We pulled into India on March 5th and boy was I nervous. We had tons of debriefings on what to expect when we got to India. They drilled in our minds what foods to eat and what not (they convinced us all we would get travelers D if we ate about 90% of the food) they warned us about the traffic, child beggars, hawkers, and sketchy rickshaw drivers. But nothing could prepare us for what we were about to experience. I took one step outside in Chennai and immediately felt like I needed to shower. I don’t mean to sound harsh or rude but the pollution there is just ridiculous. Everywhere you look there are literally piles and piles of garbage on the sides of the streets, around the markets, the grounds are black like an oil spill, and the smell oh the smell is very potent. You can literally feel the pollution on your body as you walk around. That mixed with the humidity was very overwhelming. And I wasn’t even outside for long! I just walked from the ship to a bus to take me to the airport for my flight to New Delhi.
The flight was good, it was a big plane which surprised me and they served us lunch! It was a chicken tika sandwich which was basically like a chicken salad sandwich but with curry or something. I really liked it! We arrived in Delhi 3 hours later. We found our bus and we were off for a small orientation then to the hotel. We stopped at the oldest mosque in India. It was made out of tons of stones and was beautiful, Muslims still come there to pray facing Mecca. It was especially cool because the tower was so tall that the moon appeared to be at the top of it! I love it when it is still light outside and you can see the moon! One thing that I found strange was the public displays of affection between straight men. Straight men in India hold hands when they walk, put their arms around each other, and even kiss! However a male and female couple cannot do any of these things in public. I’m a pretty open minded person but I’ll admit it was hard not to look when you saw this. After we went to a rug store. Here they served us tea and biscuits and gave us a little demonstration on how to make these beautiful rugs. These rugs were made out of silk so they were super soft but wicked expensive! All over India they hear that you are American and they automatically associate it with money. To them it is a pretty accurate statement and I see why they do it but our tour guide should have known better. He took us to all these expensive shops that were owned by his friends (which is impossible to avoid in India) and they expected us to buy things. I’m sorry but as a college student I do not have 300 US dollars to spend on a rug (and that was the cheapest one there!) And it made us all feel really guilty because they spent so much time and energy showing us their beautiful things.
Now we were headed to our hotel. We spent the night at the La Lit in New Delhi. This was the NICEST hotel I have ever stayed at in my whole life no joke. It was amazing. They greeted you with shook rah (they place the red dot on your head for peace and happiness). We then went up to our rooms we were shocked at what we saw! The shower was a rain shower where water just came out of the ceiling like rain! It was so cool and the bathroom walls were all made out of glass and then there were curtains that went down when you used them. The food there was amazing best buffet I have ever been to. They had Indian food like roti bread, chicken curry, lamb, saffron rice, and many more. They also had American food with pizza and chicken fingers! And they had Japanese food with noodles and sushi it was great! A much needed relief to all of us who were very nervous for our first Indian meal. I bought internet minutes so that I could update my pictures up to India so check out my face book cause I paid to put pictures up for all of you guys! It’s so hard to describe in words what some of these places look like so you should go check them out.
The next day we had an early wake up call. We were off to Jaipur by 7 am. Along the way we drove through Old Delhi and I was a little shocked at some of the things that I saw. The electricity here is spread through huge thick wires that spiral all over the tops of buildings but the buildings aren’t very tall so they are all like right above your head. There are hundreds of thick wires that look almost like large spaghetti noodles coming out of one source looping all around the city. It is honestly ridiculous and one big fire waiting to happen.
Along the 4 hour drive to Jaipur we stopped at a restaurant for a little rest stop that had an absolutely gorgeous garden. With a cage full of cool yellow birds I wish I knew what they were. I bought some chips that looked like they were going to be sour cream and onion turned out to be curry!!!! YUCK! After the drive we finally arrived in the pink city of Jaipur! I was surprised at what I saw. I was expecting it to be a beautiful city full of gorgeous huge pink buildings. What I got was a city with rundown buildings painted pink. From the comfort of the tall bus we were able to look at the poor beggars on the streets. Literally dozens of kids running around begging for money, putting their hands up to their mouths screaming for food,crying all around you. It breaks your heart. I’ve never in my life felt guiltier. On the sidewalks there are make shift tent houses. Can you imagine walking down the sidewalk and seeing people living there? They would cook their meals on little stone fires on the sidewalks! I mean it was incredibly sad I can’t even describe it I saw children going to the bathroom on the sidewalk. We were told ahead of time not to give to these children because they are usually a part of bigger beggar gangs in which a lot of the money doesn’t even go to them. So a lot of the time we would just give them our extra food and they would snatch it so fast they didn’t even have time to thank you. They would take your food and run away to a corner or secret spot so that their friends who were running fast behind them could not eat their food.
