I’ve decided to combine these three cities and the majority of my trip into one blog post to ease you of the pain of having to read about every single fort or museum and instead present you with the highlights of my Indian adventure. Some parts are a lot more rushed than others so deal with it.
Day 1 Start Time: 3 AM
Delhi consisted of boarding a tour bus and visiting every major monument or noteworthy site in the city before dinner time. We went to the Qutub complex which is home to a large number of buildings, ruins, and above all a five-story tall tower called Qutub Minar which was build in 1192. After exploring the area we went to a banquet buffet lunch (sounds a lot better than it was- there were some bugs in my cup and on my silverware, cool) where I experienced amazing naan. Further sightseeing included going around New Delhi by bus and seeing the Parliament houses, Embassy Blvd., India Gate, and the President’s house. We visited Humayun’s tomb which is like a mini Taj Mahal. This was followed by a bus tour of Old Delhi which could not have contrasted greater with New Delhi. New Delhi was well developed with cleaner roads, nice landscaping, and lots of green. Old Delhi was more like Chennai in the sense that it was a chaotic mess, a lot poorer, dirtier, and crowded. We went to Gandhi’s memorial which had a constant burning fire surrounded by a pond with lilies. Finally we hit up the hotel for dinner (this was the best buffet dinner ever, and where I found out that I like Water Buffalo). A quick word on the hotels: it’s so weird to be in a country where you see such poverty and then sleep in a five star hotel. You can’t help but feel a little guilty for the privileges you are given.
Day 2 Start Time: 4 AM
After a 4 AM wakeup call, we were at the Delhi train station by 5:15 and ready for our two hour train ride to Agra. It was still dark when we got to the station and immediately stumbled upon a rather depressing sight. Upon entering the station, we passed by hundreds of primarily Indian men who had been sleeping outside the train station all night. I am unsure if they were all homeless, or perhaps from a naïve perspective waiting to catch a train, but regardless one could not help but sympathize for them. Many of them were sleeping barefoot and in ragged clothes without other belongings. To add to the reality of the situation there were dogs intermingled with the men. I hate to make the comparison between these men and the dogs they were sharing the floor with but the reality of the situation really equated the two... the expression “men living like dogs” never had as much meaning to me as it did then. The train station resembled a NYC subway station but on a much larger scale. It was extremely crowded with men and dogs alike crossing the tracks at their own peril. Once you got over the chaos, the whole situation actually seemed pretty normal. It was just another day and another train ride in India.
We arrived in Agra at around 8:30 and headed to a hotel where we would be eating both breakfast and lunch. We had the privilege of seeing SASers who were on one of the just Taj trips. Our group (Taj and Jaipur) then headed to the infamous Taj Mahal. We had to walk a fair amount and were bombarded by child hawkers who were really good at their jobs. The females and males were separated into two security lines before being granted entry into the actual site. Even though there were specific gender lines, there were many Indian females who remained in the male line with their husbands for fear of something happening to them if they were alone.
The Taj is probably 1000 times more amazing than anything your imagination could generate. Its massiveness, white marble, symmetry, exterior fountains and landscape, all assisted in making a typical tourist’s jaw drop for a solid three minutes. Similar to the “oh my god we are on the Great Wall of China” feeling, the “oh my god we are standing in front of the Taj Mahal” feeling was just as wild. There are certain pictures that everyone must take at the Taj. These include holding the tip of the Taj in between your thumb and index picture, perhaps a jumping photo, and a standard size comparison photo. I’m happy to report that “professional” Indian photographers insist on taking your pictures and are able to print them out for you for a total of one hundred rupees or approximately $2. Needless to say, there is a great picture of me at the Taj up on the wall next to my bed. With the digital age upon us, having a printed picture is really nice.
We were given special booties to wrap around our shoes (so that we would not have to go barefoot) before entering the Taj. Walking up the stairs to the Taj and around the exterior of its raised platform really gave you a sense of its size. The whole time I could not help think about the irony in having something so big to hold something so small. All I know is that any girl would be lucky to have a husband who would build a rival world wonder in memory of them. I guess Shah Jahan was a bit of a romantic.
Post Taj we visited the Agra Fort that the Indian Military still partially uses today followed by Fatehpur Sikri, an ancient abandoned city. Not to go into detail about these places but Fatehpur Sikri was built in 1570 but was abandoned only fourteen years after its completion because the water supply was unable to sustain the growing population. It was pretty awesome to see this city exactly how it was five hundred years ago and how well it has been maintained. Our trip was titled Taj Mahal and Jaipur. We had now been to Delhi, Agra, and the Taj but still had to venture to Jaipur. This “venture” would be in the form of a five hour bus ride. It was on said ride that I began reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. We made it to Jaipur late that night and had a quick dinner. Though I missed out on the festivities because I was exhausted, there happened to be an Indian nightclub attached to our hotel.
