Student blogger Will Putzier (Certificate '20 + Johns Hopkin SAIS MA '21) shares pictures and experiences of his travels throughout India during the HNC Winter Break over the Chinese New Year holiday.
I was fortunate enough to travel to India with an American
friend before the spread of the virus accelerated outside of China. As another
massive country undergoing tremendous change, it was a thrilling and
eye-opening trip. Our travels were broadly split between the north (Delhi,
Agra, Jaipur) and the south (Kochi, Munnar, Goa, Mumbai). India’s cultural and
natural diversity was astonishing.
I was captivated by the Mughal architecture of northern
India. Humayun’s Tomb, Fatehpur Sikri, and the Tomb of I’timad-ud-Daulah were
some of my favorites. The Taj Mahal is rare among world famous sites in that it
still manages to exceed expectations. The grandeur of the mausoleum was moving.
Besides the sights, I loved the food and watching people on the streets.
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| Dawn at Humayun's Tomb in Delhi. |
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| The Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. |
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| Entering the south gate at Akbar's Tomb in Agra. |
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Fatehpur Sikri in
Uttar Pradesh. I have more than
100 photos of archways from this trip… |
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| Thali for lunch. |
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| Golden hour in Jaipur, Rajasthan. |
The second half of the trip was spent in southern India. It
was slightly less overwhelming because there were relatively fewer people and
our itinerary was not packed each day. We enjoyed Kerala, where we spent a day
on a river boat cruise outside of Kochi, and watched sunsets in tea fields in
Munnar. One of the most popular sights in Kochi is the Chinese fishing nets,
which are so named because they are believed to have been introduced by
explorers sent by Kublai Khan or famed Ming admiral Zheng He.
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| Chinese fishing nets in Kochi, Kerala. |
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| Sunset over a tea plantation in Munnar, Kerala. |
A baggage snafu en route to Goa left us with no sunscreen.
We found out the replacement sunscreen we bought was defective, turning a day
at the beach into weeks of burnt, peeling skin. Overall the trip to India was a
fantastic experience I recall fondly in my current sequestration.
Written by Will Putzier (Certificate '20 + Johns Hopkins SAIS MA '21)