We checked into our next hotel ate a little lunch and were off to the city palace! This was in the heart of Jaipiur and is one of the only palaces still around in India in which the king actually resides. Here we walked through the dozens of hawkers to get to the main gate. I saw a man who was so deformed he permanently walked around on the ground like a spider and a young girl with a tumor on the back of her head so big it looked like a giant mango. I have never been so disturbed in my whole life and there was nothing that I could do for them. It felt very wrong to go from passing them into a luxurious gigantic palace. Once inside we saw an Indian dance performance. The odd thing was though that it was a man dressed up as a woman doing the dance. I thought maybe it was because of religious reasons because that’s why it was like that in Morocco. Turns out however that the woman dancer was just sick so the man was filling in for her! Strange! Our guide told us about the mystical Unix which are considered sacred in India. A Unix is like the equivalent of a hermaphrodite in America she/he has both male and female parts. The Unix in India have beautiful faces like women but more of the mainly body structure. They are taken from their homes upon birth and sent to live with other Unix where they learn how to dance the sacred dances. These people then perform at events, for the kings, and other things. It was very interesting but so sad because these people have absolutely no choice in the direction of their lives. Still today this is practiced. There was a Unix only a few years ago who went off to college, was discovered to be a Unix, and then immediately removed from their home. The Unix and his family had absolutely NO say in the matter. I can’t even imagine anything like that ever being done in the states. It all start with the idea that these people were sent by the gods that they are special. Back in the day queens would surround themselves with Unix because they were not considered a threat to her relationship with the king. I found this all to be very fascinating.
While at the palace we saw a few different rooms, an old museum, and the best part is we saw the King of Jaipur!!! I guess he is rarely at the palace so it was pretty special that we got to see him. We saw him getting into a private car surrounded by 5 guards. Even though I didn’t know who he was I felt so star struck! It was amazing. We then headed to an old observatory which was used in the early years in order to tell time. There were meridian lines, old sun dials, and different stations with astrological signs. It was said that if you stand next to your sign you will see your future. I didn’t see mine but it was still cool! After all this our guide took us to one of his friends jewelry shops in which we could afford nothing. We then went back to the hotel for dinner.
After dinner there was a hilariously entertaining puppet show. The show was right outside the hotel so the workers were not allowed inside. They would beg us to run in and get more people for them. They tried to adapt their show to us as college students with some hilarious skits. One was the Indian Michael Jackson in which the puppet did the moon walk and gyrated on the floor! There were a few other inappropriate skits they did that I can tell you about it you ask haha. I bought one of their puppets at the end a really cool turquoise one! It was then off to bed before the early morning visit to the Amber fort!
Amber fort was amazing. We started the day by riding up to the top of it on….an elephant!!! Ours was named Maria but it was a boy! Strange yes and it was the slowest and biggest elephant all the other elephants passed us on the drive up. All I kept think as I was on it is this elephant could lay down right now do a little roll and squash me dead! But he didn’t thank god and we made it to the top to see the beautiful fort. We began in the garden area. There were two different sides to the garden one for winter and one for summer. The winter one was beautiful! There were mirrors all over the walls in elaborate shapes and designs. In the 18th century it took only one candle to light up the entire room! The summer side was beautiful too with soft pastel colored flowers lining the walls. We were then off to the queens quarters. The king who the castle was built for had 12 wives! Each had their own room all differing in size based on how long they had been married to him. There was a huge courtyard in the middle. Inside this courtyard there was a huge hole in the ground that at one time was used for all the queens to bathe in (also went in order of how long they had been married to the king.) Dead center there was pillars with an open rooftop that used to be used as a lounge area. One can only imagine how amazing this place must have been. Huge satin pillows thrown all over the ground, silk drapes of turquoise, fuschia, lavender, lime green, every color under the sun! It was so fun to sit there and imagine what it would have been like to have actually lived there.
