Namastay pt. 1 - My Journey in India

February 27, 2020, the day I stepped foot in India's capital. Traveling to India was something I had dreamed of for so long, and it had finally become a reality for me. I was too excited for my 3 week trip. The culture, the food, the people, the landscapes, they were all equally exciting for me, I couldn't wait to take it all in and finally experience it first hand, not only through a screen. I got off the plane, and I instantly felt like I was home. Any problem that had bothered me before suddenly didn't matter. I was where I was supposed to be. Many people told me I was making a mistake by taking my first solo trip out of country. But with months of preparation, now was my time to shine and prove not only them, but myself wrong. 

I arrived late night and waited for one friend to meet me at the airport. We had never met in person before, but had been friends on the internet for some months by now, which in itself was an experience. As soon as I stepped outside of the airport, what seemed like a whole new world hit me in the face.. hard. I was in complete culture shock, and my only thought was, had my months of preparation and studies simply not been enough? I had only been in India for an hour, how could I survive for 3 weeks if I felt like I was dying in that moment? I took a deep breath, met my friend, and we took a taxi to the hotel. After catching up about our travels to the capital, we quickly went to sleep. Tomorrow would be the first day of my big experience, traveling around New Delhi and seeing things I never imagined I would actually see in person. 

The second day started bright and early, around 7am. My friend Rahul woke me up and said come on let's go, you can sleep when you get back to the States! If anyone knows me, my sleep is not something you should mess with. Despite my early morning anger, I quickly got out of bed, stepped out onto the balcony (IN INDIA!) and got a big deep breath of Delhi air: various Indian foods cooking and strong air pollution. I was so excited and ready to start my day. After freshening up and heading out the door, we decided to get some breakfast. A typical Indian breakfast, paratha and curd. This restaurant was close to the metro station, so we bought metro cards and didn't hesitate to jump on. Now when people had said India was crowded, I didn't think it would be THAT crowded. Not only by people, but so many animals roaming the streets as well. Animals from dogs and cats, to cows and pigs, they were everywhere! That day, we had visited the India Gate, Red Fort, and Jama Mosque. What my friend didn't tell me was that he had to leave that evening, I thought I had the whole day with his support. So my comfortability quickly turned into a bit of panic when he said he had to leave, and I had to fend for myself the next few days. But I was prepared and ready. He dropped me off at my metro stop, I got on and never looked back. I was now officially a solo traveler in a country across the world from my home. The independent feeling was strengthening. I was free, but still a little bit nervous. I mean I was in an entirely new place, with an entirely new culture with a language I barely knew. But I reminded myself that I am a strong woman and nothing would stop me. I took the metro to my stop, after making sure about 25 times that it was really my stop. I got some food, went to a beautiful garden, then returned back to my hotel. What a great day. I went to sleep early again... The next day was going to be crazy for me- my journey to Mathura and Agra. 

February 29, 2020. I woke up at 4am so I could take a taxi to Mathura, then Agra. I was afraid of being alone, and almost cancelled my entire day of plans, but I had I've never let a little bit of fear stop me before, so why should I now? There was no going back at this point, so I might as well enjoy my time. By 5am, I booked my cab so I could arrive in Mathura by 830, with plans of visiting an Elephant reservation at 9. It was still dark outside, so obviously I was a bit nervous to start my journey, but I had no other choice. I got in the cab, and the driver and I started the 3 hour journey to Mathura. We reached the reservation site, WildLife SOS. I learned so much about wildlife and had such a great time meeting the elephants and learning about their lives. It was a beautiful experience. Next, I got back in the taxi and had another hour of driving to reach Agra and see the magnificent Taj Mahal. Now, when you're planning a trip, you only plan the good things happening, not the bad. So my advice to you all, always give yourself extra time. I learned this the hard way. I arrived at the gates of Taj, and got out of the taxi. I had no idea where the ticket booth was. So many people were staring at me, I felt like I had 3 heads! Any person I tried to approach didn't know English, and I of course had only very limited Hindi vocabulary, so it was extremely difficult for me to communicate. Finally I found one person to talk to, and guess what I found out? Taj Mahal had been closed for the next 2 hours. My body instantly went into panic mode, I had no idea what I was going to do for the next 2 hours! I didn't plan for this! Now everything that I had planned so intricately was "ruined". I started walking having no idea where I was going. Tears were rolling down my face, and all I could think of was "God, why am I so stupid? Why did I actually think I could survive on a trip like this?" This is when a man approached me and said I had looked in distress and asked if would I like to come in his restaurant and relax for a little bit of time. I immediately said yes and followed him to the restaurant a few steps away.. tears now pouring down my face. YES Restaurant Agra was the name ofthe restaurant. I had been the only person in there at that point and the 3 male workers had no idea what to do at that point except for look at me. I wasso embarrassed. I calmed down, had some water, looked at the menu and ordered food. I finally felt a bit better. That's when the owner, Bilal, and I started to have a conversation. I explained to him how I'm from USA and was a bit lost, had no idea what I was doing or where I was going, and began to panic. He assured me that I was safe now and he would take care of me while in Agra. We continued our conversation while I was eating and we talked for hours. He was now a good friend of mine, and the first of many I had made in India. I finally felt brave enough to try to go back out by myself. I visited the Agra Fort and a sunset viewpoint of the Taj Mahal. The beauty of both places simply mesmerized me. The reality of me being in India hit, and I loved every moment of it. I began to cry again, but this time because of the beauty of the scene and the piousness I felt in myself. A storm began to roll in, so I decided to go back to YES Restaurant Agra. I was supposed to go back to Delhi that evening, but I didn't want to drive 4 hours in a storm. Bilal arranged a hotel for me, and I stayed in Agra for the night. This REALLY messed up my plans, but at this point I learned that my trip would not go as I had planned, and I was ready to go with the flow and take on the challenges brought my way. I returned back to Delhi the next morning, packed my bags and went to the bus station. My next destination was Jaipur.