On our last night, after all the goodbyes, we spent quite a bit of time cleaning the hostel and trying to figure out how we were going to fit all the stuff we bought into our suitcases. After a few grueling hours of packing and cleaning a few of us attempted to get an hour or two of sleep before we had to be up and leaving by 3 a.m. to catch our 7 a.m. flight in Chennai to Delhi. 3 o'clock came way to early and we all walked and looked like zombies as we loaded the vans to head to the airport. Driving through India in the middle of the night was significantly less stressful than during the daytime but still not relaxing enough to allow sleep. Luckily when we arrived at the airport everything went about as smoothly as it could go for a group of almost 30 traveling together. We only had one passport scare and one girl that had to pay overweight fees on her luggage. We made it to our gate almost an hour early so we were looking forward to sitting down for while and maybe even taking a power nap. Too bad there were only about 50 seats in the whole terminal. We were smashed in between a lot of Indians who were staring at us shamelessly and we were practically piled on top of each other and our carry-ons as we not-so-patiently waited for the flight that would take us Delhi for a grand adventure.
Upon arrival in Delhi we were shocked and relieved to find that ALL of our luggage had made the journey. Once we had all retrieved our bags we went outside to see our tour guides waiting for us with friendly faces and sign that read "Rising Star!" but not before we were followed through baggage claim by a large guard with an even larger gun. :) Our tour guides took us to the bus immediately where one of their daughters who was 3 years old put beautiful leis around our necks that she had made with her grandmother. (The little girl was born in Hawaii if you're wondering what the connection to leis is.) Our first stop was at a fabulous Indian restaurant where we were able to renew our opinion of Indian food. It was a million times better than the stuff we had been eating for two weeks!! I had the delicious butter chicken and garlic nan. It was so amazing! After resting and refueling we were back on the bus for a quick tour of Delhi. We drove around the president's house and India Gate. The president's house is undoubtedly bigger than my entire town and India gate was a cool monument built for the military. The presidents house had over 300 rooms and over 700 million bricks. Our last stop in Delhi before our journey to Agra was a spice market. But getting to the spice market was a journey in and of itself. We got off of the bus and piled onto little buggies attached to bicycles by twos and were pulled through the streets and tiny alleys to the market. The ride was completely insane as we rode through the alleys that were narrow enough to reach our hands out and touch the walls or steal from the vendors. Above our heads there were so many twisted wires hanging all over and between the buildings that it was no wonder that they struggle with power outages. It was a long and bumpy ride on the bicycle buggies known as rickshaws as we were passed by and passed cows, cars, monkeys and other buggies by mere centimeters, but it was easily one of the most fun rides ever! At the spice market we listened to a presentation about Indian spices; where they come from, why they are a big part of Indian culture etc. It was interesting and fun to listen to. After that it was back to the buggies for the insane ride back to the bus. From there we got cozy on the bus for what was supposed to be a 4-5 hour ride to Agra. However, due to multiple bathroom breaks and traffic that would shock a new-yorker, the 4-5 hour trip turned into a 8-9 hour trip. There were so many cars jammed on that tiny road and there was enough honking to last us all three lifetimes! There were also people crowded on tops of buses because there wasn't room left inside the bus. These people would often try to get our attention by waving, or rather flailing, constantly, shouting and taking pictures of us through the windows. It was quite entertaining to have old Indian people standing on top of a moving bus and flailing around to get our attention.
When we finally made it to our hotel in Agra it was nearly midnight and we had been up for almost 24 hours. We were way past the point of exhaustion that when we pulled up to our hotel I thought for sure I was dreaming. I knew we would be staying in a five-star hotel but I guess I had no idea what that really meant. I literally felt like I had stepped into a palace. The lobby was made of white marble and the chandelier was bigger than my bedroom. The courtyard wasn't much smaller than a football field and the beds we slept in were as soft as clouds.
Upon arrival in Delhi we were shocked and relieved to find that ALL of our luggage had made the journey. Once we had all retrieved our bags we went outside to see our tour guides waiting for us with friendly faces and sign that read "Rising Star!" but not before we were followed through baggage claim by a large guard with an even larger gun. :) Our tour guides took us to the bus immediately where one of their daughters who was 3 years old put beautiful leis around our necks that she had made with her grandmother. (The little girl was born in Hawaii if you're wondering what the connection to leis is.) Our first stop was at a fabulous Indian restaurant where we were able to renew our opinion of Indian food. It was a million times better than the stuff we had been eating for two weeks!! I had the delicious butter chicken and garlic nan. It was so amazing! After resting and refueling we were back on the bus for a quick tour of Delhi. We drove around the president's house and India Gate. The president's house is undoubtedly bigger than my entire town and India gate was a cool monument built for the military. The presidents house had over 300 rooms and over 700 million bricks. Our last stop in Delhi before our journey to Agra was a spice market. But getting to the spice market was a journey in and of itself. We got off of the bus and piled onto little buggies attached to bicycles by twos and were pulled through the streets and tiny alleys to the market. The ride was completely insane as we rode through the alleys that were narrow enough to reach our hands out and touch the walls or steal from the vendors. Above our heads there were so many twisted wires hanging all over and between the buildings that it was no wonder that they struggle with power outages. It was a long and bumpy ride on the bicycle buggies known as rickshaws as we were passed by and passed cows, cars, monkeys and other buggies by mere centimeters, but it was easily one of the most fun rides ever! At the spice market we listened to a presentation about Indian spices; where they come from, why they are a big part of Indian culture etc. It was interesting and fun to listen to. After that it was back to the buggies for the insane ride back to the bus. From there we got cozy on the bus for what was supposed to be a 4-5 hour ride to Agra. However, due to multiple bathroom breaks and traffic that would shock a new-yorker, the 4-5 hour trip turned into a 8-9 hour trip. There were so many cars jammed on that tiny road and there was enough honking to last us all three lifetimes! There were also people crowded on tops of buses because there wasn't room left inside the bus. These people would often try to get our attention by waving, or rather flailing, constantly, shouting and taking pictures of us through the windows. It was quite entertaining to have old Indian people standing on top of a moving bus and flailing around to get our attention.