After the fort we headed to Agra where we would see the Taj the next day! On the way we stopped at another fort called Fatehpur Sikri. This fort was amazing as well. All the buildings were made out of red stone. This king was married to three wives, one a Hindu from India, a Muslim from Turkey, and a Christian woman from Portugal. The design of the fort incorporated all these different architectural styles. The pillars had three different sections. One was inspired by the Moors this was the geometric style which had all different symmetrical shapes. The second section was inspired by the Gothic style it had all different types of arches and crosses. And finally the third section was the Hindu inspired architecture I found this one the most beautiful. This one had tons of different shaped flowers carved out into the pillars. He married the Hindu woman first so she was his number one wife until the Muslim woman gave him a son and the tables turned! I loved this place because it was crazy to see the three different religions combine in architecture to form something so beautiful!
We arrived in Agra at around 7pm. We checked into the hotel and were ready to explore. A group of about 5 of us were DYING to go to a market so our tour guide said he would take us (finally he was listening). Turns out he of course took us to two of his friends shops (nowhere near a market.) Finally we were so upset with him that he promised to take us somewhere cool. He took us to his friend’s music shop where he immediately left us. We were all a bit shocked at first but decided to make the most of it. We were taken to the back room where the men had tea ready for us. There was a mini stage and a man holding a funny looking guitar and a mini piano thing. It was a Citare store which is like a type of guitar but way cooler and it gives off a way different sound. You only strum the first string on it the whole time which I found really weird. The two performed for us and we shared some drinks and conversation and it turned out to be a great night! They even let me try the Citare! Which I absolutely sucked at oh well. After this we headed back to the hotel for dinner. I was in roti bread heaven! Most of you know I am obsessed with Flat Top Grill, I go there for there roti bread! So India was definitely the right place for me! Roti bread for breakfast (with syrup like pancakes) lunch and dinner! Then it was off to bed for our early morning visit to the Taj Mahal!!!
We arrived near the Taj at around 8am. You have to park like half a mile away because they don’t want the pollution from the cars to ruin the marble or gardens. As we walked up to the front gate to get into the Taj the tip top of the building was visible. It peered right over the fort that surrounds the Taj Mahal. Walking through the gates and garden I could not believe what I was about to see. When I first saw it I was in awe. Words can’t even describe the way I felt it was amazing. I just felt so lucky to be where I was standing viewing one of the most amazing sites in the entire world! We got there right when it opened and people were everywhere! So here is a little Taj Mahal history I learned as I stared my jaw dropped to the floor at the incredibly massive Taj! So the Taj Mahal was built by the King of India as a memorial to his wife. Before his wife died she had two requests. The first was to never marry again and the second was for him to build her the most beautiful memorial in the world in her honor. And let me tell you he was successful. The Taj Mahal is made out of all white marble and a very special type of glue no nails or anything like that. Next to it there are two identicial buildings. On the right is a mosque which is still used today by muslims to pray which is why the Taj is actually closed on Fridays. On the left is a building that was used as a welcome reception hall. The inside of the Taj houses to replicas of the tombs the King and Queen are buried in. Before the King died he requested that a matching memorial be built behind the Taj in his honor. He wanted it to be built out of black marble! Can you imagine how incredible that would have been? However his son said no and just buried him in the Taj.
I really wish I was better at describing how amazing it was. As I stood in front of the long pond staring at the massive white marble dome it didn’t feel real. None of it. Not being in India, not looking at the Taj, nothing that I was experiencing felt like it was actually happening. How did I get this lucky?
After that we headed to a marble shop owned by descendants of the King who built the Taj. There they use the same secret glue mixture to put together chairs and tables and other things. They add beautiful precious gems to the table tops. They mold and shape the gems on this old school wheel like file. We watched them molding these tiny stones for about ten minutes. Then the owner asked me if I wanted to try it! I reluctantly agreed. The man who’s wheel I was walking up to seemed very nervous and shot the owner a worried look because they work on these stones for hours! And here I was about to screw up his hard work in about 1 minute! I couldn’t even hold the gem it was so tiny. I pressed it once up against the wheel then freaked out and stopped. I didn’t want to ruin it but it was still cool that they let me try. Then we were off to the airport to fly back to our ship in Chennai.
