A little side note about myself before I get into this article…I live in a suburb off of Greenwich, CT and I have lived there for the past 2o or so years. My house is considerably smaller than those you would imagine in backcountry Greenwich, I don’t have indoor pools, a trust fund or even a Ferrari. Alas, I have been blessed by my family for taking me on the most beautiful vacations for as long as I can remember. They often remind me that we go on these vacations to soak up as much knowledge from the outside world and disconnect ourselves from the comfortable life we have left back home for awhile.
Now that I’m 23 years old, at times I look back on my fortunate life that I have had so far and appreciate what has been given to me. And it’s not long before I’m thrown out into the dark, cold and cruel world to fend for my own and I aim to create the same experiences for my children as my parents did for me.
This is an article solely to tell you, the readers, of how fortunate I was visiting these top 2 places in my lifetime so far and forfeiting all the tangible things that any normal person would die for. Instead, opt for a life where I can experience different cultures and sensations all with people that I love so dearly
1. New Delhi-Humayun’s Tomb-Taj Mahal-Ganges River
This past Christmas, I was fortunate enough to tag along with the rest of my family and meet up with my sister in New Delhi. It was towards the end of her 4 month semester abroad in India where she was applying her skills of public health to good use throughout the northern region, and we wanted to come, surprise her and have her show us around the city. After a 16-hour flight of death, we finally touched down in New Delhi. Moments before we landed, however, I peered out of the window next to me and saw slums situated every which way. I knew that it wasn’t going to be an easy transition from the comfortable life back home to witnessing troubling living situations that these people have to endure.
The very moment I saw the international airport in which we were coming into, I was baffled at how expensive looking it must have been to construct this monstrosity. It really seemed as if India took a quarter of their GDP and spent it on this airport. I felt like this money for the airport should have been instead allocated to improve the infrastructure, sanitation and housing of the people, but I’m no politician.
We successfully passed through immigration and customs, and we were met by an “agent” who was very familiar with our itinerary and other travel plans. The very moment we came out of baggage claim and outside, I felt like as if someone was choking me, while my eyes were watering from all the pollution that was surrounding us. Our agent told us that it’ll take a short while before we get used to these conditions. Turns out, that New Delhi is the MOST polluted city in the world, eclipsing Beijing, China. We met my sister in a tourist van, and my mother was crying and catching up on all the pop culture that my sister has missed. Instantly, we went wheels up towards the hotel for a much needed rest.
Early next morning, it was hard to detect the jet lag because we were very excited to explore the public treasures of New Delhi. We immediately had a nice continental breakfast and before we knew it, we were off sight-seeing.
Outside the weather was warm and most of the pollution was gone, so it was nice for us to see Humayun’s Tomb without coughing like intense chain-smokers. My sister already visited Humayun’s Tomb within the first week she was in New Delhi so she knew the whole back story about it and how Humayun’s Tomb was a model for the Taj Mahal and that it was a tomb for the Mughal emperor Humayun, built from 1569-70 by a Persian architect. As we were walking throughout the grounds, we were approached by visiting schoolgirls and Indian families so they could take photos of us and them. It turns out that in their culture, people with fair skin usually are super affluent and god-like, so I felt like almost a celebrity!
Afterwards we headed to lunch in a little hole in the wall in Hauz Kauz Village, which according to my sister, was the best location to get paneer tikka, butter chicken and garlic naan. We took her advice and it did not disappoint! For those who are unaware, paneer tikka is grilled cottage cheese with this amazing tomato sauce-esque sauce. Butter Chicken is the same but obviously without the cottage cheese. Garlic naan is essentially like garlic bread but on white and toasted pita bread…yet so much better. Truth be told, according to my family, there were reportedly “16 instances for lunch and dinner” throughout the entire vacation where I alternated between butter chicken and paneer tikka together with garlic naan!
In the second week, we took the same van towards Agra, where the famed and storied Taj Mahal stands. Through pictures on Google and accounts by friends who have already seen it, I could only imagine what was waiting for me a little ways down the highway. Finally, we arrived and headed towards the Taj with a guide in tow. Turned out, our guide was an expert choreographer and photographer so he showed us where the most clutch Instagram locations were and had my family fabulously pose in front of the Taj Mahal. As soon as I walked through the opening gates I laid my eyes on the structure and was immediately starstruck at the splendor of the pearl white structure in all of its entirety. Our guide informed us that it was the king’s wife who built the Taj Mahal for him where his tomb would later lie…if that’s not true love guys, I don’t know what is.
Towards the end of the trip, we stopped over to the Ganges River, in Varanasi which is regarded by Indians as the “City of Light”. It was hard to picture why, because there were almost no lights in the streets illuminating the “charm” of Varanasi. Instead, on the way to the Ganges River we walked through streets that just reeked of cow manure and terrible public sanitation. As we finally reached the Ganges, it was difficult to not see anyone not washing themselves in there. The Ganges River is a holy river and almost everyone goes and prays. Fortunately for us, our guide organized a boat ride down the river.
On the flight back home, I reflected to myself that I would never complain again, because seeing the people living in such harsh conditions really gave me some solid perspective on how lucky I am to not be living in squalor. Simply put, it was eye opening in every conceivable way about their culture and the way they live.
2. Punta del Este
Every February, since I was a small child, I was taken to a place where my father too, as a child, had grown up in the summers. Like New Yorkers who take summer weekends in the Hamptons, Argentines do the exact same thing and flock to their own Hamptons which happens to be Punta del Este. The life in summer there is simple and straight forward: wake up, head to the beach and surf the most outrageous waves, have a nice chivito (an Uruguayan delicacy involving a sandwich with fried egg, steak, ham, bacon and mozzarella) at a nearby shop by the water, nap up by the beach, come home and freshen up, and there’ll be an asado or barbecue with a paradise of all the cuts of meat you can ever think of…and there’s your day! Honestly, if I could have that life every single day I totally would.
-Nicholas Saichin
Very descriptive post, I enjoyed that bit. Will there be a part 2?
Expect a part II as soon as the end of next week!