“Welcome to the “asteroid” India!” - Duc Long, the tour guide of the group happily announced when the plane landed at Indira Gandhi airport, named after the first female prime minister of India.
Tuk tuks are a popular means of transportation for Indian people.
Deep rich-poor polarization
Although the temperature in early May reached 43 - 45 degrees Celsius, only the passengers in the car enjoyed the cool air conditioning, the driver was sweating profusely as he drove.
The driver and passenger compartment are separated by glass. There is no air conditioning in the cabin, not for safety reasons like in European and American countries, but because of… class discrimination.
The polarization on the tourist bus is a testament to the five-caste system that has persisted in India since before the Common Era. Servants of the lowest caste, in the past, did not even dare to come too close to those of the upper castes.
Indian women after marriage mostly do not work and often have many children.
Most of them wear old clothes and have a shy attitude when communicating. Unlike the story of the Hollywood movie “Slumdog Millionaire”, it is very rare for a person from the bottom of society to become a billionaire, or a beggar boy to become a technology expert.
In the capital city of New Delhi, it is easy to see makeshift slums everywhere, homeless people sleeping curled up on rooftops, on car hoods, on road dividers. Beggars extend their hands to tourists everywhere. But Indians are also very excited to beg for photos with any tourist as if they were asking for photos with celebrities.
On the highways, one can see motorbikes, groups of people standing in the middle of the road waving for cars, joggers and wanderers. And in many provinces of eastern India, cars often have to stop to wait for cows that have been lying down to sit up and walk away.
Despite being one of the top five countries in terms of GDP, India’s wealth is concentrated in the top few. The majority of the world’s most populous country – 1.44 billion people – live below the poverty line, earning less than $1 a day.
Overpopulation and scarce jobs mean that on the streets of India, in any city, at any time of the day, you can see many people wandering the streets.
A rare woman sells at a traditional market in New Dehli
The country is characterized by men going out to work, while women stay home to give birth and take care of the family. Therefore, it is rare to see women in the workplace, in business or on the streets. Many of the new generation of well-educated Indian women today do not even want to get married, to avoid having to quit their jobs and stay home after marriage.
Immortal love at Taj Mahal
But despite all that, India is still particularly fascinating and interesting with its impressively preserved history of the thousands of years of Ganges civilization.
Taj Mahal - India's symbol of eternal love
About 230 km from the capital New Delhi, a 3-hour drive, India's most famous white marble mausoleum is located in the city of Agra - one of India's three "golden triangles" of tourism: Delhi - Agra - Jaipur.
After nearly 400 years of construction, the white Taj Mahal is still almost intact, looking across the river to the Red Fort of Agra. The Taj Mahal is not only famous for the love story of King Shah Jahan for Queen Mumtaz Mahal, but also for its unique architecture, described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece admired by the whole world among the world's heritage sites".
With typical Islamic architecture, the most unique feature of the Taj Mahal is the symmetrical architecture on a square foundation with 4 arches, balconies, windows, towers... To build this great work, King Shah Jahan mobilized 20,000 skilled masons, stonecutters, mosaicists, painters, calligraphers from all over Central Asia, Iran... working day and night for 21 years.
The beauty and Islamic architecture of the Taj Mahal attracts millions of visitors every year.
The king's wish was to build a black mausoleum to match the mausoleum of his beloved wife. However, towards the end of his life, conflicts and power struggles led to him being imprisoned by his own son in a small room in the Red Fort overlooking the Taj Mahal.
After Shah Jahan died, his son laid him to rest next to his beloved wife at the Taj Mahal. Because the Taj Mahal had been completed long ago, the queen's tomb was placed in the middle, and Shah Jahan's tomb was placed on the right, which is also the only asymmetrical detail in the mausoleum.
The Taj Mahal is famous not only to world tourists but also to Indians themselves, as tens of thousands of Indian tourists still come here every day from early morning (6am) to admire the masterpiece.
One of the prominent architectural features in ancient Indian structures is red marble.
India is also a country with cultural and religious characteristics with many major religions such as Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism. Although it is the birthplace of Buddhism, the number of Indians who still follow Buddhism is very small compared to other religions.
However, Indians still have special respect for Buddhism, as right at Gandhi airport, visitors can see sculptures symbolizing the postures of Buddha's hands. The National Museum of India in New Dehli also has a whole area to display ancient relics of Buddhism as well as his relics.
Masala, chai tea, naan and tuk tuks
Similar to the Vietnamese, fruit, drink, and food carts flood the streets of India along with yellow and green tuk tuks. The characteristic of these dishes is that they are cheap, but not all tourists can eat and drink them because of the Indian spices.
Tuk tuks, street food are the most characteristic features on every street of India
Masala chai - a type of milk tea originating from India that is very popular among Indians of all classes. Chai in Hindi means tea. Unlike today's milk tea, the main ingredient of masala chai is black tea brewed with famous Indian herbs and spices combined with milk, sweeteners (sugar, rock sugar, jaggery, honey, syrup or molasses...) and masala spices.
Masala is a hot spice powder originating from India, made from other spicy plant ingredients, and is an indispensable spice in almost every Indian dish.
Indian women in colorful traditional costumes
Many studies suggest that masala chai milk tea appeared 5,000 years ago - becoming the soul drink of Indian cuisine. Ordinary Indians often drink chai directly from the sidewalk drink stalls, in handmade earthenware cups.
Richer Indians or tourists enjoy chai at 4-star and 5-star hotels, prepared by chefs. But wherever you drink it, chai leaves an unforgettable, distinctive flavor, mixed with the smell of cinnamon, star anise and many other herbs, the smell of masala spices with a slightly spicy taste.
Indians drink chai every day and eat naan every day. This type of bread originated in Central Asia and was introduced to India in the 10th century. Originally, Indian naan was made from whole wheat flour and baked over charcoal. Today, naan is made from a variety of flours, but the most popular is whole wheat sharbati.
In recent years, many Vietnamese tourists have chosen India as their destination for pilgrimage tours to the land of Buddha along the eastern cities of India and the "golden triangle" tour in the west. No matter which direction you take, India is a special land, an "asteroid" with so many strange things and must be visited at least once in a lifetime.
There are currently many flights from Vietnam to India. Most recently, on May 20, Vietnam Airlines opened a new route between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Mumbai (India) with 4 flights per week.
Previously, Vietnam Airlines also operated a direct flight connecting Vietnam and the capital New Delhi from June 2022.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhung-chuyen-doc-la-o-tieu-hanh-tinh-an-do-185240526175622823.htm
Comment (0)