Day started early again. We had breakfast at 6:15
I ate a lot!
We were leaving the hotel and had to be on the bus at 7.
The ride wasn't too boring. We all shared photos as a group and I got some good ones others had taken.
We stopped for a bathroom break at this little giftshop, drink area. Abhi told us everything was overpriced but I still looked around. They had gadgets and gizmos a plenty. I decided to buy Camin and my mom a journal. I didn't buy one there, but just for future reference decided I will later.
A guy followed me around the shop showing me stuff and telling me he would give a discount. It's hard to shop with a talking shadow.
Back on the bus, Abhi taught us how to count to 10 in Hindu. Then he talked to us about Ganesh, which is that Hindu god with an elephant head.
Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Kali (but Kali has like 1,000 names so maybe that's not the right one but I'ma use it like it is). One day lord Shiva had to run some errands and he was gone so Kali was gonna take a bath, as you do, and some deities kept knocking on her door. They wanted to speak with Shiva and he wasn't there so she would send them on their way. Every time she was about to get in her bath there would be another knock on the door. Homegirl couldn't catch a break! So she did the logical thing and made a figurine of a person. Because she is all powerful, she did some magic and made the figure come alive. It was a boy named Ganesh. She was like "Ayee you're my son. Hey guard my door would you? Don't let anyone in." and he was like "OK mom." And he did a good job. He did such a good job that when lord Shiva came back he wouldn't let him in. Shiva did the logical thing and chopped off the boys head so he could get past. Kali was super angry Shiva killed their son so Shiva ran into the forest and brought back the head of the first baby animal he saw, which was an elephant. Kali was like "What the FUCK am I suppose to do with a baby elephant head you dumb idiot?" and then someone suggested they put the elephant head on the boy's body and he came back to life.
Except Ganesh had died and there are rules. He can't be in heaven. He's the only god that doesn't live there, he lives in the Himalayas. He has big ears to hear your prayers and a trunk to smell what is happening and a big belly to digest your worries. He is very wise. I like Ganesh.
We got into Agra, I don't know what time. We drove by the Raj Palace which has one of the most expensive suites in the world. It's 4 floors and costs I believe $60k a night. From the outside it didn't look like anything special.
We would be having lunch at a place called Sheroes. It's run by women who are victims of acid attacks. I was a little nervous to go there but we would be supporting them with our business so it was worth it I knew.
Sheroes is, surprisingly, a hip place. It's a small restaurant with lots of colors and art.
There were a few women there and yeah their faces were burned but it didn't freak me out like I was worried it would. It was just like a normal restaurant or coffee shop.
I ordered a mango lassi because damn those things are tasty. The bathroom was on the rooftop which was kind fun (the toilet was behind a closed door but the sink was in full view of the streets below). As soon as i returned we watched a short movie about the history of each women who worked at Sheroes. One women was burned by her cousin. Another, her husband because she gave birth to a girl, another by her stepmother, another by strangers just walking down the streets of Agra. First half was sad, second half was uplifting. It ended on a "fight for your rights" and "life is worth living" note.
After that we got our food. I ordered... something, can't remember the name. It's cottage cheese in a tomato sauce. Cottage cheese isn't runny here like in the states. It's like tofu, firm and big chunks. It was good. Everyone shared their food.
It was around 2 when we finished. We got a group photo outside with a couple of the ladies.
I'm glad we went there! I want to feel sorry for these women but they don't need that. They are making a living and going on with their lives and the best thing we can do is support that (and probably support stricter laws about where sulfuric acid is sold).
We went straight to the Agra Fort after that. It's a lot more humid in Agra than in Dehli or Jaipur. So not only is it hotter than an oven, it's gross and wet too. I could feel a constant tickle of sweat sliding down my back. Abhi had us all gather around and talked to us about history and I was trying to listen but I didn't. All these people were standing around us, watching and listening too. I feel like a two headed tiger at the zoo. Abhi says to ignore them. We, as a group, think Abhi might be lowkey famous in India. A lot of people seem to know him and he was dressed very handsome today (as Sam put it, he looked like Miami Vice in India).
Anyways I wasn't paying attention because of the heat and all the people.
We went off to the side in a private area that a guard let us into. It was in the sun. Abhi talked to us about the history of the fort. It was built by people called muggles or maybe Abhi was saying Mongols. Lol I don't know, it was so hot. People weren't surrounding us like earlier, but we had new spectators this time. The place was swarming with monkeys.
That was fun! Until a male monkey got hella close and we all backed away slowly. They bite, Abhi says.
Abhi talked more and I started getting dizzy. It was so hot. I keep saying that but this was the worst it had been the whole trip. Paying attention was 100% out the window at this point, I was just trying to focus on not looking like I was completely miserable. We stood there, with the monkeys watching, for like half an hour before we started walking again.
