Academics:
International Studies
Tina F.
Semester At Sea
Journal #8
October 20, 2003
Well, India. All I can say is wow.
 So, the first day I went on a city tour of Chennai. We went to our tour guide's house, a cathedral and the icehouse (the place where they stored all the ice the British brought down for those hot months). We also drove by the beach and a few other places. We stayed in that night because it is so dangerous for women to go out at night in the city.
The second day I left on my 3-day trip to Agra and New Delhi. We left at 0445 hrs. to the airport. After a 2 1/2 hr. plane ride we arrived in New Delhi and got on the bus for an hour ride to a hotel for lunch.
After lunch we went to the train station. We spent 3 hrs. on the train until we reached Agra. This ride was very interesting. We were in second class, so there was no air conditioning. We sat on benches with three people to a bench and bars on the windows. Vendors walked by the entire time, yelling at us each time they walked by. Not only was this disturbing enough but there were also people with deformities coming around, showing us what was wrong with them and asking us for money. There was one man with no fingers or toes who lifted his shirt to show us his burns.
Once we got to Agra, we went to the Taj Mahal. Oh my gosh! It was like stepping into a postcard, absolutely unexplainable. We took pictures, walked around the garden and then sat on the lawn and watched the sun set. Incredible!
We then went to the hotel for dinner and drinks.
The next morning we went to the Taj again, and this time we went inside. Once again, we were in shock from its beauty. After this we visited the Agra Fort. As we did all this some things happened that at the time we thought nothing of, but later found out some very scary facts. While at the Taj we heard gunshots and at the Agra Fort we saw black smoke over our heads. After going to the hotel for lunch we met at the buses for our afternoon events which were going to Fatehpur Siki to see the deserted city. We were then told that the gunshots and smoke were due to riots in the city and that we were going to go to an orphanage and the market instead because it was too dangerous to go to the deserted city. Apparently there were some political disputes between two parties. The one day we were there there were already quite a few fatalities.
We also found out later that Semester at Sea was in the newspaper and we had terrorist threats against us, and that is why we always had armed guards following us. It was very scary.
That night we took the train back to New Delhi and stayed there for the night. The next day we went on a bus tour in the morning to some monuments, and then to the Gandhi museum which I enjoyed very much. Then we went back to the hotel for lunch, then to the airport and back to Chennai to the ship.
Our last day in Chennai we went shopping and to dinner and drinks.
I can't explain how I feel about India. I loved it and hated it all at the same time. I hated the trash, the smell, and the beggars. I loved the Taj, the Indian families, and the culture. I would love to tell so much more, but I can't right now! Talk to you after Tanzania!
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