (Aug 2021)
● Running at The Ridge (Sep 2021)
● Running at The Ridge (Jan 2022)
● Horseshoes in The Ridge (May 2022)
● Regaining my rhythm in the city where the sky weeps (May 2022)
● The Ridge (Aug 2022)
● Born To Be Wild (Apr 2023)
● Malcha Mahal (Oct 2023)
● Malcha Mahal. The Ridge (May 2025)
2.12. MY NEIGHBORHOOD IN NEW DELHI: CHANAKYAPURI
Through these posts you can get to know a little about the neighborhood where I’ve lived for these five years.
● In October 2020, it was my first walk around the neighborhood after my first Covid lockdown (because of arrival from a foreign country).
● I made a video for a friend’s son who had to do a school project about India.
● Chanakyapuri is the diplomatic enclave. One day I went running around the neighborhood to see if I could get photos in front of 50 embassies.
● It’s mostly embassies, but there’s local life too — like frequent cricket matches on the streets or the sugarcane juice machine that visits the neighborhoods. Having tea at my usual stall is a joy. What’s less joyful is that in the slum right across the street there’s no running water, and a water truck has to come several times a day. A neighborhood of contrasts, no doubt.
● Besides running at The Ridge, we also have a lovely park in the area called Nehru Park. Curiously, there’s a statue of Vladimir Lenin there, which always catches people’s attention.
2.13. VISITORS IN DELHI
I’ve had no shortage of visits while living here.
If you check these posts, you might discover one or two spots you haven’t seen yet:
● Family visit (June 2022)
● Friends’ visit (Oct 2022)
● Family visit (Apr 2023)
● Family visit (June 2023)
● Georgina’s visit (Sep 2023)
● Fons’ visit (Oct 2023)
● Arch & Melody’s visit (Jan 2024)
● Ernesto’s visit (Jan 2024)
● David & Isabel’s visit (Aug 2024)
● Xabi & Shei’s visit (Aug 2024)
● Friends’ visit (Oct 2024)
2.14. POLLUTION IN DELHI
Yes, sadly it’s very real in the winter months. I dedicated several posts to this topic:
● Air Quality Index (Dec 2020)
● Pollution in Delhi (Nov 2021)
● I skipped a race due to pollution (Dec 2022)
● First day of second semester (Jan 2023)
● Classes canceled due to pollution (Nov 2024)
2.15. AES RICKSHAW RALLY
This is a super fun competition organized by AES teachers for AES teachers. In pairs, in a tuk-tuk, you have to follow clues around the city.
● 9th edition (Feb 25, 2023)
● 10th edition (Feb 17, 2024)
2.16. BARS IN NEW DELHI
Honestly, I don’t know much about bars in Delhi.
My favorite might be Summer House. Some Fridays, teachers from school head to Henry Lawson Club, at the Australian Consulate. Near home there’s also Ottimo At The West View, a restaurant with a nice terrace at ITC Maurya Hotel.
But to be honest — when it comes to bars, I’m no reference.
3. TREKKING IN INDIA
India is a paradise for trekking, especially with the Himalayas right around the corner.
Take a look at these two companies — highly recommended:
● https://trekthehimalayas.com/
If you’re into trekking, you’re sure to find something interesting with them.
These have been my experiences: Hiking trips in India.
● Sandakphu Trek with India Hikes (West Bengal)
View of Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Everest, and Makalu from Phalut (West Bengal)
● Hampta Pass with India Hikes (Himachal Pradesh)
● Har Ki Dun Trek with India Hikes (Uttarakhand)
Video + Transport from Kotgaon to Taluka (Uttarakhand)
● Kashmir Great Lakes Trek (Kashmir)
● Nag Tibba Trek (Uttarakhand)
● Pangarchulla Peak Trek – Canceled due to injury
4. LITERATURE ABOUT INDIA
One essential book to understand India is India from Within (La India por dentro) by Álvaro Enterría. It’s a compact encyclopedia that has given me countless answers about Indian history, religion, art, culture, and society. Absolutely essential!
