Riding an elephant

Here are some more pictures from my trip to India. I got to ride an elephant while I was there and it was so much fun!!! Exhilarating and fun!!

Me on the elephant (freaking out right now that I'm going to fall)
Taking a ride around the block!


The elephant kneels down and you have to climb up the backside.

First you step on the back leg, then you climb onto the tail and then you have to climb up the butt to the top. It was scary to climb on it.

All dressed up for us.

My second ride. A lot less scary this time.

Me and my new friend.

This is Qutub Minar in New Delhi. One of the coolest things I saw while there!

Look at all the detailing on the minar.

It was really high

This is the Iron Pillar. It was built around 4 AD and has NEVER rusted. Isn't that amazing?

A shot of the Iron Pillar and Minar together.

One of my last nights in India. With my niece!

India Part 3 (I got Henna!)

More pictures from my trip. I promise to only do one more post from my trip. There was just soo many pictures! Next one will be about my elephant ride!

India Gate (Tomb of an unknown solider)
The President's House

Monkey!!

The Lotus Temple

So cool


Look at the petals. So detailed

I got Henna done. This is what it looks like while drying.

So goopy and tempting to close my hand while it dried.

After. Look at how detailed!!


It cost me only 2 bucks to get this done!

India Part 2

I went to this fort with my brother. It was a fort but also where people lived, worked and shopped. It was huge!!
I look so tiny compared to the walls!

You can see the foundation still there and most of the walls are still up.

A mosque that was across the street

Me under an Arch. I don't know why but I love to take pictures under arches. lol

Not sure what this was, but looked really cool.

You can see the mosque through the little window. (AKA me trying to be artsy)

A little house (also me under another arch)

I'm Back!!!

India was amazing!! I'm soo happy I got the chance to visit there. It wasn't scary like I was kinda expecting it to be. While there is a huge culture shock, it was great to experience it and see how differently people live. I got to see a ton of sights and amazing places. I took like 600 plus pictures while there! lol. While I won't show you that many, I am going to probably do multiple posts about my trip. There is just too much to talk about!

The first place I visited while in India was the Taj Mahal. It's one of the seven wonders of the world. There was no way I could not go there. While it was about a 4 hour drive to get there from New Dehli, it was totally worth it. It is truly gorgeous and something that people need to see in person. It's just amazing.

This is the main gateway (Darwaza) that you pass through to get into the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal. Where the tombs are.

Me in front of it!

A picture that almost everyone takes while at the Taj. But really fun!!

Look at all the detail. Just amazing

This is the guest house. On the other side of the Taj, is a mosque that looks exactly the same. When building this, they wanted everything to be symmetrical.

Shoe covers you had to wear to go inside the building.

The tombs. These aren't the actual tombs (they are underground) but an exact replica.

Our guide really knew where to take cool pictures. This is a picture of the guest house, taken inside the Taj.

Another great picture that the guide knew to take.

And cows in the middle of the street while we were on our way home! Something you don't get to see every day!

Stay tuned to see more pictures of my trip!!

Only 4 days left!

I leave for India in 4 days!! I can't believe that it's so close! Usually around this time I would start to panic about the upcoming trip. I tend to get bad anxiety whenever I travel, but right now I find myself excited and not anxious at all. It's a weird feeling.

I mean don't get me wrong, I'm a little nervous about being in a new country and the culture shock that will go along with it. But that's normal. Whenever you go somewhere and don't really no what to expect, it's totally normal to get a little nervous about that.

My crazy abnormal freak outs are not there though. Me thinking about every possible thing that could go wrong, worrying about fitting in my plane seat, and so many other things that would plague me in the days leading up to me leaving are just gone.

I don't know what's change, but I like it. Maybe it's because of the weight loss and my increase of self confidence. I feel the same way I did when I studied abroad. Nervous but really really excited!

It's almost here!!

I can't believe that in less than two weeks I'm going to India!!!!

It still hasn't really hit my yet. I keep on forgetting that it's this soon. I have so much I still need to get together and I need to start making my packing list. Right now is there "cold season" but by cold they mean the high 60s and 70s. Which to me means short sleeved, but my sister in law says she wears sweaters and stuff. Ugh. I hate not knowing what kind of clothes to bring.

My plan for now is to layer layer layer.

The other problem I have is since I've lost so much weight since the summer, my summer clothes are way too big. I'm hesitant to buy a lot of summer clothes because I plan on being even smaller by the time actual summer here rolls around.

I know that doesn't really sound like a problem. Ohh boo me for having to buy smaller clothes. wahhh. lol. But I'm trying to save money and would like to not waste money on something I won't be able to wear after a month.

So any suggestions on how to pack for my trip???

Trip of a Lifetime.

It's official. I am going to India!

I got my visa in the mail yesterday and quickly booked my plane ticket before the fares go up again. Also can I just say, I'm so so so thankful that Continental offers a nonstop flight to India! It's bad enough that the flight is over 14 hours, but having to do a layover would have killed me.

I am going for 11 days total and I can't wait to see everything I can. Specifically I can't wait to see the Taj Mahal.

I'm also scared shitless. Seriously. I'm worried about the culture shock, and even though I am visiting my brother, his wife and my baby niece, they will have to go to work. So most days I'll be by myself. In a country were I can't speak the language.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I couldn't pass it up because I'm a little scared. Once I'm there I'll be fine. And I know I'll make memories I will never forget.