BRB

So, we made it around the world! As I type this, I am sitting in my comfy full-size bed in my own room! It's great to be back in the US of A! Even though I had an amazing time on my trip, the feeling of coming home and seeing you family and friends again is wonderful.

I apologize for the lack of updating recently. Our days in London were full of activities, so I didn't have much time to update there. Now that I am home, Memorial Day weekend is crazy for me! I just got home on Saturday morning, and my younger brother Rob's graduation open house was Saturday afternoon! The graduation ceremony was yesterday. I'm so proud of him, but it also makes me feel old! Anyway, as most of you know, graduation brings an influx of relatives and friends to your house, so I haven't had much time to finish up my trip blog at home yet, either.

However, I plan to get all of my London entries completed and posted within the next few days, so don't stop checking back! London was one of my favorite places on our world tour and I can't wait to tell you about it!

After all 25 days of my trip are posted, I'll be taking a brief hiatus from my blog. I have only five more days to relax at home with my family, unpack, do laundry, go through my immense amount of photos from the trip, and repack, before it's time to step on a plane again. I leave for Washington, D.C. bright and early on Saturday morning. After I get acquainted with D.C., I'll be posting about my summer in the nation's capital for anyone who cares to continue to read my writing. I can tell you it won't be as interesting as the trip entries and they certainly won't be every day, but I'm sure I'll have some adventures  in D.C., as well.

So check back in a few days to hear all about London. Thanks for your patience! Also, thank you for everyone who has been reading my blog. I had to journal for the class that coincides with the trip, and while everyone else just wrote with pens in bound journals, I thought "Why not share our trip with everyone back home?" To me, it has been amazing that something I only thought my closest family and friends would read has attracted so many other readers. I've thoroughly enjoyed writing for an audience instead of a reflection book for myself alone. It also made graduation weekend a little bit easier on me, since the questions like "So, how was your trip?" and "What all did you do?" were rare.:)

Stay tuned.

 ♥  Marisa

Great Giza

5/23/10
Location: Cairo, Egypt

We did so many exhilarating things today! It’s like I went paragliding, scuba diving, and rode an elephant all in one day because today was jam-packed of fun activities. We started out with a bus ride to Giza, just outside of Cairo. Giza, as you may know, is home to the Great Pyramids (Great Pyramid of Giza, Pyramid of Khafre, and Pyramid of Menkaure) and the Great Sphinx. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and is the most massive structure on Earth!

The Great Pyramid is the one we viewed first. “Great” is not an adequate term. “Gigantically great,” maybe, or “Immensely enormous” or “horribly huge” are more accurate. I’ve seen the Great Pyramid before in photos, as I’m assuming everyone reading this has, but until you are standing in its shadow and are absolutely dwarfed by just three blocks of the pyramid, you don’t realize how massive it truly is. Researchers estimate that over two million blocks were used to create the Great Pyramid, and the average weight is two and half TONS! It is absolutely, completely mind-blowing to me that an ancient civilization created something so colossal and perfect. The Great Pyramid is nearly a perfect square and almost exactly level, and while it is a bit shorter now due to the movement of the Earth’s place and erosion from wind and people, it was about 50 stories tall when it was first completed. One block is about as tall and long as I am and I’m about 5’4.” My mind was just racing when I was standing next to it and wondering how people thousands of years ago built something like this. Even today, I think we would need a crane or some piece of machinery to move one block, yet they somehow did it a couple thousand years before Christ. No one knows how they did it, as the theories all seem virtually implausible due to the size and weight of the blocks.

After viewing the Great Pyramid, we took the bus to a panoramic viewing point where you can clearly see all three of the pyramids. It’s one of the most breathtaking sights I’ve ever seen: three enormous pyramids rising from the golden sand and stretching endlessly in the clear blue sky. I took so many pictures at this viewing point. We took a few group photos here and six of us actually formed a pyramid in front of the pyramids, as you can see below. We’re pretty clever, I know.;)

After taking in all three pyramids at Giza at the panoramic viewing point, it was time to ride another animal. We were going to be riding camels to the Middle Pyramid, which is the one we had tickets to explore. When we first saw the camels, I was so excited. They were all sitting peacefully in the sand and equipped with a cushy saddle and experienced handlers, their large, dark eyes lazily scanning the scene like they were too cool for us giddy tourists. I got onto my camel by placing one foot in a side stirrup and swinging my other leg over. They were a lot wider than I realized. But that only are they wider, I discovered. Its handler motioned for it to rise and I went up and up and up! Camels are so tall! Their legs go on forever. As do their necks, I thought mine looked like Little Foot from The Land Before Time, so that is what I called mine since I forgot to ask what it’s true name was. Some of the camels in our group were the ones the Obamas rode when they were in Egypt! Although mine was not one of them, I still thought he did a good job. Like the elephant, it takes a little getting used to since your weight shifts with their steps, but it was so much fun. Sometimes, I got a little nervous when my camel made a noise or decided to check out the neighboring camel’s head with its mouth, but it never did anything drastic and it was a great joy ride out to the Middle Pyramid.

I was so ecstatic to actually go inside the pyramid and see the tunnel and tomb. I handed my ticket to the attendant and walked down the wooden plank ramp that lead to the entrance to the tunnel that travels about two football fields until the tomb. I was just about to descend into the tunnel when I froze. The tunnel was the size of a small hole, or about the bottom half of a house’s front door. You practically have to crawl to move through the tunnel, and to make matters worse, there are the returnees crawling next to you in the opposite directions. I looked and all I saw was cramped, hot, and a lack of oxygen. I am not normally very claustrophobic, but that tunnel was too much for me! I promptly turned around and waited outside while the others explored the Middle Pyramid. A couple other girls and Scott opted not to move through the narrow shaft of a tunnel too, so I didn’t feel so bad.

