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My India Adventure (Part 8) – The Sun Tattoo, Goodbyes & The Journey Home

By Adventures, Happiness & Joy, Inspiration, Nature, Paganism, TravelNo Comments
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Sun Wall Plaque.

 I’d been thinking about getting a tattoo for sometime. I just couldn’t decide what or where. I knew it would be a permanent feature on my body, so didn’t want rush into anything.

Earlier in the week Eddie and I had gone shopping (see My India Adventure (Part 3) – Shopping in Delhi) and I had bought this sun wall plaque (photo left) as a gift for someone. As the week went by, I decided I liked the plaque too much to give it away and decided to keep it.

Then an idea popped into my head: Why don’t I get a tattoo like the sun plaque? So on the afternoon of my last full day in Delhi, I had it done. Here’s some photos of me being tattooed:

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Me being Tattooed.
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The finished Sun Tattoo – it looks superb, I couldn’t be happier with it.

Eddie came with me to get the tattoo done. It’s three inches by three inches squared. It was done by a Tattoo Artist at the Tattoo Work Shop in Connaught Place, Delhi, India. The Tattoo Work Shop was clean (all needles were single use and in date) and they showed me a portfolio of tattoos they’d done before.

The sun for my symbolises many things. I am a sun-worshiper in every sense of the word. Literally, pagans worship the sun. Figuratively, the sun makes me feel alive and energised. My sun tattoo symbolises my adventure in India, as well as my upbeat personality with the happiness and joy I hope to bring into people’s lives.

Eddie suggested the location of the tattoo placement on my back. I left the tattoo parlour pleased with the tattoo and with no regrets about having it done. My only slight disappointment is that where I had sunburned skin the tattoo’s colour has faded a little as it’s healed. Still, I can have it touched up.

That evening Robert, Michael and I had a farewell meal with Neha’s family. I presented Neha’s parents with a gift of a sun-shaped wall mirror to thank them for having me to stay and for treating me so well. We had a lovely meal, said our goodbyes and then headed back to the guesthouse. The flight was an early one.

At the guest house, Eddie called me. He wanted to see me last time, before my departure. I explained that I hadn’t even packed yet and that he wouldn’t get much sleep. But he insisted and I’m so glad he did.

The next day, Eddie waved me off as I got into a car to the airport with Robert and Michael. Neha would be flying over to Robert the following week.

The British Airways flight was relaxed and easy. Once at Heathrow Airport, London, Robert, Michael and I said our goodbyes and headed off in our own directions all destined for our own homes.

The luggage collection and immigration passport controls hadn’t taken had long as I had expected. So it turned out that I would have a long wait for my pre-booked Megabus journey. Plus the Megabus would only get me into Manchester six minutes before the last train home, which was risking it. So at the airport I spent a bit of money and booked myself on an earlier National Express coach.

I set off on the London Underground to Victoria Coach Station. From there I caught the coach and arrived in Manchester over an hour earlier that I had originally expected to. I got an earlier train for the final leg of my journey, meaning that I got home an hour earlier. I was glad to be home, tired after a busy but exciting week and worn out by the journey.

But I’m already excited for my next trip to India.

This is the final part in my series of blog posts about my India Adventure. Here is a list of the other posts in chronological order: My India Adventure (Part 1) – The Journey, First Impressions of Delhi, The Guest House & The Family, My India Adventure (Part 2) – The Wedding, My India Adventure (Part 3) – Shopping in Delhi, My India Adventure (Part 4) – Delicious Food, My India Adventure (Part 5) – Gandhi’s Grave & India Gate & My India Adventure (Part 6) – The Taj Mahal

Blog soon,

Antony

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Monday 31 August 2015

My India Adventure (Part 7) – Agra Fort

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, History, Inspiration, TravelNo Comments
IndiaJuly2015-Agrafort-0

Agra Fort Information Stone.

