Hello lovelies!
This past weekend the IES group took a trip to Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is just east of Delhi. I'll try to recap everything that I can remember, but we saw so many amazing things (the most well-known of which is the Taj Mahal)! Our trip started EARLY on Friday morning...I was up by 4:30 to shower, as the carpool was picking me up at 5:15. They happened to be late, however, so I stood outside in the rain (luckily under an umbrella) for half an hour. After being picked up, we made our way to the train station. On our way, we saw around 10 monkeys hanging out in a median in the middle of the road!! Those have been the only monkeys I've seen in Delhi, but Agra was full of them! (Agra is a bit more rural than the capital). The train ride to Agra was quite interesting - I stayed awake for the majority of it in order to see the rural scene of India. I saw many small villages consisting of huts like the following:
damn, that picture took so long to upload so that's the only one I'm putting in this post. If you want to see more pictures of my trip they are on facebook!
So anyways, besides the huts, I found it interesting how lively the railroad tracks are! Many families make their homes in tents right beside the tracks (for reasons unknown to me...I would think they would want to be further away for safety/pollution/noise issues). Quite a few people..um...release their bowels beside the train tracks. Also, I noticed that the tracks do not discriminate between economic classes - I saw the poorest of the poor to men dressed in nice business suits walking along the tracks, going about their daily business and going where they need to go. The train itself was quite accommodating. While it wasn't necessarily "nice" compared to American standards, it was air-conditioned(we traveled in the AC chair car class) and gave out free newspapers, magazines, bottles of water, and breakfast.
Upon arrival to Agra, we took a bus to our hotel to check in and drop off our things. I took a short nap and then we headed to the Agra Fort (also known as the Red Fort - any fort made of red sandstone is called the Red Fort, so it can get confusing!). The Agra Fort is huge! It is actually more of a walled city, as various rulers of India made it their home throughout history and built various structures inside it, such as palaces and a mosque. From the top of the fort, there is a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal in the distance. This is also where the phenomenon of taking pictures with Montana started. While wandering around the fort, a group of people asked if I would take a picture with someone's little boy. I love little kids so I said sure - this was my mistake. After, everyone wanted "just one more picture" with me - I probably took pictures with 25 different men at this point. After I finally broke away, a woman comes up to me maybe 10 minutes later and asks if I'll take one last picture with her husband (not her - just her husband lol). At every single tourist site we visited, I took at least one picture with somebody. They were really into posing me with their kids - sometimes I would hold their hand, sometimes I'd put my arm around them, sometimes I'd kneel and they would stand behind me. I am kind of used to people wanting to take pictures with me because when I went to China in 10th grade, I was a HUGE hit with the locals. Also at the Agra Fort was an Archaeological Site - men were chipping away at a place in the entry pathway. I'm not sure what they were looking for, but their tools were quite rudimentary (they were using pick axes for heaven's sake to find artifacts - whatever they do find will probably be ruined). It wasn't protected or roped off at all, and the men didn't look very trained. It was definitely interesting to see an Indian archaeological site though (if that actually was a legit one).
Next we went to the tomb of Itmad-ud-daula, a Mughal emperor in India's history. It was beautiful and kind of resembled a baby Taj Mahal. There were a few kids there (of whom I took pictures haha) that kept asking for pens - at least, I think that's what they were saying. They even did the motion of writing. I never gave them one so why they wanted one is still a mystery. After the tomb, we went to Mehtab Bagh, aka Moonlight Garden. The gardens were absolutely beautiful. I am so lucky that I'm here during the monsoon season. Even though it downpours just about every day, streets become flooded up to ankle- or shin-deep water, and traffic piles up, it is so green here! The gardens were flourishing with so many different types of flowers and trees. I heard that recently, a few gardeners were digging and found seeds dating back to the time of Shah Jahan (who commissioned the Taj Mahal for his deceased wife). The gardeners are going to try to recreate what Mehtab Bagh might have looked like in his time, which would be so awesome! Upon arriving to the viewing place of the Taj, I was taken aback. The stark contrast of the falling-down barbed-wire fence blocking off the river and the slums along the river to each side of the Taj alongside the majestic Taj Mahal was shocking. It makes me wonder how the place might have looked when the Taj was first built, before barbed wire and slums.
