Wow… so… it’s been a while!
I guess that since I’ve deprived you for this long, I should just provide you with the maximum amount of pictures that my limited data/connectivity capabilities will allow. Hopefully that will pacify the masses.
I’ll just start this series of posts on India by saying that I felt bad for this particular port.
Just wait, I’ll explain.
I had such an incredible experience in Burma that I almost wrote off India entirely. Not that I thought I wouldn’t like India, but I felt like nothing could measure up all those pagodas, the amazing food, the wonderful people. Although Burma had rejuvenated me by wiping away what little homesickness I had felt from Vietnam, I couldn’t help but think that the best had come and gone.
Thankfully, India was enough of a rollercoaster of surprises to keep this little traveler on her toes.
So I’ll just jump right in.
The first day that we ported in Cochin, I immediately got on a bus to the airport—we were Delhi bound. I had scheduled a trip with Semester at Sea, so I wasn’t quite sure what would come from the next few days, but I was happy that the planning and coordination was out of my hands for a little while. On our way to the airport, we stopped at a small Hindu temple, and wouldn’t you know it, there was a live elephant there.
My first Indian elephant only minutes into the trip! Turns out that because the Hindu god Ganesh (the one with the head of an elephant) is also the god of safe travel, stumbling on this giant animal actually meant good luck for our trip.
Great start, if you ask me.
We finished our long ride to the airport in Kerala only to find that airport waiting rooms (as well as layovers) are about the same anywhere in the world. Except, in India, you get WAY cooler seats.
Unfortunately, all we managed to accomplish that day was getting to our hotel (and dinner!!) in Delhi, so the first day was a bit of a waste, except for the amazing food. My favorite of which ended up being the local bread called naan.
So. Much. Naan.
The next morning, we had a 4am wake up call to catch the only express train of the day (at 6am) to Agra. I’m still pretty bummed we didn’t get to see any of Delhi, but hey, maybe that’s a good reason to come back. Regardless, I was excited for our final destination of the day: the Taj Mahal.
The train station itself was quite an eye-opening experience. People were everywhere. Literally everywhere. Even though it was still pitch black outside, many people were coming and going with the trains. But sadly, most were there, because they were living or sleeping in the station entryway.
Getting a group of white foreigners through a crowded Indian train station is no small feat (trust me) so when we finally found our train, we all promptly fell asleep. When we awoke, we had to board a bus to transport us to the grounds of the Taj. But that bus only led us to other smaller buses which then led to a half-mile walk during which we were endlessly accosted by hawkers, vendors, and the occasional, unwanted cat caller.
Damn, they make you work for this thing!
Planes, trains, and automobiles finally led us to this:
No, that’s not the picture you were expecting. But yes, it is part of the Taj. In fact, it is the main entryway that gets almost no documented picture love, so I thought I’d allow it at least one moment in the sun. Enjoy.
But wow… just wow… when we walked through that gate… it made all of the travel worthwhile.
AHHHH IT’S REAL!
I had a moment.
But after that moment, I kept having more moments. It seemed that with each and every step, I re-realized where I was. Every single vantage point was a new ‘holy sh!t, I actually made it’ moment. Talk about a walk up call.
We wandered around for hours taking pictures of every surface and crevice possible. We made friends with other visitors by swapping photo shoots and with the Indians by sharing hand-sanitizer. We listened and learned, but mostly we just wondered in awe at one of the 7 New Wonders of the World (see what I did there? Ha!).
I snuck one last picture on the way out that completely described my emotional state, and it’s just too funny to not share:
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!
We finally (and reluctantly) left the Taj to travel to the neighboring Agra Fort aka the Red Fort. The building was beautiful in every way. From the entrance:
To the columns:
To the gardens:
We just continued to be amazed.
Oh, and hot.
Damn, was it hot.
After an unbelievable lunch (and more naan, obviously) we made the 5 hour drive to Jaipur in the late afternoon so as to avoid the brunt of the heat (thank goodness!). After dinner, (you guessed it, even more naan) we went shopping for saris and other more proper Indian garb before we passed out from the heat and exhaustion of cross-country traveling.
The next morning we hopped in buses to Jaipur’s Amber Fort:
So much beautiful stone!
And yes, those are elephants carrying people up to the fort. I was BEGGING to ride an elephant, but we got the next best thing in my mind: 4x4 Jeeps.
Crude? Yes. Awesome? Also yes.
I really wish that I could post videos to this blog, because the scene at the top of the hill was truly something that had to be experienced in person. Local music played loudly, vendors yelled convincingly, elephants marched very carefully, of course, Tracy danced… wildly.
I just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to dance in public.
Oh, and then there was the view:
This place, for which I had no particular expectations, was actually my favorite stop on the trip.
The fort had the most intricate architecture:
The most beautiful decorations:
The most stunning floating gardens:
It even had a Hall of Mirrors for crying out loud:
I could have stayed there all afternoon, but we had an elephant resort to get to.
Yes, you read that right. Elephant. Resort.
I was a little nervous to say the least. Just check out my bravery in this picture:
This ended up being the most relaxing part of the trip. Out in the middle of the desert we ate lunch (have I mentioned the naan yet?) in front of an elephant polo field (you did not misread that):
Bathed and painted elephants:
Got henna tattoos:
And took in a deep, slow breath of fresh air. Sweet serenity. Such an incredible afternoon. Little did we know that hectic, Indian chaos was awaiting us only a few hours later.
Once again, we left reluctantly to drive to the Jaipur City Palace. There we saw some pretty incredible stuff including the largest sundial in the world that could tell time down to the second, the world’s very first hookah pipe, and an ancient assembly room decorated entirely in precious stones. Sick! Unfortunately, taking pictures of any of these things is strictly forbidden by the Indian government and results in a hefty fine and usually the confiscation of your camera. So I just won’t post those. Ha! Kidding!
But the ensuing hair-raising adventure had nothing to do with the observatory or museum. Instead, it had everything to do with one of the other great wonders of modern India: the traffic.
And how were we to brave this maze of people, cars, bikes, cows, buses, and the like?
By rickshaw.
Duh.
Holy crap, people. Once again, I wish I could post video. You just wouldn’t believe what we drove through. When we weren’t dodging each other’s rickshaws we were maneuvering around a stray cow in the street or loudly praying that the double decker bus didn’t clip one of our wheels or silently hoping that our poor driver wouldn’t collapse from the heat.
It was harrowing, at best.
But we made it!
After the rickshaw ride of terror was over, we regrouped at the hotel for a night of eating (naan on naan on naan) and drinking and reliving the events of the last few days. Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur are truly cities that capture a sort of beautiful chaos that is almost indecipherable to the foreigners but seems to be business as usual to the locals. I’m just happy to have experienced it and lived to tell the story.
Next stop, Cochin, for what would be an ENTIRELY different experience.
Naan.
Question of the Day: What is your favorite foreign food? (Clearly, you should know mine.)
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