Welcome to On•the•Move Musings: a weekly-update-series where I reflect on my time exploring the globe; a place to record all the little details from travel that, despite being so special, my pigeon brain could likely forget; a space to show gratitude for where life’s daydreams have taken me; a few moments to stop and write during the chaos of long term travel. I’ll be posting every Friday to share some good vibes and wanderlust before we head into the weekend!
Where am I? Hello from Agra, India, home of the Taj Mahal. This post will look a bit different because I’m writing on my iPad and can’t figure out how to add headers or a cover photo haha. Wow where to begin…
Musings: We’ve officially been in India for a week and it is sensory overload to the max. I was meant to post this update yesterday, but the train we were on took 16 hours instead of 10 so we didn’t arrive at our hostel until 2 am. That’s India for ya. I will speak more about the chaos in future posts once I have more time to process it. We are having an incredible time though– it’s just exhausting too. Another thing that I had never thought about until coming here is air quality, which shows how privileged I am to live in a place where that isn’t an issue. The air in some cities here is essentially toxic to breathe, and I have noticed. Walking around outside in Delhi and Varanasi made my lungs burn and I got winded easily.
Challenges: Trying to find alcohol other than whiskey! Your girl needs a glass of wine! I think it’s just very religious here and drinking is not common, especially not for women.
Walking around without being pestered for selfies. We wondered what people do with these photos of us, so we asked one of our guides and he said they post them online saying things like “my new best friend.” The other day I was lounging in the hostel common room reading and I was approached by 6 or 7 Indian men about my age who wanted to get pictures with me. It took about 5 minutes and 50 photos because they each wanted one with me solo then in various group shots haha. They asked my name and where I’m from, so I said Allison from the US. I just so happened to see the group of guys later on in the day and one of them came up to me to show me the photo he posted. The caption said “Alexa from Australia, my first foraner friend.” HAHAHAHA!! Also today at the Taj Mahal, we got stopped constantly for selfies, my face hurt from smiling. People were even handing us their children! Only in India haha.
Triumphs: gaining confidence crossing the street… turns out you just have to walk into oncoming traffic and hope motorists avoid you.
Words: I recall late November, holdin’ my breath
Slowly I said, “You don’t need to save me
But would you run away with me?”
–Call it What You Want by Taylor Swift
Photo taken at the spice market in Old Delhi, where the air is so pungent you start coughing and sneezing instantly upon entering.
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