Day 1 We arrived in the port of Chennai, India on Sunday, March 6th. This is a working/industrial port. There were no dancers in native costume to greet us. That afternoon we transferred to the airport for our flight to Delhi. Foreign airlines still provide food and beverage service!! When we arrived at the New Delhi Ramada Plaza we were in awe of its opulence. We were greeted by a tall bearded man in full Indian dress including a turban, then a beautiful woman "lei'd" us. The lobby has marble floors, many portions are inlaid, some of the walls are onyx, there are huge chandeliers and the ceilings are painted in Italian style. Although it was late when we arrived we spent a short while enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
Day 2 began early, the hotel provided us with a light continental breakfast before we left for the train station. It was there that we first saw the extent of VERY poor beggars, many with horrible deformities. By 6:15 a.m. we were on the Bhopal Shatabdi Express headed for Agra. Although the train served a boxed breakfast, we decided not to take a chance. We're hoping to make it through six days in India without getting sick. Once in Agra we were served yet another (delicious) breakfast. From there we traveled by bus to the Fatehpur Sikri, the beautiful well maintained ruins of an ancient city made of red sandstone. Trust me, on the highway in India you definitely want to be on a bus. No matter who has the right of way, the bus ALWAYS wins!!
We went back to a local hotel for another delicious lunch. We visited the Agra Fort, and from there we saw our first glimpse of the near-by Taj Majal. It was breath taking!! We arrived at the Taj Mahal with plenty of time for exploring and we didn't leave until after sunset. It took my breath away two more times: once when we walked through the gates and saw the Taj standing majestically before us and reflected in the pool in front, and again when we walked inside the grand building. We were transported to the train station for the ride back to Delhi, where we spent another night at the beautiful Ramada. At the train station many of us left our box diners on the bus for our driver to distribute to the hundreds of people begging outside of the bus. We opted not to give the food to the people ourselves, as we feared a stampede. (The Indian drivers and guides speak their native language and are better able to control the crowds than we are.)
Day 3 began a bit later with a tour of New Delhi, a thoroughly modern clean huge city. The beautiful green parks, mansions, and embassies are a marked contrast to the dirty crowded streets of Delhi. The beautiful buildings are left from the time of British rule. If you closed your eyes for a minute you would swear that you were looking at the Washington Mall. After another delicious lunch at the Ramada we transferred to the airport for the short flight to Varanasi.
After checking in at the Radisson Hotel we boarded bicycle/rickshaws for the most fun/frightening ride of my life. Imagine thousands of bicycles, bicycle rickshaws, three-wheeled taxis and cars sharing the same narrow road!! At one point our driver turned off of the main road onto a completely dark alley. I was sure that we were going to be robbed or killed! Fortunately it was just a short cut away from the main road. We soon reached the banks of the Ganges River where thousands were celebrating Aarti (a type of thanksgiving) at the Dasaswamedh Ghat (steps leading down to the water). There were chants and singing and a conch shell was blown.
The hotel served a delicious dinner, followed by dancing to North American music played by a D.J.
Day 4 saw us up again at the crack of dawn to witness the sunrise bathing in the Ganges. Thousands of people bathe in the river daily. Some live there, for others it is a pilgrimage from their home towns. We were at the area where young boys (some as young as five years old) begin training to become monks. We saw their morning prayers and yoga. Another tradition is the cremation of the dead, and it was common the see a jeep or car headed to the crematorium with a body on top, wrapped in gold cloth with feet & head sticking out!! This area is where the Beatles stayed, and Goldie Hawn comes here regularly to purchase her essential oils. After breakfast we toured the area and went to Deer Park where Buddha preached his first sermon. We had a dinner flight back to Chennai.
Days 5&6 we were back in Chennai where we shopped and had a nice farewell to India lunch at the Raintree Hotel. We went to a couple of malls, one very high end, the other a more "local" mall. There are beautiful clothes to be found in India.
It was an amazing experience, we hope to be back to India some day.
No comments:
Post a Comment