Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Last blog from Udaipur, Rajasthan

The Taj Mahal in Agra is an amazing site. The structure is beautiful and is carefully maintained. Approximatel 10,000 people visit this wonder of the world. It is the most expensive admission fee that I have paid so far...Rs 750, just under $20 cdn. Other monuments and tourist areas charged the most Rs 50 each. Aside from the Taj Mahal, the city of Agra is actually quite disappointing. Hagglers were hazzeling us to buy souvenirs and many of them would not go away. The air in the city is the most polluted so far with burning smell and dust everywhere. The hotel room was expensive but was the worst one that I have stayed in.

The SFU program was officially over on December 4th with all of the students stayed back to do further travelling. Melissa, Alex and I flew to Udaipur in Rajasthan and enjoyed five days of vacation. Udaipur is a less populated town with rich history of Maharanas (Indian royalty). The hotel that we stayed in was a very comfortable one with good foods, a nice garden and a swimming pool. We visited palaces in the mornings and enjoyed leisure reading time back at the hotel in the afternoon. We found out that the main courtyard and one of the restaurants in the Maharana of Mewar palace can be rented out to public for parties and weddings. The cost of that is 50,000 US!

As I near my journey in India I have learned that it is the people who give this country so strong. I have interacted with many people and observed them on the streets through my car travels. I am amazed with the resilience of the people. I have seen people sleeping on dusty roads, children selling fruits and magazines on intersections of busy streets, women dressed in saris carrying baskets of rocks on their heads, fruit vendors, barber shop in a box like shop (or just on the road side), young toddlers playing around construction sites, men urinating publicly, people spitting, vast amount of garbage everywhere (garbage bins are rare here), people working in samosa stands, people praying and etc. These are some images that I will never forget. As a foreigner, my initial view was 'how do they live in such harsh conditions?' After talking to tailors, cafe owners, fabric merchants, small grocery store owners, hotel staff, taxi drivers, auto rickshaw drivers, Indian artists etc that I realized these are people are extremely hard working people who value friendship, the strength of their community and their religious beliefs. Although they live in conditions that are very different from Canada they are happy people with very strong family values.

The few cities of India that I visited gave me only a glimpse of the country. I am not sure if I will have the opportunity to return for future visits but I truly learned a lot from the people of India. India, India, thank you for sharing your history, beauty and your people.

I will be flying back to Canada on December 12. This trip also made me realize how fortunately I am to live in Canada. I also missed my family dearly and I look forward to see them in less than 3 days!

Nameste from India!!!!