We have left the heavy haze around greater Delhi travelling along busy highways and backroads lined with a mass of humanity. We travelled through the state of Haryana an area of fertile landscapes where we saw mustard seed and wheat crops, and some being hand harvested by small groups of women. At times we travelled close to the the Aravalli Range, it is the primary mountain system spanning Rajasthan and Haryana, representing one of the world’s oldest fold mountain ranges. The range is chiefly vegetated with scrubland except for the one or two temples found on some peaks.

Crossing into the state of Rajasthan, which is a drier desert like countryside native vegetation is comprised of thorny small trees and scrubland. Everywhere humanity hugs the busy roads and we encountered varied living conditions, some looked exceptionally tough. Once you leave the main highways the roads are still bitumen but narrow and rough, it is said the roads have potholes to ensure tourists don’t fall asleep and miss anything as they travel through the Indian countryside.

We have observed many unusual driving and loading styles and watched believers walking confidently down the side of the road with flags in hand on their way to worship their deity waving to us as we pass them by.

Our night time stop was Alsisar a country village (of 20,000) not on the regular tourist route. A place once of opulent Havelis, now decaying with the exception of those restored to accommodate tourists to help pay the maintenance bills or wealthy owners. Havelis are traditional, ornate courtyard mansions common in northern India.

Locals in general are not accustomed to seeing European tourists and some are shy and cautious others, particularly children many fluent in English, engage us in conversation. If you make an effort to speak in Hindi the locals cautious behaviour quickly becomes very friendly.

Our accommodation is Indra Vilas which is a heritage listed site and it is beautiful and ornate, walls are lined with frescos and art. We learn that those murals with an absence of blue paint are older than 250 years, the time in which such color was introduced. The blue paint comes from Indigo. Interestingly we have seen no graffiti in India. We walk through part of the the town where we are objects of curiosity for the locals as we explore their towns amazing architecture. We stop to peruse the vegetable market stalls and try some of the street food, the Peda was delicious. People live in and around the beautiful buildings many in a decaying state. There is a great deal of sophisticated and artistic qualities still preserved in these buildings.

We learnt today that Indians have a great deal of respect for the natural environment trees and animal are protected. Cattle are found everywhere and cannot be harmed and never touched, consequently they move about and occupy yard, road and paddock. Trees are equally protected with three species in particular. Banyan (national tree), Peepal, Neem, and Bael being the most prominent, frequently found near temples. These trees, representing the Hindu trinity and various gods, are integral to rituals, offering shade, medicinal benefits, and air purification.

Interestingly India has not experienced large‑scale deforestation in recent decades. In fact:

• India’s forest cover has been stable or slowly increasing for over 20 years.
• National policy strongly restricts clearing of natural forests.
• Most land‑use change in India is urban expansion, not broadscale clearing.

Australia has one of the highest land‑clearing rates in the developed world, especially in Queensland and New South Wales.
Key points from national and global assessments:

• Australia cleared millions of hectares of native vegetation over recent decades.
• Queensland alone has had years exceeding 400,000 hectares cleared annually (mostly for grazing).
• Australia is one of the global deforestation hotspots

In contrast, litter is a big issue, there appears to be an absence of any waste management and consequently there is rubbish everywhere and it seems the local population is oblivious to its existence.

We observed many birds, black drongo, lapwings, egrets, Indian Ringnecks and peacocks a native of India and its national bird.