Delhi with the Madre

At the end of the Thanksgiving session (that Mom was here for) we took a little excursion to Delhi and Agra. Since I took almost the exact same tour last year, I'm not going to go into too much details (if you want to know more about that trip go here or here) but I will highlight the parts that were, exciting/different/noteworthy from the first time around

As always with weekend Delhi trips with Rising Star, we have to leave campus at 3:00am. Unlike most Delhi trip, it was pouring down rain, we had no power, and from Delhi everyone was leaving to go home so we had to load all the luggage into the car in the pouring rain. It was a fun start to the trip. We got to Delhi without any problems and started our tour. On our first day in Delhi before we drove the 5+ hours to Agra we...

Took a bicycle rickshaw tour through Old Delhi--you really are putting your life in your hands when you travel with these guys.

Saw Humayun's Tomb, which inspired the architecture used for the Taj Mahal. It was an amazing building and so cool to see the similarities and differences between this and the Taj.

The whole gang on the steps leading up to Humayun's tomb--we had tons of fun together on this trip.

We went to a huge beautiful mosque right near the market in Old Delhi. They made the foreigners (even though we were in modest chuddidars) wear these crazy robes while we were there as a sign of respect. While we were at the mosque, a woman jumped into one of the fountains and had to be dragged out by a couple men. She was very obviously crazy and had to be carried out of the mosque.

Before heading to Agra, we saw Gandhi's memorial. This was something else that I had not seen the year before and was very excited to get to see this time around.

After we finished at Gandhi's tomb, we got in the bus and started the journey to Agra. We were all exhausted and about halfway though the drive got a little loopy. Our driver (who was awesome) turned on some Punjabi music and the "party lights" in the bus and we had a huge dance party on the way there. It was definitely a great way to pass the time on he trek to Agra.

The next morning we got up bright and early to see the sunrise at the Taj. This building is absolutely astounding and it was really cool to be able to see again. Of course, because it's the Taj, we took tons of photos:

With Mama at the Taj--we had so much fun together on this trip!

Our amazing guide Ramesh--not only did he have great clothes but I think he knows more about the Taj than any other person ever.

We got into the Indian spirit

Just a couple Indian dancers, nbd

After the Taj we went to the Red Fort and did another tour there. Again, it was stunning.

Outside entrance to the Red Fort

As we were shopping after all of our tours, we saw a snake charmer....it doesn't get much more stereotypical than a snake charmer with a cobra in a basket and a boa constrictor around his neck.

At the end of the night on our way back to our hotel, we came up behind a Hindu marriage processional. Our driver, being awesome, took us out three at a time to take part in the procession! Northern Indian weddings are TOTALLY different from southern Indian weddings. In the south, things are a lot more traditional and very formal--never too much dancing and hoopla. In the north, however, it's a serious party. Wedding festivities last for FIVE DAYS and there is tons of music, drinks, dancing, and just general celebration. When Anne, Melissa, and I joined the processional for our turn it was one of the coolest things I have done in India. There were tons of colors and lights and music. We ended up near where all the women were and they immediately grabbed our hands and started dancing with us and showing us some dance moves. The energy in the group was through the roof and it was so awesome to be a part of.

The processional from afar

The DECKED OUT horses pulling the groom's carriage.

For the processional, they hire men to carry these huge lights the whole walk to the marriage hall.

The end of the processional--so many colors!!

The next day we headed back to Delhi first thing in the morning and we were literally in the car all. day. long. We stopped on the way and rode elephants and camels, which is ALWAYS fun. I have ridden an elephant a few times now but I can officially say now that I've ridden a camel! Yay! It was also fun because I got to ride an elephant with Mom (after some convincing) and she ended up really liking it :)

Melissa and I on the camel

Last stop before the airport was the Ba'hai Lotus temple. We didn't go inside but Anne got this beautiful picture from the street.

The whole trip was so fun and it was so sad to say goodbye to Mom at the airport and end the fun. We had a spectacular time and I can't wait until we can travel together again :)

Vanakkam