Agra•day 5

•TAJ MAHAL•

Today was another busy day! We took a day trip to Agra to visit the TAJ MAHAL! 

>>u n b e l i e v a b l e<<

 

We got up pretty early to make sure we got to Agra at a reasonable time and to try and beat some of the craziness on the roads and at the Taj Mahal. 

 

We made it to the bus station by 615. It wasn't really a bus station...more like a bunch of buses and tuk tuks lined up and down the street. Our hostel told us when we got there just say Agra and someone would point us in the right direction. Finding the bus was super easy...actually almost too easy! The first person we asked pointed to the bus that was right beside us..hmm is this actually the Agra bus?! We asked the driver and he said yes so we jumped on. We were able to snag the front row which ended up being nice as the bus was extremely packed. 

 

Men all up and down the aisles and even sitting on the tops of the chairs. The ride there was really easy and quick. We didn't hit any traffic and made it to Agra in 3 hours. We did stop for a restroom break at one point but unfortunately the handful of women on the bus couldn't go because we literally stopped on the side of the highway and all the men got off and just peed on the side of the highway. That is something I've noticed here...guys use the restroom any and everywhere! No matter where we are going we will Most Definitely see multiple people peeing along the way. Burping and farting are also very commonly accepted here.

So we got dropped off on the side of the road in Agra and were immediately bombarded by tuk tuk drivers wanting to take us. We took a tuk tuk about 15 minutes over to the Taj Mahal. 

 

The Taj Mahal was breathtaking. Such an amazing site! We got there before it was too too crowded which was nice but there were still a ton of people. As we were walking around we ran into our friend Quinn who left the hostel the day before! We ended up spending the rest our time there together and then the 3 of us went and got lunch. Quinn had another train to catch that evening and we needed to get a bus so we said our goodbyes and headdd to the bus station. It was the same sort of situation...not really a bus station but just a lot of people, buses and tuk tuks everywhere. A million people bombarded us of course and we finally figured out that the bus we wanted was at a different spot about 10 minutes away. This one guy really wanted to take us on his bicycle tuk tuk, we agreed but immediately felt bad. It was a lot further than we thought and this poor guy was working pretty darn hard to get us there! 

 

We knew there was no way getting home would be as easy as it was in the morning but luckily we were wrong. We got to sit in the VIP (😉) front section of the bus and it was a super smooth three hour ride home! 

We got back to the hostel around 730 with a hungry belly! We walked right down the street with Andy and James to a little pub called Thugs. We had a couple drinks, delicious food and lots of laughs! These guys are a good time! 

🎨❤️💛💚💙💜🎨

Can't wait for the HOLI festival tomorrow!!

Delhi•day 4

Today was a "proper" tourist day! Six of us went out to explore the city for the day! It was Quinn's (from D.C. but studying abroad in Jordan) last day in Delhi and she still had a few things she wanted to cross off her list so we all went out! 

 

Our first stop was the Red Fort. The Red Fort was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty for nearly 200 years, until 1857. It was also the ceremonial and political center of the Mughal state and the place for events critically impacting the region. 

 

The Red Fort was huge and so beautiful. It's situated right off one of the busy noisy streets but as soon as you walk through the entrance it's almost immediately quiet! So peaceful and relaxing! And the weather was absolutely perfect! Not hot at all with a nice little breeze! We couldn't have gotten luckier! It's been a great change from Thailand! 

We spent a good couple of hours walking around the Fort. After the Fort we went to grab lunch...we were all starving by this point! Another awesome Indian meal down in the books! The food here is so delicious. Absolutely loving it so far! 

 

After lunch we took a walk over to the Mosque. This is what we saw from our rooftop view yesterday when we were at the flower shop. As we got closer to the Mosque it felt like we were in a totally different city. 

 

The people, streets and things being sold were a lot different than what we were familiar with. Most places around that we've been to (or seen) are full vegetarian restaurants and if they're not full veg, they have a huge veg selection. I'm not a vegetarian (gabby is) but I eat veg a lot and it's definitely been nice (and probably safer) having so many vegetarian options! So as we started walking down the street by the Mosque we immediately were caught off guard by what we saw everywhere! The whole street was lined with shops chopping up chickens :( I know I know...chicken has to come from somewhere but I definitely don't like seeing it!! And it was Everywhere in this area! 🤢

 

The Mosque is commonly called Jama Masjid and is one of the largest mosques in India. It was so beautiful and great people watching. I loved sitting in the middle of the courtyard watching all the people coming in and out! 

