After completing a 4-year course in naturopathy, I decided to treat myself to something special: my first transcontinental journey and a jump into the unknown in fascinating India. Within a few weeks I had organized a very intense itinerary of only 14 days. My heart was full of joy; I was excited and curious, like a little girl about to stand on a new, colourful, larger, luminous, sometimes frightening carousel. I arrived in New Delhi without having rested. On the way to my hotel by car I seemed to be risking my life. Mind-boggling traffic, deafening sounds, all kinds of horns, from bicycles to tuks tuks, from cars to taxis. The whole world seemed to scream. A swirl of sounds, acrid and attractive smells, excrements, aromatic spices, incense, inevitably reflected the rapid succession of my emotional states. Chaos and order, the din and sudden silence, the stench of rotten alleys and dirty feet, cows, flies, street vendors, colorful fruit, animals in the wild, children in the middle of the street. Everything seemed to flow quickly and above all to live together peacefully. I immediately got the impression that India was a country of great contradictions: filth and immaculate cleanliness, unbridled luxury and extreme poverty, stench and fragrances, run-down buildings and very modern buildings side by side. Everything was balanced, people never lost their temper, insulted or got angry with each other despite the traffic in the streets. People laughed and sang! This memory is imprinted in my mind; those songs and those toothless smiles that emanated noble strength and sublime beauty. I saved an intrusive tourist from the rage of a woman who didn’t want to be photographed and who angrily tossed a purple cabbage at her. I met another tourist who didn’t want to leave his Nike shoes fearing they might be stolen before entering the immense Lotus Temple, whose floors were littered with flowers, and where frightened, reserved women were praying. I will never be able to forget scene at the entrance, which was both embarrassing and grotesque: there were his striking bright white Nike sneakers that lit up the threshold of the temple and that he very unwillingly abandon had to among a multitude of sandals, slippers, clogs and boots, all devastated and worn out by hard work, by journeys and by time, neatly laid out on that sumptuous patio. From Delhi to Agra, from Agra to Jaipur, I crossed Rajasthan trying not to judge other travelling souls like me. Battling internal flights, delays, the loss of objects, astrologers I met on my way, slums, factories, markets and elephants, I headed to Mumbai. I still remember the driver shouting after me as I rushed down to the seashore telling me not to dive into the water. The population is known to use the water both to wash and as a toilet, though I would never have imagined it! I loved getting lost and having to find my way again, exploring and tasting the street food, even if this is strongly discouraged. At the end of my trip, I got to Delhi at midnight. The hotel was halfway between the city and the airport, in a sort of purgatory, where the inhabitants seemed very different from those I had encountered until then. I passed through putrid alleys and eventually arrived in a place that was, to say the least, creepy. The hotel turned out to be squalid, grubby and smelly. The pillowcases were black, no wi-fi, the phone was out of order and a gaping hole in the door suggested that someone had tried to break in. I was horrified when I saw a cockroach cross the room. I tried to stay calm and impassive and thought that at that time of night it would be more dangerous to venture out into that god-forsaken place. I decided that I would rest, throw my clothes on at the crack of dawn and leave. Numerous people opened my door, which didn’t have a lock on it, by mistake. As an endless stream of men and women walked by, I found myself in the midst of countless unpleasant situations. I eventually decided to spend what hours were left at the airport. I didn’t sleep at all that surreal night. Despite the crazy situations I repeatedly found myself in, a feeling of deep trust had accompanied me throughout the journey. I was surprised to find out that I had a huge amount of patience. Not only did I discover the authentic charm of this generous country, but going there helped me understand that I could embark on a journey alone, that nothing and nobody frightened me. Upon my return, I realized that my trip to India had allowed me to explore not just a magical country, but an unknown and unexplored part of myself.