I mean it wasn't boring. As long as I was walking I was good. But when we stopped and just stood there I wanted to pass out. It was hard to keep my balance.
I can't remember a thing Abhi said. I was wondering what it would be like to faint, like what would happen with our group dynamics, when my heart started pounding because I was giving myself anxiety.
There was this one room we went into where if you stood in one corner and said something, the sound would carry up the wall and a person standing in the other corner would hear it. It was loud because people kept shouting like baboons in their corners.
We walked by a garden place and it didn't get any cooler, not once.
We were outside for about an hour and a half. By now it's 3:45 and my hands keep shaking and I'm really lightheaded. The only thing I know about passing out is that you should tell someone if you're gonna do it. Don't surprise everyone with the sound of your head smacking pavement. I told MJ and she told Abhi who asked if I was ok then the group was on me asking me question and that was the second worst thing that could have happened (the first being my head hitting pavement and lights out for Calla) because my anxiety went up up and away and if I get myself worked up that will do it.
A lady in our group gave me a water spritzer and Abhi had us leave shortly after for the bus. Back on the bus I felt better. I made myself drink water.
We drove over to the Taj Mahal. Abhi said there would be lots of beggars, lots of people watching us and asking for photos and that it was perfectly ok to say no thank you.
We stepped off the bus and were hit with people trying to sell us stuff. I ignore it and keep my resting bitch face in check so everyone leaves me alone. One guy got in my face to sell me a Taj Mahal snowglobe. The rudest I've gotten on this trip was telling him "I don't want it!".
I brought my scarf soaked in water, a bottle of water, and my phone. No rupees to pickpocket from me. I didn't even have pockets, I was wearing leggings and a long lose tee.
Our group rode this big ATV thing up to the gates. A little kid hopped on back with Sam and MJ, trying to sell them trinkets. He left once we got off, then more people tried to sell us shit.
We went through a security and our group gathered in this shaded area as Abhi talked about the Taj Mahal.
A ruler fell in love with a beautiful woman and they married. They were very much in love and had 13 kids. She died during the 14th pregnancy and made her husband promise he would love all their children equally, never marry again, and to build a monument for her. I thought it was romantic and MJ thought it wasn't at all, haha. Abhi set us lose on the Taj around 5.
It's so much bigger in person.
We were given these cloth booties to put around our feet before we go into the mausoleum.
We weren't allowed to take pictures in the mausoleum. But that didn't stop others from taking our pictures. Sometimes people ask, sometimes they don't. People would put their backs to us and try and take a selfie so we would be in the background. I would walk away. Sam and MJ started getting pissed. I should note it's not all young men. A lot of families want their small children in pictures with a lot of the older, blonde women and they almost always ask first.
In the mausoleum, it was hot and crowded and dark and smelled like taint. I saw a coffin looking thing then got out of there. It was very crowded, I walked by an older guy and he looked me up and down and went "Nice." which pissed MJ off. I've heard worse and called people out for less but I was too tired to put him in his place.
At one point Sam thought someone was looking to pickpocket us as a guy was following us a little too close. I wasn't afraid. Part of me is waiting for a guy to grab me inappropriately and I will hurt him back but no one ever does. I wonder if I give off a touch of crazy vibe.
The Taj was a bit of a letdown. There's too many weird people. The scene came off very trashy with people selling crap and taking your picture. We're at the god damn Taj Mahal and people want our pictures. Whyyyyyyyy.
Us three left and stood far far away from the Taj next to Abhi while we waited for the rest of the group. Everyone else is more polite with taking photos and it sounded like they got mobbed. Hell no that will not be happening to me.
As much shit as I talk about people taking my picture, I'm a big old hypocrite. I saw two dudes holding hands (like Abhi said the other day, it's a sign of friendship and brotherhood, not homosexuality) so I took their picture.
We got back on the bus at 6:15 and got to the hotel 6:30. Our hotel Seven HIlls and it was really nice. They served us orange soda (which I hate but drank the whole thing) while we waited for our room assignments. They had flowers everywhere, the place smelled like a damn garden.
Fresh flowers were along the floorboard, we had bowls of water in our room filled with flowers. It was very nice!
I skipped dinner and stayed in the room to catch up on blogging and typing. This is such a commitment! Future Calla, I hope you treasure this forever because this is so boring and such a time sucker. The wifi only works on 1 device at a time so I had to keep connecting and disconnecting between my kindle and iphone.
I showered and listened to Indian music. I like it! Of every place I've been to on this travel blog, this has been my favorite in terms of music (ok well maybe it's tied with Ireland).
I went to bed early, around 10 maybe.
I ate a lot!
We were leaving the hotel and had to be on the bus at 7.
The ride wasn't too boring. We all shared photos as a group and I got some good ones others had taken.
