INDIA.

Port #6: Chennai, India
What a country. I spent time in Chennai, Varanasi, Agra, and Delhi… lots and lots of traveling was involved, but I really ended up loving it. It is completely unlike any other country that I have ever been to. I’ll try to give the best day by day explanation that I can, but honestly, it’s one of those places that is truly impossible to describe. But here goes nothing.

Day one: We got off the ship during the early afternoon and spent the entire day in downtown Chennai. I guess we were in their newspaper, so everyone knew the Semester at Sea students would be all over… so of course we were attacked by vendors every place that we went. We traveled around in “rickshaws” which were basically India’s form of taxis. They were these little carts with 3 wheels, no doors, and the driver would sit in front with three people in the back. They were TINY though. I can say that I honestly feared for my life more than a few times when we were driving around haha, but I figure they have been driving on those streets all their life, so they must have some way of knowing how to navigate them. It was constant chaos, with horns always beeping. Okay, enough about the driving. We went to what was considered a shopping mall to look around, great jewelry, and then did a little site seeing. We went to the basilica of St. Thomas. There are only three basilicas in the entire world that are built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus. One in Rome, one in Spain, and the one I went to in Chennai… So I thought that was pretty neat. We then went to a street market and into a few silk shops. After that, we headed back to the ship for the evening because the next morning was an early one.

Day two: I woke up at about 3:30am and was out of the ship and on a bus at 4:00am heading to the Chennai airport. I signed up for a SAS trip that took up the rest of my time in India. So on this first day, a group of about 70 of us hopped on a flight to Delhi, and then another flight to Varanasi (“the eternal city”). When we arrived I learned very quickly that this trip was going to be full of cultural changes. First of all… what airport doesn’t have toilets? I became very accustomed to holes in the ground (uh gross). I’m sure you all really loved that detail. ANYWAYS. I have a book that describes the SAS trip so I’ll use some of their descriptions. “Located on the banks of the sacred River Ganges, Varanasi is the holy city of the Hindus. Often called ‘the heartbeat of India,’ it is the oldest inhabited city in the world.” So, when we reached Varanasi we went straight to the city of Sarnath, it lies in ruins but it is as holy to Buddhists as Varanasi is to Hindus. Then we went to the new Buddhist temple and saw where Buddha preached his first sermon… I think that is one of the coolest things ever. Then at night we went to witness the Ganga Aarti at Dasawamedha Ghat (don’t even ask me how to pronounce any of that) which is along the River Ganges. It was a religious ceremony and it was SO crowded with tons of people. Oh, and plenty of cows. Since they’re sacred there, I would see cows everywhere. Our bus had to stop and wait a couple times for a cow to cross the street. (And by street I mean a large dirt road) It was a pretty cool experience to see all those people together for something that’s such a big deal to them. We then went back to our hotel for dinner and hung out around there. Another early morning wake up call would follow.

Day three: Everyone woke up at 5am and we headed back to the banks of the Ganges River for the sunrise. We boarded a boat (uuhh a large wooden canoe??) and went along the river where we witnessed “a spectacle of religious practice that has continued unchanged over centuries- at dawn pilgrims go to the holy waters for the ritual immersion and prayer to release their souls from the cycle of rebirth.” It was super crowded again, but it looked so beautiful from the river because everyone in India dresses in such brightly colored clothing. Especially with the sun rising, it looked really amazing. As we were going down the river we saw the site where the cremate bodies, and actually saw it happening which was something we weren’t exactly expecting. Following our time on the river, we had a city tour of Varanasi. Lots and lots of poverty, and of course… lots of shops and vendors. They’re known for their silk there so we went to a silk factory where I was surrounded with way too many beautiful scarves. I maaayyyy have purchased a few, and then we went to a bead factory where again I was surrounded with so many beautiful things. We then had another flight to catch back to Delhi. Once we arrived there we had a city tour around that area. (talk about a long day) We went to a few more temples and then to our hotel for the evening.

Day four: Another lovely morning wake up call: 4:15am. Ugh. We took a bus to the train station, and then took the Shatabdi Express to Agra (home of the Taj Mahal wooo!!) We started off the day by heading to Fatehpur Sikri, a really beautiful area with red sandstone palaces. Then we went to Agra Fort to view the palaces and halls of the Mughals. It was really cool because we could see the Taj mahal in the distance from where we were. Then we FINALLY headed to the Taj Mahal for 2 hours during the sunset. It was so pretty, one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Especially after driving through so much of India where it is dirty and impoverished, it was so incredible to arrive somewhere so beautiful. Definitely a highlight of my trip. After we left we had a nice dinner and then caught a late train back to Delhi. We were warned about the train stations beforehand that they can be pretty sketchy at night, and that warning was pretty accurate. There were people everywhere, with most of them lying all over the ground. There were children everywhere begging, people with polio who had paralyzed legs and had to literally drag themselves on the ground, rats, garbage, and tons of smoke. It was especially sad to see the children, most of them were forced over to us by adults to try and collect money and had limbs missing… very much like the Slumdog Millionaire scenarios. (There is actually A LOT of truth to that movie- if you haven’t already seen it, go out and rent it NOW.) It was, again, another very eye opening experience.

Day five: Basically a traveling day. Woke up at 7am, had breakfast, and then caught a flight back to Chennai. And now, here I am! Back on the ship, and we have like a week at sea before we reach Vietnam!

Despite the dirt, heat, occasional stomach ache, and TERRIBLE air quality of India (at night I had to turn the flash off of my camera if I wanted to take a picture because there would be spots from stuff in the air) I really learned to appreciate and actually love it. The people, even the poor, had so much energy and life to them. The colors of the country were amazing… I swear I saw colors that I didn’t even know existed on some of the women’s clothing. And I loved the food, all very spicy, so it was right up my alley. (I definitely witnessed a few kids tearing up at a couple meals because the foot was too hot for them haha) While the poverty was definitely overwhelming, I think we got prepped for it pretty well through Morocco and Ghana. Still, a lot of it was very hard to see. But the people were all very kind and helpful towards us, and I think for the most part, they enjoyed having us around. (So many people wanted to take pictures with all the blonde kids at the Taj Mahal, probably their first time seeing someone with light hair in that area.) I think my favorite part was probably the sunrise trip down the Ganges River. My trip is now officially more than halfway over. It’s crazy how fast it is all going by. I’ll be sure to add pictures before I dock in Vietnam! Thanks for the e-mails that you have all been sending, it definitely gives me something to look forward to. Hope to hear from you soon and I miss everyone very much.