India | Cochin, Jaipur, Agra, & New Delhi
India was something else. Leading up to arrival we had learned a lot about the culture and what to expect, but when I got there it became so real. People were everywhere, trash was everywhere, poverty was everywhere, but...I still loved it.
COCHIN PART 1:
Our ship was ported in Cochin, which in my opinion, is extremely underrated. Like the other ports I've been to, I had my first day in India free because my field program didn't start until the second day. My friends Julia, Sara, Evan and I took an Uber into the city on the first day and visited a mall where I was able buy my replacement phone. We then went to a hotel for lunch before taking an Uber to "Jew Town" in the afternoon. In Jew Town, we visited a bunch of shops where I was able to get a beautiful henna tattoo and purchase some souvenirs including the traditional Indian sari. My sari was about $30 USD and came in two pieces: the fabric you wrap around yourself and the shirt you wear underneath it. The shirt was personally fitted and tailored to my body which was really nice! After Jew Town, we went to a local place for dinner before heading back to the ship.
JAIPUR:
The next morning, Julia, Sara, and I got up early for a 7:00 am flight from Cochin to New Delhi. We were supposed to take two flights that day so that we could fly directly into Jaipur; however, with all of the Holi festivities going on, many of the flights were cancelled...including ours. We ended up flying into New Delhi and taking a five hour bus ride into Jaipur. We all dreaded it, but it didn't end up being that bad! One really strange thing that I witnessed on my bus ride was what appeared to be a dead body on the side of the road. It didn't look like the body had been an accident, rather, it was a man dressed up in white clothing. He was lying peacefully by the road and was surrounded by several other people who were calmly standing above him. I'm not sure what I witnessed to this day, but it's stuck with me. Upon arriving in Jaipur that evening we visited a local market before having dinner and going to bed.
The next day, we celebrated Holi. I've participated in color-powder throwing events similar to Holi at home before, but celebrating Holi in India was totally different...and so fun! We went to a festival-like area where there was a DJ blasting music, free colors for us to throw, and more. I was in the middle of a huge crowd, covered in pink/yellow/blue, listening to Indian music, learning how to dance from local Indian women. It was so fun and everyone was so friendly! Colors were being thrown all over the place and everyone was screaming "Happy Holi!". After celebrating for a few hours, we returned to the hotel to shower and have lunch.
Celebrating Holi with Julia and Sabrina
We then spent the afternoon visiting Amber Fort. We rode jeeps up the side of the fort which was really fun — the fort itself was also beautiful. It was much bigger than I expected it to be and the details were so much more intricate than I had anticipated. We went to a really cool restaurant for dinner later that night. It was in a location that resembled some sort of fair. We ate a traditional style meal where we sat on the ground and ate out of leaves. After dinner I was able to ride a camel and visit a palm reader on the grounds!
Amber Fort
Traditional style Indian meal with Julia and Sara
AGRA/NEW DELHI:
The next morning we took a train to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. We had to get up pretty early for the train ride...and by pretty early I mean 5:00 am. Needles to say, all of us looked like zombies on the train and spent half of the ride sleeping. 30 minutes before arriving at our stop I slapped some makeup onto my face and asked local women in our cart to help me put on my sari correctly. They were super helpful in assisting me and expressed to me that it was very respectful of my friends and me to wear their local clothing!
When we arrived to the site of the Taj Mahal we were able to skip most of the line and get through security quickly to enter the grounds. We walked up to the entrance where our tour guide pointed out a perfect spot to stand, where the silhouette of the Taj Mahal is visible through the very first arch you walk through on the grounds. It was so perfectly symmetrical. We walked through the first arch, and then there it was...the Taj Mahal was before us. I remember recognizing the Taj Mahal for the first time on "It's a Small World" at Disneyland and I couldn't believe that I was now seeing the real thing in real life. My friends and I felt so blessed too that there was no restoration/scaffolding/cleaning going on while we were there — apparently we were the first Semester at Sea voyage in years to see the Taj Mahal in the pristine way that we did. It looked so perfect that it looked fake. The closer and closer I walked up to it the more real I expected it to look, but it just never did. It was perfect all the way through.
Wearing my sari at the Taj Mahal
Our group went to lunch after the Taj Mahal and then visited the Agra Fort in the afternoon where we explored the grounds and saw monkeys. That night we stayed at a really nice hotel (next to a Domino's, lol).
The next day we visited the largest mosque in India, a garden in remembrance of Gandhi, and the famous India Gate. We then had lunch before going to the airport to head back to Cochin.
COCHIN PART 2:
The last day in India, my friends and I took some tuk tuks back to Jew Town to shop around a little more. We spent a few hours there before visiting a fishing village to see the fishing boats and have lunch by the water ahead of getting back on our ship to depart for Mauritius.
India was overwhelming in many ways — it was crowded, hot, smelly at times, and sad at times, but it was something I was happy to experience. I'm glad was able to see first-hand such a prominent and significant culture.
