India. If you’re wondering about the title of the blog, that right there wraps it up. There wasn’t a single minute to just breathe and not be haggled for money. We were even haggled while riding elephants up to the top of the fort, it was absolutely incredible. We were bombarded. At first it was overwhelming, like being with a group of 83 people all wanting to do something different wouldn’t be overwhelming. Well, add to that, another 80 people haggling you for anything and everything. Things that you would probably never want in your life, but felt somewhat obligated to buy. Now, don’t get me wrong, India was an amazing experience, but at first, like everyone had been telling us, it was just all so overwhelming.
We arrived in India on a Thursday. As soon as the ship was cleared, we had to get off the ship and hop onto a bus to the airport with our group of 83 students from semester at sea. We had 3 buses full of us. We got to the airport and waited for our flight to Delhi. We got onto the flight and I was pleasantly surprised how smooth the take off and landing were. I had also heard that India was known for its unpredictable flights and for not being on time. But we were only about 10 minutes late for take off. Our flight was really nice too, AND they even fed us a meal! It was a delicious Indian meal with amazing food…on an airplane! We were definitely surprised that they fed us, especially for a 2 and a half hour flight. Once in New Delhi, we had 3 more buses waiting for us, and they greeted us with flower necklaces, that looked almost like a lei. However, we found out real fast that these were real flowers, with real bugs. So we decided to just hold them instead.
We finally arrived at our hotel and with much chaos, we got checked in and brought our bags to our room. Jaclyn, Craig and I shared a triple, and it was a really nice room. They had a bar and restaurant up at the top of the hotel, and the weather was so beautiful. So we sat up at the top and had a drink while the sun went down. We ordered some drinks back to our room and went downstairs to go down and get ready for dinner and the night.
Jaclyn had a family friend, Caitlin, living in New Delhi so she was going to take Jaclyn, Anders and I around for the night. She got us a driver for the night and our first stop was a local Indian restaurant. The tables had a large silver tray, with smaller dishes on them. We asked Caitlin how we were supposed to eat here, like what was the etiquette and what kind of food they served. She explained to us that you ate with your hands, and they came around and gave you everything and refilled as you liked. So it was basically a buffet that they brought to you. All the foods in India were so colorful and bright and had so many spices in them. And for the most part, they were all delicious. This restaurant had some of the most delicious food that I had ever tasted before. I can’t really remember the names of anything. But they had all different kinds of dipping sort of sauces, and you used your pita bread to dip into them. Some were green, some yellow, red, orange, spicy, sweet, every taste you could imagine. We had many helpings of everything and ate and ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. It was all so good. And then the owner of the restaurant asked us if we would be interested in going back into the kitchen to see where they made everything. And of course we wanted to go into the back. We saw all the spices and sauces and everything. They were so excited that they had us stand by the grill and took pictures of us holding the utensils and everything. It was a great experience for all of us. Then as we left the restaurant, they gave us the mark on the forehead which meant good luck and fortune.
Our next stop was a local restaurant/bar at the top of a hotel. Since we were already full with food, we decided to grab a local drink. The local beer in India is called Kingfisher. And the beer comes in 40 bottles, as opposed to a regular beer bottle. The restaurant we were at was kind of high end, and the drinks were more expensive, but we stayed for about an hour and had a drink and admired the view from the top. You could see all of New Delhi, all the cars, people, parks, etc. As we were sitting there, we even saw fireworks going off. Caitlin explained to us that it was wedding season, and weddings in India are a BIG deal, and the fireworks were for somebody’s wedding. After we finished our drink, we set out to a local dive bar also located at the top of a hotel. We ordered some drinks and got to talking to one of the men sitting next to us. We talked about India and America. He explained to us that Indians took a lot of pride in their country and wanted us to have the best time possible. Then he introduced us to the owner of the bar who also came to sit down and talk with us. They told us about places they had visited in the U.S. and we told them about Semester at Sea and the places we were going in India. After a few hours of conversation and drinks, we decided to go meet up with some other people from our group at a local club. We asked for our check and the owner and the guys that we had been talking with, informed us that the check had been paid. We were confused, but they told us that they had paid for the check, but on one condition: we had to have the best time possible in India.
Next, we went to a local club called F-bar which was located in a very nice 5-star hotel. When we walked into the hotel, we saw a mirror that had been decorated with sand and said “Welcome SAS”. We were surprised that even in Delhi (hours away from Chennai which was where we were docked), they knew about Semester at Sea. We went into the club and it was gorgeous. They had strobe lights, green lights, a VIP lounge upstairs and amazing music. We met up with everybody else and danced the night away.