That night, we were free to eat dinner on our own so a few of us went to Pizza Hut. It was pretty good, except for the fact that it was a bit pricey and portion sizes were tiny. Five of us ordered the meal for 6, which came with three appetizers, three medium pizzas and 6 drinks. It sounds like a lot, but we demolished that and were still hungry, so we got some chicken wings. The medium pizzas were smaller than a personal pan back in the states - and I'm not exaggerating. Either way though, pizza was much welcomed in my stomach after three weeks of Indian! That night, we really wanted to go out and experience the party scene in Agra, but we failed. We barely found a liquor store - we had to walk pretty far just to be charged almost 20 bucks for a bottle of Red Knight whiskey (delicious, cheap Indian whiskey). Apparently, liquor and tobacco taxes are different in each state, which is why it was so much more expensive in U.P. than in Delhi. We ended up just drinking in our hotel room and chillin. After most people went to bed, four of us took a "midnight" swim (at 1 in the morning). The water felt amazing and it was quite relaxing. Finally, we went to bed because the Taj was in the morning!
After a delicious breakfast at the hotel (with eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, etc.) we journeyed to the Taj Mahal! Our bus could only drive up to a certain spot, at which point we had to change to a special bus without emissions (they are worried about pollution at the Taj). The entrance itself was gorgeous, but once I stepped inside I was in awe. The Taj is absolutely breathtaking - it's grand and majestic and has somewhat of an other-worldly vibe due to the translucent marble used to construct it. According to the professor who went with us, the Taj looks slightly different at various points of the day due to the light reflecting differently off of the marble. After I got someone to take the necessary pictures of me with the Taj, I journeyed off on my own. I really like to experience tourist places by myself (especially one as amazing as the Taj) because I don't like my experience to be determined by someone else. Going around by myself was so incredibly peaceful. I felt so connected walking barefoot on the marble and feeling it on my skin. In the mosque, I had to cover my head as it is still a "living mosque" (aka still used for worship). I also went into the museum, which had original drawings of the Taj, swords, a Koran holder, and some writings. At the back corner of the Taj, I saw some monkeys just hanging out. I took their pictures and got as close as I could until one of them noticed me. Monkeys can be dangerous creatures! Anyways, immediately upon exiting the Taj, we were bombarded with people selling souvenirs. It really gets to some people, as they can't handle the people being in their face. Honestly though, if you don't look at them or what they are selling they will leave you alone - it only takes 3 seconds of ignoring them for them to leave. Some people just really don't understand that though, so they get really flustered and angry. IES didn't give us any time to shop, but a few of us insisted on at least 10 minutes to go look at the shops (they were selling SUPER cheap things so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity!). I got a few magnets for about 1.50 and some bracelets for 50 cents! I wish I would have had more time because I hate feeling pressured when buying something and I could have gotten a lot more had I had time to think. After the Taj we went to the Taj Nature Walk, which was basically a paved trail leading through a pretty manicured green area with various view of the Taj.
In the afternoon, we went to Akbar's tomb. Akbar the Great was the 3rd Mughal emperor of India who ruled in the 16th century. This tomb, like most other important sites, had a grand entrance. Behind the tomb were some ruins (I'm not sure what they were ruins of) that I explored. While tombs and such are gorgeous places, I love exploring ruins. I didn't get very far before a guard came to get me and told me to go back. After seeing Akbar's tomb we went to Fatehpur Sikri, the first planned city of the Mughal (it was built by Akbar in honor of the Sufi saint who foretold the birth of Akbar's son). The city was absolutely huge and took about 2 hours to walk around. It took 15 years to build but was abandoned in only 14 because the water supply was unable to sustain the growing population. The views from the city were gorgeous as well - it looks out onto the countryside of U.P. Fatehpur Sikri was the last place we went in Agra. We stopped to have some tea (or chai as Indians call it) and snacks and lost track of time. We ended up having to rush to make our train in time. I bet we were a funny sight - 15 Americans running all-out through the train station. We made it with time to spare though. The dinner on the train was absolutely horrible though, so I'm thankful we stopped for tea time! The journey back was uneventful - I slept the whole way and, after being dropped off around 11:30 pm, crashed.