Then, we were done with the Great Pyramids at Giza. However, our day was far from over. Next, we went for lunch at another open garden restaurant in Giza called Andrea. We had slow roasted chicken, soft pita bread, vegetables, meatballs, and French fries. For dessert, we were all given a piece of pink juicy watermelon that was bigger than our plates! It was the perfect summer meal. We went souvenir shopping after that and I picked up a few things for family and friends, then we went to Golden Eagle Papyrus. Golden Eagle Papyrus is one of several places in the Cairo/Giza area that still makes paper from papyrus. They demonstrated how it is done for us. They showed us the papyrus plants, whose stems are triangular like the pyramids, and how to thinly slice the white, flexible fibers on the inside into strips. Next, they soak the strips in freshwater then assemble them in a criss-cross horizontal/vertical pattern on a mat. They flatten the mat with a pressing machine. Everything is done exactly like the Egyptians did, with the exception of the machine at the conclusion of the process. Golden Eagle Papyrus had floor to ceiling pieces of art on papyrus paper for purchase. Almost all the paintings depicted Egyptian life or Egyptian mythology and were all done by professional artists. They were very unique and lovely, but I couldn’t find one I really loved in my price range.

After the papyrus making, we went to the Monastery of St. Simon the Tanner. The monastery has seven churches/chapels hidden in the Mokattam hills in Cairo. The main cathedral is in an enormous cave of a towering stone mountain and contains dozens of life-size carvings of Jesus, such as the Nativity scene and the Crucifixion, by a Polish artist. The cathedral can accommodate about 5,000 people! Coptic Christians (they only make up about 5 percent of the population) in Egypt attend services here. At the base of the cave, there is a large projection screen and the altar, then there are pews in a semi-circle that reach upwards to the sun. It’s the most beautiful church I have ever seen in my life, and I would have loved to attend a service there. I can’t even describe it in words, so you can check out a couple of photos from it below and the rest of them after I finally have time to post them all on Facebook!

Next, we had our cruise on the Nile! We took the bus to our dock and then relaxed on our white and blue sailboat for about an hour. It was wonderful to lean back on the striped cushions of the boat and gaze into the water and look at Cairo’s stunning buildings after our long day of activities. I love going to the lake, and hearing the water lap against the boat and feeling the sun and wind on my hair brought back great memories of past summers.

After dinner, some of the girls and I went to McDonald’s for some American tasting French fries and/or ice cream then watched some YouTube videos when we got back to the hotel. We all recommended our favorites and laughed hysterically at ridiculous songs and cute kids, which prompted a couple checks by the elevator attendant to make sure everything was OK with us. Our group is comprised of wonderful people and I wouldn’t be having as good of a time as I am if it wasn’t for their kindness and humor. We’ve really gotten to know each other well as our trip is winding down through all of the time and experiences we’ve shared, and it’s been one of the best months of my life. I can’t wait to see everyone’s photos on our group account we plan to make on Flickr or Shutterfly and future reunions so we can reminisce about all the good, great, and amazing times we had.

Me at the Great Pyramid!

Size comparison

Stunning

This is so cool!

The group at the panoramic viewing spot.

A pyramid at the Pyramids!

Camel caravan!

Me and Little Foot.

Kisses for the Great Sphinx.

The St. Simon Cathedral

So amazing

One of the many carvings

View of Cairo from our Nile cruise sailboat.

Everything Egypt

5/22/10
Locations: Cairo, Egypt

Everywhere you look, you see statues and relics from thousands of years ago. Some have been heavily damaged by time and the elements, but most look like perfect pieces of engineering that should have been created hundreds of years ago, rather than their true age of about 5,000 years. Today, the group went to the Egyptian Museum with our guide, Romani, and explored and learned about everything ancient Egyptian. The Egyptian Museum is an immense building and home to 120,000 Egyptian artifacts. Romani said that if you spent one minute at each one, you would be there for about nine months!

We started out looking at a copy of the Rosetta stone. The real Rosetta stone is in the British Museum, so we will get to see that in a few days. Romani explained the discovery of the Rosetta stone and how Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion determined how to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphs through comparative translation. I think it’s so amazing that an ancient civilization has a language that we can read! Next, we saw Narmer’s Palette and Romani explained how it depicts the war between the north and the south kingdoms. Then we moved into the main hall which is absolutely full of Egyptian statues of pharaohs and gods, and sarcophaguses and columns covered in hieroglyphs and designs. Romani explained to us the Egyptian mythology stories about their gods Re, Osiris, Seth, Isis, Nephthys, Horus, and more.

Romani took us through so many halls and rooms just full of Egyptian artifacts. There was a lot of beautiful jewelry made of cut glass, semi-precious stones, gold, and other metals. I saw some gorgeous layered necklaces of turquoise, coral, and gold that I would actually love to wear today. There were so many mummies—both of past pharaohs and their wives, priests, and even animals like cats, dogs, birds, and crocodiles. The mummification process takes about 70 days, but it works well—the mummies they have examined are in wonderful condition. Most of them have had CT scans done so they have determined, or at least made educated guesses, about how the person was when they died and the cause of death. My favorite part of the Egyptian Museum was the King Tutankhamen exhibit. The King Tut tomb was discovered by Howard Carter in 1922 and over 5,000 objects were discovered! It was completely intact, save for a few robberies of perfumes and oils that occurred almost immediately after Tut was entombed. King Tut’s sarcophagus was actually a series of sarcophaguses like Russian dolls and were completely covered in gold and turquoise. The best known artifact of King Tut’s tomb is the head cover, which is 24 pounds of solid gold and King Tut’s face is depicted on it in blue, black, and white. It was so stunningly crafted; it looks just like a human face.