Besides this book, I’ve read quite a few historical novels and works of fiction based in India that have helped me understand the country much better:
● Freedom at Midnight, by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins
● City of Joy, by Dominique Lapierre
● Greater Than Love, by Dominique Lapierre
● A Thousand Suns, by Dominique Lapierre
Writer Dominique Lapierre dies at 91 (December 4, 2022).
● Five Past Midnight in Bhopal, by Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro
● The Red Sari, by Javier Moro
● The Jaipur Foot, by Javier Moro
● The Buddha’s Mountains, by Javier Moro
● Passion India, by Javier Moro
● The Maharani’s Granddaughter, by Maha Akhtar
● Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie
● Victory City, by Salman Rushdie
● Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, by Salman Rushdie
● The Henna Artist, by Alka Joshi
● The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, by Alka Joshi
● The Perfumist of Paris, by Alka Joshi
● Sharpe’s Tiger, by Bernard Cornwell
● Sharpe’s Triumph, by Bernard Cornwell
● Memoirs of a Lost Princess, by Kenizé Mourad
● A Garden in Badalpur, by Kenizé Mourad
● The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma
● A Dark-Skinned Englishman, by Carolyn Slaughter
● Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramahansa Yogananda
● The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy
● Ladies Coupe, by Anita Nair
● Save the Childhood, by Kailash Satyarthi
● Spark of Compassion, by Kailash Satyarthi
● My Little Epiphanies, by Aisha Chaudhary
● The Great Arc: The Dramatic Tale of How India Was Mapped and Everest Was Named, by John Keay
● Fall Again, Rise Again, by Sandeep Aggarwal
● A Conversation with Silence, by Sanithya Jayakumar
● Mind in the mountains, by Pihu Malhotra
Every year, the New Delhi World Book Fair is held (I went on March 3, 2023), and the Instituto Cervantes in Delhi also invites writers regularly.
This is a catalog of books about India in Spanish that are available at the American Embassy School library.
5. CINEMA
If you’d like to watch some Indian films, these are easy to find on streaming platforms and I recommend them:
● Slumdog Millionaire
● Life of Pi
● Lagaan
● Laal Singh Chaddha (an Indian remake of Forrest Gump)
● Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
Hugely popular in India — everyone knows the “Señorita” song. It’s a famous road trip movie about three Indian friends traveling to Spain for a bachelor party. If you haven’t seen it, start with this one because if you tell an Indian you’re from Spain, chances are they’ll ask if you’ve seen it. It’s a lot of fun.
● Three Idiots — a very famous Indian comedy
● RRR — a recent hit full of action and dance sequences
● Pathaan
● Taare Zameen Par
● PK
● The White Tiger
6. INDIAN CELEBRATIONS
Weddings
Diwali
Gandhi Jayanti
Tagore Jayanti
India’s Republic Day
Holi
When I worked in Angola, there was a very nice couple, the Rosenfields, who had worked at my school in Delhi before. Chatting with them in Luanda, they spoke very fondly of the school, and Kristen left me with a comment I’ve always remembered:
"You'll see — they’re going to invite you to a lot of weddings."
I was surprised by that — I thought, “Wait… how come I’ll get invited to a bunch of weddings?”
Highlights:
● Wedding entrance on horseback
● Anika & Simarpreet’s wedding (Nov 20, 2020)
● Arushi & Ashish’s wedding (Nov 20, 2020)
● Satye & Karishma’s wedding (Nov 20, 2020)
● Priyanka & Sanju’s wedding (Feb 4, 2022)
● Shavy & Venkatesh’s wedding (Feb 4, 2024)
● Vineet & Neha’s wedding (Apr 26, 2024)
● Rebecca & Aakarsh’s wedding (Jan 19, 2025)
One afternoon I was relaxing on my terrace, heard noise in the neighborhood and decided to head out to watch the groom’s parade. Indian wedding in the neighborhood (Chanakyapuri, Apr 27, 2022)
Diwali
● Diwali (Nov 2020)
● Diwali (Nov 2023)
Gandhi Jayanti
October 2 is a national holiday for Gandhi’s birthday. In India’s official calendar it’s called Gandhi Jayanti.