Day 3 Start Time: 6 AM
Jaipur is dubbed the Pink City because the city wall and many of the city’s buildings are pink. I believe the story of why Jaipur is pink (though I could be lying right now) is because the British architect who was assigned to design the city wanted to be in the King’s good graces and used pink because it was a color of royalty and respect. That description is probably inaccurate but I think the story goes something along those lines… feel free to make any clarifications- my lack of comments is becoming humiliating.
We visited the main area of the city wall and the palace to find SNAKE CHARMERS on the sidewalk enjoying their mornings. It was so cool to see a real snake charmer in India though I am not sure how legitimate they were- most of the King Cobras were defanged and once one started losing concentration the snake charmer would quickly switch baskets a take out a new snake to hypnotize. I regret not taking a picture up close and personal with the snake charmer… oh well, next time I’m in India I’ll be sure to do it.
We started our day so early because we were proceeding to the Amber Fort which we would ascend by riding ELEPHANTS. Riding an elephant was something I had always wanted to do and was so excited about. My excitement slowly diminished as we entered the back of the long tourist line and watched hundreds of exhausted elephants trek up to the fort and then back down over and over again. Though I definitely felt horrible for these animals, I was still obviously going to ride the elephant. Honestly my camel riding experience in Israel was a lot better than my elephant riding experience in India. The fact that Indian men kept hitting the elephants with pointed spear like sticks did not make the experience any more satisfying. The elephants were decorated with paint and jewels but most just looked sick. Next time I ride an elephant I am going to make sure it is not in such a tourist-elephant riding assembly line setting.
We visited the fort, the observatory and the city palace followed by a “jewelry” store that was a lot like the silk market in China. Honestly it is just annoying to be taken into these stores (Marble, Jewelry, and Carpet) where we are shown how to make the items for maybe two minutes and then asked to buy $500 carpets. The fact that three hours of our time over the course of two days was wasted at these stores was absurd. I understand that the tour guides probably receive some sort of commission for bringing tourists to the stores but how much commission can they actually receive if no one buys anything? By the time we were supposed to be taken to the carpet store, the overwhelming majority of students on our trip signed out and did our own thing for the remainder of the day.
After signing out of the trip I had a goal: find an Indian flag. After buying almost everything but an Indian flag I had learned that it would be very difficult to find a flag at this time because no election or holiday was occurring the market was closed on Sunday. I gave up for the day but did end up purchasing an elephant tapestry, a quilt/bed throw thing, and two floor cushion seats, all of which will be mismatched with the rest of my trip’s purchases in my room next year.
Day 4 Start Time: 5 AM
Flight from Jaipur to Mumbai (Bombay) and then a second flight from Mumbai to Cochin. After a long day of flying, an hour drive from the airport to the port terminal, and a long amount of waiting to enter the ship after immigration and security, I was back on the ship.
I would like to take this moment to say two things. In comparison to the Xi’an/Beijing SAS trip, the India SAS trip was subpar. I felt that it consisted of not having enough free time, too much time spent traveling, and a very constricted amount of time at each site. Essentially the time was poorly allocated. Though the trip itself was not amazing in terms of organization or structure, India was so amazing it did not matter. I am going to make a pretty bold statement right now but I think India has been my favorite country to visit so far. This entry is a mere regurgitation of where we went and what we saw and it fails to accurately display the beauty, happiness, and hospitality of the country. I have more to say about India than only the places I visited but all that will have to wait for a later blog.
The last thing I would like to end my Delhi-Jaipur entry with is the fact that I might as well be Indian. I cannot even count the number of times that I was asked where I was from, where my parents were from, or if I was Indian. My tour guide went as far to tell me that I looked exactly like his fifteen year old daughter. I was constantly asked to have pictures taken of me or with me. I was awkwardly the center of a picture surrounded by ten Indian men. On the topic of my “Indian” look, I also apparently look like a thirteen year old in India. Along with the “where are you from” questions, I was also asked how old I was. Almost every Indian thought I was somewhere in the 14-17 age range and was shocked to know I was 21. All I can say is that I looked Asian in China, Viet Nam, and Cambodia, Indian in India, and will probably be dark enough to fit in in Ghana. Bottom line: thanks mom and dad for really making me a global wonder.
No comments:
Post a Comment