After touring the museum’s highlights with Romani, we were given an hour to explore the rest of the museum by ourselves. Even after walking for an hour, there were still so many rooms we didn’t even touch. I loved looking at the sarcophaguses during the free hour because they were all so different. All of them were elaborately decorated, but it was fascinating to see how the colors changed with the passage of time, how much gold and gems were used depending on the status of the person, and how the styles evolved as the Greeks and Romans controlled Egypt.

After the Egyptian Museum, we went to eat lunch at a little Egyptian restaurant. It was called Fafela and it had whimsical mosaic stone floors of flowers and circles and the ceiling was open to the fresh air and there were plants and greenery everywhere. It was like eating in a garden. They served us pita bread, hummus, vegetables, and falafel to start, and everything was so good! I was a little concerned about how much I would like Egyptian food because I wasn’t even sure what exactly their staples were, but everything was delicious. Next, they brought us mixed grill: chicken, beef, and lamb. I don’t like lamb, but the chicken and beef were grilled to perfection and the beef was especially savory after being in India for nearly a week!

After lunch, we had some free time and most of us journaled, read, or took naps, which we are always ready for because no matter how much sleep we get, we are so busy and spend so much time walking during the day. Then Romani’s friend Osama gave a PowerPoint presentation on Egypt’s history. I learned so much from him about past Egyptians leaders and politics. We had dinner at the hotel, and then we left via taxis for the Cairo Bazaar.

During the day today and immediately after arriving at the bazaar, the girls were bombarded with comments on our looks and lame pick-up lines. We thought we got a lot of looks in India, but India was nothing compared to Egypt. Everyone stares at us no matter where we are or who we are with. We are almost always with Romani, and during the day we are with our assigned security guard, as well. All American tourists have security guards after there were some attacks on tourists and the US threatened to put Egypt on the no-travel list unless they acted to make their country safer for visitors. Egypt is over 95 percent Muslim, so almost every woman we saw was dressed so only her hands and face were visible. Women cover their hair and neck with a burqa. It seemed that just because we were American girls who don’t practice Islam and therefore were not wearing burqas, we were targets for bold compliments and come-ons everywhere we went. It was especially bad at the bazaar, since they were trying to sell us things as well. The girls traveled in a group, so we got the comment “Oh look, the Spice Girls!” several times Apparently, since we’re a group of white girls with different colors of hair, we look just like the pop group from the UK that was popular over 10 years ago. Other examples include “You are so beautiful,” “You have magical eyes,” “For you, I’d leave my wife,” and comparisons to American celebrities or being referred to as “my queen.” It was a little creepy and uncomfortable to say the least, but there wasn’t much we could do besides look at each other and laugh it off.

I bought an embroidered bag at the bazaar, then the group relaxed with Romani at a café for an hour or two, then we took taxis back to the hotel. Egypt has surprised me. I really like Cairo, and it is a very historical and cultured metropolitan city. However, I was very taken aback by all of comments the girls and I received. I realize that even in jeans or pants and tees that we had a lot more skin showing than the Muslim women, but it was still so strange to me. I was not used to walking down the street and being viewed as a piece of ass and it made me realize how completely comfortable and respected I feel in the US in comparison. I haven’t studied much about Islam, but I did know that women are subordinate to men according to the Quran. It was very interesting to see those beliefs in person. I feel very strongly about women’s rights and equality among the sexes, and Cairo only strengthened those feelings because it demonstrated what it might be like to be treated as a second-class human being.

The Egyptian Museum

Cairo

The Bazaar

It's a Small World

5/21/10
Locations: Delhi to Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi to Cairo

We finally made it to the Delhi International Airport at about 11:30 P.M. That’s the good news. The bad news is our plane to Abu Dhabi didn’t depart until nearly 5:00 A.M. To say the least, we were a little tired. We had started the day riding elephants, then did a series of tours, then sat on a bus for over four hours. Now, we had more waiting to do and it all had to be done in the airport because we didn’t have a hotel that night, since we had to be at airport by 3:00 A.M. for customs and security anyway. We couldn’t even go to our gate to wait because it didn’t open until a few hours before departure and we had to meet a representative from our tour company. So, we were stuck in the visitors lounge.

The Delhi visitors lounge is not very big. It’s about the size of my high school commons area. I graduated with 50 people from a town of 1,800, so pretty small. It does have a gift shop and a small café and ice cream stand. To make matters worse, it was packed and very cramped. I had to wheel my suitcase around people sleeping on the floor, stacks of suitcases on trolleys, and other miscellaneous objects like pieces of garbage and children’s toys. We stood around for a while, and then finally spotted some chairs that had opened up. We sat on the chairs with our suitcases and backpacks in front of us, and just waited. None of us had any energy to do much of anything; we were supposed to be sleeping then. We were all doing one of the following: 1. Closing our eyes and cuddling our backpack in our lap for a forward headrest. 2. Mindlessly flipping through an Indian newspaper or magazine 3. Zoning out or staring into space, only speaking to see what time it was or briefly marvel at our swollen ankles from sitting on buses and planes so often.

