A Compassionate Country committed to Colour, Culture and Celebrations

Wow.

India full stop as a country is just fantastic and I’ve only experienced three cities so far as a traveller.  First stop in a country with nearly 1.5 billion residents.  New Delhi is a working city with nearly 33 million people living there and as a solo female traveller realistically I did not feel safe. My experience of a few hours in the city was just pure chaos and torment.  TOP TIP: I created a huge problem for myself as I didn’t book my train in advance, then on arrival finding out the train was fully booked.  On discovering this news, a gentlemen felt it was appropriate to spit at my feet as well as projecting a devilish glare towards me.  TOP TIP: follow your instincts, if it feels wrong, it probably is wrong.  Therefore, at this point I decided that I couldn’t stay in New Delhi a moment longer as the only backpacker in sight, I felt uncomfortable and unsafe.  After hopping on a Tuk Tuk for 30p I discovered a certified tourism office and booked a private transfer to Agra.  Don’t forget to take photos of the licence and number plate and send to a friend or family.  It was a 4-hour drive, and I paid a whopping £90. Now in England it would have at least been 4 times that! So, I couldn’t complain. The driver also made me feel extremely safe and comfortable in the taxi and I arrived in Agra to check into Joeys Hostel Joey's Hostel | www.joeyshostel.com | Welcome to Joey's Hostel, the most central and cosy Hostel in New Delhi & Udaipur, Rajasthan I chose Joeys Hostel because of the great reviews and fascinating view of the Taj Mahal it offers.

The kind, caring and compassionate people of India just blew me away…As soon as I stepped outside of the hostel, I was treated with a huge welcome from young children wanting to shake my hand and greet me to their country. They were fascinated by the sight of me waving from every angle I looked, just to be acknowledged. I was completely overwhelmed with all of the kindness and smiles in this city. As a solo female I felt so safe within this city. The hostel staff were also amazing. Getting everyone involved in activities and I even got to perform in a thoda (pronounced as ‘tora’ means little in Hindi) concert whilst one of the staff members played the guitar.

Whilst in Agra there is plenty to see and do. My highest recommendation will surely be the Taj Mahal after all it is 1 of the 7 wonders of the world, and it does live up to it.  TOP TIP: We went at 5am in the morning to make sure we were first in and able to catch the reflections of the sunrise as it lit up the beautiful marble stone.  When you visit the Taj Mahal, you will notice that the four pillars surrounding the palace are slightly leaning out. This is so that if there was an earthquake the pillars will not destroy the beautiful building they guard. There was also a rumour spread that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan chopped off the hands of the architects and builders who created and build the Taj Mahal as he did not want anything to be built as beautiful. He built the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal has been standing strong and proud since 1648.

Whilst staying in Agra, India I was lucky enough to be there when they celebrated their Elephant God named Ganesha Chathurthi during a festival on my last day in Agra. This allowed me to be blessed by Ganesha. This was a small but simple ceremony for blessing each other it was touching and beautiful. Whilst one gentleman sang prayers, we clapped along showing our encouragement to the meaningful words. We then took it in turns silently speaking to the god and asking for a wish. Whilst we did that, we held a silver tray with candles and offerings, circling them in front of her face it was a magical experience. I did come away from this unique experience in India feeling blessed and refreshed. We were given a red dot on our forehead. This is called a tilaka, which represents a third inner eye. This eye is used to focus on God and religion. It can also represent your marriage status as a lot of single women wear black tilakas. We were also offered a red and yellow bracelet made of string with the colours of the Elephant God. I intend to keep this on as I now believe it will keep me safe throughout my travels. These moments touched my heart deeply, gave me time to reflect and it felt like an out of experience moment learning more about the Hindu religion and culture.

I felt welcomed into their country.

I’m now heading towards the busy city of Jaipur where I intend to learn more about this amazing country.

Your independent girl, Ella.