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This is the best time to be in India, in my opinion. Although it is extremely hot and humid, it rains almost every day. The rain is much welcomed by most, as it provides a relief to the heat - many kids even play in the flooded roads. The rains also ensure a very green India, whereas other times of the year might not be as flourishing. Probably the best part of being here during this time is seeing all the Hindu pilgrims. The Hindu holy month of Shravan is from mid/late July - mid/late August, during which time Hindus make a pilgrimage to the Ganges River to collect gangajal, or holy water from the Ganges. Every day I see people (98% of them men) dressed in orange and carrying lavishly decorated poles from which buckets hang to collect the water. Occaisionally, I will see trucks piled with men blaring Bollywood music - I haven't quite figured out if this is connected with the pilgrims as well, as some have been dressed in orange and some haven't, or if this is just a normal thing in Delhi. Along certain roads, rest stops have been set up for these pilgrims to rest their feet and grab a bite to eat. Here's an example of one taken from google:
Also, as a side-note, mash-ups of Bollywood music and American rap do exist, and they are fantastic. My autowallah (aka auto-rickshaw driver) who was quite young (and good-looking I may add) was blaring the mash-ups in an unabashed attempt to impress me. He even had some mad dance moves. If he had known a little more English I would have given him my number lol. Sometimes my commutes are awesome, and sometimes they suck. Yesterday my driver took me all over the city in an attempt to get more money out of me, making me late for class. I yelled at him multiple times but he didn't understand English. When I finally arrived at the IES center, I handed him about half of what he was trying to charge (a little less than what it normally takes) and basically told him to go to hell. Also, they don't always know where they are going and for someone like me who is directionally challenged, this is a big problem. Various times I have gotten us lost by telling them to turn the wrong way, and we inevitably end up right around where I need to be but I can't figure it out lol. I really need to study a map or something.
This past weekend the IES group took a trip to Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is just east of Delhi. I'll try to recap everything that I can remember, but we saw so many amazing things (the most well-known of which is the Taj Mahal)! Our trip started EARLY on Friday morning...I was up by 4:30 to shower, as the carpool was picking me up at 5:15. They happened to be late, however, so I stood outside in the rain (luckily under an umbrella) for half an hour. After being picked up, we made our way to the train station. On our way, we saw around 10 monkeys hanging out in a median in the middle of the road!! Those have been the only monkeys I've seen in Delhi, but Agra was full of them! (Agra is a bit more rural than the capital). The train ride to Agra was quite interesting - I stayed awake for the majority of it in order to see the rural scene of India. I saw many small villages consisting of huts like the following:
So anyways, besides the huts, I found it interesting how lively the railroad tracks are! Many families make their homes in tents right beside the tracks (for reasons unknown to me...I would think they would want to be further away for safety/pollution/noise issues). Quite a few people..um...release their bowels beside the train tracks. Also, I noticed that the tracks do not discriminate between economic classes - I saw the poorest of the poor to men dressed in nice business suits walking along the tracks, going about their daily business and going where they need to go. The train itself was quite accommodating. While it wasn't necessarily "nice" compared to American standards, it was air-conditioned(we traveled in the AC chair car class) and gave out free newspapers, magazines, bottles of water, and breakfast.
Upon arrival to Agra, we took a bus to our hotel to check in and drop off our things. I took a short nap and then we headed to the Agra Fort (also known as the Red Fort - any fort made of red sandstone is called the Red Fort, so it can get confusing!). The Agra Fort is huge! It is actually more of a walled city, as various rulers of India made it their home throughout history and built various structures inside it, such as palaces and a mosque. From the top of the fort, there is a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal in the distance. This is also where the phenomenon of taking pictures with Montana started. While wandering around the fort, a group of people asked if I would take a picture with someone's little boy. I love little kids so I said sure - this was my mistake. After, everyone wanted "just one more picture" with me - I probably took pictures with 25 different men at this point. After I finally broke away, a woman comes up to me maybe 10 minutes later and asks if I'll take one last picture with her husband (not her - just her husband lol). At every single tourist site we visited, I took at least one picture with somebody. They were really into posing me with their kids - sometimes I would hold their hand, sometimes I'd put my arm around them, sometimes I'd kneel and they would stand behind me. I am kind of used to people wanting to take pictures with me because when I went to China in 10th grade, I was a HUGE hit with the locals. Also at the Agra Fort was an Archaeological Site - men were chipping away at a place in the entry pathway. I'm not sure what they were looking for, but their tools were quite rudimentary (they were using pick axes for heaven's sake to find artifacts - whatever they do find will probably be ruined). It wasn't protected or roped off at all, and the men didn't look very trained. It was definitely interesting to see an Indian archaeological site though (if that actually was a legit one).
