Delhi and Agra - the beginning of India
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
We are in India, land of lassis and rickshaws .
But, before traveling to this far off land, we had to suffer through the agony of a 6 am wake up call to make it to the airport. Luckily, many of us had prepared for this eventuality, by buying as many cakes and pies as we could the night before, so at least one part of our morning would not be suffered through. Each cake was delectable and gone too soon, but luckily the bakery opened at 6:30, and we were able to buy more cakes for the flight ahead.
The flight was a short one, even with an early landing to refuel before reaching Delhi. Soon we were standing in the humidity, ready for new adventures, or our beds, whichever came first. We found our rooms first, but luckily adventure was soon to follow.
The day after we arrived, we were heading to Delhi's largest mosque. In order to get there, we had to ride the metro, which was an experience in itself . Each car was swarmed with people, humanoid ants infesting the metal carcasses. Soon we joined the masses, pushing our way through the herd. They parted like water. Or, really, more like slushy, with people bouncing off as we thrust our way into the cars. We were worried about pickpockets, but it seems our worries were for naught as we all escaped unscathed, and a short walk later we approached the mosque.
The mosque was incredible in its grandeur. The center square had enough space to hold thousands, surrounded by arches. For the small price of 100 rupees, one could climb to the top of one of the towers and look out across the city. In the distance, one could see Ferris wheels (interrupting here for an interesting fun fact; did you know the first Ferris wheel was actually designed by a man named George Washington in Chicago?) and the Red Fort, which seemed to be even larger than the mosque, stretching into the distance and just hesitating at infinity.
After such a view, one can hardly expect us to stay away, and soon we were approaching the walls of the Red Fort . They didn't get smaller as we approached, the walls soon filling our view. Once inside, we found massive gardens and few gardens, hardly feeling like we were surrounded by walls. There was plenty of space inside, feeling more like a city park than a defensive structure.
That night, some of the group decided to visit the Indian version of common fast food chains. In particular, we were searching for a single restaurant: Dunkin' Donuts. Like King Arthur and the knights of the round table, we set off on our quest, searching for a holy grail filled with coffee with which to dunk our donuts.
Afterwards, the best way to finish our Americanized India experience was to, of course, go to the nearby theater and watch the Martian. It was an awesome movie, and halfway through, they even had a fifteen minute intermission. It was at one of the suspenseful moments of the film and a complete surprise, thus making it hilarious in its absurdity . The movie was in English, but generally the ads were in Hindi.
Our stay in new Delhi was short, however, and the next day we embarked on our first Indian train ride. We were on a sleeper train, though we didn't have the opportunity to use the beds as beds. The beds were in three bunks, but the middle bunk could fold down, transforming the bottom bunk into a comfortable seat.
After 3 short hours, we were in Agra. We arrived in the midst of a festival, where people dance down the street behind trucks blasting music, covering everyone in paint. When we arrived at the hotel, we were pleased to find that it was incredibly close to the Taj Mahal.
The next morning we made use of that fact, and headed to the Taj Mahal bright and early. The line was quick to get through, and soon we were standing in awe among the mass of people taking photos. It seemed the huge park was fill with photographing tourists . We were quick to join them, pulling out our phones and cameras and rarely removing them from our faces. There was a long pathway leading up to the massive tomb, and standing at the entryway to the Taj Mahal itself, it looked like a field of stars from all the cameras flashing.
That afternoon, our group separated into two, with Alex, Austin, and Katherine heading with leader Alex to Fatehpur Sikri, and the rest heading to Agra Fort. Those heading to Agra fort found a massive structure of red stone, and those heading to Fatehpur Sikri found where that stone was quarried, along with beautiful architecture and persistent vendors.
Overall, our time in India so far has been filled with impressive architecture, delicious food, and loooooots of people trying to sell us things. Overall, it has been tiring, beautiful, and exhilarating, and one can hardly begin to imagine what India may hold for us next.
We just hope its not malaria!
Griffin, Katherine, Sophie
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2025-02-17
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karan singh
2020-11-26
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