The Oldest Living City on Earth

Bahhh!

Varanasi, the oldest city on Earth and one of seven most sacred Hindu cities in the India, is located on the banks of the Ganges river in the region of Uttar Pradesh, north-central India. Millions have flocked from all over the world to find salvation in the "holy" waters of the Ganges river, saving up over a lifetime to have their bodies cremated and ashes then dispersed in the river. It's prominence was so great at one time, Gautama Buddha gave his first sermon in Sarnath, only a few kilometers within the city of Varanasi. Though my stay in Varanasi was brief, the ancient feel to the city was palpable in every reach and corner, from the numerous ghats lining the riverbank to the ceremonies and processions taking place on a 24/7 basis. I began my day winding through the city, starting with some of its most esteemed institutions- a world renowned Hindu university, a monkey village! (no cameras sadly allowed) silk factories and the sites of temples centuries old.

Home of largest Hindu University

cheese!

girl talk

Woven hangings

Flower offering for the deities

Side street in Varanasi

Chillin' in pink.

Rikshaw

Outside a mainstream Hindu temple

Goats are a dime a dozen

The arduous process to create India's most revered textiles

India's "holy" cow feasting on a banquet of...trash.

TREASURES OF INDIA: AGRA FORT

Trying on an Indian garment for size (bindi not included)

Warning: Deep Hole!

Rare moment: father and son, viewing Taj Mahal from Agra Fort

Beautiful arches

My initials carved into History



Incredible detail work in sweeping arches

column aisle

How cute!!

Agra village

Taking it all in.

TREAURES OF INDIA: TAJ MAHAL

A palace fit for a queen

There are certain days in our lives we never forget: the jubilee of riding a two-wheeler for the first time, our first dollar from the Tooth Fairy, the day we come out of the DMV with an official driver's license- large status stuff. And then there's the day you witness one of history's most impressive marvels, and you do it in a country as foreign, exotic and extreme as India. Welcome to the Taj Mahal, ladies and gents...

outer grounds

girl taking water outside

detail work

inside the mauseleum

burial site

hi there

tiny ant-like people

Indians making the pilgrimage to their own

loved the colors and brocade embroidery on this Indian woman

series of arches

Indian school children visiting the Taj

Drawing replicas of the palace

Cheesy tourist pose, baby!

LOVE & LUV

As a sucker for love, I couldn't help posting some of my fave images/quotes for yours truly. This is the die-hard romantic coming right atcha, but I will always love fast and hard. Of course, with the years, I've gained some wisdom as well, and I'm not the same love-drunk fool I was in my starting years. But I will always be the girl who gives my heart and soul in everything I do, and to that right guy, nothing less than the best. So here's to that stuff that puts us on cloud 9, the stuff poets and crooners alike dedicate odes to- L.O.V.E.