Essence of India

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This morning all of us were feeling very well rested and ready for another day in Varanasi. Katrina had a wonderful Indian breakfast. She ate upma and puttu (crushed rice and coconut) that is steamed and served with banana and milk appam (thin crepe-like pancakes). Izel had eggs on appam and I had fruit and puttu.
We visited Bharat Mata, a Hindu temple that is the only one dedicated to the Mother India. This temple was inaugurated by Gandhi in 1936. The most interesting part of the temple is that there is a three dimensional map carved out of marble of the whole Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan Plateau. The map is in perfect scale both vertically and horizontally with all rivers, mountains, oceans, and plains all clearly visible.
We had to be very respectful when we went in to the temple. We had to make sure our shoulders and legs were covered. This was a matter of wearing our new saris.
We have to travel back to Dehli today to catch our flight home. I must say India was a unique experience. I would definitely go again.

If you would like to read more about Varanasi, go to this link http://www.varanasicity.com/.

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Hi, it's Jenna again...
Yesterday, after we checked in to our hotel, we had dinner at the Gulab Mahal Restaurant. We paid about 1250 Rupees per person which is about $32.00. The meal was delicious.
Today Katrina, Izel, and I began our tour outside of the “Holy City”. We traveled to Sarnath, where it is said that Buddha delivered his first sermon. (1) Sarnath is a place for Buddhist pilgrimage sanctioned by Buddha himself. (2) We saw monuments and temples dedicated to Buddhism.
After that, we went back into Varanasi and spent the rest of the day walking around the city and the Ganga Ghats. The Ghats are very important holy spots for Hindu Pilgrims.
Tonight we will be staying at Clarks Varanasi Hotel. Clarks is one of the oldest hotel chains in India, so we are expecting traditional Indian hospitality.

We went up to the Agra Fort today or otherwise known as the Red Fort. 1.The Red Fort is built of red sandstone that dominates a bend in the river Yamuna. 2.This majestic citadel was crunstructed by the Mughals under the direction of Emperor Akbar. The fort has amzing mosques and palaces of red stone and white marble. It was quiet the sight to see. Since this is out last night in Agra we are hoping to relax in the bar of our hotel and just have a few drinks before we take off to Varansi. I wonder what kind of adventures we are going to get into there!!!

The Agra Fort or know as the Red Fort as well

Well, we were up really early this morning, before the sun was up, and took tongas, which are horse drawn carriages, up to one of the seven wonders of the world; the Taj Mahal. We got to see the sunrise which was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The Taj Mahal opened up at 6 am and closes at 7 pm everyday except on Fridays. Fridays are reserved for prayer. It costs us all 970 rupees to get in per person. From what we gathered from the tour we took, 1.the Taj Mahal was built by the fifth Mughal Emperor Shan Jahan. He built it as a resting place for his beloved wife who died during childbirth. 2.The Taj Mahal took 22 years to build and 20,000 men to build it. Now that’s true love! Since we were all up so early I went back to the room to catch up on some sleep, I am so not a morning person! Jenna and Izel went off to do some shopping and we met back up for diner. Izel and Jenna bought some beautiful Saris which is traditional clothing that women wear. As well some really nice gold jewelry.

Taj Mahal at Sunrise

Saris that Jenna and Izel bought

Indian Gold Jewelry that Izel and Jenna bought

Link to Virtual Tour of the Taj Mahal http://www.taj-mahal.net/

So today we took the 6 hour drive from Jaipur to Agra. On the way to Agra we stopped at Fatehpur Sirki, a world heritage site.1. Fatehpur Sirki was a city built by the Mughal Emperor Akba between 1571 and 1585. He built this city as his capital but because there was a shortage of water, he had to abandon it. 2.It remains in the same condition as it did 300 years ago. It was so cool to see an abandon city. It made the 6 hour drive to Agra totally worth it. When we arrived in Agra we checked into our hotel and then went to a local restaurant and had some of the local food. It was a good thing I packed the Pepto-Bismol!! Now we are all off to bed we have an early morning tomorrow and are off to see the Taj Mahal.

Fatehpur Sirki My Indian Dish