The next day in Chennai I had a lot of shopping to do! Chennai was muggy, hot and very very polluted. We hopped in a touk touk which are very dangerous little open cabs they look kind of like golf carts but smaller. These rickshaw drivers drive like mad men! Let me tell you I saw my life flash before my eyes on numerous occasions. We went to Spencer’s Mall but not before stopping at 2 shops owned by the touk touk drivers friends. At the second shop our driver ditched us because we already paid him. Lucky for us the mall was only a block away from where we were! Here there were hundreds of little shops! I bought lots of silk scarves, pasminas, bangles, and other types of jewelry. For lunch we ate at Pizza Hut! In my defense though Pizza Hut in India is like a legit restaurant with crazy types of pizza that we do not have in the States!
On the way back to the ship we stopped at this place on the ocean called the Ice House. Apparently way back in the day before the people of India could create ice they had to import it. After it came in to port in huge blocks it was sent to the ice house! I am not sure how much I believe this story. Some crazy Indian lady told us but it was still kinda cool. On the way home Win handed out some slippers that he stole from his hotel the night before to the little beggar children on the streets. The ones that got them cheered and chanted like they had just won the lottery or accomplished something very impressive!
Overall I hate to say it but I was a little disappointed in India. I don’t think it was the country itself that disappointed me I just don’t think I had the same amazing experience as most did. The trip I selected to do was not what I had expected. We spent majority of our time in a bus, any of our free time was spent at shops of our tour guides friends, and no one listened to what we wanted to do. On the brighter side however I LOVED the Taj Mahal it was incredibly moving. I was able to see how basically the polar opposite country of America works.
India was crazy beautiful at times and disgusting at others. It was a shock to the senses. One second you saw beautiful colorful bright Indian dress the next garbage all over the streets. You smelled beautiful flowers being sold in the markets then the overwhelming smell of poop. You would try a delicious curry dish at one restaurant then a disgusting mutton at another. The best way I can describe it is India was a very interesting country full of surprises.
Oh and I almost forgot to tell you about the cows! In India cows are considered very sacred. They coexist peacefully with humans. Literally these huge massive cattle roam around the streets of India all by themselves. They don’t have owners of caretakers. People will feed them but mostly they just graze off the garbage found on the streets. In India if you hit a cow with your car it is more than a thousand dollar fine!!! It was a very unique experience to walk among the cattle while you shop around. Finding a burger in India is an impossible task!
The flight was good, it was a big plane which surprised me and they served us lunch! It was a chicken tika sandwich which was basically like a chicken salad sandwich but with curry or something. I really liked it! We arrived in Delhi 3 hours later. We found our bus and we were off for a small orientation then to the hotel. We stopped at the oldest mosque in India. It was made out of tons of stones and was beautiful, Muslims still come there to pray facing Mecca. It was especially cool because the tower was so tall that the moon appeared to be at the top of it! I love it when it is still light outside and you can see the moon! One thing that I found strange was the public displays of affection between straight men. Straight men in India hold hands when they walk, put their arms around each other, and even kiss! However a male and female couple cannot do any of these things in public. I’m a pretty open minded person but I’ll admit it was hard not to look when you saw this. After we went to a rug store. Here they served us tea and biscuits and gave us a little demonstration on how to make these beautiful rugs. These rugs were made out of silk so they were super soft but wicked expensive! All over India they hear that you are American and they automatically associate it with money. To them it is a pretty accurate statement and I see why they do it but our tour guide should have known better. He took us to all these expensive shops that were owned by his friends (which is impossible to avoid in India) and they expected us to buy things. I’m sorry but as a college student I do not have 300 US dollars to spend on a rug (and that was the cheapest one there!) And it made us all feel really guilty because they spent so much time and energy showing us their beautiful things.
Now we were headed to our hotel. We spent the night at the La Lit in New Delhi. This was the NICEST hotel I have ever stayed at in my whole life no joke. It was amazing. They greeted you with shook rah (they place the red dot on your head for peace and happiness). We then went up to our rooms we were shocked at what we saw! The shower was a rain shower where water just came out of the ceiling like rain! It was so cool and the bathroom walls were all made out of glass and then there were curtains that went down when you used them. The food there was amazing best buffet I have ever been to. They had Indian food like roti bread, chicken curry, lamb, saffron rice, and many more. They also had American food with pizza and chicken fingers! And they had Japanese food with noodles and sushi it was great! A much needed relief to all of us who were very nervous for our first Indian meal. I bought internet minutes so that I could update my pictures up to India so check out my face book cause I paid to put pictures up for all of you guys! It’s so hard to describe in words what some of these places look like so you should go check them out.
