India!!

Before every port we have a cultural and a logistical pre-port about each of the countries, it is basically just to scare us I think!  Anyway, everyone is freaking out and saying that India is so dirty and we will have to throw all of our clothes away because we will be so dirty and the it is so crowded that you can't even walk in the streets and the second we get out of our port it is just going to be a wall of people pushing us and it is going to smell so bad and it's so gross.  I was really frustrated with everything because no one knows anything about India but were all saying bad things about it and didn't understand why we were going here and didn't want to get off the boat.  It was ridiculous, so I e-mailed Arun to get the truth! =)  This is was he said, I loved it:

"Tell everyone to take a chill pill. I don't know how some people haven't realized this yet, but like everywhere, there are PEOPLE that live, love, laugh, and die in India. Seriously, they are human beings, not a bunch of shit throwing monkeys. I'm sure it's crowded, and yes, some streets aren't paved. But do you think that people there like being a bunch of dirty, homeless beggars? They value cleanliness and hard work just as much as anyone. Don't forget that they were ruled by the British (remind anyone of another certain country?) until 1947 and so it is not entirely their fault if everything isn't pristine and everyone doesn't make it rain with cash. If you show a little humility and respect for people, it will be returned.

I don't know who is saying you have to throw away your clothes and shoes. Have you ever gotten dirt on your clothes? Oh shit! Fucking relax and wipe it off, use some water. You don't need to roll around in the mud like a pig when you get there. And shopping there is pretty good from what I've heard. I mean, it's not gonna be like a mall so those people looking for The Buckle and Abercrombie may be disappointed, but if you want to see some real neat fabrics and jewelery, you can find it there. I've heard that the Taj is closed on Fridays, but other than that I don't know about any recent closings. It would be a shame if it was closed, cuz it's a huge tourist attraction.

(note: when I say "you" I don't mean you personally, just to those people who are being snobby little princesses)"

This e-mail made me laugh and I read it to every person that kept saying bad stuff about it!!  Anyway, I decided I was really scared of the food and did not want to get travelers diarrhea and so I wasn't going to eat in India!  HA!  I ate more here than I have in the past month!!  I loved it and not to mention we went to pizza hut the last day and it was incredible!!

We got into India on Thursday and had to be at the airport around 11:00am to make our flight.  The customs here is really strict and had to take a long time to clear the boat but in every country we have people from the U.S. Embassy come on and talk to us about safety concerns in India.  It was done about 9:30 and Natalie and I were running around like crazy trying to finish packing and get our shore and custom passes before 11.  We were off the boat at 10 and didn't leave until 11.  I think I might worry a little too much!! 

It was crazy hot and humid and I wanted to die because we weren't aloud to wear shorts or tank tops or anything so I think I almost had a heat stroke!!  We got to the airport on time and I saw a book store right by our gate and bought Slumdog Millionaire because I never finished the movie.  I read half the book on our plane ride because it was so good!!  Our group was really big, about 82 people I think.  We stayed in Delhi the first night and got in pretty late and decided to just eat at the hotel.  We were split up into 3 hotels and took over all of them!!  They all had rooftop bars and restaurants and it was really cool.  A lot of us met up at one of the hotels and ate dinner and had a few beers.  I split dinner with Jake and we went for some kind of a chicken curry, rice and naan, it was amazing!  I wasn't sure how I would like the chicken, so like in every other country I ordered french fries!  =)  I ate some kind of sauce that I thought was soy sauce but turned out to be the most spicy thing I have ever had in my entire life and I almost cried, literally.  Jake and I spent most of the night looking over the edge of the hotel looking at a group of people.  They had their homes, which really look like tents, set up and were cooking on an open fire while the kids were playing in the street at 11 pm.  It was unreal and we couldn't believe anything we were seeing!  We also saw a bunch of fireworks going off and the guy said there was a big wedding going on.  Half of us walked back to our hotel and the others went to this wedding!!  haha they said it was awesome and everyone was so nice and they were getting thrown up on elephants that were marching through the middle of the ceremony and it was crazy!!!  I was a little jealous I went to bed!! 

