India and Mauritius :)

it's definitely been a while since my last post and I've LOTS to tell and 4 countries to cover! For this post I'll just cover two of the countries...India and Mauritius

The india adventure began in a tuk tuk (a type of motorized bike taxi) with a slap to the face of dust and sewage smells. A group of 8 of us took the tuk tuk to a hotel for some gourmet indian cuisine to start the trip off right. Two of the guys with us decided it would be a good idea to ask the chef for the hottest peppers he had to offer....needless to say they quickly regretted that decision after the first bite! We spent the rest of the day at a mall/ market and further perfected our bargaining skills.

Most of us ended up not sleeping that night because we had to meet for flight to Delhi at 3:30am!

While in Delhi we saw an old mosque, cows randomly crossing the road, and had lunch where we were serenaded by a little indian boy dancing around our tables.

The next stop was to the city of Agra and we had to wake up that morning at 4 am to catch a train at 5am! The train station there was one of the dirtiest places I've ever seen! People were sleeping all over the place..against walls, cuddled up on the dusty floors, and even posted up against trashcans. The train car we were in was considered "first class" but that was only because it had air conditioning! The train car itself was super super dirty....I didn't even want to sit on the seat!

We finally got to Agra and got a nice breakfast at a hotel that looked out to the Taj Mahal in the distance. After breakfast it was off to the famous Taj Mahal!

Of course we ran into monkeys on the way and had to stop and feed the little guys. None of us had any food with us except candy...so that's what one of the monkeys got! That monkey quickly grabbed the candy and starred at it for a good minute before realizing it wasn't a banana...but he ate it anyway; food is food!

We finally got to the Taj and took our sweet time looking around. Everything about the structure was incredible; from the symmetry to the marble to the carvings! While looking around, casey and I probably had 4 different groups of indians come up and want pictures with us "american girls"....I thought for sure all that stopped after china...guess I was wrong!

The next stop was to Agra fort, a marble shop, then off to a deserted city, and then we headed out for our 6 hour bus ride to Jaipur...aka "the pink city".

We arrived in Jaipur around 9pm and just in time for another gourmet indian buffet and a party with 6 DJ's all in the comfort of our Ramada hotel! First of all, 6 DJ's playing in a hotel we were staying at? That's a college kid's dream come true! Second of all, a 5 star RAMADA? That def. Doesn't happen in the states!

After breaking it down with the locals the night before, we woke early to venture into the pink city and catch elephants up to the Amber Fort. Yup that's right...ELEPHANTS! We rode two by two up a mountain on elephants and were greeted at the top with awesome indian music!

After that exciting morning we went to a small family owned textile and carpet store where we watched and learned how they literally made everything by hand! It's no wonder they charged about $800usd for a bathroom sized carpet!

The rest of our time in the pink city was spent in markets, more tuk tuks, and by the pool on the roof of the Ramada hotel.

The next day was a travel day to the city of Cochin. That night it was a good friend's 21st birthday who rented a party room in a hotel for all of SAS to celebrate her bday. Between the room and DJ, I felt like I was in middle school again at a bat mitzvah! Of course we all managed to have a good time!

Next stop: the paradise island of Mauritius! We were only there for two days, but it was the best 2 days ever!

I along with 60 SASers rented 3 villas in the same small complex right on the beach! I'm sure you can guess the shenanigans that went on from there!

More to come on South Africa and Ghana!