● Gandhi Jayanti (2022)
● Gandhi Jayanti – Flower Petal Posters (2023)
● 75th anniversary of the start of Gandhi’s last hunger strike (Jan 13, 1948)
Tagore Jayanti
India’s Republic Day
Holi
● Holi in Rishikesh (Mar 2021)
● Holi in Delhi (Mar 2022)
● Holi in Mathura (Mar 2023)
7. CURIOSITIES IN INDIA
● Griha Pravesh: A Hindu ceremony performed before moving into a home for the first time.
● Linguistic diversity in India
● Shaking hands with a legend, Ajeet Bajaj
● Hugging a cow on Valentine’s Day
● In India, it’s illegal for parents to know the gender of their unborn baby.
● Small earthquake in Delhi (Feb 17, 2025) + geographical curiosities
● G20 Summit in New Delhi (Sep 10, 2023)
● Indian General Elections (May 25, 2024)
● Voting at the Spanish consulate in New Delhi
● Basque Parliament Elections 2024
● European Parliament Elections 2024
● Reception for Spain’s National Day (Oct 12, 2022)
8. TRAINS IN INDIA
One piece of advice for newcomers to India — get familiar with trains, because they’re wonderful.
Official website: https://www.irctc.co.in/nget/train-search
(To create a user account you’ll need an Indian phone number.)
Waiting list — My experience
Train No. 14035 from Delhi to Pathankot canceled due to farmers’ protests. (Train cancellations in India are very rare.)
9. SPORTS EVENTS
9.1. Cricket
● Indian Premier League (Tata IPL): Delhi Capitals vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad (Apr 29, 2023)
● Cricket World Cup: England vs. Afghanistan (Oct 15, 2023)
● Inauguration of the domestic T20 league (Aug 17, 2024)
9.2. Football (Soccer)
● Overview of India’s professional league: Indian Super League
● Punjab F.C. Stadium in Delhi — Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
● Punjab F.C. — Final match of the 2023-24 season canceled
● 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India (Oct 11-30, 2022)
9.3. Motorcycling
● MotoGP Bharat — India Motorcycle Grand Prix (Sep 24, 2023)
9.4. Motorsports
● Indian National Autocross Championship (Sep 3, 2022)
● The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally (Feb 11, 2024)
9.5. Athletics
● Highest Half Marathon on a Frozen Lake (Pangong Tso, Ladakh)
● Halloween Run — Nehru Park (Oct 31, 2020)
● Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2020 (Nov 27, 2020)
● Sunday morning run (Nehru Park, Feb 21, 2021)
● Running in the rain — AES Campus (May 19, 2021)
● Dwarka Half Marathon (Sep 5, 2021)
● 12 Hours Night Walk at Delta 105, Haryana = 65.52 km (Sep 25, 2021)
● Global Energy Run 2021 (Oct 9, 2021)
● Freedom Run 10K — Chanakyapuri (Oct 23, 2021)
● Rustic Run @Arise Village Resort by Coach Ravinder (Jan 30, 2022)
● New Delhi Half Marathon (Mar 27, 2022)
● Anusma Run 10K @National War Memorial (Oct 1, 2022)
● Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon (Oct 16, 2022)
● 44K run in Delhi (Feb 12, 2023)
● “6am Run, I Think I Love You” — Nehru Park (Feb 16, 2023)
● Apollo Tyres New Delhi Marathon (Feb 26, 2023)
10. ANIMALS I COME ACROSS IN DELHI
I’m not a birdwatcher — to this day, I can barely tell a chicken from a sparrow — but I do love seeing animals. And in Delhi, we’re lucky because wildlife is everywhere.
