"The Pink City"

This weekend, we embarked on our first train journey in India, to the city of Jaipur.  Jaipur is the largest city in the state of Rajasthan and is famous for its forts, arts, crafts, and elephants.  I think the best way to describe our experience here is "unexpected."  NOTHING worked out the way we planned, but thats sort of how it goes in India. We've accepted it and we have no real regrets.  We had a great few days, full of sightseeing, shopping, henna, Rajasthani cuisine, getting scammed by everyone we met, and getting to know our very talkative (and totally annoying) driver named Haan.

What I feel most inclined to talk about though, is not our travel experience.  Its the elephants.  For those of you who don't know, I am a very big fan of elephants.  They are fascinating creatures who truly have lasting memories and a human-like sense of compassion and friendship.  In both Buddhism and Hinduism, they represent mental strength and stability, for me, they represent the importance of relationships.  Besides this, they are simply gorgeous animals.  You can imagine how excited I was to visit a place that has a town called "Elephant Village."   Coming face to face with an Elephant named Jambu, at Amber Fort, was one of the single greatest experiences of my young life.  However, I have to say that mostly the elephants of Jaipur tugged at my heartstrings and made the animal rights activist in me come bubbling right to the surface.   

Elephants are one of the main attractions in Jaipur.  They famously carry people (now tourists) up the steep climb to Amber Fort.  We had planned on doing doing an interactive elephant experience, but decided against it last minute (at the advice or our hotel manager) and I am so glad we did.  Though the elephants are a beautiful sight, all painted and decorated in traditional Rajasthani garb, I am so glad we didn't put our money towards anyone who profits off of these majestic creatures.  They are overworked, and kept in absolutely terrible conditions.  Our driver thought he was going to make us very happy by taking us to an elephant barn.  He said, "you said you love elephants, here you can see them, and take their pictures.  There is a baby."  Yes, there were six elephants living in that tiny barn, including one baby.  They had chains around their ankles and were living in the dark in piles of their own feces.  After seeing how they live, I lost all desire to ride an elephant while in India.  Thats just not what they are for.

All in all, Jaipur was very interesting and unique, but it actually somehow managed to make Delhi feel calm and civilized.  A higher percentage of tourists makes people even more prone to haggling, and I really felt like a target.  Its all part of the experience though, and the two of us came home with some very special and one of a kind souvenirs.  Its amazing how far the American dollar can go in a country like India.

We had a wonderful experience on both our train rides.  We made so many friends and connections.  In India, people are much friendlier than in the United States.  By this I mean, if you are in a compartment with someone on the train, you won't sit in silence.  You will get their life story, learn about there families, jobs, and views on life.  You will share food and they will give you their contact information.  Everyone we meet wants to have us for dinner and put us up in their homes.  Basically its a very hospitable culture and in great contrast to Utah, where everyone ignores each other.  

As our driver, Haan said, "life is short, but the world is small." We are just gathering so many weird quotes.... Peace, Love, Namaste.

Amber Fort

  

"There is no snow at the Taj Mahal"

Thursday night, on our way to a wedding celebration, with 5 unseatbelted girls crammed into a taxi, racing a horse and buggy down a crowded New Delhi street, Shantel made a keen observation:  "Annie, when did this start to feel normal?  We are going to have such bad culture shock when we we go home to Salt Lake."  She couldn't have been more right.  When we first got to Delhi, the traffic was just about the scariest thing we had to face.  Now, its scary how little we think about it. I guess all I have to say is, we have officially grown accustomed to the hectic, loud, and originally disconcerting energy of the city.  Welcome to New Delhi life to us. 

I probably should say something about attending an Indian wedding.  Our lovely coworker Anita was kind enough to extend us an invitation to her brother's wedding.  It was a wonderful excuse to experience something completely Indian and best of all, getting all dolled up for a night out.  Though we only attended the reception and didn't experience the full 3 day long event, I feel thrilled to have had the opportunity to see what it was all about.  I have to say that what I love most about India, so far, are the people and the colors.  Nothing is done half way.  They just love an excuse for a celebration.  There hasn't been a night yet when I haven't heard fireworks and drums outside my window.  

 

All in all, the more I get to know and understand the culture, the more I grow to love it here.  Plus, the clothes are so comfortable that I could probably be happy in them for the rest of my life. 

 This blog post can't come without a mention of our recent visit to the most well known landmark of India:  The Taj Mahal.  Yes we finally made the 3 1/2 hour journey to the city of Agra, a truly unremarkable place with one very beautiful building.  Honestly, a part of me expected to be underwhelmed by the Taj Mahal.  I thought, its probably not going to live up to expectations or all the hype.  Fortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong.  The Taj is magnificent in every way: enormous, flawless architecture, hand carved, and even whiter than it ever appears in photos. 

Roomies!  Annie, Anna, and Shantel

This yogi just couldn't help herself:  "Fallen Angel" at the Taj Mahal

Shah Jahan had this masterpiece built for his favorite wife, his Mumtaz Mahal (the jewel of the palace.)  She requested that he build her a monument so beautiful that the world would never forget their love.  I guess he must have succeeded because people come from all over the world to see their tomb.  Few, if any graves are visited as much.  Its amazing to think that 20,000 laborers, slaved away for over 17 years to create this tomb.  Legend has it that he planned to build his own black mausoleum across the river.  He was, however, imprisoned by his own son, spending the final years of his life gazing at his beautiful Taj Mahal from across the city.  This building is one of the great pieces of Mughal architecture and I probably saw it for the one and only time in my life.  

After saying our goodbyes, we were transported back to "real India."  I've never been harassed by so many hagglers in my entire time here.  Drivers trying to take me to my next destination by rickshaw, horse, or camel.  People selling everything from jewelry, to information, to Taj Mahal snow globes.  I doubt it will ever snow at the Taj Mahal, but if it did, it would be a glorious sight.

I hope you aren't all too cold back home!  Peace, Love, Namaste:)