Finally, it was time to go to our gate. Good news: lots of chairs and that much closer to leaving the airport. Bad news: chairs arranged like chairs on an airplane and only a few places to get food, none of which looked very appetizing. We eventually boarded, then slept most of the way to Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Abu Dhabi had a lot more seating and places to eat, so most of us went to Cinnamon City for delicious cinnamon rolls covered in sweet, sticky icing and juice or coffee. They had an outlet and free wireless, so I was able to check my Facebook and e-mail for the first time since I bought Internet in India and work on my journals.  Before long, it was time to board another plane. But this is where our horribly long day of travel gets interesting.

We were waiting in line to go through security to board our plane when the previous flight’s passengers were disembarking and walking alongside us in the opposite direction. I was sure I was hallucinating from fatigue when I saw a familiar face. Then I saw another one, and another one. Could it be? Yes, they were other world-travelling Cobbers! Jennifer Bath of Concordia’s biology department was leading a research study in Bangladesh with a group of Concordia students and they were on their way back home. Jarryd, a friend who I’ve known since I was a freshman at Cord, came up and gave me a big hug and we talked about how nice it was to see each other halfway across the world! A group of us were discussing how crazy it was that we ran into each other and we found out how sweet chance really is. The Bangladesh group had their flight delayed by an entire day and wasn’t even supposed to be on our plane. It was so great to see familiar people and it was so cool that we ran into them in Abu Dhabi.

Seeing Cobbers in the U.A.E. illustrated to me that while the world is gigantic sphere and home to five billion, it really is a small world after all. When you’re traveling, you never know who you’ll run into. I’ve encountered distant relatives and childhood friends when I’ve traveled in the US, and now I’ve ran into friends and classmates in another hemisphere. I always hear about Cobbers meeting other Cobbers via recognition of the famous ring when traveling, but I wasn’t so sure that it happened all that often. What are the chances of seeing another Cobber when you’re on vacation in Mexico or on a plane to Europe, really? Now I think that if it can happen in Abu Dhabi, I can run into Cobbers anywhere I am. Even though my family, friends, and fellow Cobbers only make up a fraction of the people on Earth, I am confident that I’ll always be seeing them around somewhere. Everyone’s supposedly connected by only six degrees of separation, and if the world is always in motion, who’s to say that we won’t collide?

After arriving in Cairo, we met our Egypt tour guide, Romani. Romani has been the leader for Concordia students in Egypt since 2005 and has shown over 10 seminars of students everything they want to know in Egypt. I heard about him from my friend Amber, who traveled to Egypt on an exploration seminar last year, before I left and she gave Romani high praise and raving reviews as a tour guide, so I was excited to meet him. Amber didn’t lie, or Romani didn’t disappoint—he is always cheerful and ready with a joke, plus he knows virtually everything about Cairo and anything Egyptian. The group had the afternoon free, so we showered then journaled or took naps. We had dinner with Romani at the hotel, then we discussed going out to a street market, but it was soon clear that wouldn’t happen. We were all so exhausted from being up for so many hours and traveling that we all just wanted to crash. Good thing we did, because the next day we had a busy day at the Cairo Museum and the Cairo bazaar!

The Abu Dhabi airport--pretty sweet, huh?

View of Cairo from our hotel balcony.

7-up in Arabic.

That's it for photos today, sorry! We didn't look too hot on the day of traveling.
But, don't worry I have SO many photos for the next two days in Egypt, including
the pyramids and our camel ride! I'll try to get those up soon.:)

Elephant Rider

5/20/10
Location: Jaipur, India

List of Cool Things I’ve Done On This Trip So Far:
--paraglided off a cliff in New Zealand
--scuba dived by the Great Barrier Reef
--Rode an elephant up a hill in India

Yes, today everyone in the group got to ride the largest land animal on the planet. We traveled about 10 km outside the city to Amber Fort, where the elephants take tourists from the bottom of the fort to the main courtyard and palace on top of the hill.

Like so many other experiences on this trip, my past experience with elephants has been superficial and minor, e.g. the Shrine Circus. So, I was so excited when I saw over a dozen elephants at the fort shortly after we walked in, waiting to bring us up the steep pathways.

They were so beautiful. They are Asian elephants, so they are a little smaller than African elephants, but they still weigh about 10,000 lbs. They are a lighter gray and they also have large areas of pink speckled skin on their ears, trunks, and chests. All of the elephants that escort people up the pathways are female, because as our guide said “like every species, they are more gentle and don’t have a quick temper like the males.” They all had brilliant red, royal blue, and gold cloth draped over their backs, and on top of that was the strapped on “saddle” (iron enclosure with a pillow inside), where the people sit en route. The “drivers” sit on the elephant’s neck, right behind its head. Most of the elephants were decorated with brightly colored makeup on their faces. The guide said the elephants like to get made up, and I’m not sure whether that is true, but they looked so cute. The pastel colors on their gray skin reminded me of sidewalk chalk.

Each elephant can take two people up at a time, so I shared an elephant with Brock. Our elephant had a line of orange swirls above her eyes and whimsical flowers and stars over her ears, face, and trunk. The elephants pull up alongside a tall platform for riders to board. As Brock said, “That’s great parallel parking.” Brock and I climbed in, the bar was latched across our laps, and we were ready to go. At first, I was a little nervous and wasn’t sure I could get my camera out to take pictures because the “saddle” shifts from side to side with the elephant’s gait. However, they aren’t speedy creatures by any means, and I soon got used to the ride. Our elephant slowly ambled up the broad pathway as she swished her tail like a lightweight pendulum and flapped her ears. I didn’t realize elephants flap their ears so much and watching it reminded me a little bit of Disney’s Dumbo. A couple of times, she sprayed water or elephant saliva, I’m not sure which, and it came back toward Brock and I. I got my feet a little wet and Brock got a few drops in his mouth—yum! 