We stopped for a bathroom break at this little giftshop, drink area. Abhi told us everything was overpriced but I still looked around. They had gadgets and gizmos a plenty. I decided to buy Camin and my mom a journal. I didn't buy one there, but just for future reference decided I will later.
A guy followed me around the shop showing me stuff and telling me he would give a discount. It's hard to shop with a talking shadow.
Elephants!
Back on the bus, Abhi taught us how to count to 10 in Hindu. Then he talked to us about Ganesh, which is that Hindu god with an elephant head.
Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Kali (but Kali has like 1,000 names so maybe that's not the right one but I'ma use it like it is). One day lord Shiva had to run some errands and he was gone so Kali was gonna take a bath, as you do, and some deities kept knocking on her door. They wanted to speak with Shiva and he wasn't there so she would send them on their way. Every time she was about to get in her bath there would be another knock on the door. Homegirl couldn't catch a break! So she did the logical thing and made a figurine of a person. Because she is all powerful, she did some magic and made the figure come alive. It was a boy named Ganesh. She was like "Ayee you're my son. Hey guard my door would you? Don't let anyone in." and he was like "OK mom." And he did a good job. He did such a good job that when lord Shiva came back he wouldn't let him in. Shiva did the logical thing and chopped off the boys head so he could get past. Kali was super angry Shiva killed their son so Shiva ran into the forest and brought back the head of the first baby animal he saw, which was an elephant. Kali was like "What the FUCK am I suppose to do with a baby elephant head you dumb idiot?" and then someone suggested they put the elephant head on the boy's body and he came back to life.
Except Ganesh had died and there are rules. He can't be in heaven. He's the only god that doesn't live there, he lives in the Himalayas. He has big ears to hear your prayers and a trunk to smell what is happening and a big belly to digest your worries. He is very wise. I like Ganesh.
We got into Agra, I don't know what time. We drove by the Raj Palace which has one of the most expensive suites in the world. It's 4 floors and costs I believe $60k a night. From the outside it didn't look like anything special.
We would be having lunch at a place called Sheroes. It's run by women who are victims of acid attacks. I was a little nervous to go there but we would be supporting them with our business so it was worth it I knew.
Sheroes is, surprisingly, a hip place. It's a small restaurant with lots of colors and art.
There were a few women there and yeah their faces were burned but it didn't freak me out like I was worried it would. It was just like a normal restaurant or coffee shop.
I ordered a mango lassi because damn those things are tasty. The bathroom was on the rooftop which was kind fun (the toilet was behind a closed door but the sink was in full view of the streets below). As soon as i returned we watched a short movie about the history of each women who worked at Sheroes. One women was burned by her cousin. Another, her husband because she gave birth to a girl, another by her stepmother, another by strangers just walking down the streets of Agra. First half was sad, second half was uplifting. It ended on a "fight for your rights" and "life is worth living" note.
After that we got our food. I ordered... something, can't remember the name. It's cottage cheese in a tomato sauce. Cottage cheese isn't runny here like in the states. It's like tofu, firm and big chunks. It was good. Everyone shared their food.
Mango lassi tastes like baby food
Indian food sometimes looks like baby food
It was around 2 when we finished. We got a group photo outside with a couple of the ladies.
I'm glad we went there! I want to feel sorry for these women but they don't need that. They are making a living and going on with their lives and the best thing we can do is support that (and probably support stricter laws about where sulfuric acid is sold).
We went straight to the Agra Fort after that. It's a lot more humid in Agra than in Dehli or Jaipur. So not only is it hotter than an oven, it's gross and wet too. I could feel a constant tickle of sweat sliding down my back. Abhi had us all gather around and talked to us about history and I was trying to listen but I didn't. All these people were standing around us, watching and listening too. I feel like a two headed tiger at the zoo. Abhi says to ignore them. We, as a group, think Abhi might be lowkey famous in India. A lot of people seem to know him and he was dressed very handsome today (as Sam put it, he looked like Miami Vice in India).
Anyways I wasn't paying attention because of the heat and all the people.
MJ and one of our random spectators
We went off to the side in a private area that a guard let us into. It was in the sun. Abhi talked to us about the history of the fort. It was built by people called muggles or maybe Abhi was saying Mongols. Lol I don't know, it was so hot. People weren't surrounding us like earlier, but we had new spectators this time. The place was swarming with monkeys.
Baby!
That was fun! Until a male monkey got hella close and we all backed away slowly. They bite, Abhi says.
Abhi talked more and I started getting dizzy. It was so hot. I keep saying that but this was the worst it had been the whole trip. Paying attention was 100% out the window at this point, I was just trying to focus on not looking like I was completely miserable. We stood there, with the monkeys watching, for like half an hour before we started walking again.
