At the train station we really felt uncomfortable again. Train stations in general are not the safest places. The Agra station was no exception. We felt uneasy and were ready to get back to our hotel in Delhi. After we waited an hour or so our train finally arrived. We eagerly hopped on and headed back to the big city.
Once back we made our way to our hotel, this time by subway. It was easy enough to navigate by now. When I study a cities subway system for a few minutes I am usually able to make my way around without any problems. We fell right to sleep as soon as we got to the hotel. But before we laid our eyes to rest we noticed that a wedding or some sort of ceremony was held on the street in front of our place. There was a tent set up and it looked quite festive. Too bad we missed it. Oh well the next day we were going to have a great cultural experience.
We only had two more days in India, with one more item on our checklist. We had to take a cooking class. Just like in Thailand we were the only pupils. We took our class with a lovely woman named Jyoti. She runs her own culinary school out of her house called Gourmet Desire (found on TripAdvisor). After talking to her on the phone via Skype (wonderful invention for travelers we made our way to her home by her instructions via motor rickshaw. She told us the amount we should pay so that prevented us from being ripped off. Awesome!
When we arrived we were greeted by her and her assistant. It was a very intimate experience. We were able to go at our own pace and really ask all the questions we wanted. We made Naan from scratch We also made Chicken Tika, Masala, Somosas, and a few other dishes. It was wonderful learning about all the spices in her spice tins. We were now familiarized with the subtle differences of them all.
Of course after we made everything the three of us sat down and feasted. We sat and chatted over some Chai Tea in the living room over dessert too. It was great getting that real one-on-one with her. We learned a lot about her family and about Indian cuisine and culture as well.
Once our stomachs were too full we walked it off by going to a local spice market. She was able to get us great prices so we could take lots of spices back with us. After that we said our goodbyes and Latanya and I walked around the rest of the Bazaar. We bought a few other things like a couple of spice tins, a flat Naan pan, and of course a big bag to put all of our purchases in our backpacks were not going to be enough. We picked up a knock off Puma bag for really cheap. I am still convinced that you cannot tell it is a knock off though.
We finally made our way to the hotel. We made sure to pack up all of our stuff to get ready for yet another destination. The next day we really did not do a whole lot. Just puttered around the neighborhood. I think we sure got enough of an Indian experience. The next morning we were on our way home via England or were we?
Once back we made our way to our hotel, this time by subway. It was easy enough to navigate by now. When I study a cities subway system for a few minutes I am usually able to make my way around without any problems. We fell right to sleep as soon as we got to the hotel. But before we laid our eyes to rest we noticed that a wedding or some sort of ceremony was held on the street in front of our place. There was a tent set up and it looked quite festive. Too bad we missed it. Oh well the next day we were going to have a great cultural experience.
We only had two more days in India, with one more item on our checklist. We had to take a cooking class. Just like in Thailand we were the only pupils. We took our class with a lovely woman named Jyoti. She runs her own culinary school out of her house called Gourmet Desire (found on TripAdvisor). After talking to her on the phone via Skype (wonderful invention for travelers we made our way to her home by her instructions via motor rickshaw. She told us the amount we should pay so that prevented us from being ripped off. Awesome!
When we arrived we were greeted by her and her assistant. It was a very intimate experience. We were able to go at our own pace and really ask all the questions we wanted. We made Naan from scratch We also made Chicken Tika, Masala, Somosas, and a few other dishes. It was wonderful learning about all the spices in her spice tins. We were now familiarized with the subtle differences of them all.
Of course after we made everything the three of us sat down and feasted. We sat and chatted over some Chai Tea in the living room over dessert too. It was great getting that real one-on-one with her. We learned a lot about her family and about Indian cuisine and culture as well.
Once our stomachs were too full we walked it off by going to a local spice market. She was able to get us great prices so we could take lots of spices back with us. After that we said our goodbyes and Latanya and I walked around the rest of the Bazaar. We bought a few other things like a couple of spice tins, a flat Naan pan, and of course a big bag to put all of our purchases in our backpacks were not going to be enough. We picked up a knock off Puma bag for really cheap. I am still convinced that you cannot tell it is a knock off though.
We finally made our way to the hotel. We made sure to pack up all of our stuff to get ready for yet another destination. The next day we really did not do a whole lot. Just puttered around the neighborhood. I think we sure got enough of an Indian experience. The next morning we were on our way home via England or were we?
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