Riding elephant felt like I was royalty in an Indian procession and the views of the gardens and the fort were endless from that height. Brock and I were also reminded of another Disney film, Aladdin, and we sang a few lines from the song that goes, “Make way for Prince Ali…”! I’m not sure of the title of that song, but it’s when Aladdin is in a procession on an elephant so it seemed appropriate. The ride took about 10-15 minutes, but it went by quickly since there was so much to see. We dismounted at another platform by the main courtyard of the fort and tipped our driver.

We met our guide, Rikas, for a tour of the fort. Rikas was my favorite guide; he was so funny and very interesting. His family runs a jewelry business, for which he travels extensively, and in his free time, he gives tours. He’s given tours to some celebrities too, like Richard Gere, Rickey Martin, and the editor of Vanity Fair. Amber Fort was built by the Meenas and its name comes from Amba, the mother goddess. The palace at Amber Fort was built by Raja Man Singh, the commander-in-chief of Akbar’s army. If you remember, Akbar is the one who started the lost city in the last entry, Fatehpar Sikri. Amber Fort is unique because while it’s made of red and white sandstone and has a rugged, military look to its exterior like Agra Fort, the interior is lavishly extravagant with both Hindu and Muslim ornamentation. The palace entrance has the original paintwork and the pink, gold, turquoise, and red colors are all still very vivid. Rikas said this was because they used crushed semi-precious stones and minerals mixed with a glue substance to make their paint, so it never fades.  The palace entrance was completely covered in decorative designs: over the door alone there is a dressed-up elephant with a crown, all kinds of flowers, vines, and trees in a multitude of diamonds and triangles, There are so many small details in every image, even the smallest flower, and it made me wonder how many artists and how much time the palace entrance by itself took to complete.

The best part of Amber Fort (besides the elephant ride, of course) was the Diwan-i-Khas, or the hall of private audience. It is also referred to as Sheesh Mahal, or “Glass Palace.” Why is it called glass palace? Because the walls and ceilings are nearly completely covered in cut concave mirrors. The mirrors are cut in small pieces, most no bigger than a human eye, and are used to create hundreds of different designs with the accompaniment of gold-leaf, onyx, and colored glass and semi-precious stones. It’s like walking into a long hallway of stained glass windows, only the windows are mirrors that catch the sunlight and glimmer and twinkle as you move beside them. It’s truly dazzling. I can’t imagine that the hall of mirrors at Versailles has anything on the glass palace.

After Amber Fort, we went back to our hotel to take quick showers and gather our luggage for the bus ride to Delhi after the rest of the day’s tours. We had lunch a small Indian restaurant in Jaipur that Rikas recommended. I had “The Murg” chicken again, with some cheese naan. Cheese naan is so yummy—it’s like naan with the taste of gooey mac & cheese on the inside. I’m going to have to try to make some when I get home! After lunch, we checked out a few shops. I got a few scarves. Some of the group got scarves as well, and others got crossbody bags in bright colors with embroidered Indian images like elephants and flowers. 

Next, we got a tour of the City Palace in Jaipur, where the king and queen still reside. They don’t have any real political power, but are important figures for the city nonetheless. This palace was all pink, white, and gold. The buildings that surround the king’s residence and the middle courtyard are a pink brown with white trim and I think it looks just like a giant gingerbread house. Rikas showed us all kinds of memorabilia from Jaipur’s former royalty such as the king’s long cape and crown, a queen’s wedding dress, cricket uniforms, chess sets, sterling silver chairs, and much more. After that we explored an outdoor observatory that has huge instruments that can tell you practically anything you wanted to know: the time, the day, the season, and even the Zodiac house the sun was currently in. The observatory offered little shade though, and we were all withering from the intense Indian heat. We were all relieved to get back on the bus to head to Delhi, even though we had a very long drive ahead of us.

Today was my last day in India, and there are a lot of things I won’t miss about it. I will not miss the temperatures hovering around 115 degrees and the dry dust that burns my eyes. I will not miss having to pay every time I use the bathroom. I will not miss the traffic on their lanes optional roads. But there are more things I will miss. I will miss the little boy who approached me at the Jama mosque because I can’t forget him and he reminds me of the injustice in the world and that I need to think of others more often than I do.  I will miss their wonderful, delicious food because even though I know I can get Indian food in the States, I have a feeling it won’t be the same as it was eating it there, in un-airconditioned restaurants on plastic tables, talking and laughing with the group even though we’ve been traveling for hours. I will miss the beauty of India, both the ear-to-ear smiles I saw and the richness and grandeur of their historical places. India has left a mark on me, and I hope to return someday. I really hope to return during a month other than May, though.:)

The elephants at Amber Fort.

Aren't they gorgeous?

Brock and I on our elephant ride!

The view from the elephant.

Group photo at the palace in Amber Fort.

Me in the Sheesh Mahal, or "Glass Palace."

Me at the City Palace in Jaipur.

