delhi

I am back from Delhi and it was a blast! The journey was long (12 hours between the bus ride to the airport, flight, and bus to Aggra) for the three days we were gone. But, it was worth it.

In Delhi we first went to where Ghandi spent the last couple months of his life before he was assassinated. The place was beautiful and I need to learn more about Ghandi. The best part of the day was the rickshaw ride. A man peddled Brittani and I around in a little carriage. It was the equivalent of two dollars for a two hour ride. He took us through Old Delhi where we got to see thousands of people, shops, spices and bling. We also got a tour of a Jainism temple. The rickshaw ride was wild and we got hit (slight bumps) a few times. These scrawny guys are pretty strong to bike us around for so long. I loved the mayhem of the streets. Then… PIZZA HUT! Best cheesy bread I have ever had. Hands down.

We woke up at 5 am to go to the TAJ MAHAL. The plan was to get there before it was too hot or crowded. The tour guide told us all about the great love story/ history. It is basically the country’s symbol of love. “We have our Romeo and Juliets… but this overshadows them all.” The king built the Taj when his second wife died to honor and show his love for her. It look 17 years to build and is all marble. All the design is inlaid stone so that the beauty would last. They are now both buried in it. Its quite the sight to see. We took tons of pictures and had to fight the Indian tourists to get one on the “Princess Diana bench.” And no, we didn’t get our shoes stolen like on Slumdog Millionaire.

Aggra Fort was our next stop before rushing back for breakfast. During our break, some of us bought “swim costumes.” Yes, swim costumes. They are their take on bathing suits- equipped with a skirt, high neck, and shorts. Mine is bright colors and not flattering at all. I’m going to have to wear it back at the Tennis Club.

We did some shopping at Max’s and went to a bazaar. I got henna done on my foot and love it! The only problem was I couldn’t put my flip flops back on or it would get ruined. Thus, I walked around the dirty streets of the bazaar barefooted. I figure I’m building up my immune system. We ended the night at the disco tech. Drunk Indian dancers are hilarious.
Before the long journey back to Rising Star, we rode an ELEPHANT! The elephant was huge with spotted ears and really long hairs. It had a basket on its back that held four people. To get in, the elephant had to be kneeling and we climbed onto its back with a ladder. It was pretty random to just be riding an elephant down the street. A crowd of locals were watching us. Our director said it was probably the one elephant in Aggra.
So the trip was a success! It was crazy going from the one extreme (a leper colony) to the other (“the nicest hotel in India).”