 On the same day that Robert, Neha, Michael, Neha’s family and I visited The Taj Mahal we also visited Agra Fort. I don’t know enough about Agra Fort’s rich history, but I do know about a legend…

Legend has it that the Emperor who built the Taj Mahal inherited Agra Fort. He desired buildings made out of white marble inlaid with gold and semi-precious gemstones, like the Taj Mahal. So he knocked down some of the existing buildings and rebuilt his own.

The Emperor was later deposed by his son and imprisoned in his white marble buildings (see photos Inside 5 and Inside 6 below) until he died. From his prison, the Emperor could see the Taj Mahal, where the ashes of his love rested.

It looks like it was quite a luxurious prison to me. No doubt he had staff to feed, water, bathe and cloth him. Along with maybe a few guards to make sure he didn’t try to escape.

Here are some photos of Agra Fort:

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Agra Fort Entrance.
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Agra Fort Outside (1).
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Agra Fort Outside (2).
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Agra Fort Inside (1).
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Agra Fort Inside (2).
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Agra Fort Inside (3).
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Agra Fort Inside (4).
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Agra Fort – you can see The Taj Mahal from a window.
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Another Agra Fort Information Stone.
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Agra Fort Inside (5).
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Agra Fort Inside (6).
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The Third & Final Agra Fort Information Stone.
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Agra Fort Inside (7).
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Agra Fort Inside (8).

In the next blog post in the series, I’ll tell you all about a permanent reminder I got to remember my India adventure. It will be published soon, so check back regularly for the next update.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Sunday 23 August 2015

My India Adventure (Part 6) – The Taj Mahal

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, Inspiration, TravelNo Comments
IndiaJuly2015-TajMahal-0

Taj Mahal Information Stone.

 The Taj Mahal is one of the seven Wonders of the World, so being in India I had to see it. I went with Robert, Neha and Neha’s family. The journey by car from Delhi to the Taj Mahal is about 3-4 hours one way, but is totally worth it.

All cars have been banned within a certain distance of the Taj Mahal because of fears that the air pollution might stain or damage the famous white marble building. To get to the Taj Mahal you are required to take an electric buggy. Before the Taj Mahal there is a gatehouse where you buy tickets. For foreigners the admission fee is currently ₹750 (about £7.50), although Indian citizens get admission much cheaper.

Through an archway you get your first glance at the Taj Mahal. You see it’s lush green gardens with it’s turquoise water fountains. There still some distance away you see the architecturally beautiful, ginormous and symmetrical feat that is the Taj Mahal.

There was no photography allowed on the inside of the Taj Mahal. However outside the Taj Mahal photos were allowed. The Taj Mahal is difficult to describe in words, so here are some of the many of photos taken:

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Taj Mahal Layout Board.
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The Taj Mahal first glance.
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The Taj Mahal with gardens.
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Taj Mahal selfie with me and Robert.
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Taj Mahal selfie with me and Neha.
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Taj Mahal selfie.
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Me with the Taj Mahal in the background (1).
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Me with the Taj Mahal in the background (2).
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Me with the Taj Mahal in the background (3).
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Close up of Taj Mahal.
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Taj Mahal one of the Towers.
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Taj Mahal entrance.
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The back of the Taj Mahal, across the river is where he wanted to build a black Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal was built by an Emperor as a mausoleum for his third and favourite and after she died during childbirth. He designed everything to look symmetrical from a distance. It was said to be incredibly expensive to build at the time and is considered priceless now.

As you get close to the Taj Mahal you realise that the four towers are actually titled outwards. This for two reasons. Firstly to give the impression from a distance that they stand straight. Secondly so that if there was an earth quake the towers would fall outwards not inwards onto the main structure.

Behind the Taj Mahal is a river. On the opposite side riverbank the Emperor wanted to build a black Taj Mahal as a mausoleum for himself. This would have continued his love of symmetry and created a mirror image. However a year into it’s construction he was taken ill and died before it could be completed.

One of his wives negotiated and got his ashes buried in the Taj Mahal, with his favourite wife. The joint burial tombs are ironically the only thing in the Taj Mahal that isn’t symmetrical.

