Day 1 in India, day 53 of my voyage
I had heard that the sunrise in India was one of the most beautiful, so I woke up at 6 to catch it. Most of the time, the sun will rise over land of some kind, but because we were still out in the middle of the ocean, it looked like an ordinary sunrise. I have come to appreciate the beauty of the sunrise over the water, even though I have to get up really early to see them. We were finally starting to see boats out in the water, which meant that we were definitely getting closer to land. We had lost our naval escort 2 or 3 days before, and I thought it was interesting that they never even mentioned anything about our naval escort on the ship. No announcement was ever made about the terror threat in the strait, we found out about the escort from the teachers for the most part. Anyways…I sat outside for an hour and read my book, then went and got my breakfast at 7. I claimed a table outside and was sitting by myself reading my book and eating (like I tend to do at home) when a teacher came up and asked if he could sit with me. I had never seen him before, and he introduced himself as Richard. All of the teachers tend to introduce themselves by their first names, which I think is really cool. So anyways, he is from New York and teaches in the SUNY system, and what was most surprising was that he knew where Stockton was. How did he know where and what Stockton was? “They grow a lot of weed there!” Apparently this was something he had heard from one of his students in the past, and I just thought it was amusing. I sat with him for about 5 minutes before my psychology professor came and sat with us, then two other staff members sat with us too. So it was me and 4 other staff members at breakfast. It was incredibly enjoyable and all of them are so wonderful and knowledgeable in their fields.
After breakfast, we had to sit and wait for immigration stuff and for us to finally dock. We finally were able to see land, and everyone got really excited. As we pulled into the harbor, I didn’t smell the distinct smell everyone said I would. This was a little bit surprising to me, but it was much better than smelling stinkiness. From what I heard, one would be able to smell India before they saw it. Anyways, the immigration officers finally sorted everything out, and they began calling the seas to get their passports. About an hour later, the ship was cleared, and we were able to get off the ship. Day one was a day for Alli, Shauna, Graham, and me to hang out before we all left for our individual trips the next day. Our idea was just to wander around Chennai and see what we could find, maybe do a little shopping, go see a temple.
The second we stepped off the ship, we were bombarded by autorickshaw drivers. All of them wanted to drive us around and said they would give us a good price for the day. We finally picked one and had him take us to the city center first. Once we got there, he said he would wait for us and take us to other places as well. Our driver took us to this arts emporium, which we didn’t really care to go to, but we went inside and looked around anyways (In India, rickshaw drivers get commission if they take you to certain stores and you buy things.). We first went into the jewelry section. Shauna is obsessed with rings, so she was looking at them, and the salesman began talking to us. He asked where all of us were from, and when I said California, he kind of looked at me with a slightly confused expression and said “You’re not Indian?” I laughed and said no, and he apologized and thought he offended me, which he definitely didn’t. Of all the nationalities I have been associated with, I have never gotten Indian before. When we left the store, he said “Bye Indian girl!” We went across the street and walked around the city center for a bit, then got back in our rickshaw and had him take us to the Sheraton, where we were going to eat lunch. We were told to be wary of street food, and instead of spending time trying to find somewhere where we wouldn’t end up sick, we just went to the Sheraton, where they had a wonderful lunch buffet. I had curry and rice, dal, paneer, and other yummy Indian food, and a few American foods as well.
After lunch, we had our driver take us to a Hindu temple. The outside of it was absolutely amazing, and I have never seen anything quite like it. It was shaped like a really tall pyramid, and there were figures carved all over it. We didn’t get to go inside, but the outside of it was really cool. This was also our first real experience with people on the streets who wanted to sell us things. I had a man who wanted to sell me a drum follow me for the two blocks we were walking, and it did get a little annoying after a while. I also found it amusing that to get the attention of one of us girls he would say “Hey sexy!” After we walked around here for a little bit, our driver took us to Spencer Plaza, a big indoor market not unlike those in China and Vietnam. Outside of the plaza, there was a snake charmer, so we watched him do his thing with two cobras he had in baskets, then we were on our way again. We did a bit of shopping at Spencer Plaza, then went to the post office to mail some stuff. Outside the post office, there were a big group of kids that were so excited to see us. We would take their pictures, and they would look at them and laugh so hard. All the kids had tattered clothes and were running around barefoot, and there was one boy that was wearing no clothes at all, which was fine because it was ridiculously hot outside. The little boy with no clothes was also carrying around the most adorable little puppy I have ever seen, and we got a few really good pictures of him holding it.
