24/09/18 – Delhi
I’m just sat on the plane with 42 minutes left until we arrive in Delhi. I think I slept for ½ hours, I would have preferred more but I just couldn’t get comfy and both my back and knees hurt – how old am I?! The plane food was not too bad, I had chicken and pasta for dinner and then fruit and a blueberry muffin for breakfast. Time in England is 4:30am. I have filled out everything I need to on the form but I am cautious not to forget to get more rupees. I also met a really nice man who sat on my row by the window and we chatted about cricket and all my travels. He is from Derby and is visiting family in Bangladesh. Really looking forward to getting to Delhi!!
After I arrived at the airport I met some lovely people who are on the same trip as me, their names are Laura and Sophie. We then took a rather dangerous yet entertaining taxi ride to the hotel in Delhi. I was starving and so tired so I had a look at the room service menu as I was too scared to venture out to the streets of Delhi to get some food. I decided that some chips and tomato soup seemed the safest food option! Then after a couple of hours of sleep we had our group meeting and went out for dinner. I had chicken korma and a garlic naan, my usual curry order! You know you’re in India when even the chicken korma is spicy!
25/09/18 – Delhi — Agra
Day two started with a 5am start. Sounds like a hard one but I think the jet lag made it not feel too bad! After a short taxi ride we then to Delhi train station to catch a train to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal! I can’t even begin to put into words how different the life is out here. It’s all on a whole different level and volume, the people, the surroundings, their normality. Their homes, many made of corrugated metal, others of brick, are packed so close together. We’re on the way to Agra to visit the famous Taj Mahal.
When we got to Agra, many of us decided to visit the Agra Fort and it was so beautiful. We could even see the Taj Mahal in the distance! What was most funny/weird/cool was the fact that so many people asked to take a photo with me. This included families! It must have been about 20 people in total, crazy! If that’s what it feels like to be a celebrity, then it’s pretty cool and crazy to say the least. We then went for lunch and I had a cheese pancake with vegetables and the pancake was made of rice and lentils. It was so good!
After lunch we took a coach to the Taj Mahal and I was so so excited. This was my second wonder of the world after seeing the Great Wall of China earlier this summer. It was BEAUTFIUL! All the pictures can’t prepare you for just how stunning it is. Not exaggeration, it simply took my breath away. A picture or video simply doesn’t justify it. I walked around for ages with Victoria, Sophie, Kezia and Alessandra. We even got to walk inside the Taj Mahal which was stunning. An odd moment though was when a man facetimed his whole family to show us to them. He followed us around the Taj Mahal for at least 50m and every few seconds a different family member popped up on the screen to see us. Hey ho, a funny experience! Overall, a day I certainly won’t forget!
26/09/18 – Agra — Jaipur
It was another early start as we made our way to Jaipur. We stayed at the Jaipur Inn which was the best hotel we’d stayed in so far. It had a terrace too, so we had 360 degree views of Jaipur. Jaipur is the hometown of JD who is our CEO (guide/organiser). We took a TukTuk (I was with Victoria and Sophie) to the centre of Jaipur and we were given a guided tour. It’s known as the pink city and is very colourful. We saw so many different types of food including red hot chillies! We then went up to a rooftop and watched the busy streets and roads of Jaipur. After that we took a rickshaw (I was with JD) to watch a Bollywood movie. The experience was so different to the UK. It is a much greater occasion. Although the film was in Hindi it was quite easy to understand the basics of what was going on. Whilst I was there I had a Pepsi and some popcorn. Each time a famous actor came on screen, the audience would cheer so loudly! We then went back to the hotel and I had a cheese and spinach pancake.