The Lost City

5/19/10
Locations: Agra to Jaipur, India

We had the long drive ahead of us today that would take us from Agra to Jaipur, but luckily we were able to break up the time on the bus with a visit to Fatehpar Sikri. Fatehpar Sikri is an abandoned city that was constructed by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1570 and it served as the empire’s capital from 1571-1585. The city was abandoned after just 14 years because the diminishing water supply was unable to sustain the growing population of the city, which was reaching 30,000. The palace, mosques, and other buildings of the city all remain and most are still completely intact. The lost city, or ghost town, of Fatehpar Sikri is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist attraction.

Fatehpar Sikri, like the Agra Fort, is constructed primarily of red sandstone, so it was very hot! Our guide tried to keep us in the shade as much as possible, but the heat is still very intense and so far a few people in our group have gotten ill with heat exhaustion. Fatehpar Sikri is unique because it showcases so many different varieties of architecture. You can see Hindu, Jain, and Islamic influences. There are so many beautiful buildings to explore in Fatehpar Sikri and other cool structures too. I really liked the Anuuup Talao, which is a central platform in a pool with four bridges leading to it. This is where the musicians used to play for Akbar and his guests at parties. The giant Parcheesi board in the courtyard where Akbar used to play with his harem girls for pieces was fun to see too. I guess I normally think of emperors and kings of the past as merely rulers who direct their armies and their people, but they obviously like to have fun too. Like Agra Fort, there are also public and private audience forums, mosques, etc. but my favorite buildings were the wives’ houses.

Akbar had three wives and each practiced a different religion. Akbar gave them, as well as other inhabitants of the city, the right to practice whichever religion they chose. Each wife had their own house, but I think house is an underestimation. Palace or mansion would be more accurate. The Muslim wife’s house is smaller than the other two houses, but ornately decorated with filigree and façade walls. The interior was even better—all of the interior walls were covered in 6-point stars and ovals which protruded from the walls, creating hundreds of little shelves. Our guide told us there used to be mirrors in every star and oval, and then by just placing a few candles in the house, the entirety could be lit up like a Christmas tree.

The Hindu wife’s house(s, to be more accurate) were the largest and most palatial because she was said to be Akbar’s favorite wife. She had a summer house, which once faced the lake, and a winter house, which faces the rising sun. There is a large Hindu temple in between the two houses, and they are all connected. Like the Taj Mahal, everything is perfectly symmetrical and the summer and winter houses are identical, but opposite. My favorite house was the house of his Christian wife, whose name was Miriam. Her house was not perfectly symmetrical and it didn’t have as many ornate details in the architecture of the walls and arches. The surfaces of her house were mostly flat, but instead of having mirrors or filigree work, they all were painted! Even though it has been hundreds of years, you can still see the portraits on the interior walls, and the sky blue and white on the arches. I thought her house was beautiful in 2010; I can scarcely imagine how grand it was when it was first completed.

After leaving Fatehpar Sikri, we continued on our ride to Jaipur, India. We got there in the afternoon, so we still had time to explore. Jonathan offered to take anyone who wanted to go exploring out after we put our things away in our rooms, and Caitlyn, Anna, Kelly, and I decided to check out Jaipur with him. Jaipur is also called “The Pink City,” and they are best known for their jewelry. I thought Jaipur seemed much cleaner and had less poverty than Delhi and Agra. Jonathan and us girls started out walking to do some errands, like get more cash from the ATM and stop by a pharmacy and maybe some shops for souvenirs, but we didn’t walk for long. A rickshaw pulled up and the drive, Raoul, said he absolutely knew all of the best places to take us for everywhere we wanted to go. He said it was his birthday, and he would just love to take us Americans out on his rickshaw on his birthday. We weren’t sure if he was lying about his birthday or not, but we went with him and hopped in his rickshaw!

The best way I can describe a rickshaw it that is a three wheeled jeep type of vehicle. There are all different sizes, although you’ll almost always see more people in them than there are supposed to be! They’re typically green or black with a yellow canopy, but besides that they are all unique. Raoul had a string of fabric flowers by his mirrors and the back bench was covered with a black shaggy fabric. The key feature of a rickshaw is that it is a wild ride, no matter where you go. The roads in India are pretty bumpy, and the traffic is scary. There are lanes, but they are rarely used. There are turn signals, but why use those when you have a horn? Everyone honks repeatedly to let other vehicles know they are there, t6hey are going to turn, they are going to hit them…pretty much anything. So after piling into Raoul’s rickshaw, we tore through town, speeding around other rickshaws and bicycles and trying to avoid the cars and trucks. It was a little scary, but it was an adventure and all of the girls loved it! I think Jonathan loved it too because he just liked laughing at our first reactions to everything. Jonathan leads a semester abroad in India, so he’s taken a spin or two on a rickshaw before!

After getting more rupees (Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, anyone?), and stopping by a few stores (I got a few more scarves because they are so pretty and cheap!), it was time to head back for dinner. We had another group meal in Jaipur hotel’s restaurant called Colors. They have Indian, Chinese, and continental cuisine. I got “The Murg” again, although this time it was smothered in a spicy tomato gravy! A few others got it too and we were surprised at how spicy it was compared to the other kinds we had at other restaurants, we got used to it and it was very good. We had to stop mid-bite though when we heard the blare of trumpets and the hollers coming from the street outside the hotel. We stepped outside and we couldn’t believe what we saw.

