India - Cochin, New Dehli, Agra & Jaipur
Day 1
The first day in Cochin me and some of my friends hired one of the hundreds of TukTuk drivers waiting for students to get off the boat to take us around Cochin for the day. Unfortunately he made us stop at multiple stores where he would receive a commission if we bought anything. He did take us to some very interesting spice markets and took us too an amazing local restaurant for lunch, which is in the photo above. We spent the majority of the day stopping at tourist destination like the Chinese fishing nets on the water, a local beach and a few of the hundreds of Hindu temples scattered throughout the city. I had to get back to the boat relatively early that night because I had an early field program the next day.
Day 2
I was up at 3:30 am to catch a flight to New Dehli with my field program that was taking us to New Dehli, Agra and Jaipur. Getting through the insane airport security with 80 other students was an experience in itself but lucky all of us made it on the plane and to Dehli all in one piece. The first thing we did upon arrival to Dehli was go to the Qutub Minar, which is the second largest minar in India. It was massive in scale and the red sandstone made it standout with the blue sky as it's backdrop. After lunch we then visited Jama Masjid, a mosque located just outside the city center. It was one of my favorite places we visited. Being able to see people practicing their religion in a building that was built just for that reason hundreds of years ago was amazing. We ended out day getting caught in a torrential downpour at the Raj Ghat and watched the sunset at a Sikh temple.
Day 3
We left early from our hotel to take a train from Dehli to Agra to go visit the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. Taking a train in India was an amazing experience and seeing the countryside of India was a nice change from the city setting. Finally getting to the Taj Mahal was something I couldn't believe. Seeing it for the first time was absolutely breathtaking. I wish I could have spent all day there but since I was on a tour we had an hour to explore and take photos before we moved on to the Agra Fort. We then left Agra and made the 5-hour drive to Jaipur.
Day 4
The next day we got up early and made our way to the Amber Fort. We got to ride elephants up to the top of the fort and the view was breathtaking. The fort was like a mini Great Wall of China with a middle eastern spin. The architecture and stone inlay through out the fort was stunning. We then made out way to the City Palace where we spent time in the museum and then were allowed to go out into one of the local markets. I met some amazing people and ended up making friends with a shopkeeper who was the owner of an Etsy site I had purchased items from back in the United States. We then spent the last night in India at an outdoor dinner where we were treated with a dance and music performance.
Day 5
We spent the majority of today traveling from Jaipur to Mumbai, where we had a 2 hour layover, then finally back to Kochin. I went out to dinner in Kochin that evening then went to sleep early to get up early the next morning to spend my last day in India.
Day 6
This last day, since we had an interesting experience with our first TukTuk driver we made sure to find a driver that would take us to one location and not make any stops. We spent the afternoon shopping on Jew Street, which was the local Jewish neighborhood, and had our last meal off the ship. We then left India that afternoon at 5:00 pm to make out way to Mauritius.
Day 1
The first day in Cochin me and some of my friends hired one of the hundreds of TukTuk drivers waiting for students to get off the boat to take us around Cochin for the day. Unfortunately he made us stop at multiple stores where he would receive a commission if we bought anything. He did take us to some very interesting spice markets and took us too an amazing local restaurant for lunch, which is in the photo above. We spent the majority of the day stopping at tourist destination like the Chinese fishing nets on the water, a local beach and a few of the hundreds of Hindu temples scattered throughout the city. I had to get back to the boat relatively early that night because I had an early field program the next day.
Day 2
I was up at 3:30 am to catch a flight to New Dehli with my field program that was taking us to New Dehli, Agra and Jaipur. Getting through the insane airport security with 80 other students was an experience in itself but lucky all of us made it on the plane and to Dehli all in one piece. The first thing we did upon arrival to Dehli was go to the Qutub Minar, which is the second largest minar in India. It was massive in scale and the red sandstone made it standout with the blue sky as it's backdrop. After lunch we then visited Jama Masjid, a mosque located just outside the city center. It was one of my favorite places we visited. Being able to see people practicing their religion in a building that was built just for that reason hundreds of years ago was amazing. We ended out day getting caught in a torrential downpour at the Raj Ghat and watched the sunset at a Sikh temple.
Day 3
We left early from our hotel to take a train from Dehli to Agra to go visit the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort. Taking a train in India was an amazing experience and seeing the countryside of India was a nice change from the city setting. Finally getting to the Taj Mahal was something I couldn't believe. Seeing it for the first time was absolutely breathtaking. I wish I could have spent all day there but since I was on a tour we had an hour to explore and take photos before we moved on to the Agra Fort. We then left Agra and made the 5-hour drive to Jaipur.
Day 4
The next day we got up early and made our way to the Amber Fort. We got to ride elephants up to the top of the fort and the view was breathtaking. The fort was like a mini Great Wall of China with a middle eastern spin. The architecture and stone inlay through out the fort was stunning. We then made out way to the City Palace where we spent time in the museum and then were allowed to go out into one of the local markets. I met some amazing people and ended up making friends with a shopkeeper who was the owner of an Etsy site I had purchased items from back in the United States. We then spent the last night in India at an outdoor dinner where we were treated with a dance and music performance.
Day 5
We spent the majority of today traveling from Jaipur to Mumbai, where we had a 2 hour layover, then finally back to Kochin. I went out to dinner in Kochin that evening then went to sleep early to get up early the next morning to spend my last day in India.
Day 6
This last day, since we had an interesting experience with our first TukTuk driver we made sure to find a driver that would take us to one location and not make any stops. We spent the afternoon shopping on Jew Street, which was the local Jewish neighborhood, and had our last meal off the ship. We then left India that afternoon at 5:00 pm to make out way to Mauritius.
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