Divided into three parts:
10.1. Animals from my rooftop terrace:
● Monkeys, birds, lizard (May 8-9, 2021)
● “Sometimes I see monkeys” (Feb 10, 2022)
● Monkey on the rooftop (Apr 6, 2024)
● Monkeys in the terrace at home (May 29, 2025)
● Birds recorded from my apartment terrace (Aug 2021)
● Birds on the terrace (Dec 5, 2021)
● Hitchcock-style dawn in Delhi (Feb 16, 2022)
● Pigeons on my terrace (sad ending) (Aug 2022)
● Purple sunbird on the terrace (Aug 4, 2024)
● Birds (and a squirrel) from the terrace (Aug 2024 – Feb 2025)
● Migration of rosy starlings + hurricane winds (Apr 12, 2025)
● Indian black kites (May 3-4, 2025)
● The “milana bonita” returns after yesterday’s feast (May 5, 2025)
● Not only animals — during Covid I also filmed lights and shadows (May 22, 2021) and even some “paranormal” activity (May 10, 2024). Hail storm (May 21, 2025).
● And the Three Wise Men have even passed by that terrace leaving my gifts (Jan 6, 2022, 2023, 2024)
10.2. Animals on the school campus:
● Monkeys — taking out the trash (Apr 25, 2021)
● Monkey on the way to school (May 6, 2024)
● Birds (May 17, 2021)
● Black kite grazes my face (Nov 1, 2023)
● Two trapped pigeons freed from a building (Mar 15, 2024)
● Shrew (Mar 21, 2024)
10.3. Animals around the neighborhood:
● Dying mother monkey with her baby (Apr 19, 2021)
● Monkeys and dogs (May 20, 2021)
● Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in the parking lot (Oct 16, 2021)
● Two minutes of parakeets and squirrels sharing a meal (Jan 14, 2023)
● Camels on Panchsheel Marg (Mar 28, 2025)
11. ON A MOTORBIKE IN INDIA – ROYAL ENFIELD
If you like motorcycles, you’re in the right place.
India is the perfect country to get yourself a Royal Enfield.
But isn’t traffic crazy?
The answer is no. It looks chaotic, but within the chaos there’s an order. There are things you’ll learn quickly, and with a few basic rules, you’ll be fine.
A few tips you should know:
● In roundabouts, by law the right of way belongs to the vehicle inside the roundabout. In practice, in India, it’s not like that.
● Priority is mostly based on size — so, careful, because motorbikes are at a disadvantage.
● Beware of buses! They can stop anywhere, anytime, and people might hop on or off at any moment.
Main rule: Don’t let anyone project their fears onto you.
Some people will say: “Don’t buy a bike in Delhi — it’s madness.”
The first thing you should ask them is: “Do you have a motorbike?”
If the answer is no, chances are they have no idea what they’re talking about.
If you have your bike in order, keep it maintained, and ride carefully, you’ll be just fine — way better off than someone riding a beat-up bike overloaded with four people and bundles.
If you’re convinced, to buy a bike in Delhi I recommend visiting Joga Motors and asking for Ms. Rana. It’s a reliable workshop with wonderful people.
My experiences on two wheels:
● Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 350cc — my ride in New Delhi (Oct 2020)
● Motorbike shops on Shri Krishna Das Marg (Naiwala, Karol Bagh, New Delhi)
● Road trip through Rajasthan (Dec 22–28, 2020)
● Road trip through Rajasthan — Maps and bike photos
● Road trip through Uttarakhand (Mar 27–Apr 2, 2021)
● If you can ride a motorbike in India, it opens doors for you. In Ladakh I rented one, and it was one of the best experiences of my life — incredible freedom in epic landscapes.
● Rides with colleagues (Nov 22, 2020 / Dec 12, 2020 / Feb 27, 2021 / Apr 11, 2021)
● Delhi Bikers Breakfast Run (Apr 13, 2024)
● Biker bar in Haryana — Throttle Shrottle (Mar 18, 2022)
● Ride to my 14th physio session at AktivHealth (Apr 26, 2022)
● MOTORAMA – Crazy Motor Fest @Throttle Shrottle Moto Ranch, Gurugram (Mar 2023)
● Suzuki Matsuri Riding & Music Festival (Oct 1, 2023)
● Visit to Joga Motors to get the Royal Enfield running (Aug 24, 2024)
● Curiosity — Royal Enfield Bullet Machismo
● Emissions control + 15-year life limit for petrol vehicles
● May 4, 2025 — I sold my bike — Thank you, ¨Bulletina¨.