The next day we had an early wake up call. We were off to Jaipur by 7 am. Along the way we drove through Old Delhi and I was a little shocked at some of the things that I saw. The electricity here is spread through huge thick wires that spiral all over the tops of buildings but the buildings aren’t very tall so they are all like right above your head. There are hundreds of thick wires that look almost like large spaghetti noodles coming out of one source looping all around the city. It is honestly ridiculous and one big fire waiting to happen.
Along the 4 hour drive to Jaipur we stopped at a restaurant for a little rest stop that had an absolutely gorgeous garden. With a cage full of cool yellow birds I wish I knew what they were. I bought some chips that looked like they were going to be sour cream and onion turned out to be curry!!!! YUCK! After the drive we finally arrived in the pink city of Jaipur! I was surprised at what I saw. I was expecting it to be a beautiful city full of gorgeous huge pink buildings. What I got was a city with rundown buildings painted pink. From the comfort of the tall bus we were able to look at the poor beggars on the streets. Literally dozens of kids running around begging for money, putting their hands up to their mouths screaming for food,crying all around you. It breaks your heart. I’ve never in my life felt guiltier. On the sidewalks there are make shift tent houses. Can you imagine walking down the sidewalk and seeing people living there? They would cook their meals on little stone fires on the sidewalks! I mean it was incredibly sad I can’t even describe it I saw children going to the bathroom on the sidewalk. We were told ahead of time not to give to these children because they are usually a part of bigger beggar gangs in which a lot of the money doesn’t even go to them. So a lot of the time we would just give them our extra food and they would snatch it so fast they didn’t even have time to thank you. They would take your food and run away to a corner or secret spot so that their friends who were running fast behind them could not eat their food.
We checked into our next hotel ate a little lunch and were off to the city palace! This was in the heart of Jaipiur and is one of the only palaces still around in India in which the king actually resides. Here we walked through the dozens of hawkers to get to the main gate. I saw a man who was so deformed he permanently walked around on the ground like a spider and a young girl with a tumor on the back of her head so big it looked like a giant mango. I have never been so disturbed in my whole life and there was nothing that I could do for them. It felt very wrong to go from passing them into a luxurious gigantic palace. Once inside we saw an Indian dance performance. The odd thing was though that it was a man dressed up as a woman doing the dance. I thought maybe it was because of religious reasons because that’s why it was like that in Morocco. Turns out however that the woman dancer was just sick so the man was filling in for her! Strange! Our guide told us about the mystical Unix which are considered sacred in India. A Unix is like the equivalent of a hermaphrodite in America she/he has both male and female parts. The Unix in India have beautiful faces like women but more of the mainly body structure. They are taken from their homes upon birth and sent to live with other Unix where they learn how to dance the sacred dances. These people then perform at events, for the kings, and other things. It was very interesting but so sad because these people have absolutely no choice in the direction of their lives. Still today this is practiced. There was a Unix only a few years ago who went off to college, was discovered to be a Unix, and then immediately removed from their home. The Unix and his family had absolutely NO say in the matter. I can’t even imagine anything like that ever being done in the states. It all start with the idea that these people were sent by the gods that they are special. Back in the day queens would surround themselves with Unix because they were not considered a threat to her relationship with the king. I found this all to be very fascinating.
While at the palace we saw a few different rooms, an old museum, and the best part is we saw the King of Jaipur!!! I guess he is rarely at the palace so it was pretty special that we got to see him. We saw him getting into a private car surrounded by 5 guards. Even though I didn’t know who he was I felt so star struck! It was amazing. We then headed to an old observatory which was used in the early years in order to tell time. There were meridian lines, old sun dials, and different stations with astrological signs. It was said that if you stand next to your sign you will see your future. I didn’t see mine but it was still cool! After all this our guide took us to one of his friends jewelry shops in which we could afford nothing. We then went back to the hotel for dinner.
