[postlink]https://beenaroundtheworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/india.html[/postlink]endofvid
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I had an amazing time in India. Im so thankful for Neha and her grandmother (nani-ji) Saroj. They were such a blessing. They hired an Indian tour company (Cox and Kings) and had a four city itinerary (Chennai Delhi Agra Hyderabad planned for I and 6 other Semester at Sea students, which concluded with a home stay with nani-ji in Hyderabad. India is one of the ports that I was most looking forward to so I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to see as much of the country as possible within the 6 days that I was there. On the first day, we had lunch together in Chennai and bought some scarves and tunics at a local shop. We caught an evening flight to Delhi. We spent a total of 2 nights and 2 days in Delhi. On the first day, we pretty much went monument hopping and visited the Gandhi memorial, Raj Ghat, Jama Masjid, Qutab Minar, the President’s House, and India Gate. On the second day, after visiting the beautiful Bahá'í House of Worship (Lotus Temple) in Delhi, India and took part in a group mediation session. Later we walked around downtown Delhi and did some shopping. It was so sad to see so many young kids in the streets begging for money. I had a brief conversation with some of the Delhi street kids I ran into. One person that stands out in my mind was Anil, a kid that was selling beaded necklaces. He was so funny. At one point, he paused mid conversation and turned around to give another passerby his sales pitch… “No money, no honey” ….”No wife, no life”. So funny, I wanted to buy his necklaces so badly, but thought back to a previous conversation that I had with Neha and the interport student Sneha. They warned that, as depicted on Slumdog Millionaire, most street kids are really working under a drug lord/pimp so it’s always better to give them a pencil or food instead of money. With this in mind, I stopped in a small stationary store and purchased a bunch paperback coloring/ academic workbooks and markers and passed them out to any kid I ran into on the street. They were so excited, it felt sooo good. I still have some left over so our upcoming ports.
We set out early the next morning for the 5 hour drive to the Agra to see the Fatehpur Sikri and the Taj Mahal. For some reason, when I envisioned what it’d be like to visit the Taj Mahal, I imagined being the only person there. In my dreams, I had a private viewing; however, the reality of the situation was completely different. The Taj was PACKED with people, as one would imagine. So packed, that it was very difficult to get a good picture in front of it and the reflection pool, but fortunately I managed. It felt so amazing to see such an amazing structure in real time. From afar, overlooking the reflection pool, it almost seemed fake, like I was in a postcard. I still can’t believe that I’ve seen 2 wonders of the world within the span of a few weeks. We stayed in a hotel in Agra and headed back to Delhi that evening, where we caught a flight to Hyderabad to visit Neha and her nani-ji. From the very first minute until the very last moment in Hyderabad, we were thoroughly spoiled by Neha and nani-ji Saroj. We were greeted at the airport with a welcome sign and snacks. Nani-ji called henna artists to her home and we had our hands and feet hennaed later that night. The next day, we had dosas, visited the gold domed temple, got our eyebrows threaded, and went shopping at Fabindia and the Hyderabad mall. By far, the highlight of my stay was the visit to nani-ji’s girls’ college the next day. I’ll elaborate on this experience in the next blog entry entitled “Toothbrush person”. We left the next morning for Cochin, where the ship was docked. We spent our last day in India, walking around and shopping in a local market in Cochin. We saw the Chinese fisherman nets and visit Di Gama’s grave in a small church.
Overall, I had a great time in India. If I could do anything differently, I would have seen fewer monuments and spent more time just explored each city on foot and interacting with more people. I feel like most of the conversations I had were with our tour guides. The random encounters and conversations I had with store owners and street kids in Delhi were among the most memorable. The culinary experience in India was amazing to say the least. Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE Indian food and I’m one buffet away from being a major shareholder at a New Delhi Indian Restaurant in Philly. Second, only to maybe the Taj Mahal, food was one of the things that I was most looking forward to experiencing in India…and India did not disappoint. Prior to this trip, I had no idea bout the nuances between north and south Indian cooking, now I do. Being very much carnivore, I was pleasantly surprised that I had such a great dining experience despite the fact that most of what I ate was vegetarian. Meal after meal, I loved everything I tasted—the spicier the better. I love how the flavors are so complex and complimentary in Indian cuisine. I definitely plan to learn how to make a few dishes when I move into my apartment.