12. SCHOOL & ACADEMIC LIFE
Week Without Walls (WOW) — Student trips
School materials related to India
● Netflix in Spanish class exam + book recommendations
● ELE activity: Travel to India (Delhi) with Paco Nadal (audiovisual comprehension)
● Ramayana: Reading activity in Spanish class
Presentation about the Ganges River
American Embassy School Campus
● AES Campus (Dec 2020)
● My classroom at AES (Aug 2022)
● Last day of 2023–24 school year (May 31, 2024)
● First day of 2024–25 school year (July 30, 2024)
● Small tour of AES (Sep 7, 2021)
● AES featured on CNN (Nov 10, 2021)
● School pool (Feb 2021 & Dec 2024)
● Bomb scare at Delhi schools — evacuation protocol activated (May 1, 2024)
● International Day at AES (Feb 2022 & Feb 2024)
University visits: Jesus and Mary College
Presentations:
● Antarctic Marathon (Jan 22, 2025)
● The Camino de Santiago (Feb 19, 2025)
● Farewell party for graduating students (Apr 16, 2025)
Visits to Instituto Cervantes in New Delhi
Congress for Spanish Teachers in India (Feb 10, 2024)
Presentation of The Nine Stations Game at the 14th Encuentro Práctico de Profesores de ELE (Dec 7, 2024)
I also dabbled a bit in Hindi during my first year with Professor Pallavi.
By the way, this is me:
● Documentary Film — The Life of Mr. Castro — AES MS, Apr 25, 2025
● School promotional video — My part recorded in Jan 2022
13. INTERESTING NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES
You have loads of options nearby — here are three I’ve visited:
● Bhutan
● Maldives
14. COVID TIMES IN INDIA
Yep — I arrived in India in 2020 and those first years were strange. For the record, here’s what I wrote about that time:
● Arrival in New Delhi (Sep 21, 2020)
● First walk around the neighborhood after lockdown (Oct 6, 2020)
● Back to the classroom! (Nov 9, 2020)
● Year-end from Delhi (Dec 31, 2020)
● First Covishield vaccine dose (Apr 2021)
● One-week lockdown in Delhi (Apr 19–26, 2021)
● Running on campus during lockdown (Apr 21, 2021)
● Covid crisis in India — Donations (Apr 2021)
● Weekly fruit shopping during lockdown (May 4, 2021)
● Terrace wildlife: monkeys, birds, lizard (May 8–9, 2021)
● Column in Diario Montañés (May 9, 2021)
● Second Covishield dose (May 29, 2021)
● Half marathon on the AES campus (May 30, 2021)
● Back to Spain for summer (Jun 1, 2021)
● “When I hit 150km, lockdown will end” (Jun 4, 2021)
● Covid Diary (Apr–May 2021)
● Return to Delhi (Jul 21, 2021)
● Start of the 2021–22 school year — Home antigen tests (Aug 9, 2021)
● “Twelve years ago today” (Aug 18, 2009)
● Back to school after holidays — Antigen test (Nov 8, 2021)
● Christmas in Spain (Dec 19, 2021–Jan 5, 2022) — Traveling during Covid (Omicron)
● First post-lockdown walk, version 2 (Jan 13, 2022)
● Caught Covid (Aug 3, 2022)
● Entry requirements for Spain during Covid (May 14, 2022)
● Entry requirements for India during Covid (May 14, 2022)
● Triple vaccinated against Covid (May 14, 2022)
15. MY FIRST VISIT TO INDIA — MARCH 2008
On September 21, 2020, I landed in New Delhi to work at the American Embassy School. But it wasn’t my first visit to India. Twelve years earlier, I’d already been here, and left it documented on my blog:
● March 24, 2008: Lahore (Pakistan) – Amritsar (India)
● March 25, 2008: Amritsar – Delhi – Agra
● March 26, 2008: Agra
● March 27, 2008: Fatehpur Sikri
● March 28, 2008: Agra – Delhi
● March 29, 2008: Delhi – Dubai (UAE)
Hope to be back soon!
Javier Castro Guinea
May 2025
