The Golden Triangle - A Treasure indeed

Golden Triangle Excursion- Delhi, Agra, Jaipur - June 8-13

Standing tall at Jaipur Palace on the Mountains

The TAJ MAHAL _one of the 8 wonders of the world Agra, India

Balcony in Delhi eating Kababs

Lodhi Gardens with our new friend - Delhi, India

Great Archway or Wall of India - no not the one I mention seeing in Jaipur- this one is a national Landmark in Delhi

So now that I am officially back in Miami, I mustered up the willpower and creativity to write about my experience during my Golden Triangle Excursion. It is still a wonder that I can remember the exact emotions and awe I felt as we were traveling through these first few days. When I think about it, it is almost as if this happened last week, not three months ago.

I remember thinking how lucky I was. I remember all four of us in the ISA group just marveling over the fact that we were in India and experiencing it all. Our driver was great and very patient. He took us over miles of plains, but these plains included elephants, monkeys, dogs, lots of cows, the occasional farmer or family on motorcycle, and of course huts strewn about the landscape like trees. There were very few trees in fact, and when we passed by Rajasthan, we saw many mountains, which was a sight to see because at least where I am from its flat ground or BELOW sea level.

Of course, first was Delhi, where we arrived. My first impression of Delhi was that it was very city like, very bustling, but that there was also a significant amount of men out, not women.

Delhi was also the first place I saw immense poverty in India; this included people living in garbage bins, lying in the ditches by the roadside next to the sewage waste and dead animals, and so many undernourished people, children, babies. I knew right then it was completely different from anything I had imagined, saw on tv, or witnessed in the US. There is nothing more blatantly overwhelming than witnessing an injustice firsthand, and poverty among millions was that injustice.

A paradox to the heartfelt, civic minded individual is that you can't just give money to any one person on the street as much as you may want to, because then you become the target for the rest of the homeless to overtake you and this can be dangerous. As much as it pains you, we were advised to just keep walking or only give out food items. Many times, children who beg for money never get to keep their earnings and have to give it to some kind of overpowering master or "pimp".

Besides the poverty, there were also positive aspects to Delhi, such as the beautiful Lodhi Gardens where one could get lost in the maze of adventure. We all climbed upon ruined ancient buildings watching the sunset prey over the old tales of grandeur. It was a sight to see. We got to mingle with locals, three young friends who regularly came to the roof of one such artful construction to work out and jump rope, while listening to Backstreet Boys!

Afterwards we made the trek to some really good Kababs eatery where we enjoyed the spicy taste of this new food with mango juice on a balcony overlooking the starlit city.

The next day we were off to Agra (a five hour drive). Our plan was to hit the hotel at night and then wake up early the next day to see the Taj Mahal _ the main attraction of India and what I thought would be the highlight of my trip then, but now I know there are too many attractions in India to even count or rate which one would be the best. All of the places I visited were unique and astounding in their own ways.

The Taj was surreal. The sun was rising over a quiet sky with blue birds chirping and water gurgling in the fountain extending from the Taj's entrance to the outer wall. The children were playing and running. The tourists (us) were looking around wild-eyed and snapping a dozen pictures. It was amazing. Our tour guide told us so much about the tomb and its motivation behind the construction. Basically this Moorish King had been married to three wives, but out of all of them only his third gave him such a promising heirloom of a total 17 children. She died giving childbirth, so it is out of remorse, guilt, and maybe a little obsessive awe that this King felt obligated to give her the best memorial in all of India. He spent away numerous funds of the kingdom so that his own son had to imprison him in the Agra Fort so as to control his unresponsible actions. The King had all the workers' hands cut off, or killed after the Taj Mahal was completed so that the design would not be replicated; however a few months later he wanted to construct a Black Taj in honor of his own death and he realized he needed new workers. AT this point his son said "enough is enough" and threw him in one of the rooms_not an unpleasant space, but nonetheless he was in prison.

After Agra it was another 5 or 6 hours to what will be known as one of my favorite cities, Jaipur_The Pink City. It is such a beautifully antiquated little place. There is an old part of the city and a newer part and both have their charms. I remember the window palace with hundreds of glass windows where women used to look out at the proceedings of the day. The entire building was impressive. I remember the fort palace on the mountaintop where one of the most beautiful women used to live. There was the water palace, still being guarded by soldiers, just lying half in and half out of the water; and yes there are rooms underneath the water. It was really a unique city. We were greeted by mountains and elephants as we went further and then I saw it; The GREAT WALL of INDIA. It looks exactly how I named it. We got elephant rides up to the top of the palace and got to explore this thousand year old regime on the mountains, it was amazing.

It is pretty obvious why they call this the Golden Triangle. It is like you hit some of the most magnificent treasures in India all in this little triangular region in the north. After playing tourist, we were ready to go to Hyderabad and become civilians, students, integrate ourselves into Indian life and culture.