First things first...Yay Obama! Hopefully we can all unite now under the fabulous party we know we can be (Katie P...this means you :)).
So the last few days have been good...it has been so nice to get to see some of the country (read as: out of insane Delhi). The first day we took a local train to Agra, quite an interesting experience. They have different classes of cars and if you are in a non-ac car, they literally squeeze in to the point where people are hanging out the doors (picture to come...sorry haven't posted but am in internet cafes and can't really download). We were luckily in an AC one and the ride was fine. When we got to Agra we toured a huge fort built buy the Moghals (muslims). Very interesting. After lunch and a rest in our VERY HOT NOT AC guesthouse, we visited the Taj Mahal. Amazing. Words and pictures don't do justice. It was such a great experience to be there and I felt very lucky knowing that most people will never go. We were a handful of westerners in a crowd of Indians which basically made us celebs. For some reason (likely because they don't see a lot of white people), the Indians like to take pictures of themselves with us. They walk up (kids and adults) and say "one photo." And if you say yes, their entire family is all of a sudden beside you. A nice thing, the first time...but after a while it gets annoying and I now have a new sympathy for celebrities. I took about 100 pics and those are to come too. Really was amazing. After the group had dinner on the roof of our guesthouse, overlooking the Taj and talked with our leader all about India religions, etc. It is such a complicated country and I'm sure I will never fully crasp but its neat to learn.
The next day we took a local bus....oy. Non-ac, and again, piled in, but only for 2 hours so it was fine. We went to a really cool Fort and then on to a Palace where the Maharja lived all the way until 1950. We stayed right near a very famous bird sanctuary, which unfortunately because of global warming is now closed. The place we stayed was neat though, a hut roof and pics of birds everywhere and the most important thing: AC.
Today we were supposed to go into Rajasthan but because of the violent protests the company changed our trip (hopefully for only a few days). So after a car ride and another train we have ended up in a very nice small village called Orechha. I'm actually glad because it has been really neat. We are staying in these really nice tents (think back to British Rule, green grass, nice gardens) with AC and TV and there is a pool. We are here for 2 nights and get to do laundry- YAY, very necessary at this point. We just walked around the village and it is small enough that there are not beggars and they don't hound you in the markets. There are two huge palaces and tons of cows everywhere. There are also lots of "fake holy men" who sit around all day and smoke hashish, our guide told us we can tell fake from real because of 1. their smell and 2. fake ones ask you questions instead of tell you things.
Seeing the villages has been quite interesting - there are ladies that walk with water on their heads (2 pots even), cows and goats everywhere, men using anything and everything as their toliet, it really is like looking back in time. It has definitely been a test for me but is getting easier as I adjust.
Sorry for the lengthy post, I will sign off now, we are heading to have something cold to drink in the village and then back to the hotel for dinner, where apparently there is some nightly dance show. Hope all is well back there.
So the last few days have been good...it has been so nice to get to see some of the country (read as: out of insane Delhi). The first day we took a local train to Agra, quite an interesting experience. They have different classes of cars and if you are in a non-ac car, they literally squeeze in to the point where people are hanging out the doors (picture to come...sorry haven't posted but am in internet cafes and can't really download). We were luckily in an AC one and the ride was fine. When we got to Agra we toured a huge fort built buy the Moghals (muslims). Very interesting. After lunch and a rest in our VERY HOT NOT AC guesthouse, we visited the Taj Mahal. Amazing. Words and pictures don't do justice. It was such a great experience to be there and I felt very lucky knowing that most people will never go. We were a handful of westerners in a crowd of Indians which basically made us celebs. For some reason (likely because they don't see a lot of white people), the Indians like to take pictures of themselves with us. They walk up (kids and adults) and say "one photo." And if you say yes, their entire family is all of a sudden beside you. A nice thing, the first time...but after a while it gets annoying and I now have a new sympathy for celebrities. I took about 100 pics and those are to come too. Really was amazing. After the group had dinner on the roof of our guesthouse, overlooking the Taj and talked with our leader all about India religions, etc. It is such a complicated country and I'm sure I will never fully crasp but its neat to learn.
The next day we took a local bus....oy. Non-ac, and again, piled in, but only for 2 hours so it was fine. We went to a really cool Fort and then on to a Palace where the Maharja lived all the way until 1950. We stayed right near a very famous bird sanctuary, which unfortunately because of global warming is now closed. The place we stayed was neat though, a hut roof and pics of birds everywhere and the most important thing: AC.
Today we were supposed to go into Rajasthan but because of the violent protests the company changed our trip (hopefully for only a few days). So after a car ride and another train we have ended up in a very nice small village called Orechha. I'm actually glad because it has been really neat. We are staying in these really nice tents (think back to British Rule, green grass, nice gardens) with AC and TV and there is a pool. We are here for 2 nights and get to do laundry- YAY, very necessary at this point. We just walked around the village and it is small enough that there are not beggars and they don't hound you in the markets. There are two huge palaces and tons of cows everywhere. There are also lots of "fake holy men" who sit around all day and smoke hashish, our guide told us we can tell fake from real because of 1. their smell and 2. fake ones ask you questions instead of tell you things.
Seeing the villages has been quite interesting - there are ladies that walk with water on their heads (2 pots even), cows and goats everywhere, men using anything and everything as their toliet, it really is like looking back in time. It has definitely been a test for me but is getting easier as I adjust.
Sorry for the lengthy post, I will sign off now, we are heading to have something cold to drink in the village and then back to the hotel for dinner, where apparently there is some nightly dance show. Hope all is well back there.
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