It was an Indian wedding procession! It was led by an elephant, decked out in deep red cape (for lack of a better word). Following the elephants were all of the musicians in red and white uniforms, triumphantly playing a celebration song. The musicians were flanked by children, also in red outfits, carrying high silver lamps on their shoulders. Finally, the bride and groom were last in a carriage pulled by horses. The wedding party was dancing in the mix of this procession and frantically gesturing to everyone watching outside to come join the wedding party and dance with them! We didn’t go with them, but it was spectacular to see an Indian wedding procession since I’ve heard about how elaborate and ceremonial they are. After dinner, we saw and heard the brilliant fireworks in the sky, and we could only assume they were for the same wedding.

India’s heat has been hard on all of the Midwesterners, but I’ve still enjoyed it immensely. When you’re seeing the sights we are, it doesn’t matter that sweat is dripping down your back. I loved all of India’s rich, deep culture. As our tour guide said, he visited a woman’s home in New England once and she boasted that it was 100 years old. Our tour guide said that yes, he understood that that was old by America’s standards, but in India, 100 years is nothing. As I stated before, I love history and am often engrossed by the History Channel when channel surfing, and India had so much history to learn about and explore. I think sometimes we forget, or ignore, the history of other cultures outside our own because we feel they aren’t as relevant as the history of our own culture. But this world tour has shown me that virtually everything is interconnected, and we share so much more than you would suspect.

Fatehpar Sikri

Faded paintings in the Christian wife's house at Fatehpar Sikri.

Caution: Camel Crossing

Kelly, Anna, Caitlyn, and I on our rickshaw ride with Raoul!

A group photo with the impressive mustache doorman!

A Palace and a Fort

5/18/10

Location: Delhi, India

Today we rose before dawn so we could go see India’s most famous attraction and one of the seven new wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal, before the day reached its high of 47 degrees, or about 116 degrees Fahrenheit. It still was about 80-90 degrees that early if I had to guess, but by the time we got there the sun had recently risen and it was much more bearable then the afternoon heat. When I first saw the Taj Mahal after we made it past the hawkers and the entrance gate, I thought that it looked about the same as it does in pictures I have seen. We were a couple football fields away from it at the entrance. We walked by the long reflecting pool flanked by manicured bushes, then stopped to rest on benches while our tour guide told us all about the Taj Mahal. It’s a mausoleum built in the honor of the favorite wife of the emperor Shah Jahan, Mumtaz Muhal. Taj Mahal means “crown palace” and it took over 22 years to complete and thousands of workmen contributed to the effort. One thing that I did not know was that Shah Jahan had planned to build an identical palace in black marble across from the Taj Mahal, but his son Aurangzeb had imprisoned him in Agra Fort because Aurangzeb wanted to be emperor. I think the identical black and white mausoleums facing each other would have been dazzling. Shah Jahan was obsessed with symmetry and the balance between the white/summer/feminine palace and the black/winter/masculine palace would be something I would have like to have seen.

But even without the other palace, the Taj is something special. After we ascended the platform in front of the Taj Mahal, I started to realize why it is so revered and treasured. It is perfectly symmetrical in every way imaginable, from the minarets to the umbrellas to the windows, and all of the white marble makes it shimmer in the sun and look heavenly. The white marble isn’t all white though—it varies from shades of white/cream to gray and tan and has a slight yellow tinge from pollution. The colors remind me of NY cheesecake and turtle cheesecake. I don’t even like cheesecake, but that’s what the shades of marble resemble. It does resemble a castle slightly, but more like a pretty princess castle that puts Disney’s Cinderella castle to shame. Technically, I suppose it is like a castle for Queen Mutzam. It’s incredibly majestic and regal in appearance, but it’s also soft and feminine because of the white marble and floral detail. I was awestruck by all of the flowers chiseled into the marble walls. There are tulips, lilies, roses, and you can see all of the lines in the petals. All of it was done by hand over 300 years ago. There are lotus flowers and honeysuckle gemstone inlays around the wall facades and inside on the walls surrounding the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mutzam Muhal. It really is a crown palace as it name describes.

After viewing the Taj, we came back to our hotel for breakfast. They had so many options, both Indian and continental, and we relished the cold fruit and juice since it was already 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside and it was only 10 in the morning! After breakfast, we went to Agra Fort. The first thing we saw outside Agra Fort was the monkeys. There were several monkeys just chilling outside the fort, scratching themselves and making monkey noises. Our first reaction was something like “Oh cute, Indian monkeys!” but our guide quickly told us they can be vicious and are likely to have rabies. That definitely was enough to make us stay far away from the monkeys.

 Agra Fort is the most important fort in India. The Mughal emperors lived there, the country was governed from there, and it was visited by a variety of foreign ambassadors and dignitaries who played key roles in shaping the history of India. The fort covers a whopping 94 acres and is semicircular in shape. We entered the fort through the Lahore gate, and then explored the fort with our tour guide. The fort is immense, and we saw the gardens, the public audience forum, the private audience forum, the harem house, the music house, the mosques, and so much more I can’t even remember all of the buildings and rooms we visited. I took so many photos and just moved from building to building and looked in wonder at the architecture. I love history, and it was fun to imagine what the fort was like in its prime, not bare and worn, but colorfully painted with canopies, rugs, pillows, and candles.  The place felt so majestic and powerful, and my eyes just filled the fountains, put the soldiers at their posts, and watched the emperor and his harem stroll in the gardens with little effort. Sometimes I forget how long human life has been on earth and how far we’ve progressed. Places like the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort remind me that our history is long and rich, and while many things change as time goes on, so many other things remain the same.