After the post office, we were headed back to the ship, and I had the welcome reception to go to. We made it back just in time, and Victoria and I were on the bus and ready to go. When we got to the welcome reception, we were greeted by a large number of male Indian students, and there were a few females there as well. All of the students spoke excellent English, although it was still sometimes hard to understand them. We got dinner, and then we got to watch a dance performance. The dancing was amazing and incredibly beautiful, and it was interesting to see how intricate their dances are. Each different way they position their hands means something different and their eyes also tell part of the story depending on which way they are looking. We sat and watched their performance, spoke with students, and got henna tattoos on our hands. Henna is usually applied to women’s hands before a wedding, and the artists are absolutely unbelievable. I got a really cool design on my hand, and it took all of two minutes. If only it took that short amount of time to do a real tattoo! After the reception, I packed for my next three days in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur, then went to bed as I had to be in the union at 3:30 am.
Day 2 in India, day 54 of my voyage
3:30 am is WAY too early to be awake, no matter what the reason. We had to put all of our liquids in Ziploc bags and then they went into a giant communal duffel bag because India is ridiculously strict when it comes to carrying on liquids. We hopped on our rather worn-out looking buses and were off to the airport. We arrived, got our boarding passes, went through security (which consisted of a very thorough patdown), and waited for our flight. Our flight took about 2 hours I think, and we landed in Delhi. In India, you step off the plane right onto the tarmac; they don’t take you right up to the terminal. So we had to hop on a shuttle to get taken to baggage claim. We got our bags, then met our tour guides. Our guides name was Tajuddin, or Taj for short, which made his name really easy to remember. We got greeted with leis at the bus (which apparently isn’t something one only finds in Hawaii) and we loaded our stuff and were off through the maddening traffic of New Delhi. Traffic near the airport was absolutely ridiculous, and it took us forever to just go a few miles. Our original plan was to check in at the hotel, then go to lunch. Our rooms weren’t all ready yet, so it was decided that we would drive around to a couple of sights and then have lunch and then check into the hotel. We drove around on the bus, Taj pointed some stuff out ( I honestly can’t remember all the crazy names), and we headed to lunch. The one thing I learned really quickly on Semester at Sea trips is the fact that wherever you go for meals, it is always buffet style. I had some really great tandoori chicken, lollypop chicken (not sure why this is the name), and some really good ice cream.
After lunch we went to check in to our hotel. Another thing I quickly learned about SAS trips is that you pretty much always stay in nice hotels. This hotel was definitely one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed at, with gates and armed guards at the front, a massive bathroom and tub, and really soft beds. It was called the Shangri-La, and it was simply beautiful. My roommates name was Allison, and we got along fabulously, mostly because we both have the same sarcastic sense of humor. We got to lay down for about half an hour, then we were off on yet another tour. We went to see the India Gate, which is the national monument of India, and also one of the largest war memorials in the country. It has the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that rests beneath it, and there in constantly a flame burning there as well. After the India Gate, we went to another fort/tomb. Part of it looked like a mini and red version of the Taj Majal, and there was a large park all around it. We got to wander around, take some pictures, then it was off to Raj Ghat, that park where Gandhi was cremated. It was a huge park, and we happened to be there right at sunset. India is so hazy from pollution and stuff that the colors of the sun are really vivid at sunrise and sunset, so the sunset was absolutely beautiful. Next, we hopped back on the bus and were headed to see the outside of the Red Fort. Every building in India seems to be made from either sandstone or white marble, and this one was sandstone. It was a burnt red color and was really cool. It amazes me that they were able to build structures such as these without modern technology (I think I said this about something else in one of my previous blogs). After the Red Fort, it was back to the hotel for dinner then free time (or in my case, bed) Dinner was absolutely amazing. There was a really good buffet, with absolutely every kind of food you can think of. One plate even said tenderloin steak, and we found out after that when they say steak in India they mean water buffalo, not beef. I must say, I liked the water buffalo even more than I like steak. Yet another thing about India, they eat dinner ridiculously late. 7:30 is an early dinner for them, so we were eating dinner at a normal time, or 9 pm. After dinner, Allison and I headed to our room to shower and go to bed.
