Advertisement
Published: March 14th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Tuk-Tuks
The three-wheeled things are tuk-tuks. This was a really quiet street that day The next major stop on our voyage was India. Since I am in a slight time crunch right now (I am going to be in Thailand in like 6 hours), I am going to not be as wordy in this post and just highlight the main events. The first thing I noticed, and most people would agree with me, was that India smells. A lot. I woke up and the smell of exhaust, dirt, and other less than glamorous smells had seeped into my room. As you approached the gangway, the smell got worse and worse. It was a true shock to the senses, but after a few hours, my nostrils had become used to it. What I never got over was just how crowded Chennai was. The roads were full of cars, motorbikes, and tuk-tuks, or three-wheeled taxis. People were everywhere and the walking was more like being pushed from location to location. The first day, I went around Chennai, being ripped off by cab drivers but still having a good time. A group of friends and I went out for a nice traditional and authentic Indian meal. While we did a good job of ordering mostly non-spicy food (which
Market
One of the markets from my bus window was still pretty spicy), I did make the mistake of biting into some chicken that I swear was doused in peppers. That pretty much ended the meal for me because I ate all my rice just trying to cool my mouth off. The second day was spent traveling to Agra in order to see the Taj Mahal. We were the unlucky group that got stuck on the non-express train and had to endure the five and half hour train ride. However, a few of us managed to make it fun by standing in the sections in between the cars and watching the scenery go by (was really Slumdog Millionaire like). When we finally arrived at the hotel everyone was ready for bed. But after hearing what sounded like a dance party going on, my roommate for the trip and I went downstairs to investigate. The source of the sound ended up being a 25th wedding anniversary. After watching from outside the hotel conference room for a few minutes, we were invited inside. Soon after, the band noticed us and invited us to dance in the circle and on the stage. It was a really cool experience learning their traditional wedding
Monkey in a Fort
Just a monkey in one of the forts in Agra dances and trying not to completely embarrass ourselves, which I am failed at miserably. After thirty minutes of Indian techno/ dance music, we said our goodbyes and went to bed. The next morning was the long awaited trip to the Taj. Walking through the main gates was one of the most wowing experiences that I can remember. The tomb is one of the most picturesque buildings I have ever seen and the haze from the pollution gave it an other-worldly feel. As I walked closer to the structure, it seems to grow exponentially and by the time I reached it, I felt completely dwarfed. The inside was kind of a disappointment because I was expecting more elaborate designs, but the marble building is by far the most impressive structures I have ever seen. We visited several other Indian monuments that day but after the Taj Mahal, they just were not as cool. After a second visit to the Taj, we headed to Delhi to get in our hotel and explore the capital of India. Delhi was mostly a bus tour of the major monuments and political buildings. We were able to see the houses of the Indian president and the
Taj Mahal
This is the site right through the main gate Indian equivalent of Congress. However, since it was a bus tour, it was very difficult to take pictures of these buildings. After this quick tour, we went to the airport and flew back to Chennai. My final day was probably the most important one that I had in India because it was the day that I was able to converse with locals. I participated in a trip that went to visit the slums and some of the other market areas in Chennai. This allowed me to see the extreme poverty that many people have to live with in India. We were not allowed to bring cameras on this trip because the people did not want to be captured in a photo in their surroundings. It did not end up mattering because I saw things that I will not soon forget. I do not want to go into great detail so I will just say that the poor people in America do not know how good they have it. There were gangs of kids roaming the street, people passed out (or worse) in the middle of street, and the houses were literally composed of nothing but trash. It was difficult scenario
Taj Reflection
It was a lot of fun to play with the angles and see the different types of reflections you could get to walk into, but it is one that adequately allowed me to sum up India. India is a country of variance. There is extreme beauty and ugliness, richness and poorness, and grand structures like the Taj Mahal and tiny little shacks made out of wood and trash. I hope that by the time I visit again that this discrepancy has lessened, but I truly do not even know how that would be possible. India is a country that has truly changed the way I look at my values of money and how I look at poorness in the world, I will continue to think about India as I go to each and every country after it.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.106s; Tpl: 0.022s; cc: 11; qc: 48; dbt: 0.036s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Mom
non-member comment
Great photos...The Taj and YOU
nice blog - love the description of your meal!