We were all so sweaty and drained after Agra Fort, since the heat not only radiated down from the sun but from the toasted red sandstone walls and floors as well. So, we were all relieved to go into an air-conditioned factory and store where artisans create marble and gemstone pieces just like the walls in the Taj Mahal. The artisans are direct descendants of the workers who did the gemstone work at the Taj Mahal, and the grandfather trains the grandson every generation. It takes about 30-40 years to become a master craftsman, and after seeing the demonstration, it’s easy to see why. We watched as the craftsmen gently carved out designs in the marble with long, specially-tipped chisels. The white marble is temporarily stained red so they can see what they are doing clearly. The marble is incredibly hard—I have no idea how it ranks on the Mohs scale, but we got to try the chisels out and it was hard to make a scratch. The craftsmen really have to push the chisel forcefully to make their designs, and hold it correctly so it doesn’t slip and make an unintentional mark. Next, they cut all of the pieces of the semi-precious gemstones—lapis, jade, jasper, turquoise, and more—to be laid in the empty spaces in the design. The master craftsmen use hundreds of tiny pieces of gemstones to create the gemstone inlay—some are smaller than a fingernail clipping. We looked at different gemstone lotus images that had pieces ranging from 30 to over 300. It’s amazing how much patience and skill it takes to create the gemstone design. The gemstones are held in place in the marble with a special glue. The recipe, they said, is as special as Coca-Cola and only the top craftsmen know it. It only melts once, then hardens like a cement and nothing can get those gemstones out once they are set. You can’t help but believe it’s true, since all of the gemstones at the Taj Mahal are still beautifully aligned and none are missing.

After learning about the techniques to create such stunning marble and gemstone art, we got to see the showroom/store. There were hundreds of things for sale—dining tables, end tables, checkerboards, vases, pictures, jewelry boxes, coasters. Most of the designs have intricate swirls and scrolls, and some kind of nature, such as flowers, vines, leaves, etc. Some just have geometric designs, but all of them were just beautifully crafted. White marble is translucent, and they showed us how the light shines through an end table. It also doesn’t scratch and is non-porous, so spills are no problem for the tables. The prices ranged dramatically, since the price is set based on the size of the piece and the intricacy of the design, or basically how long it took a craftsman to complete. Almost everything was out of my price range, but I did find a small jewelry box I could afford and loved. It’s a circular jewelry box with a single rose on the lid in lapis, turquoise, and jade, and smaller roses and vines in lapis, jade, and jasper encircling the sides. It’s absolutely gorgeous, even though it’s quite simple in comparison to some of the larger, more detailed pieces, and I can’t wait to use it on my nightstand or dresser at home.

Afterward, Scott asked if we would like to stop by a clothing store to go shopping, the girls were all for it. The boys reluctantly obliged and sat on the store’s couch while personnel threw every color and design of shirts, suits, saris, and scarves at us. Brock took a video of all the “feeding frenzy.” I believe every girl bought at least something. I got a light, long-sleeved silky shirt in a brilliant peacock blue with stunning gold and brown beading around the neckline and chest and a touch of beading on the hems of the sleeves, too. It was a more expensive shirt, but I absolutely fell in love with it and it’s definitely something I could see myself wearing at home, unlike a sari. I also got a pink cotton shirt with black embroidery on the neck and sleeves, as well as a couple of printed silk scarves.

We came back to the hotel for lunch, and we all couldn’t believe it was only lunchtime. It felt like 4 in the afternoon, but then we remembered we all got up between 4 and 5:30 A.M.! The rest of the day was ours until the group dinner at 7:00 P.M., so we decided to hit up our hotel’s pool since it was so scorching hot outside. The pool was nice and cool thanks to jets pumping in cold water, and even had a waterfall. We swam and chilled in the pool for a few hours (with sunscreen, of course) then headed back inside for a nap or journaling before dinner.

We had our group dinner at the same rooftop terrace grill we ate at on our first night in Agra, and we all dressed up in our Indian clothes we had purchased earlier that day or previously. Everyone at the dinner had Indian food and it was delicious. I’m usually not a huge fan of Indian food since it’s often too spicy for my taste, but I had the Murg Malaii Tikka chicken and butter naan and loved it. “The Murg” became a favorite Indian dish for a lot of us, and I know that Brock, Caitlyn, Kelly, and LaRissa have all ordered it during at least one meal. During the dinner, the group discussed our thoughts on India—what were our first impressions, a defining moment, how we have changed since we’ve arrived in India and how we have changed since the May seminar began. Everyone had unique things to say and it was very enjoyable for me to listen to what others though, both what was similar to my feelings and what was different. Since we are traveling to so many places in only month, a new place can be a lot to process and discussing India with the group helped me further develop my own thoughts about India. As I said in a previous entry, all of our connections and lasting memories will be different from one another’s, but meaning is created for everyone.

At the dinner, Scott quoted a poet (can’t remember the name—you can comment on this if you’re reading, Scott! I couldn’t find it via Google) who told a writer who asked for advice on how to become better at his craft. The poet said go home and start a garden. He didn’t mean to literally start a garden, but to find a place or places that is home for you and start something new. It doesn’t have to be a global project, but just something that you can cultivate and that matters deeply to you. I like that quote.

Me in front of the Taj Mahal!

The Taj

Curious George at the entrance to Agra Fort?

Agra Fort

Demonstrating the giganticness of Agra Fort.

My new Indian top!

Most of the group dressed up in our Indian garb at the group meal at the hotel.

L-R: Anna, Cori, LaRissa, Caitlyn, Kelly, Brock, Dr. Jonathan Steinwand

Jenny, Me

(Sorry for the white circles--it's the mist that was being sprayed to keep the

restaurant cool)