Leah, Newton South High School
Today started out early. My roommates, Ajaya and Nia, and I woke up at 2 am and have been up ever since. At 4:30 am we packed the bus and left our hotel, the Bluestone. Our adventure was beginning. We arrived at a Indian Railway Station surrounded by many people, cars, and tut tuts. We stayed close as a group and found our way in fighting to get through the crowds to our platform. The smell was not appealing for this early Valentine’s Day morning. Twenty minutes later the train pulled up and we safety boarded.
After arriving in Agra, we boarded another bus and head to the Taj Majal. The site was filled with many people and animals. Yes animals. Monkeys, dogs, camels, and exotic birds wondered about while we went through security. Once we got into eyesight of the magnificent structure I could not believe my eyes. The Taj Mahal looked as if it was part of the clouds. I did not believe what I was seeing was real. I had to touch it to convince myself that what I was seeing was not a mere illusion.
While we were there some people came up to us asking to take pictures of or with us. It was as if we were celebrities. After we left the Taj Mahal we went to a place where they made marble objects such as tables and coasters. We learned how they place gems in the marble. They had many beautiful souvenirs, almost everyone bought something. Later we went to the Agra Fort which was almost as beautiful as the Taj Mahal.
For lunch we went to a small nonprofit café called Sheroes’ Hangout. This is an organization that helps women who were victims of acid attacks. Afterwards we went to a store were they sold pashmina scarfs. Although they were beautiful I did not buy one because I was waiting to buy a sari later in the trip. When we were finished buying the scarves we got on the bus and headed to Jaipur. Once we got to the hotel we went to our rooms, unpacked some stuff and went to dinner on the roof. When we walked in there were people playing music and dancing. The dancers had very beautiful dresses. The food was great. I’m pretty sure everyone loved at least something today. It was a great day with lots of beautiful surprises.