Next we went to the tomb of Itmad-ud-daula, a Mughal emperor in India's history. It was beautiful and kind of resembled a baby Taj Mahal. There were a few kids there (of whom I took pictures haha) that kept asking for pens - at least, I think that's what they were saying. They even did the motion of writing. I never gave them one so why they wanted one is still a mystery. After the tomb, we went to Mehtab Bagh, aka Moonlight Garden. The gardens were absolutely beautiful. I am so lucky that I'm here during the monsoon season. Even though it downpours just about every day, streets become flooded up to ankle- or shin-deep water, and traffic piles up, it is so green here! The gardens were flourishing with so many different types of flowers and trees. I heard that recently, a few gardeners were digging and found seeds dating back to the time of Shah Jahan (who commissioned the Taj Mahal for his deceased wife). The gardeners are going to try to recreate what Mehtab Bagh might have looked like in his time, which would be so awesome! Upon arriving to the viewing place of the Taj, I was taken aback. The stark contrast of the falling-down barbed-wire fence blocking off the river and the slums along the river to each side of the Taj alongside the majestic Taj Mahal was shocking. It makes me wonder how the place might have looked when the Taj was first built, before barbed wire and slums.
That night, we were free to eat dinner on our own so a few of us went to Pizza Hut. It was pretty good, except for the fact that it was a bit pricey and portion sizes were tiny. Five of us ordered the meal for 6, which came with three appetizers, three medium pizzas and 6 drinks. It sounds like a lot, but we demolished that and were still hungry, so we got some chicken wings. The medium pizzas were smaller than a personal pan back in the states - and I'm not exaggerating. Either way though, pizza was much welcomed in my stomach after three weeks of Indian! That night, we really wanted to go out and experience the party scene in Agra, but we failed. We barely found a liquor store - we had to walk pretty far just to be charged almost 20 bucks for a bottle of Red Knight whiskey (delicious, cheap Indian whiskey). Apparently, liquor and tobacco taxes are different in each state, which is why it was so much more expensive in U.P. than in Delhi. We ended up just drinking in our hotel room and chillin. After most people went to bed, four of us took a "midnight" swim (at 1 in the morning). The water felt amazing and it was quite relaxing. Finally, we went to bed because the Taj was in the morning!
After a delicious breakfast at the hotel (with eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, etc.) we journeyed to the Taj Mahal! Our bus could only drive up to a certain spot, at which point we had to change to a special bus without emissions (they are worried about pollution at the Taj). The entrance itself was gorgeous, but once I stepped inside I was in awe. The Taj is absolutely breathtaking - it's grand and majestic and has somewhat of an other-worldly vibe due to the translucent marble used to construct it. According to the professor who went with us, the Taj looks slightly different at various points of the day due to the light reflecting differently off of the marble. After I got someone to take the necessary pictures of me with the Taj, I journeyed off on my own. I really like to experience tourist places by myself (especially one as amazing as the Taj) because I don't like my experience to be determined by someone else. Going around by myself was so incredibly peaceful. I felt so connected walking barefoot on the marble and feeling it on my skin. In the mosque, I had to cover my head as it is still a "living mosque" (aka still used for worship). I also went into the museum, which had original drawings of the Taj, swords, a Koran holder, and some writings. At the back corner of the Taj, I saw some monkeys just hanging out. I took their pictures and got as close as I could until one of them noticed me. Monkeys can be dangerous creatures! Anyways, immediately upon exiting the Taj, we were bombarded with people selling souvenirs. It really gets to some people, as they can't handle the people being in their face. Honestly though, if you don't look at them or what they are selling they will leave you alone - it only takes 3 seconds of ignoring them for them to leave. Some people just really don't understand that though, so they get really flustered and angry. IES didn't give us any time to shop, but a few of us insisted on at least 10 minutes to go look at the shops (they were selling SUPER cheap things so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity!). I got a few magnets for about 1.50 and some bracelets for 50 cents! I wish I would have had more time because I hate feeling pressured when buying something and I could have gotten a lot more had I had time to think. After the Taj we went to the Taj Nature Walk, which was basically a paved trail leading through a pretty manicured green area with various view of the Taj.
