Our plegrim tour around Nothern India
For our trip to India we decided to go on a group trip with a local guide since it is the best way to see the most of northern India.
Day 1
We took the plane and arrive in Delhi where we were transferred to our hotel. Our local guide was waiting for us in the arrival hall. He was waving his cardboard like a mad man when he saw our group. His name was Apu.
On the way to our hotel he skimmed through our agenda and gave us an overview of our trip.
We were staying at the Hotel Florence, situated in the middle of the city which was ideal!
Day 2
Around breakfast time we had a short briefing to outline our trip and also cover many aspects of travelling in India. Apparently we were going to take a short flight and head to Varanasi, also known as Benares, the oldest and the holiest of all pilgrim spiritual places of India and a high venerated city of Hinduism.
Few of us got scared to jump on the plane but thinking about what we were about to see made all theirs fears wash away.
So we got on the plane and we were enjoying the splendid view of the sacred Ganges River and the magnificent Himalaya which was covered in snow.
Around the afternoon we arrived in Varanasi and we checked into our hotel to freshen up a bit. Our local guide then took us to visit the ruins of the monasteries of Sarnath, the plaace where Buddha preached his first sermon. We saw numerous pilgrims wandering around this place, you could clearly notice that this is a holy spot. Buddhists from all around the world come to this place of pilgrimage to catch a glimpse of the monasteries.
We also saw a what is called a “Bodhi tree”. Apu told us that this is a particular type of tree where Buddha did some of his preaching.
Day 3
After a long night sleep we got up before dawn and made our way down to the river.
Apu had settled us a boat ride, he told us that at sunrise we would see a lot of pilgrim perform rituals along the river. So on the boat on the Ganges we saw many Buddhists perform Hindu rituals along the banks of the river. They were praying and washing themselves with the water. Apparently, this is also the place where they cremate their dead. Apu also took us through the Old city, a really ancient city which is famous for its peculiar lifestyle. We enjoyed the rest of the day to explore this spiritual place before catching an overnight train to Agra of 13 hours.
Day 4
After our long trip overnight with the train we finally arrived in the city of Agra! We were so thrilled to finally see the Taj Mahal.
Apu told us that the Taj Mahal has a beautiful love story behind it.
It was built by the Shah Jahan (do you notice the similarity with my name?) who was madly in love with his wife. Unfortunately, after giving birth to his 14th child, his wife died and this is when he decided to build her the most beautiful tomb. It took over 20.000 people to make this possible in just about 17 years. The materials were brought from all over India with marble from Rajasthan transported by over 1000 elephants.
When you arrive at Agra, you think that you’ll the Taj Mahal at first sight, but that isn’t true. It’s almost hidden. We arrive at the city and you first have to pass this enormous door before seeing the majestuous monument .
No picture on the internet could compete with the feeling you get when you see the Taj Mahal standing before you.
We had the rest of the afternoon off to visit other monuments and small flea markets.
Greets
Jihane
sources: wikipedia.com