 

 

 

 

The people wash themselves before they pray. They sit on these little blocks and wash their hands, arms, face and their feet all in the same water. A lot of them use this water to rinse their mouths out and some also drink it! I still can't wrap my head around this. I sat there forever just watching people walk over and go through this whole process...so interesting! 

 

After the Mosque we went back to the hostel to chill. We were so worn out from the day! While we were sitting around at the hostel Awesome recommended that we go to a water/light show. We didn't really feel like doing anything but 5 of us decided that we would go! We were all so happy that we went! It was unbelievable! 

The show was held at a Hindu temple that was stunning. The grounds were so well kept and maintained. I could Not get over how gorgeous it was. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to bring cameras or phones into the facility so I grabbed these pictures off of google. The pictures don't even do justice but I just wanted to give you an idea of where we were! 

 

Loving all of my experiences in India so far! ❤️ another day filled with adventures tomorrow! 

Delhi•day 3

 

Today was such a busy, fun and exhausting day! We started the day off with a walking market tour that was organized through our hostel. Our guide was really great and made the tour really fun but also packed with information! We saw so many different sites and walked through many different kinds of markets! 

 

Walking down the streets with Awesome (our guide) was really cool. It felt a lot more safe being with him so we just went with the flow and did as he did...walking through the streets, cutting through little alleyways and checking out all the nooks and crannies. 

 

 

People will cook food for the homeless and the thought is that if people eat their food then their prayers will be sent and will answered. It was so crazy the amount of people lined up to receive the food at this stand. Then the men would just squat down on the street and eat their naan and curry. 

 

 

We passed a school that was letting students out about half day. They were so adorable in their little uniforms and so funny and energetic...just like my little munchkins! Check out their little school bus! 

 

 

 

A lot of people are already getting ready for the Holi Festival that is on Monday. It reminds me a lot of the Songkran Festival in Thailand. Actually, some people were already playing Holi. We saw multiple people that were already colored! 

 

 

Awesome took us through a flower market which was also the home for all of the guys that work their. It was really crazy to see their very minimal living conditions. They live on the top of the roof with next to nothing. But they welcomed us up to see the view of the town. Downstairs there were bags and bags of flowers. They were so beautiful and it smelled great! We were all given a rose to take with us because we were headed to the spice market next.

 

 

 

View from the top of the flower store (the guys house).

 

View looking out into the Mosque

Spices at the Spice Market

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tour was about 4 hours! We had a great time but were exhausted when we got back. It's crazy how just walking around for the day can take it out of you but I think constantly having to be aware of you belongings and surroundings can just be tiring without even knowing it!

We grabbed a late lunch early dinner after we got back at a place called Dilli Gate. I ordered Paneer Butter Masala and garlic naan. As always, it was delicious!

 

The hostel hosted a Pub Crawl so we all decided to go check it out. We went to 3 different bars and they were all really different and interesting vibes. We had a lot of fun and it was pretty neat checking out the bar scene here in Delhi. 

Heading to bed! We've got another busy day of sight seeing in the morning! 

Delhi•day 2

 

This morning started off pretty chill and quiet. Unfortunately Gabby received bad news about her grandma during the night so we just sat around talking this morning and taking it slow. We had our first breakfast at the hostel this morning which was included, and actually pretty decent! 

 

After we ate we went back up to the room for a bit to chill. After a few hours we got up and moving. We were planning on doing a food tour through our hostel around 345/4 so we wanted to grab some light to eat for lunch since it was already getting late and we knew we would be eating a lot soon enough! We headed over to Connaught Place, which is a big roundabout area with lots of restaurants, shops and cafes. 

India has been interesting for us to figure out. We will run into people that are really friendly and trying to give you advice and directions and recommendations but through out the conversation it starts to feel strange...uncomfortable and almost too fake...scammish...but we don't know?! Is this just us being paranoid American tourists? When 2 different people come up to you back to back and tell you almost identical things you feel a little out of sorts... and the first thing the second guy said to us was, "don't be so suspicious, Delhi is a safe place". After being stopped multiple times we were pushing it on time because we wanted to be back for the food tour but still wanted to go check out some sites...so we settled for a quick authentic Indian lunch...Subway! 😂 

It was actually really neat how they have it set up here...there are 2 different sides to order from...vegetarian and non vegetarian...if you are a vegetarian at home you have one option...the veggie delite, but here there were about 8 different sandwich options for vegetarians! It was pretty exciting! So I ended up getting a paneer tikka sub and it was so delicious and only $1.90!