In the afternoon, we went to Akbar's tomb. Akbar the Great was the 3rd Mughal emperor of India who ruled in the 16th century. This tomb, like most other important sites, had a grand entrance. Behind the tomb were some ruins (I'm not sure what they were ruins of) that I explored. While tombs and such are gorgeous places, I love exploring ruins. I didn't get very far before a guard came to get me and told me to go back. After seeing Akbar's tomb we went to Fatehpur Sikri, the first planned city of the Mughal (it was built by Akbar in honor of the Sufi saint who foretold the birth of Akbar's son). The city was absolutely huge and took about 2 hours to walk around. It took 15 years to build but was abandoned in only 14 because the water supply was unable to sustain the growing population. The views from the city were gorgeous as well - it looks out onto the countryside of U.P. Fatehpur Sikri was the last place we went in Agra. We stopped to have some tea (or chai as Indians call it) and snacks and lost track of time. We ended up having to rush to make our train in time. I bet we were a funny sight - 15 Americans running all-out through the train station. We made it with time to spare though. The dinner on the train was absolutely horrible though, so I'm thankful we stopped for tea time! The journey back was uneventful - I slept the whole way and, after being dropped off around 11:30 pm, crashed.
----------------------------------------------
This is the best time to be in India, in my opinion. Although it is extremely hot and humid, it rains almost every day. The rain is much welcomed by most, as it provides a relief to the heat - many kids even play in the flooded roads. The rains also ensure a very green India, whereas other times of the year might not be as flourishing. Probably the best part of being here during this time is seeing all the Hindu pilgrims. The Hindu holy month of Shravan is from mid/late July - mid/late August, during which time Hindus make a pilgrimage to the Ganges River to collect gangajal, or holy water from the Ganges. Every day I see people (98% of them men) dressed in orange and carrying lavishly decorated poles from which buckets hang to collect the water. Occaisionally, I will see trucks piled with men blaring Bollywood music - I haven't quite figured out if this is connected with the pilgrims as well, as some have been dressed in orange and some haven't, or if this is just a normal thing in Delhi. Along certain roads, rest stops have been set up for these pilgrims to rest their feet and grab a bite to eat. Here's an example of one taken from google:
Also, as a side-note, mash-ups of Bollywood music and American rap do exist, and they are fantastic. My autowallah (aka auto-rickshaw driver) who was quite young (and good-looking I may add) was blaring the mash-ups in an unabashed attempt to impress me. He even had some mad dance moves. If he had known a little more English I would have given him my number lol. Sometimes my commutes are awesome, and sometimes they suck. Yesterday my driver took me all over the city in an attempt to get more money out of me, making me late for class. I yelled at him multiple times but he didn't understand English. When I finally arrived at the IES center, I handed him about half of what he was trying to charge (a little less than what it normally takes) and basically told him to go to hell. Also, they don't always know where they are going and for someone like me who is directionally challenged, this is a big problem. Various times I have gotten us lost by telling them to turn the wrong way, and we inevitably end up right around where I need to be but I can't figure it out lol. I really need to study a map or something.
Warning: do NOT drink in the state of Gujarat...it is illegal in that state, and you could get methanol poisoning and die =(
ReplyDeleteThe trucks piled with people is a normal mode of mass-taxi transport. Sometimes they are elaborately decorated and usually come from agricultural areas.
I love your perspective on all of this! Lots of smiles & hugs.