India - The Golden Triangle
- Ilayda Borucu
- Jun 16, 2020
- 15 min read
The country where no one wants to go, the country which has been seen as one of the last destinations. That was my way of thinking about India - or let's say I had prejudices about India in general. But there are some people - like my mom - who dream about it to go for several years now. Before my adventure in the US, I was usually travelling in Europe with my parents. But while I was in America, I realised, that the people there don't know so much about other countries all around them. That's not their fault. But they at least should know, that there are so many countries where life looks way different.
I think they don't have the opportunity to travel all around. But the people there showed me that I had to expand my travel destinations - other than Europe - even though I haven't seen all countries in Europe. During my exchange year, I didn't have the possibility to continue with travelling. That's how I actually realised how much I miss it.
My mom was telling me always about her dream to visit India, but I was never interested in it. However, one day I decided to - at least - get some information, about the country, who has pretty much always a bad reputation. It took me more or less 1 hour to inform my mom about the idea of going to India, NEXT SUMMER! That's how our preparations started.
The reason why it's called "the golden triangle" is, because the biggest and most popular cities are New Delhi, Agra and Jaipur which are basically located in a triangle, if you should look it up on the Maps.
We decided to take an organised and guided tour from Turkey, because India was our first "far away from Europe-trip". If you want to know how I get ready for my trips, that can be one of my next blogs too!
So, we booked a trip which was going to be 6-7 days long.
The day - 11th of August 2019 came, and we went in the early morning to the airport. We both didn't know what we should imagine how it was going to be, but what I can say is, that we both had negative but also positive expectations. That's the way it should be. If you expect too much, you probably won't ever like any destinations. That's how it works. Even the negative things about a country are STILL the properties of this country and belong its culture.
We met our group, and were already on our plane after all controls - ready to greet our first big adventure. It was 7 am in the morning but I was quite awake, because of all that excitement and inquisitiveness.
After our 6 hours flight, we arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The feeling of going out of the plane and meeting new people, is indescribable. Just imagine - you meet new people with different histories and origins in a new country. How can some people don't love this feeling of getting to know everyone around you.
Anyways, we went out of the airport, and I was staggered. I knew that India was a very warm country, and the air would be humid, but I never expected it that strong. Whenever we came out of the airport, 3 things were hitting me directly: air humidity, warm wind and the horrible smell. Do you remember when I was talking about the negative properties of a country. Exactly - that's the best example for it. The stench. Yes, it is intolerable for some people out there, but it took me 2 minutes to get used to it. I was so excited to discover the city, so I didn't think highly of this bad air quality.
Day 1: Our bus came, and our travel guide welcomed us by giving us general information about New Delhi. Firstly, we had a 5 hours bus ride to Agra - the city where one of the 7 wonders of the world exists. While our travel guide was talking about Agra, I was just looking out of the bus and watching people...
One of seven wonders, which is located in Agra - It's called Taj Mahal - it's a mausoleum, built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan (1592-1666) in memory of his favourite wife, completed circa 1649. Set in formal gardens, the domed building in white marble is reflected in a pool flanked by cypresses.
Before we entered this monument, we walked through the garden of that beautiful Taj Mahal. I think the setting there was pretty nice.
After this lovely area, we got to see the impressive piece of architecture.
I don't want anyone to feel attacked, but in my opinion - only people who are fond of traveling can admire the way this piece got built. I guess it's a different way of seeing it.
We looked at this beautiful building from every side and perspective. And it definitely is worth to visit.
Even though I already mentioned the perfection of Taj Mahal in my eyes, I just wanted to add some things to it. As you already know, this piece of architecture was built by a man who wanted to symbolise his love for his wife, after her death. Maybe some of y'all will think that this way of showing the love is the material manner. But it actually isn't, even the fact that it took more than 20 years to finish this building proves it. Such a hard work, for the single intention to memorise his wife. And now this building is part of seven wonders.
