Incredible India and Holy Varanasi

Dear lovely reader,

Welcome to India! I have been waiting to blog about this port since the minute I left it. That was probably about a month ago… yikes. But I’m ready to share all the wonder that you can find in India. My brother, James bought a five-day trip as a gift for me to see the best sights of India. He had done the same trip when he travelled Semester at Sea Spring ’05. This five-day trip would journey through Agra to see the Taj Mahal as well as the holy city of Varanasi. The entire duration of the trip was incredibly long. Unfortunately with time constraints, I am determined to finish my blog series of India. And the only way to do that would be to talk in moments and not in sequence. I’m also attaching some of my favorite pictures I took on this trip. Please enjoy!

The Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is incredible, I promise you. The white marble mausoleum was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jadan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Because Mumtaz Mahal passed on before the entire piece was built, she was the only person to have never seen her husband’s work. The Taj Mahal is absolutely perfect in its design. The detail, the symmetry, the tiling, the carving, the pattern – everything is just perfect. I wish I had more time to absorb all that is the Taj Mahal. Kind of one of the downsides of travelling with a tour guide – the time constraint could be a real bitch. But travelling in India independently, there’s a whole new set of travel ethics that you have to think about as well. I saw the Taj Mahal in the bright light of early afternoon. Its white marble could not be more brilliant than this time of the day. But of course, the secret beauty of the Taj Mahal is that it never ceases to look incredible at any time of the day or night. If you ever want architecture and design at its finest, the Taj Mahal wouldn’t be a bad choice to look for inspiration.

What sets this trip from other trips that Semester at Sea offers, is that we actually get to visit Varanasi. It is the holiest of the seven sacred cities in Hinduism and Jainism. Hindus believe that death at Varanasi brings salvation. It is one of the oldest city in India as well as the spiritual capital of India. We have the privilege to witness the Aarti ceremony on the Ganges River in the nighttime. The Aarti ceremony was dedicated to the cremation of the bodies that had passed on. Families overlook this ritual. The ashes of the cremation are sifted through the holy waters of the Ganges River. It was such a delicate and humbling ritual to watch. Everyone was quiet as we watched the flames from afar. Another incredible part of this trip was that we witnessed sunrise on the Ganges River – one of the most beautiful sunrises I had ever seen. Right when the sun rose, we saw the locals of Varanasi bathe in the waters of the Ganges River. I realized that what I saw at that moment was so real and pure. Many tourists were on the Ganges River too, overlooking the locals bathing inside the water. But the locals paid no heed to the tourists. As if they were so immersed in their own culture. It was as if their spirituality felt so powerful inside the Ganges water, nothing could faze them.

Haha I’m realizing that this blog isn’t as nearly as long as my others. But all in all, I saw things in India that I would have never seen, never learned about, had I not gone on this trip. So no regrets at all. I am completely grateful for James who got me super excited to do this trip. I haven’t done many Semester at Sea trips because they’re all so expensive. But this one for me, takes the cake out of all of them. 









All love and hope,
Kimmy

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.          – Mother Teresa

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