INDIA!

Kanchipuram

With my "extended family", Hugh and Linda

Mamallarpurem

Ashvem Beach

Ashvem Beach

Ashvem Beach

Sunset at Calangute

Monkey forest in Goa

Dudhsagar falls

Our wild rickshaw ride!!

Kapalesswarar temple

“give all- gain all”

Gandhi

India was incredible!!! I don’t even know how to begin describing it. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I was expecting the dirtiest, scariest, smelliest country there was, but it wasn’t like that at all; I thought it was going to be my least favorite port, but it's definitely up there with one of my favorites. It's pretty much impossible to describe my experience there, but I’ll do my best.
I think first impressions are important, but sometimes they are false. I know a lot of people who hated India, particularly the boys, but I think it was because of how overwhelming it is, and as much as we all thought we were prepared for it, some of us weren’t. I don’t think people could accept it because they didn’t understand it; I got a good first impression and was able to see past the dirtiness and smelliness of the country, where some people just couldn’t. It’s hard to get past the fact that we can’t change the country that needs so much help, as nice as that would be all we can do is contribute and better a small aspect of it.
I met so many eager, helpful, and caring people that were just as curious about me as I was about them. There is a big foundation of trust between the people in India; everyone knows everybody and is willing to help them out, even strangers. I was able to see and observe things in the 5 days I was there that I never thought I would, some heartbreaking, but nonetheless experiences I am certain I will never forget. I was able to realize how lucky I am and how thankful I am for all the opportunities that I take for granted, like clean water and an education.
From day one, India was such an journey, I got on an auto rickshaw for the day with two girlfriends and we paid our driver to take us all around town for the day; since the exchange rate is 1USD to 50 Rupees we ended up paying about 5 dollars for an entire day of being chauffeured around! While on the topic of taxi driving. I’m happy to say I survived all my rides during my five-day visit. It was a real adventure; there are hundreds of rickshaws, cars, motorcycles, and bikes coming from every direction going at each other full speed; everyone just lays on their horn and basically does whatever they want, there is NO structure and no such thing as staying in your own lane, It was pretty intense!
So our first stop on the rickshaw was lunch at a vegetarian Indian restaurant that was recommended by a local. We ordered the three most popular dishes, which were all fabulous! We were again advised to follow the rule “can’t peel it, boil it, cook it, then forget it” so it was tough having to order only cooked food on top of vegetarian food (because most Hindu’s don’t eat meat) but I still managed to enjoy everything I ate. After eating lunch we visit a famous temple called Kapalesswarar. Once I got over the notion that there was NO way I was being let in without taking my shoes off and putting them on the street (carrying them was not an option!) I had a great time. Everything was so intricately carved and just so beautiful. We paid for a tour guide who told us a little bit about each part of the temple and the Hindu religion in general; a lot of which I already know from my Asian philosophy class I’m taking, I am SO interested in Hinduism now!! I think a lot of the reason I enjoyed India so much was because of the fact that I have learned so much about it in all my classes, it makes it much more interesting to see things you already know a little bit about. After the temple we walked around the markets which were similar to Morocco but with a lot of produce, flowers, and religious paraphernalia. That night we all went out to dinner at a really nice hotel called The Park, it was beautiful, and out dinner was great!!
That next morning I had to be up at 6am to get to the airport in time for my flight to Goa, a city on the west coast of India, about a two hour plane ride from Chennai. The airport was to my surprise very nice; there were multiple security checks, and separate lines for man and women, which was pretty weird but thankfully everything went smoothly and we got to Goa. In Goa we got stayed at a resort in Calangute, a beach town that had a completely different vibe than Chennai; it was a much smaller city, with lots of tourists from the UK. It was much less conservative and A LOT less crowded. Our hotel was in a perfect location; walking distance from the markets and the beach. We headed to the beach first where I was approached by at least 25 men asking me if I wanted to do any water sports, which I didn’t, but no one seemed to understand that, ha! The ocean was the perfect temperature, but not one person was swimming and there were HUNDREDS of people, fully clothed, just standing around in 95-degree weather, very strange!!
The next morning we got a cab to drive us 2 hours East to the Dudhsagar waterfalls. Once we got there we had to get in a 4X4 jeep to be taken to the top. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. So beautiful, we swam in the bottom, which I never thought I would do. A monkey forest surrounded the waterfall and we were able to feed them, and they came up and ate from our hands. It was cool to get so close, a little scary though, but not as scary as Kristin feeding squirrels in Africa! The waterfall was definitely the highlight of my trip!
That night back in Calangute we once again walked the markets and went to dinner. We walked on the beach at sunset (stunning!) where once again there was an absurd amount of people standing around, there were even a cows wondering around, haha who would have thought!! The next thing I knew it was time to leave Goa we woke up extra early to get a little bit more sight seeing in before we needed to be at the airport. We went to a beach north of Calangute called Ashvem; it was beautiful and a lot less crowded. After lunch we made our way to the airport and flew back to Chennai. It was nice to get back on the ship and shower!! The next morning, my last day, I had a fieldtrip for my Asian Philosophy class where we visited two different temples, Kanchipuram and Mamallarpuram; they were both extraordinary. The architecture was just beautiful. Some of the temples were carved as early as the 7th century, wow. It happened to be an auspicious day in Hinduism so we got to witness a ceremony and parade of the people offering a God; it was pretty cool to be able to see. We visited about six different holy spots in Kanchipuram and Mamallarpuram. At one location there was a school field trip and I was standing there looking at a carved elephant when I saw a group of boys about 14 years old taking pictures of me with a camera phone, they had never seen a blue-eyed blonde haired person before and thought it was the coolest thing, it was pretty funny to think I was such a big hit. Next thing I knew I was surrounded by literally 25 kids wanting me picture! Even older people would wave and smile, really excited to see Americans.
India is just such a colorful place with so much to experience. I was just so fascinated with every part of the country, I would love to return one day and make it to the Taj Mahal.