I recommend that if you’re planning to visit the Taj Mahal or any other tourist attraction in India that you read up on them before you go.

I never post photos of people without their permission. For this reason photos of Neha’s family have been deliberately excluded as I didn’t get time to ask each family member for their permission to post photos of themselves here.

The next blog post of the series titled My India Adventure (Part 7) – Agra Fort will be coming soon. So keep checking back for updates.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Friday 21 August 2015

My India Adventure (Part 5) – Gandhi’s Grave & India Gate

By Adventures, Friends & Family, Happiness & Joy, History, Inspiration, Political, TravelNo Comments

Gandhi’s Grave

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Gandhi Quote.

 Robert, Neha, Michael and I didn’t intend to visit Gandhi’s grave, but on the day we went to visit the Red Fort it was closed, so we went to Gandhi’s grave which is close by.

Gandhi’s grave was probably my favourite and most significant place of all the sites I visited in India, because of the man it commemorates. Gandhi is seen as the Father of the Indian nation. He is on bank notes and deservedly put on a pedestal. I didn’t know much about Gandhi before I went to India. But when I came home and did some research, it resulted in the visit to his grave meaning even more to me.

Gandhi was an inspirational man. As an adult he was civil rights activist that believed in non-violent protest, non-violent civil disobedience, peace, community and was a leader in the Indian Independence Movement. He was known for being spiritual and religiously Hindu.

Gandhi to me was a enlightened soul, with his common sense ideas being ahead of his time.

One of the things I admire about Gandhi was that as a teenager he experimented with drinking alcohol, eating meat and sex (From: BBC – iWonder, last accessed: Saturday 8th August 2015). This showed to me that Gandhi was on a journey to enlightenment when he was younger. That Gandhi had fundamentally started out as a ordinary human being that went on to become enlightened, using his wisdom and good soul to influence and create some incredible changes in the world. These changes making the world a better place for everyone.

Gandhi apparently predicted his own death, mentioning that he thought he would be assassinated and hoped to be able to forgive the man that did it. Gandhi was on his way to a prayer meeting when he was shot three times in the chest by an extremist. Gandhi who had believed in peace, hope and the best of humanity had been violently murdered. India and the rest of the world mourned his loss.

Apparently some of Gandhi’s ashes are buried in this memorial. Here are some photos of Gandhi’s grave:

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Walk up to Gandhi’s Grave.
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Gandhi’s Grave: Where his ashes are.
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Gandhi’s Grave gardens (1).
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Gandhi’s Grave gardens (2).
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Gandhi’s grave – beautiful tiled flooring.

One of the most interesting information stones there was Gandhi’s Seven Social Sins (photographed below). Here they are as photo and text:

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Gandhi’s Seven Social Sins, from ‘Young India’ (1925)

Seven Social Sins
1. Politics Without Principles
2. Wealth Without Work
3. Pleasure Without Conscience
4. Knowledge Without Character
5. Commerce Without Morality
6. Science Without Humanity
7. Worship Without Sacrifice

(From: ‘Young India’ (1925))

Reading this was like seeing a reflection of what’s going on in the world right now. I remember thinking that if Gandhi was around now he’d constantly be leading peaceful protests and marching in them.

India Gate
India Gate is a war memorial to all fallen Indian soldiers. The Gate is ginormous. In the middle of the gate is the monument. It’s a raised platform that has a statue of a black gun with matching soldiers helmet resting on top of it. There’s a flame that is always kept burning and soldiers in ceremonial dress. See photos below:

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The Empty Canopy
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India Gate: A War Memorial (1).
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India Gate: A War Memorial (2).
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Me pointing out a feature on India Gate.
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India Gate close up (1).
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India Gate close up (2).

The next blog post in this series titled My India Adventure (Part 6) – The Taj Mahal, I will be sharing photos of Taj Mahal’s architectural brilliance. The post will be coming soon, so keep an checking back for updates.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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Wednesday 19 August 2015
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