My family and I recently went to India, and it definitely was an experience to remember. If you’ve ever been to another country, you’ll know that visiting somewhere that is unlike home can be quite a shock. Personally, I love traveling because getting to see and experience new things can be so exhilarating. It was no different here. First, we went to Delhi, the capital of India. A bustling city with so much life can be overwhelming but also so beautiful. We spent about a day in Delhi and went to a shopping market called Connaught Place. If you are ever planning on traveling to Delhi, put this on your list. There are so many stores ranging from places you might see here in the U.S.A. to shops selling things like spices or Lakshmi coins, named after the goddess of wealth in Hindu culture. The coins are used in ceremonies or rituals called pujas. For the next five days, we visited family in different towns called Etawah and Farrukhabad. In Farrukhabad, we spread my grandmother’s ashes in the Ganga (Ganges) River, which is a traditional Hindu ritual as an act of letting go of their spirit.

Next, we went to Agra to visit one of the seven wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum that King Shah Jahan built for his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is made completely of white marble and semi-precious stones. 

After Agra, we went to Jaipur, known to some as the Pink City for its pink sandstone buildings. One of those pink sandstone buildings was the Hawa Mahal, a stunning structure originally built so that women of the court could watch the streets and celebrations without being hassled.

 When we were staying in Jaipur, we got to stay in a hotel that was actually a converted battle fort. Another fort that we visited was the gorgeous Amber Fort with its castle-like architecture and was really cool seeing the comparison between a converted battle fort and a non-converted battle fort. Yet another sight to see in Jaipur is the Jal Mahal, which is a gorgeous palace that used to be King Sawai Pratap Singh’s hunting lodge. In a huge flood, four out of the five floors were drowned. On the bank of the Man Sagar Lake, the lake that it is drowned in, there is a large market full of shoes, jewelry, toys, and smells. Our final destination was back to Delhi where we stayed in the Akshardham Temple for two days. We got to go inside the temple and learn all about its history, which was an awesome experience. Have you ever tried to learn about other cultures and places?

Here are a few photos