After looking around Taj Mahal, we met some Indians who were sitting there in the beautiful garden of the Taj Mahal, and they wanted to take a picture. I can tell you that literally every person there wants to take a picture with you. It's crazy! But sweet too :)
I'm not saying this just because I love it to travel or to meet new people in a whole different country. I'm saying it because it's true! The people there are willing to welcome any kind of person from other foreign countries. They are happy to see new people! Maybe because of our skin color, or our origin or our cultures. We don't know that. But that doesn't matter at all, as long as you are always welcoming other "visitors" warningly, as if they're a part of your own culture. That was a quick note to you out there <3 I'll come to this topic later in this blog.
After this sight, we went to the Red Fort in Agra (also called Agra Fort). I have to admit that there are 2 Red Forts in India. One in Agra and the other one in New Delhi.
Can you imagine the amount of history which played a big role behind those big walls?
Agra Fort is a historical fort in the city of Agra, India. It was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638, when the capital was shifted from Agra to Delhi. Before capture by the British, the last Indian rulers to have occupied it were the Marathas. It had been used by the early Mughal rulers.
And the inner area of those walls was also remarkable...
We finished our first day with those two wonderful sights. But it was the decision of the majority to go back to our hotel, since the bad air quality and the high temperatures tired us pretty much.
As we were walking into the hotel - like I mentioned above - they showed hospitality to us. Perhaps you won't agree with me, but trust me, sometimes a smile from someone can change somebody's world, if you believe it or not. And all of the workers there smiled and helped us getting settled into the hotel.
On the ground floor of our hotel, there was an Indian wedding, where my mom and some other people from our group wanted to join. We took pictures there, because it was way different than we're used to see but I shouldn't publish them here, since there are other people on the pic shown, who might not want to be shown here on my blog.
As we all know, the Indian people use a lot of spice in their food, so pretty much every dish is spicy. But I was looking forward to try a little bit from everything, that's how I survived the first day :)
Day 2: After our pretty early breakfast, we set off to Jaipur which is 5 hours away from Agra. But on our way to that wonderful city, we got the chance to see Fatehpur Sikri - which is a town in the Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city itself was founded as the capital of Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar, serving this role from 1571 to 1585. The name of the city is derived from the village called Sikri which occupied the spot before. It is indicated that there were a habitation, temples and commercial centres here before Akbar built his capital.
In this small "village", there are some important and religious buildings, like...:
Panch Mahal - A five-storied palatial structure, with the tiers gradually diminishing in size.
Anup Talao - An ornamental pool with a central platform and four bridges leading up to it.
Jama Masjid - It is a Jama Mosque meaning the congregational mosque and it was perhaps one of the first buildings to be constructed in the complex. The Tomb of Salim Chisti - a white matble encased tomb of the Sufisaint Salim Chisti (1478-1572) within the Jama Masjid'ssahn courtyard - is shown in the picture below.
And after visiting and learning about all these delightful buildings, I met an old man who smiled at me. So I went to him and we talked a little bit. That's how this picture occurred:
If you are planning on going to India one day, you definitely should put "visiting Fatehpur Sikri" in your to-do list! It was unbelievable to know that people lived in this village a long time ago - in a small "city" which is encircled with great walls.
After finishing the tour in this area, we continued our ride to Jaipur:
Jaipur is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is also known as the Pink city, due to the dominant color scheme of its buildings. It was constructed within a period of four years. By the way, it is an interesting fact that every building in this state (Rajasthan) has its own color. In time, the king of each city painted the houses to the color they wanted. I think, you should visit Jaipur at any rate!
I tried to film almost all streets there...:
While we were on our way to Jaipur, I was looking out of my window to the people out there and the way of their living... I knew more or less that the people in India are suffering. But I could never guess that their living conditions are so bad. A person feels and emphasises different when they see some things with their own eyes. That's why I always say, that everyone needs to see how bad a way of living can be, for example in India. We went through so many different streets that I don't know where to start. There were streets where 2 different - or better said opposite lives - were next to each other. How sad it is that the man who has to stay outside and doesn't even own a house is right next to another wealthy family. There are many streets like that. You will tell me now, that it's their own fault to live this bad luck. But in this case, no you aren't right, because there is something what needs to be distinguished. There are people who don't work enough or spend their money for unnecessary things and that's why they live in poverty afterwards. But there are also many people who are born into poverty. What did they do wrong? Nothing. They were just unlucky to be born in a poor family. I can't imagine how the poor people feel, when they see their "rich neighbours". Which one do you think is worse? Is it harder for a rich man to live with a desperate person, or that the desperate person has to live next to a rich family? The majority would chose the second one. But if we consider the fact that there is a caste system existing in India, we can suppose that the rich people there are exploiting the poor people as slaves. I literally wanted to give everything to the people who were trying to make a living there on the street. I did, as much as I could.