After subway we headed down to the India Gate. The India Gate is a war memorial to 82,000 soldiers of the undivided Indian Army who died in the period of 1914-1921 in the First World War.

 

 While we were at the India Gate we got henna tattoos. The lady was so quick, probably five minutes for each side of our hand! They look really neat! 

She uses like a piping bag and puts thick clay stuff (henna) on you..when she's finished you just let it dry...she didn't give us much instruction other than, "don't wash your hands for 10 days"...oh ya okay, no big deal...just traveling around India.

 

After the clay dries you can just knock it off (it starts falling off by itself too). The longer the clay stays on, the darker the color will be. 

After we were both finished we just sat for a while so our hennas could dry...while sitting we had a family come up and asked if their kids could take a picture with us...we didn't care so of course we said yes.. well after that they ALL wanted pictures with us... we get this in Thailand but it was ten fold to Thailand! So funny...another tourist told us we should start charging 50 rupee per picture! I like where his head was at! 

The level of respect here is so different than Thailand. We were listening to how these boys (about 10-12 years old selling snacks on the street) were talking to the lady doing our hennas and it was really interesting. We couldn't understand what they were saying but we could tell from their tone, expressions and her reactions and tone that they weren't being very respectful when talking to her. It's crazy to see that because in Thailand children would never talk to an elder like that. 

It started pouring out of No Where so we grabbed a tuk tuk, who overcharged us big time but we didn't really want to look for another one because it was raining so hard! 

We grabbed a beer on the way back to the hostel and just chilled in the hostel waiting for the food tour. 

The second we walked into the beer/liquor store every head turned to look at us! They typically don't see women coming in and out of the store, especially foreign women. So interesting the different cultural aspects of being here! I'm loving everything that I'm seeing and learning here! 

The food tour ended up being cancelled because of the weather so we ended up just hanging in the common area playing cards with some new friends. We met people from Ireland, U.K., Germany, Netherlands, and the states. All different ages, backgrounds and experiences! It's so much fun talking to people and leaving their stories! One of my favorite parts of traveling! Around 7 we decided to grab some food so Andy (U.K.) recommended a spot for dinner that was absolutely amazing! The restaurant was called Bhaja Govindam. It was just a walk away from our hostel and the food was excellent. Gabby and I ordered Paneer Makhan Palak and Dum Aloo and Garlic Naan to split! It was a lot of food but we ate every last bite! 

After dinner we were stuffed and exhausted so we grabbed a beer on the way back and just hung out for a bit in the common area before calling it a night! 

✌🏼

India 🇮🇳

Day 1: Bangkok ✈️ New Delhi

 

We have made it to INDIA! Everything went really smooth on the way here!

Gabby and I went to school on Tuesday and finished up all of our last minute paperwork to end the year! What a relief to get everything done and turned in! Our flight wasn't until 2am but we wanted to get into Bangkok and enjoy one last Mexican dinner before our travels! 

We met our friend Becca (who will be going back to the states while we are traveling) and indulged on so much delicious food! We said our see ya laters and Gabby and I strolled around until jumping on the airport rail link to head to the airport! 

As soon as we got to the check in area it started to feel more Real that we are actually going to India! The line was already super long as everyone was waiting for the counters to open for check in...right away we noticed that we were definitely the minority. There were maybe one or 2 other foreigners in the line and only a handful of women (us being the only foreign women). 

In Thailand, we get stared at all the time...especially in the non touristy Thai towns (like Saraburi, where I live)...but when you make eye contact with a Thai person they quickly turn away, not wanting you to catch them staring.

This is one of the first things we noticed about the men, just being in the Bangkok airport, is that they will stare...a lot...but when you make eye contact with them they Don't look away! So then you find yourself in this awkward staring situation with a random person. 

 

We got checked in and to our gate with plenty of time. We were both exhausted and ready to get on the plane and sleep for a few hours! Our first flight was Bangkok to Kolkata. We arrived in Kolkata around 330am, grabbed a little bite to eat and then headed over to our gate for our next flight. Our flight took off at 620 putting us into Delhi around 9. This is where we ran into our first little issue!