Day 2
The next day we had to be up at 615 and began the day at 7. We got a later start, but we finally made it to where we were going. We went to a local mosque. It was beautiful. We couldn’t wear our shoes in the mosque and we couldn’t bring any sort of electronics (camera, cell phones, etc). It was such a humbling experience. All of the Gods were delicately placed throughout and everybody was worshiping them. It was a great experience.
Next we went to another monument in Delhi. And this is where the begging really began to kick in. We had barely even walked off the bus before people had begun to try and sell us their Kama Sutra books, elephant key rings, bangles, and anything they could sell. Sometimes you didn’t even have to bargain with them, they did it themselves. “500 Rupee, no? Okay, 450 Rupee? That’s as low as I go, no? Okay, 300, the lowest. No? Okay, just take…for 100 Rupee”. We mainly just avoided them. Then you had the beggars who just wanted money. Some of it barely made it possible to focus on the monument, but it was all part of the experience. They followed us all the way back to the bus where they stood by the door still trying to bargain. At that point I realized, it wasn’t going away, we were stuck with dealing with it for the next 3 days. It almost became amusing at that point. We started to just deal with it, and you learned to ignore them. Next stop was a fort which dated back hundreds of years ago and had beautiful architecture. We stayed there for about an hour or so and then headed back to the bus to begin our drive to Agra which was about 6 hours. On our way to Agra, we stopped for lunch which was literally located in the middle of nowhere. But the food was really good and they had a local souvenir/ food shop, so we picked up some snacks too.
We finally arrived in Agra around 8 at night. We were so hungry by the time we got there that Jaclyn, Anders and I checked in our hotel and set out for food. We went to the mall which was located 5 minutes away from our hotel. The streets were some of the smelliest I had ever smelt, but when in India. It was definitely nothing I was used to though, that’s for sure. We finally got to the mall and went to look around for food and any cool stores. We just browsed and found a few clothing stores that sold saris, scarves, and a lot of local Indian wear. We continued to look around for a place to eat, and we stumbled upon a McDonald’s! I’m not going to lie, I was very excited to eat McDonald’s. Don’t get me wrong, the Indian food is unlike anything I’ve ever eaten, but it’s always nice to have McDonald’s. And it was the first time in like 3 months. The funny thing about McDonald’s in India or India in general is that they don’t serve beef. They view the cows as a sacred animal, so all of the sandwiches were either chicken or vegetarian. I didn’t truly care, I just ordered a McChicken and French fries, and they were DAMN good. I forgot how much I had missed it. I was even going to go for a sundae, but their milk wasn’t pasteurized, and I wasn’t going to chance getting sick. Anders didn’t care, and he didn’t end up getting sick, so maybe I should have. But eh, you live and learn. After being haggled on the way back to our hotel, we decided to just go to sleep to be rested for the Taj the next day!
Day 3
We woke up at 530 to set out on our trip to the Taj Mahal! I don’t think I have been more excited about anything on this trip than to see the Taj Mahal. We went outside our hotel, and we have about 20 brightly decorated horse carriages waiting to take us to the hotel. Our horse carriage driver was determined to get the best tip and got us to the Taj before anyone else in the group. We waited in the line for about 45 minutes, and then we were finally in! I literally couldn’t speak for 5 minutes while I just looked in amazement at the number one World Wonder. It was unreal, I couldn’t grasp the concept that I was standing at the Taj Mahal. I took a million pictures. We ventured down to go inside. It was smaller than I imagined inside, but beautiful none the less. We had to wear shoe booties or no shoes at all, to keep the inside clean. After a few hours of exploring the Taj, Anders, Jaclyn and I took a rig Shaw back to the hotel. A rig Shaw was a little motor bike with a three person seat attached to it. And let me tell you, the roads in India are there for decoration. Nobody drives on the right side of the road, nobody cares about lines or lanes; it’s every man for himself. But it was so exhilarating. We got to the hotel before anyone else, and went up to the top where they had a rotating restaurant to get breakfast. They had toast, beans, eggs, potatoes, and curry for breakfast. It was a good breakfast and very fulfilling. Then we headed back to the bus for Agra fort. We stayed at the Agra fort for an hour or so and walked around and took pictures. Then we were on our way to Jaipur.
