I feel like I’ve had a good combination of independent travel and exploring thus far, but I’ve also had experienced tour guides and planned travel through SAS. I didn't have any scheduled plans on this particular day, so my friends and I just decided to explore Kochi. As soon as we disembarked, men were swarming us trying to get us to ride in their tuk tuks or taxis. Everyone wanted to show us around the city. It was pure madness! The men were extremely upset when we called an Uber to take us around the city. Our first stop for the day was at one of the most popular malls in India. We were expecting it to be full of traditional Indian shops but it was just like any mall in the United States.

After a quick stop at Pizza Hut, (Yes. Pizza Hut!) we went to Mahatma Gandhi Road also known as M.G. Road is a road in Bengaluru, India. M.G. Road which is a street with more traditional Indian markets. M. G. Road is also one of the busiest roads in the city and is lined on one side with retail stores, food outlets and restaurants. It has many office buildings and various shops. We spent the whole day exploring the markets. It was a busy day, but so fun to see a fast-paced, loud Indian city. I also had Mehndi inked on my arm. (Mehndi is a form of body art from Ancient India, in which decorative designs are created on a person's body, using a paste, created from the powdered dry leaves of the henna plant.)

Later that night we celebrated my friends birthday. I got back to ship super late and I had to be ready at 3:00 a.m. to leave again. I actually overslept, and my friend came to wake me up at 3:05 a.m. Thankfully, I was sleeping in my clothes, was packed, and ready to go!

At 3:10 a.m I met with my group and we boarded the bus to the airport. We had a two hour bus ride and a three hour plane ride on top of that. We finally arrived in Delhi, and we scarfed down muffins at the airport before hopping on another bus to start a tour. The first stop on our tour was Qutub Minar. The Qutub Minar is the tallest brick minaret in the world, the 240-foot-tall Qutub Minar was built in the early 13th century.

This is one of the oldest temples that was created by the Muslims from the destroyed pieces of a Hindu temple. This is the home to the tallest brick towers and it is 5 stories high!

After this stop we drove around New Delhi and saw the President’s house and the beautiful buildings that were built by the British.

Our next stop was at lunch, and of course we had Indian food. This is where I found a love for Naan bread. After the delicious lunch we went to the largest mosque in India, Jama Masjid. This mosque was absolutely gorgeous. The crazy thing was that we were in one of the most beautiful sites in all of India, and these men would not stop following us around and taking pictures of us. It was very awkward and so uncomfortable. My cousin Mackenzie had warned me about this.

We then got in a rickshaw and rode around the streets of Old Delhi. There was so much traffic and there was so much going on, we could barely move. So much sensory overload! Once the tour was over we went to the hotel, ate dinner, and passed out after such a long day.

The program that I was a part of was centered around animals and animal welfare. Today we spent several hours at an animal sanctuary for injured and abused animals. The animal sanctuary was in a village. We first got a tour of the sanctuary. There were dogs, cats, ducks, cows, pigs, horses, goats, deer, water buffalo, emus, and a parrot- all injured or abused and on the road to recovery. We spent the entire day giving these neglected animals love and affection. I spent the most of my day with the cats because I miss Charcoal (one of my black cats at home) so much! For dinner we went to the most amazing Indian tapas place. I don't think I've ever been so full in my life! because They kept bringing tapas and we bought that was our entire dinner, but then they served us TWO more courses.

This day was another long one full day of travel. We had a 5 hour drive to Agra. Along the way we made two very important stops! The first stop was at McDonalds. I have never been so happy to see those Golden Arches in my entire life. Fun fact- Indian Mcdonald's do not serve beef or pork. I had chicken nuggets!

The second important stop was at an Elephant Conservation Center. We toured the facilities and learned a lot about elephant welfare. Then we were able to meet all of the elephants. It was so amazing to meet these gorgeous creatures in person. I have just a few pictures from the conversation center. They were not fond of us taking photos. We finished up the long drive and had a late dinner at the hotel. Several other SAS groups were all staying at my hotel so it was great to see all of my friends after being separated for a couple days!

We had an extremely early morning. Today was the day that I had most looked forward to on this program. We watched the sunrise at the Taj Mahal, the most well-known historic building in India. The Taj Mahal is the most beautiful building that I've ever seen in my entire life. I cannot begin to describe the experience, but I was in complete awe. I wore a traditional outfit I had purchase earlier in the week. We enjoyed breakfast back at the hotel and then went back out to explore the Agra Fort. The Agra Fort was another gorgeous building and it had amazing views of the Taj Mahal. I had almost 13 hours of traveling to get back to the ship. I was able to get Krispy Kreme donuts in the airport!! I bought a 1/2 dozen of them forgetting that I couldn’t take them back on the ship with me!! We finally got back home to our ship around 2:00 a.m.

I slept less than 4 hours! I had signed up for a traditional yoga class this morning that I needed to get to. We went to a yoga studio where we learned about the history and cultural significance of yoga. It was amazing to learn more about yoga because I've been practicing for over two years! After the class was over I went back to the ship. I met up with my friends at the Teapot Cafe which was a super cute restaurant. We then hired a tuk tuk driver for the day and he showed us the best shops in Kochi. He then took us the the Chinese fishing nets which is what Kochi is known for. A fisherman let us come abroad his boat and we raised the nets. We wandered around the city until it was time to leave, and I sadly wished India goodbye!