I mean it wasn't boring. As long as I was walking I was good. But when we stopped and just stood there I wanted to pass out. It was hard to keep my balance.
I can't remember a thing Abhi said. I was wondering what it would be like to faint, like what would happen with our group dynamics, when my heart started pounding because I was giving myself anxiety.
There was this one room we went into where if you stood in one corner and said something, the sound would carry up the wall and a person standing in the other corner would hear it. It was loud because people kept shouting like baboons in their corners.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
"I CAN HEAR YOU CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
We walked by a garden place and it didn't get any cooler, not once.
Hot. As. Balls
We were outside for about an hour and a half. By now it's 3:45 and my hands keep shaking and I'm really lightheaded. The only thing I know about passing out is that you should tell someone if you're gonna do it. Don't surprise everyone with the sound of your head smacking pavement. I told MJ and she told Abhi who asked if I was ok then the group was on me asking me question and that was the second worst thing that could have happened (the first being my head hitting pavement and lights out for Calla) because my anxiety went up up and away and if I get myself worked up that will do it.
A lady in our group gave me a water spritzer and Abhi had us leave shortly after for the bus. Back on the bus I felt better. I made myself drink water.
We drove over to the Taj Mahal. Abhi said there would be lots of beggars, lots of people watching us and asking for photos and that it was perfectly ok to say no thank you.
We stepped off the bus and were hit with people trying to sell us stuff. I ignore it and keep my resting bitch face in check so everyone leaves me alone. One guy got in my face to sell me a Taj Mahal snowglobe. The rudest I've gotten on this trip was telling him "I don't want it!".
I brought my scarf soaked in water, a bottle of water, and my phone. No rupees to pickpocket from me. I didn't even have pockets, I was wearing leggings and a long lose tee.
Our group rode this big ATV thing up to the gates. A little kid hopped on back with Sam and MJ, trying to sell them trinkets. He left once we got off, then more people tried to sell us shit.
We went through a security and our group gathered in this shaded area as Abhi talked about the Taj Mahal.
A ruler fell in love with a beautiful woman and they married. They were very much in love and had 13 kids. She died during the 14th pregnancy and made her husband promise he would love all their children equally, never marry again, and to build a monument for her. I thought it was romantic and MJ thought it wasn't at all, haha. Abhi set us lose on the Taj around 5.
It's so much bigger in person.
On the right side of the Taj
We were given these cloth booties to put around our feet before we go into the mausoleum.
Dr. Calla Nelson, scrubbing in
We weren't allowed to take pictures in the mausoleum. But that didn't stop others from taking our pictures. Sometimes people ask, sometimes they don't. People would put their backs to us and try and take a selfie so we would be in the background. I would walk away. Sam and MJ started getting pissed. I should note it's not all young men. A lot of families want their small children in pictures with a lot of the older, blonde women and they almost always ask first.
In the mausoleum, it was hot and crowded and dark and smelled like taint. I saw a coffin looking thing then got out of there. It was very crowded, I walked by an older guy and he looked me up and down and went "Nice." which pissed MJ off. I've heard worse and called people out for less but I was too tired to put him in his place.
At one point Sam thought someone was looking to pickpocket us as a guy was following us a little too close. I wasn't afraid. Part of me is waiting for a guy to grab me inappropriately and I will hurt him back but no one ever does. I wonder if I give off a touch of crazy vibe.
The Taj was a bit of a letdown. There's too many weird people. The scene came off very trashy with people selling crap and taking your picture. We're at the god damn Taj Mahal and people want our pictures. Whyyyyyyyy.
Us three left and stood far far away from the Taj next to Abhi while we waited for the rest of the group. Everyone else is more polite with taking photos and it sounded like they got mobbed. Hell no that will not be happening to me.
As much shit as I talk about people taking my picture, I'm a big old hypocrite. I saw two dudes holding hands (like Abhi said the other day, it's a sign of friendship and brotherhood, not homosexuality) so I took their picture.
It's a bro thing
We got back on the bus at 6:15 and got to the hotel 6:30. Our hotel Seven HIlls and it was really nice. They served us orange soda (which I hate but drank the whole thing) while we waited for our room assignments. They had flowers everywhere, the place smelled like a damn garden.
Fresh flowers were along the floorboard, we had bowls of water in our room filled with flowers. It was very nice!
I skipped dinner and stayed in the room to catch up on blogging and typing. This is such a commitment! Future Calla, I hope you treasure this forever because this is so boring and such a time sucker. The wifi only works on 1 device at a time so I had to keep connecting and disconnecting between my kindle and iphone.
I showered and listened to Indian music. I like it! Of every place I've been to on this travel blog, this has been my favorite in terms of music (ok well maybe it's tied with Ireland).
I went to bed early, around 10 maybe.
Goodnight from this stupid blog
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