I hope one day I can make the people there smile - at least a bit. It's really pathetic not being able to help everyone and just being a "watcher".
I think you all know, how a wealthy family looks at a family living in the absence. But it's still so groovy, that they look so happy and warm at tourists, even though they have such big problems...For example, whenever our bus passes by each community of people, there are people who start dancing, or people who are looking at us by being so joyful, even though they don't even have a guarantee of living the next day maybe, and many more problems...
One of my favourite quotes is from Mahatma Gandhi, which says "Be the change that you wish to see in the world". There are many more quotes from him, which I admire and which make me think about it.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi; 2 October 1869 - 30 January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British Rule, and in turn inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.
Day 3: On that day we visited Amber Castle, which is 11 kilometres outside of Jaipur and the capital of that region until 1728. We had to go up to the hill with elephants, although most of us were against this action. And by the way, it was the birthday of my mom, but unfortunately we got caught in the monsoon that day, however it still couldn't stop us and didn't took our happiness away. As always, we had a solution for this: we wore raincoats covering our entire body and continued our trip. I think you all know about monsoon rains. But it was also an experience for us because it rained so disastrously.
Amer Fort or Amber Fort is a fort located in Amer, Rajasthan India. Amer is a town with an area of 4 square kilometres. The town of Amer and the Amber Fort were originally built by the Meenas and later it was ruled by Raja Man Singh. Located high on a hill, it is the principal tourist attraction in Jaipur. Amer Fort is known for its artistic style elements. With its large ramparts and series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks Maota Lake, which is the main source of water for the Amer Palace.
As we got there, we also had the opportunity to see Sheesh Mahal - also known as the Victory Hall - and Jal Mahal, with a magnificent glow of mirrors.
Sheesh Mahal and also known as mirror palace is the magnificent piece of architecture built with beautiful precious stones and glass and with beautiful handmade paintings.
Jal Mahal (meaning "Water Palace") is a palace in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake in Jaipur. The palace and the lake around it were renovated and enlarged in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber.
Then we visited the City Palace and Jantar Mantar - the astrological observatory - in the center of Jaipur.
City Palace of Jaipur - in this palace, which is a giant complex, you can see the extraordinary traditional fine aesthetic spirit in the pleasure of the dynasties.
Jantar Mantar - Japutur is a collection of nineteen astronomical architectural instruments built by Rajasthan founder Rajput queen Sawai Jai Singh II. The monument was completed in 1734. It features the largest stone sundial in the world.
Then we had a photo break in front of the magnificent and gigantic Wind Palace on our way.
Hawa Mahal ("The Palace of Winds" or "The Palace of Breeze") is a palace in Jaipur. Made with the red and pink sandstone, the palace sits on the edge of the City Palace, and extends to women's chambers. I have to say that it's actually a fake palace. The 5-storey exterior, built by Maharaja Pratap Singh, has 953 carved small cage-shaped ventilation windows and tiny balconies. These balconies and windows not only allowed the ladies and children of the palace to see the street, the public but also to cool off with the breeze entering through the cages.
During the day, we also got the chance to see an Indian bazaar which was also pretty interesting:
Day 4: We started the new day with a 6-hours road. This time our way was to New Delhi, the capital of India. We set off to see the Victory Tower (Qutub Minar), India's tallest stone tower, in the more modern part of New Delhi. The program of the day consisted of only Qutub Minar, as we spent most of that day on the road. But it is a monument that you should definitely add to your list. I liked it very much.
Qutub Minar - is a minaret and "victory tower" that forms part of the Qutub complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of Delhi, India. Qutub Minar was 73-metres tall before the final, fifth section was added after 1369.
