Because we were delayed in Kuala Lumpur (KL) for an extra night, we got to see bits of Diwali celebrations in both KL and Delhi. (Travel advice: if you book your tickets ten months in advance, recheck your visa requirements before departure in case they have changed!)
Diwali decorations in a KL mall
A Rangoli decoration, right outside our front door in Delhi, presumably created by our neighbors
Celebrations in both cities included lots of fireworks, which might make Americans want to compare it to the 4th of July.
However, in Delhi in particular, this is more like the 4th of July on serious steroids. Plus Christmas, though we ourselves experienced less of the indoors gift-giving and food-eating parts of the celebration.
We definitely experienced lots of fireworks though. Last night, in every direction from our apartment, I saw fireworks. People who couldn’t set off the large, industrial fireworks set off firecrackers and giant sparklers instead. The air was full of smoke. Serious smoke. This lasted for most of the night – luckily, Theo is an awesome sleeper, and Brian and I were jet-lagged enough to collapse as well.
The view from our front balcony last night