As if having to leave India wasn’t bad enough, I arrived back on the ship only to discover that my computer had crashed. Thus, I’m without a laptop for the rest of the voyage. Definite buzz kill to my amazing time in India, but I’ll just get by with borrowing my friend’s laptops/frequent trips to the computer lab. Plus, now I have the perfect excuse to finally make the investment and life upgrade to a MAC
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I had an amazing time in India. Im so thankful for Neha and her grandmother (nani-ji) Saroj. They were such a blessing. They hired an Indian tour company (Cox and Kings) and had a four city itinerary (Chennai Delhi Agra Hyderabad planned for I and 6 other Semester at Sea students, which concluded with a home stay with nani-ji in Hyderabad. India is one of the ports that I was most looking forward to so I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to see as much of the country as possible within the 6 days that I was there. On the first day, we had lunch together in Chennai and bought some scarves and tunics at a local shop. We caught an evening flight to Delhi. We spent a total of 2 nights and 2 days in Delhi. On the first day, we pretty much went monument hopping and visited the Gandhi memorial, Raj Ghat, Jama Masjid, Qutab Minar, the President’s House, and India Gate. On the second day, after visiting the beautiful Bahá'í House of Worship (Lotus Temple) in Delhi, India and took part in a group mediation session. Later we walked around downtown Delhi and did some shopping. It was so sad to see so many young kids in the streets begging for money. I had a brief conversation with some of the Delhi street kids I ran into. One person that stands out in my mind was Anil, a kid that was selling beaded necklaces. He was so funny. At one point, he paused mid conversation and turned around to give another passerby his sales pitch… “No money, no honey” ….”No wife, no life”. So funny, I wanted to buy his necklaces so badly, but thought back to a previous conversation that I had with Neha and the interport student Sneha. They warned that, as depicted on Slumdog Millionaire, most street kids are really working under a drug lord/pimp so it’s always better to give them a pencil or food instead of money. With this in mind, I stopped in a small stationary store and purchased a bunch paperback coloring/ academic workbooks and markers and passed them out to any kid I ran into on the street. They were so excited, it felt sooo good. I still have some left over so our upcoming ports.
We set out early the next morning for the 5 hour drive to the Agra to see the Fatehpur Sikri and the Taj Mahal. For some reason, when I envisioned what it’d be like to visit the Taj Mahal, I imagined being the only person there. In my dreams, I had a private viewing; however, the reality of the situation was completely different. The Taj was PACKED with people, as one would imagine. So packed, that it was very difficult to get a good picture in front of it and the reflection pool, but fortunately I managed. It felt so amazing to see such an amazing structure in real time. From afar, overlooking the reflection pool, it almost seemed fake, like I was in a postcard. I still can’t believe that I’ve seen 2 wonders of the world within the span of a few weeks. We stayed in a hotel in Agra and headed back to Delhi that evening, where we caught a flight to Hyderabad to visit Neha and her nani-ji. From the very first minute until the very last moment in Hyderabad, we were thoroughly spoiled by Neha and nani-ji Saroj. We were greeted at the airport with a welcome sign and snacks. Nani-ji called henna artists to her home and we had our hands and feet hennaed later that night. The next day, we had dosas, visited the gold domed temple, got our eyebrows threaded, and went shopping at Fabindia and the Hyderabad mall. By far, the highlight of my stay was the visit to nani-ji’s girls’ college the next day. I’ll elaborate on this experience in the next blog entry entitled “Toothbrush person”. We left the next morning for Cochin, where the ship was docked. We spent our last day in India, walking around and shopping in a local market in Cochin. We saw the Chinese fisherman nets and visit Di Gama’s grave in a small church.
Overall, I had a great time in India. If I could do anything differently, I would have seen fewer monuments and spent more time just explored each city on foot and interacting with more people. I feel like most of the conversations I had were with our tour guides. The random encounters and conversations I had with store owners and street kids in Delhi were among the most memorable. The culinary experience in India was amazing to say the least. Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE Indian food and I’m one buffet away from being a major shareholder at a New Delhi Indian Restaurant in Philly. Second, only to maybe the Taj Mahal, food was one of the things that I was most looking forward to experiencing in India…and India did not disappoint. Prior to this trip, I had no idea bout the nuances between north and south Indian cooking, now I do. Being very much carnivore, I was pleasantly surprised that I had such a great dining experience despite the fact that most of what I ate was vegetarian. Meal after meal, I loved everything I tasted—the spicier the better. I love how the flavors are so complex and complimentary in Indian cuisine. I definitely plan to learn how to make a few dishes when I move into my apartment.
As if having to leave India wasn’t bad enough, I arrived back on the ship only to discover that my computer had crashed. Thus, I’m without a laptop for the rest of the voyage. Definite buzz kill to my amazing time in India, but I’ll just get by with borrowing my friend’s laptops/frequent trips to the computer lab. Plus, now I have the perfect excuse to finally make the investment and life upgrade to a MAC
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