I have the opportunity to be back in India with a team of 6 others. My last trip here was in 2011, only 2 months into the job and very new to third world cultures.
On Thursday, our team gathered at our office to start our journey. We left from the Harrisburg train station to arrive in Newark about 4 hours later. We flew out of Newark on Thursday night, arriving into Delhi late on Friday night. This flight usually takes about 14 hours, but somehow, we did it in 13. Amazingly, I slept the best I ever have on a long flight...maybe the Tylenol PM had something to do with that.
We were welcomed very warmly by our hosts.
Once we got settled in our room, Renee, Pam and me ordered some milk tea. Delish!
During our first few days in Delhi, we are staying at the YWCA. Rooms are very comfortable - we have electric, hot water and a shower!
One of the best ways to adjust to big time changes is to just keep going, hard, the very first day. If you keep moving, you don't feel as sleepy and you can sleep better that night to begin to adjust to the time in the new area. On Saturday morning, after delicious breakfast (that only cost $1.00 for all 7 of us to eat!!!?), Ken, Pam, Tom, Renee and me started the three hour drive on the expressway to Agra. Jim and Beth stayed in Delhi for the day to visit some family.
I always enjoy road trips in other countries. You can see so many different things, people, and landscapes. The driving and the traffic haven't changed in the few years since I've been here. Here are just a few sites along the way. (Excuse the quality of some of the photos - that's what happens when you're in a moving van.)
rice fields (and so foggy/smoggy in the morning)
at the toll plaza
This is a family of 4 on the motorcycle (the women is side-saddle, holding a child). This is very common to see here.
check out the bling on these carts!
Once in Agra, we were joined by our tour guide, Rohit, who took us through the lines to enter the Taj Mahal. Now, I have to pause here and mention, if any of you remember a story from my last trip to India when I got pulled aside in customs due to some paperwork that wasn't filled out--well, apparently I didn't listen well to Rohit when he mentioned we couldn't bring food into the Taj Mahal. I thought he only said candy, but he meant ANY food. Well...for any of you that know me, you know I get "hangry" and ALWAYS have food with me. Security pulled out my bag of snacks and wouldn't let me take them with me! Rohit took care of me, though. He had someone hold on to the goods and we got them back when we exited. Lucky for everyone I was with, I had just had a few snacks before we entered so no "hangriness" occurred.
The Taj Mahal is a tomb
constructed by a Mughal prince, Shah Jahn, as a tomb for his beloved wife, Mumtaz
Mahal. It's actually quite a beautiful love story. It took twenty years to complete, which is understandable when you
consider all the filigree and sculpting work done in the marble. Rohit was awesome! He knew all the best spots to get good pictures and was
able to answer all our questions.
Cool shot, taken from inside the Taj Mahal, through the filigree
Namaste
We had to wear shoe covers inside the Taj Mahal - sacred ground
God ALWAYS has my back, EVERYWHERE I go. He brought me a butterfly while we visited the Taj Mahal. Every single country I go to, I see one the very first day. For those of you who don't know the significance of this for me, I'll tell you that story sometime.
After leaving the Taj Mahal
we were taken to a craftsman who is actually a 17th generation descendant of the men who built the
Taj Mahal and he showed us his filigree work. Every piece is a work of art and
is so beautiful. How could we not purchase some of his beautiful work!?
Every single color (piece) on each object is handcrafted - here he is filing a small leaf--very intricate!
We were served tea while we shopped
After shopping here, we went for some lunch. After lunch we went to a jewelry shop, where I may or may not have purchased a ring. That ring that may or may not have been purchased is a unique stone from India that shows 6 stars when light is shown on it.
With our tour guide, Rohit
Juspaul has been our driver since the airport. He had arranged our tours for the day. After leaving Rohit, he wanted to treat us to an Indian sweet. So, we pulled off the side of the road, and he ran over to a roadside stand and came back with something green. Of course, we all tried it...but, didn't really like it...at all. I'll tell you more of this funny story in person. Let's just say we needed lots of water and some other foods to take the taste away!
We were all fighting sleep on the three hour drive back to Delhi. We stopped at a rest stop halfway and had some tea. Once we arrived back at the YWCA, we had a late dinner (several had Thai food, one had Irish and one had English). We have an early morning start tomorrow when we fly to Nepal.
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