The drive to Jaipur was about 5 hours again, and we made several stops along the way, so we didn’t get to our hotel until about 930 at night. When we got there, they had a welcome reception for us with people dancing and a puppet show. Once we got checked into our hotel, we were starving and went to the hotel restaurant to get food. Outside, they were doing the holi festival, which is the representation of the changing of seasons. And basically, you just take a bunch of colors and throw them on people. The colors are powders which stick to your clothing. I bought a bunch of colors in India so that we can play with when I get home. It’s a lot of fun. Then we watched a movie in the hotel room and went to sleep.
Day 4
We woke up at about 6 and went on our way to a fort in Jaipur. We got there, and don’t you worry, there were still hagglers all around. It never ended. But some were selling turbans, and Jaclyn and I each got one. I figured it would be cool to wear on the elephant ride. So we waited in line and finally got to the elephants! They had their trunks painted with such bright colors. We got on and rode up to the top of the fort. I was so excited to ride an elephant because I never got to ride the camels. But our driver told us that our elephant was a baby and that he couldn’t go very fast. So we slowly made our way up to the fort. Oh, and if you think people weren’t haggling us while we were on the elephants, you’re wrong. They found their way, lol. We finally made it to the top and toured the fort for a few hours. Next we went to the Jal Mahal which was a palace located on the water. The bus driver stopped so we could take a few pictures. Then we headed to lunch, and they had macaroni and cheese! With chicken and curry and all the local Indian cuisine also.
Next they took us to one of their friend’s textile factories. They made carpets, different kinds of Indian wear, scarves, and basically any kind of clothing you could imagine. They showed us how they made the different kinds of carpets and all the steps it took to make them. It was really impressive, and apparently takes months to make just one carpet. They showed us all the scarves and shirts and wraps they had. I even bought a few things. Next we went to the City Palace in Jaipur. It was a beautiful palace with different museums in the area. The city palace was where a lot of the events happen, and when we got there, there were a holy festival going on. There was a lot of dancing and music playing. It was really fun to watch.
We really wanted to go to the local markets so the bus dropped us off on the way back. We walked up and down the streets and looked at the different things they were selling. Everybody there was trying to get us into their shops and go see their things. It was a little overwhelming, but we managed to buy some really cool things. We took a rig Shaw back to the hotel and decided that we were going to get Pizza Hut for dinner. It was amazing and still different than the Pizza Hut in the U.S. The pizzas are a lot smaller, and we looked like a bunch of kids in a candy shop with everything that we ordered, not to mention probably strengthened the typical stereotype of fat Americans. We headed back to the hotel and ordered a few drinks and went to bed. Our flight left at 730 the next morning and we had to be awake by 430
Day 5
We headed to the airport by 515 and got there around 6. I had bought so much in India, I had to buy a new duffel in India to fit everything. But my bag ended up being so big that they had to check it. I was a little nervous for it to get lost, but I mean it was my only option. Our flight had two stopovers. We went from Jaipur to one place and then to Mumbai and then from Mumbai to Chennai. We were nervous about making it back for ship time, but everything worked out fine and we were on the ship by 2.
With all that being said, India was such an amazing experience, and I think the most changing port that we’ve been to yet. I truly felt like I was in a different country when I was in India and everything was so different. I liked the challenge and am so happy that we got to see everything that we did. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and thank you Mom and Dad. It just made me think of how much we take for granted in the States. While I’m busying worrying about what outfit I should buy or what movie to watch, there’s children in India no more than 3 years old, worrying about where they are going to sleep or when they will get another meal. I think that sometimes we get so caught up in our own trials and tribulations that we often forget that other people are facing far worse things than we've ever had to imagine. Those are just a few of my words of inspiration, and if I learned anything, it's to always treasure the good things in life.I believe that India has changed me the most so far, and I will take every memory with me. I wouldn't change a single second of it for anything.
Our next stop is Thailand and we have about 5 days till we get there. We didn’t have classes today because they knew how exhausted everyone would be after India. So today is a relaxing day. I wanted to lay out, but the weather is cloudy and rainy, but still in the high 80s, so I can’t complain. We lose another hour of sleep tonight, so technically we’re a full 12 hours ahead of you guys but with Daylight Savings time, we’re 11 hours ahead. Hope everyone has adjusted to the daylight savings time, and the weather is getting warmer. But you never know with the weather on the East Coast, it’s always so unpredictable. Miss you and love you guys! Feel free to email! csneill@semesteratsea.net
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