After our Midterm it was time for India! We took the evening off to recuperate from the exam. We left fop the airport at 2am! After not sleeping till out flight at 4:30 I was able to sleep the entire flight. It was Thursday (6.2.11) morning when we landed in landed in Delhi, India. We met up with out tour guide, Karan. Through the trip we became quite close to Karan. We then started what was suppose to be a four hour trip to Augra, but turned out to be more like six hours with all the traffic. The second we entered India the extreme poverty and mass population issues became obvious. It was a huge culture shock to see villages, such extreme poverty, hunger and over population. I sent a lot of time just absorbing all the images of the Indian city streets filled with people, cows and garbage. I really had no Idea the magnitude of the poverty and the dire situation the country is in. Of course India is a quite large and we only saw a small part of Northern India. Through all the saddening images I enjoyed the occasional monkey and all the colorful outdoor markets which sold fresh fruit and vegetables in an open air environment. I am a big fan of farmer’s markets at home. When I say driving is chaotic, it is a huge understatement. Traffic laws are non existent and the honking of the streets began to be white noise as the trip went on. The roads were filled with cows, honking, buses weaving, pedestrians, and motorized scooters. I was surprised we made it the entire trip without an accident.
Once we arrived in Agra, we checked-in at the Gateway Hotel. The main reason for visiting Agra was to see the Taj Mahal. As we made our way through the front gates, one of the Seven Wonders of the World cam slowly into sight. This dramatic effect was previously thought about the designer and created a sense of suspense and u began to see the all whit structure.Our tour guide continued to recite including how the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the building in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died while giving birth to their 14th child. I was impressed with the quality and detail of wor which was all completed in the15th-century. We got so lucky with our visit, the weather was mild (for India that is 96 deg F), it was off season , so crows were limited and it was sun set which provided a sandy red glow to reflect off the white marble as the sun dipped below.
The group at the Taj Mahal
Hand laid marble detailing in the Taj Mahal.
After a wonderful visit we returned to the hotel and ready to eat. We all decide Indian food was a must, so moat of us feasted on a sample dish that could easily feed three. I didn’t have much lunch so I ate for three, haha. I decided on the veggie sampler and took everyone’s tandoori fish. So good! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My platter consisted of three types of nan, curry mixed veggies (type 1), fried cottage cheese & spices, bean & chickpeas and curry type 2, green bean and curry (type 3)!!! I left a happy camper with a full stomach and ready to play cards for the rest of the night. We let all the food digest as 6 of us play Phase 10 till 1am. GREAT FIRST DAY!
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