After dinner there was a hilariously entertaining puppet show. The show was right outside the hotel so the workers were not allowed inside. They would beg us to run in and get more people for them. They tried to adapt their show to us as college students with some hilarious skits. One was the Indian Michael Jackson in which the puppet did the moon walk and gyrated on the floor! There were a few other inappropriate skits they did that I can tell you about it you ask haha. I bought one of their puppets at the end a really cool turquoise one! It was then off to bed before the early morning visit to the Amber fort!
Amber fort was amazing. We started the day by riding up to the top of it on….an elephant!!! Ours was named Maria but it was a boy! Strange yes and it was the slowest and biggest elephant all the other elephants passed us on the drive up. All I kept think as I was on it is this elephant could lay down right now do a little roll and squash me dead! But he didn’t thank god and we made it to the top to see the beautiful fort. We began in the garden area. There were two different sides to the garden one for winter and one for summer. The winter one was beautiful! There were mirrors all over the walls in elaborate shapes and designs. In the 18th century it took only one candle to light up the entire room! The summer side was beautiful too with soft pastel colored flowers lining the walls. We were then off to the queens quarters. The king who the castle was built for had 12 wives! Each had their own room all differing in size based on how long they had been married to him. There was a huge courtyard in the middle. Inside this courtyard there was a huge hole in the ground that at one time was used for all the queens to bathe in (also went in order of how long they had been married to the king.) Dead center there was pillars with an open rooftop that used to be used as a lounge area. One can only imagine how amazing this place must have been. Huge satin pillows thrown all over the ground, silk drapes of turquoise, fuschia, lavender, lime green, every color under the sun! It was so fun to sit there and imagine what it would have been like to have actually lived there.
After the fort we headed to Agra where we would see the Taj the next day! On the way we stopped at another fort called Fatehpur Sikri. This fort was amazing as well. All the buildings were made out of red stone. This king was married to three wives, one a Hindu from India, a Muslim from Turkey, and a Christian woman from Portugal. The design of the fort incorporated all these different architectural styles. The pillars had three different sections. One was inspired by the Moors this was the geometric style which had all different symmetrical shapes. The second section was inspired by the Gothic style it had all different types of arches and crosses. And finally the third section was the Hindu inspired architecture I found this one the most beautiful. This one had tons of different shaped flowers carved out into the pillars. He married the Hindu woman first so she was his number one wife until the Muslim woman gave him a son and the tables turned! I loved this place because it was crazy to see the three different religions combine in architecture to form something so beautiful!
We arrived in Agra at around 7pm. We checked into the hotel and were ready to explore. A group of about 5 of us were DYING to go to a market so our tour guide said he would take us (finally he was listening). Turns out he of course took us to two of his friends shops (nowhere near a market.) Finally we were so upset with him that he promised to take us somewhere cool. He took us to his friend’s music shop where he immediately left us. We were all a bit shocked at first but decided to make the most of it. We were taken to the back room where the men had tea ready for us. There was a mini stage and a man holding a funny looking guitar and a mini piano thing. It was a Citare store which is like a type of guitar but way cooler and it gives off a way different sound. You only strum the first string on it the whole time which I found really weird. The two performed for us and we shared some drinks and conversation and it turned out to be a great night! They even let me try the Citare! Which I absolutely sucked at oh well. After this we headed back to the hotel for dinner. I was in roti bread heaven! Most of you know I am obsessed with Flat Top Grill, I go there for there roti bread! So India was definitely the right place for me! Roti bread for breakfast (with syrup like pancakes) lunch and dinner! Then it was off to bed for our early morning visit to the Taj Mahal!!!