Day 3 in India, day 55 of my voyage
Our wake up call came at 4 am, so it was yet another bright and early day for all of us. We ate a small and quick breakfast in the hotel, then we headed to the train station to catch an early train into Agra. I had heard some interesting stories about train stations in India, and most of them turned out to be completely true. There were people sleeping in piles in the shelter outside the station, kids were begging for money, and there were families all waiting for the trains. People will throw their trash in the areas between the tracks and run across (or use them as a bathroom) without a thought. We had to wait about half an hour before we boarded our train, and when the train rolled up we were all very surprised. We were booked for the “first class” air conditioned section of the train, which looked like one of our cheapest, oldest, air conditioned cars. The second class cars for had metal seats and rail to hold onto and no air conditioning. Pretty much all of us slept on our train ride, as it was a full two hours and we were exhausted. I did get a bit of time to look out of the window, and I really got to see things that I hardly ever see in the US. There were little shantytowns everywhere, with sticks holding a tarp up as a roof, and trash everywhere. We saw little kids running around with no clothes on and their little malnutritioned bellies sticking out really far and there were dogs rummaging in the trash for food everywhere.
Upon arriving in Agra, we were going to a hotel (not one we were staying at) to have a real breakfast. We ate breakfast, then headed back to the buses for our trip to the Taj. Upon arriving at the Taj Majal, we were told that we were going to have an hour to explore. There was quite a bit of uproar at the fact that we only had an hour to explore the park and the area around the Taj, but we didn’t have much of a choice. We still had to go to Fort Agra in the afternoon, and we also had a 5 hour drive to Jaipur that night. Anyways, our tour guide got our tickets for the Taj, and we waited in the security line, then we were finally able to go in. Before we got to explore the park a little bit, our guide gave us a quick bit of history about the Taj. Just some quick facts: It was built as a tomb for Shah Jahan’s wife, and he was eventually laid to rest beside her. It was started in 1632 and finished in 1653. The structure is made of pure white marble and inlaid with semi-precious stones, such as turquoise and lapis lazuli. They used over 1,000 elephants to transport all the marble and stones, and over 20,000 people worked on the structure. There are inscriptions from the Qur’ran carved into the marble as a decorative element. To this day, the Taj Majal is the most symmetrical structure in the world. Shah Jahan was so obsessed with symmetry that he wanted to build an exact replica of the Taj Majal in pure black marble across the river, but he died before the structure could be started.
Anything I write or any pictures you may see will never be able to do the Taj Majal justice. It is something that must be seen in person in order to truly see the grandeur of the entire structure and the surrounding areas. We had to wear booties or go barefoot while walking on the white marble in order not to dirty it. The entire thing is absolutely magnificent, and every single one of us was in absolute awe of how perfect it was. From far away, it looks like plain white marble, but once you get closer, one can see the carvings, reliefs, and stones that are set into the building that make it truly beautiful. Our hour was up way too fast, and I could have just sat for hours to watch people coming in and out of the complex.
After the Taj Majal, we were headed to visit Fort Agra. Fort Agra was where important men in Indian society lived (such as Shah Jahan), and it also housed the national mint and treasury. It used to be the capital way back in the 1500’s. The fort houses gardens, living quarters, and the prison cell where Shah Jahan was ultimately imprisoned by his own son. There were monkeys running around and eating bananas while we were there, and there were so many people around. Most of the fort was built from red sandstone, but there were still some areas made from white marble, such as Shah Jahan’s prison cell. Fort Agra was really cool to see, but I would have rather spent more time at the Taj and less time here.
Now it was time for a 5 hour drive to Jaipur with a stop in Fatehpur Sikri, the former capital, on the way. We stopped for a buffet lunch at the same place we had breakfast, then were on our way. About 2 hours in, we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri, which looked similar to Agra Fort in that it was square and made of red sandstone. It housed the emperor at the time it was built, and was made the capital. It was abandoned after only 14 years because of a lack of water supply, even though it took 15 years to build. While touring the fort, we saw a rather curious individual. It was a man in a small loincloth, and he wanted us to pay to see him jump into a pool of absolutely disgusting water. It was so green and gross, and no one from our group paid to see him do it. I was amazed at the lengths people would go to get money from tourists. After Fatehpur Sikri, we stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom and buy snacks, and we continued on towards Jaipur. Cara had bought a can of Pringles and I bought a sleeve of Oreos, so we were set on snacks until we reached our hotel and had dinner.
After finally arriving at the Ramada in Jaipur, we checked in around 9 and had dinner, which was absolutely fabulous once again. Every place I ate at had great food, and I was never disappointed. After dinner, Allison and I went up to our room, showered, climbed into bed, and watched Ratatouille on TV and ate Oreos. It was an absolutely wonderful way to spend a night relaxing, as we had yet another early morning the next morning.
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