 |
In India I took a trip up to Delhi and Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Several different Semester at Sea trips
went to the Taj Mahal. My trip had over 70 people on it and we saw the Taj in 3 different lights, evening, sunrise, and noon.
You'll probably notice me wearing the same pair of pants a lot. I bought these lightweight pants in Malaysia because India is
very hot and we have to wear pants or long skirts to respect their culture. I figured that India was so dirty, I'd just ruin
one pair of pants. |
 |
 |
Shane was on a different Taj Mahal trip, but I saw him three different times on the trip. It was a lot easier to
take pictures of the Taj Mahal in the morning because there were less people there. The first time we went there was on Friday
which is the day that all Muslim men must go to the Mosque, so the Taj Mahal is free to visitors on that day, thus the huge crowds. |
 |
 |
You have to go through a huge security check to get into the Taj Mahal. Men on one side and women on the other
and they frisk you. They also check all your bags and wn't let you take any food or even calculators into the Taj. The
left picture is of the gate leading up to the Taj Mahal. The picture on the right was taken through an arch at the exit
which perfectly frames the Taj. |
 |
 |
These two pictures were taken looking out from the Taj Mahal. There is a reflecting pool leading up to it, and
a river flowing behind it. |
 |
 |
It seems like we are capturing the looks of the locals everywhere we go. We love to take pictures of the local people,
so it's nice when they also come up to us and want to be in a picture with us. My friend Susanne and I rode in a horse drawn
rickshaw to get from the Taj Mahal back to our bus because the busses weren't allowed to drive up to the Taj because of pollution. |
 |
 |
We also visited the Red Fort in Agra. This was the place where the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan, who erected the Taj for
his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631 while giving birth to their 14th child, died in his jail cell after his son put him in
jail. He only saw the completed Taj from his cell. |
 |
 |
Malaysia wasn't the only place we saw monkeys, there were also monkeys outside the Red Fort. We also
went to a marble factory where we saw them painstakingly shaping each piece of marble to put into a table. Even in India
where most everything was very cheap, the marble pieces were very costly. |
 |
 |
Our last stop in this area was Fatehpur Sikri which is a well planned out city made of sandstone. The King was
completely safe in this self-contained city. He was protected behind the doors and windows made with intracate sandstone designs. |
 |
 |
There was a little boy begging for chocolate or shampoo over the wall of the Red Fort. I threw a couple of
pieces of candy and an American Flag eraser over the wall. |
 |
 |
Our last day in India I was back in Chennai. Driving in India is a very scary experience. We came
within millimeters of other vehicles and people on many different occasions. A picture can't quite do the experience justice.
My friend Keren and I went out that afternoon and gave t-shirts, food, and other gifts to some of the locals. On one of the
rickshaw rides we took that day our driver asked me if I wanted to drive. I would have been crazy to say yes, but I did pose
in the driver's seat. |
 |
 |
The last evening I went to a farewell reception given by the Dalit Liberation Education Trust. The Dalits are the
lowest caste in the Indian Caste system. The Dalit people performed some wonderful traditional Indian dances as well as
their version of western dances for us. |
 |
 |
My favorite dance was the dance of the dummy horses where a man and woman each dressed up in a horse costume and
danced on peg legs. They were later joined by a peacock and another woman. |
 |
 |
I almost broke my trend of buying one traditional costume in every country, but on the last day I bought myself
this sari. When I asked if someone could teach me how to wear it the men in the store all ran to get this man who they
said was the master sari wrapper. I actually had him wrap the sari twice, once to try it on and then again so I could take
a picture. |
 |