We arrived near the Taj at around 8am. You have to park like half a mile away because they don’t want the pollution from the cars to ruin the marble or gardens. As we walked up to the front gate to get into the Taj the tip top of the building was visible. It peered right over the fort that surrounds the Taj Mahal. Walking through the gates and garden I could not believe what I was about to see. When I first saw it I was in awe. Words can’t even describe the way I felt it was amazing. I just felt so lucky to be where I was standing viewing one of the most amazing sites in the entire world! We got there right when it opened and people were everywhere! So here is a little Taj Mahal history I learned as I stared my jaw dropped to the floor at the incredibly massive Taj! So the Taj Mahal was built by the King of India as a memorial to his wife. Before his wife died she had two requests. The first was to never marry again and the second was for him to build her the most beautiful memorial in the world in her honor. And let me tell you he was successful. The Taj Mahal is made out of all white marble and a very special type of glue no nails or anything like that. Next to it there are two identicial buildings. On the right is a mosque which is still used today by muslims to pray which is why the Taj is actually closed on Fridays. On the left is a building that was used as a welcome reception hall. The inside of the Taj houses to replicas of the tombs the King and Queen are buried in. Before the King died he requested that a matching memorial be built behind the Taj in his honor. He wanted it to be built out of black marble! Can you imagine how incredible that would have been? However his son said no and just buried him in the Taj.
I really wish I was better at describing how amazing it was. As I stood in front of the long pond staring at the massive white marble dome it didn’t feel real. None of it. Not being in India, not looking at the Taj, nothing that I was experiencing felt like it was actually happening. How did I get this lucky?
After that we headed to a marble shop owned by descendants of the King who built the Taj. There they use the same secret glue mixture to put together chairs and tables and other things. They add beautiful precious gems to the table tops. They mold and shape the gems on this old school wheel like file. We watched them molding these tiny stones for about ten minutes. Then the owner asked me if I wanted to try it! I reluctantly agreed. The man who’s wheel I was walking up to seemed very nervous and shot the owner a worried look because they work on these stones for hours! And here I was about to screw up his hard work in about 1 minute! I couldn’t even hold the gem it was so tiny. I pressed it once up against the wheel then freaked out and stopped. I didn’t want to ruin it but it was still cool that they let me try. Then we were off to the airport to fly back to our ship in Chennai.
The next day in Chennai I had a lot of shopping to do! Chennai was muggy, hot and very very polluted. We hopped in a touk touk which are very dangerous little open cabs they look kind of like golf carts but smaller. These rickshaw drivers drive like mad men! Let me tell you I saw my life flash before my eyes on numerous occasions. We went to Spencer’s Mall but not before stopping at 2 shops owned by the touk touk drivers friends. At the second shop our driver ditched us because we already paid him. Lucky for us the mall was only a block away from where we were! Here there were hundreds of little shops! I bought lots of silk scarves, pasminas, bangles, and other types of jewelry. For lunch we ate at Pizza Hut! In my defense though Pizza Hut in India is like a legit restaurant with crazy types of pizza that we do not have in the States!
On the way back to the ship we stopped at this place on the ocean called the Ice House. Apparently way back in the day before the people of India could create ice they had to import it. After it came in to port in huge blocks it was sent to the ice house! I am not sure how much I believe this story. Some crazy Indian lady told us but it was still kinda cool. On the way home Win handed out some slippers that he stole from his hotel the night before to the little beggar children on the streets. The ones that got them cheered and chanted like they had just won the lottery or accomplished something very impressive!
Overall I hate to say it but I was a little disappointed in India. I don’t think it was the country itself that disappointed me I just don’t think I had the same amazing experience as most did. The trip I selected to do was not what I had expected. We spent majority of our time in a bus, any of our free time was spent at shops of our tour guides friends, and no one listened to what we wanted to do. On the brighter side however I LOVED the Taj Mahal it was incredibly moving. I was able to see how basically the polar opposite country of America works.
India was crazy beautiful at times and disgusting at others. It was a shock to the senses. One second you saw beautiful colorful bright Indian dress the next garbage all over the streets. You smelled beautiful flowers being sold in the markets then the overwhelming smell of poop. You would try a delicious curry dish at one restaurant then a disgusting mutton at another. The best way I can describe it is India was a very interesting country full of surprises.
Oh and I almost forgot to tell you about the cows! In India cows are considered very sacred. They coexist peacefully with humans. Literally these huge massive cattle roam around the streets of India all by themselves. They don’t have owners of caretakers. People will feed them but mostly they just graze off the garbage found on the streets. In India if you hit a cow with your car it is more than a thousand dollar fine!!! It was a very unique experience to walk among the cattle while you shop around. Finding a burger in India is an impossible task!
the picture of you and the elephant is my favorite! they make the same kind of silk rugs in turkey too, we got a couple and they were really expensive! but like you said, once you see the work that goes into it, you see why that is.
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