By the way, during the tour, I met 2 wonderful people in our group. I was photographed with them in front of Qutub Minar, and I leave it here for the sake of my time with them <3
After taking our photos there, we entered our hotel in New Delhi and we finished the day.
Day 5: We had a city tour in one of the last day in the program. It was time to discover New Delhi.
New Delhi - The construction of this city, the capital of India, began in 1911 when the British colonial government decided to move from Calcutta to Delhi. It took about 20 years to complete the construction. Delhi, which has many races, languages and religious beliefs, is a chaotic city with its crowd, traffic and contrasts. It is proven that Delhi has been home to different cultures for centuries.
In the city, where the caste system still prevails, the top class consists of clerics called Brahman. The second group includes soldiers and rulers, the third group includes merchants and peasants and the fourth group includes workers and servants. The lowest class cannot even enter the caste system. So much, so that even those who belong to this class are forbidden to be touched, while those who touch are disrespectful to the holy.
In addition to being a rich city with its monuments and architecture, which has been dominated by many dynasties throughout the history, it is on its way to discover the old city center of Delhi, a major city of metropolitan and cemeteries that has been on the banks of the Yamuna River for five hundred years and where numerous cities were born and disappeared. It was a really nice trip. You feel as if you are a part of the city, and you have seen everything from the closest and satisfied. We toured the city with those famous Rikshas - which is what you see in the video below - something like a bike (we sit behind it). Although the man there took us through the street with great effort, and even though we were pitiful, it was a beautiful but impressive tour. In the meantime, the man took us there just to get a dollar...The landscapes and living conditions we encounter while passing through those narrow streets are in front of our eyes - for a few seconds. Imagine, the people there have to live with their fate all their lives. In a country where there is a lot of discrimination and injustice, whether they work without sleep, they won't get any help, because their origin and family roots determine their destiny. It's a very painful situation.
Although they know that they will probably never be in a better position, they are still happy. They still have a good heart, yet they are hospitable. While we make a big deal out of small things which we can't have, for those people there those tiny and small things mean the world to them..
On our city tour, we also passed the Red Fort which was built by Shah Cihan in the shape of an octagonal sandstone
Red Fort - a historic fortress which is located in the center of Delhi and is home to a number of museums. In addition to hosting the emperors and their families, it was the ceremonial and political center of the Mughal state and was at the center of events affecting the region. I don't have a picture there, since it was forbidden to take any photos.
After that we saw the "Friday Mosque" which is the largest mosque in India.
Jama Masjid - also called "Friday Mosque" was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Cihan between 1650 and 1656 at a cost of one million rupees.
We also got the opportunity to see the First World War Memorial India Gate, the parliament and the government buildings in New Delhi.
India Gate - is a war memorial located astride the Rajpath, on the eastern edge of the "ceremonial axis" of New Delhi. It stands as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in between 1914-1918 in the First World War. The 42m high arch was designed by Edwin Lutyens in 1921 based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
After all those visits, we returned to our hotel and got ready for the big Bollywood show.
it was a very beautiful, colorful and enthusiastic show. I think this is not just a show, it was an experience and I'm happy that we decided to join it! That's how we finished our last day in a different way.
Day 6: We set off to the airport very early in the new day and thanked this magnificent country and said goodbye.
In this blog, I tried to convey to you our experiences in India. I did not mention such topics like entrance fees etc. because most of them were included since we were there with a tour.
But I have a few important notes:
At every historical monument you enter and at the airport, I recommend that you strictly follow the rules.
I touched on this a little bit - but it is really hot there, however you cannot walk around with short clothes in almost every historical monument (especially in mosques etc.) so if you pay attention to it, I'm sure you will enjoy your trip too!
India was a great experience for me because I had never seen such a country before and I have not gone that far (except my exchange year in the US). I think it's a country that everyone should go, but if you are sensitive to bad air quality, India should not be your first choice.
I hope that all videos which I included in this blog worked, if not I'm sorry for that!
You can always text me for questions :)
"There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other courts." - Mahatma Gandhi
#India#travel#august2019#mahatmagandhi#poverty#newdelhi#agra#jaipur#newexperiences#discovertheworld#tajmahal
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