I stayed with a girl named Christine who was really nice.  All the hotels here only give one key so it was really hard figuring out who would take it and everything because we were with different people!  We got up early on Friday and went to a temple where we had to take off our shoes and the whole thing.  We even got dots on our foreheads!  After that we went to a big arch that was in memory of all the people that had died in some Indian war.  We got on the bus and drove about 3 hours to some place and ate lunch.  It was really authentic and was pretty good.  The naan, like always, is the best part!  I am going to learn how to make it!  We drove a couple more hours and finally got into Agra.  We were about a 10 min walk to a huge mall and went with a bunch of people.  It was really late and a lot of places were closing but we did as much as we could!  It is really frustrating because the store clerks hassle you so much.  They would follow us around the store and everytime we would even pick something up they would tell us how much and that we could bargain for less.  That got really annoying and we devided not to buy from the people that hassled us!  A lot of people went to McDonald's to eat but the menu only had chicken becuase they don't eat beef in India.  The cow is considered holy.  We would see cows everywhere!  They would walk in the middle of the street and be standing on the side of the road eating but no one cared because they are all holy!  It was nuts lol  But I don't know why Natalie and I decided it would be okay to walk back to the hotel by ourselves in the dark, but we did.  This guy trying to sell us anklets followed us for a good 5 min trying to get us to buy them, annoying.  So then a ricshaw (?) came up next to us.  They are basically taxis but are a lot smaller and open.  They kept saying stuff to us and we were telling them to go away but they wouldn't.  They followed next to us all the way to the hotel telling us what they wanted to do with us.  They kept making disgusting gestures to us and talking about sickening sex things that I don't even want to write.  We were walking a long a wall and so they were trying to cut us off so we were stuck in between them and the wall.  We started running becuase we were actually really scared.  One of the guys reached out and grabbed Natalie's butt and that is when I went crazy.  I yelled at them and told me them to get the F*** away and then tried to kick them lol they drove away.  We went to the restaurant at the top of our hotel that was a revolving one and was pretty cool.  We were having a good time but I kept noticing this guy next to me.  Every time I turned his way he would hold up his phone and try to take a picture.  At first I thought I was being really paranoid so I ignored it but when I realized he really was doing it I told one of our boys.  They went over and started talking to them and made best friends with them!!  lol but they ended up yelling at them all night and telling them to stop taking pictures of us.  We finally decided they could take a group pic because we wanted on too, he stood up and said group pic group pic, stuck the camera in my face and tried to get a pic of me.  Creepy central.  We got them kicked out eventually =)

Saturday morning we got up at 5:30 and had to leave the hotel at 6.  We got outside and there were probably 50 horse carriages outside waiting for us.  They were all decorated with bright colors and it was really pretty!  We went to the Taj Mahal so that we could see the sunrise.  It was really really pretty and is so different then seeing it in actual pictures!  We had a blast and then lost Natalie.  Loser.  We got to see the Ganga river, I really wanted to go to Veranace.  Vernace is the part of the river where they have a crematory right on the river.  It is a really sacred place to the people of India and they bring most of the dead bodies there for a proper goodbye.  They end up cremeting the bodies and throwing it in the river.  They dump 400 bodies in the river a day!  Insane!  After the Taj we went to Fort Agra and walked around it.  We could see the Taj in the distance which was pretty cool.  After that we took our 8 hour adventure to Jaipur.  It was party bus for 8 hours straight.  It was absolutely insane but the most amazing time ever that mommy and daddy don't need to hear about!  =)  We go to our hotel late and went to eat dinner but never go our food because the service SUCKED!  We were there for 3 hours and still never ate.  I didn't even get my Pepsi.  We went to bed after that and woke up Sunday morning to go to a few things in Jaipur. 

We drove to the Amber Palace that morning where we got to ride elephants to the top!  Amazing!!!  Amanda and I switched cameras so we could get pics of each other but her elephant was a lot faster than ours lol so it didn't work out so well.  But it didn't matter becuase Jake bought the ugliest hat ever that ruined our pics anyway lol  After that we stopped at the King's summer palace which was amazing!!  We went to lunch and then the markets where I spent my life savings.  We went back to the hotel, watched step up and then went to Pizza Hut!  Amazinggg! 

Yesterday Amanda had dock time so she had to be back by 2:00 and our flight got in at 1.  We decided to take a taxi back to the port, about a 30 min drive.  The guy swore that he knew right where it was and would take us there.  Amanda asked him about 15 times if he knew where he was going and always said yes.  He had NO idea and dropped us off in the middle of no where.  We were running down the streets with all of our bags trying to find someone who could speak English and someone who could tell us where to go.  It was god awful and by the time we finally got to the port, our bus was already in line!!  Ughhh I was so frustrated!!  Anyways, besides that I had an awesome time.  People are really still complaining about the dirt and that they washed their clothes the second they took them off so they didn't have to throw them away.  I hate stupid girls.