Because we were so sleepy when we got to Kolkata we didn't even think about exchanging money... so we fly domestically from Kolkata to Delhi, land in Delhi and need to exchange money so we can get to our hostel. No big deal...except there is absolutely No Where in the domestic airport...okay we'll just head to the international terminal and exchange and be on our way.. after looking around for a good 10 minutes we realize we have to take a 10 minute shuttle bus to get to the international terminal...the shuttle bus cost about 25 rupee and we have no money! 

The guy at the ticket booth giggles at us and then sees the bus pull up and just tells us to get on...we still have no money and no ticket... this is our first out of the airport experience and holy moly it was definitely overwhelming! The driving was insane and the cows and people and all sorts of things we saw on the drive from terminal to terminal was crazy! The guy on the bus starts walking through collecting money and of course we have None...some random on the bus helped translate and got it all settled for us! 

So problem number 2...we get to the international airport and just need to exchange money and be on our way! We can't get into the airport!! Not through arrivals, not through departures...you have to buy a visitor pass just to walk inside and you can't bring any bags inside with you...well again, no money yet...the guy at the counter just said sorry, can't let you in...as this is going on a random man comes over to us and asks us what we need...we tell him we need to run inside and exchange money...he asked us how much money we had...umm random..and no I'm not telling you how much money I have on me..?! He tells us to give him all of our baht and he will take it and exchange it for us?!! 🤔😮...um No! We'll pass, thanks tho! 

So gabby ended up buying a ticket with her Thai card and I stayed outside with our bags! Then we switched and I ran inside to exchange like! 

So that was the sketchiest process! Gabby told me about her experience before I went in but I still didn't know what to expect. I was trying to exchange 10,000 baht but the guy at the currency exchange told me I could only exchange 3,000 every week... so he takes 3000 exchanges it and while he is doing that he makes eye contact with me and mouths *wait 5 minutes* I was definitely confused and he was being really odd and secretive...but I wasn't really sure and didn't want to ask questions.. I took my money and just stood off to the side...a few minutes later he looks at me and in a quick manner tells me to give him the rest of the money...I throw it over to him he quickly counts in and throws the rest of the rupees at me...is was the weirdest transaction But in the end, I got all my money exchanged! 

 

We finished at the airport and went over to the metro station. We took the metro station about 4 stops and then had to take a tuk tuk to the hostel! 

 

Our first tuk tuk ride was so crazy!! As I'm sure they'll all be! :) I thought driving in Thailand was crazy but Thailand has nothing on this!! The honking and commotion is non-stop. Everyone is honking...all the time!! 

We safely made it to the hostel and got checked in but had to wait about an hour before going to our rooms. We are staying at STOPS Hostel in New Delhi. For $8.88/night with free breakfast it seems great so far! *and it has 3 sweet little babies living here*

 

We were completely exhausted from the last week of school and traveling so we decided to shower and spend the day relaxing and reenergizing for the rest of the trip! We woke up starving and decided to go try and find some dinner! We chose a place recommended by the hostel called Saravana Bhavan. We are still new to everything so we had no idea what we were ordering! We picked 3 different dishes and absolutely devoured them! >Paneer Dosai•Onion Vadai•Onion Masala Dosai< All of this and a couple sodas costing us only $11! 

 

 

 

After dinner we walked around a bit before heading back. We ended up coming across some kind of night market. It was neat to see the different kinds of things they were selling. Of course Gabby made a purchase at the first place we came too 😂(she's a shopper and I'm definitely not). 

Walking around in the evening was interesting but I felt more safe than I expected I would. We were very aware and cautious of our surroundings but it was really exciting. Everything is so different than Thailand and it was really neat to start taking it all in! We stopped at The Beer Cafe for a drink before calling it a night. We were definitely surprised by how many bars and clubs there were in the area we were in. 

The amount of homeless people tucked away in the corners of the walkways/on the sidewalks broke my heart. It felt a lot different than what I see when I'm in Bangkok. I'm not sure what made it feel different or if it's just being in a new area and different culture but it tugged on my heartstrings in a different way. 

 

We finally got back to the hostel and hung out in the common area for a bit watching people play pool and fusball but decided to call it a night..we were still pretty exhausted from the day of traveling! 

🇮🇳 Can't believe we are actually here and I'm so excited for what the next couple of weeks has in store!! ✌🏼