In the summer of 2009, I visited India with my family. It was my third of fourth visit there, and it was undoubtedly one of the best ones. I experienced a lot of culture and tourism throughout my stay!

It started out with boarding the flight to London, from Washington D.C. I was with my aunt, brother, and two younger cousins. When we arrived in London, it was quite the scene. A countless number of travelers and greeters filled the airport. I noticed many different languages being spoken and lots of types of currencies. We soon caught our flight to Bangalore, India and headed off. We got a hearty welcome from my grandparents and uncle after arriving. After collecting our luggage, we went out to the car. As I looked around, I saw numerous autos, the Indian parallel to taxis. Motorcycles were also very common there. We got home and my aunt and cousins warmly greeted us. It was a wonderful feeling to be surrounded by so much family. My grandmother had made us a delicious meal of chapathi (a type of Indian flatbread), fried okra, and rice. The fresh smell filled my nose as I ate. All the food and sweets in India are a party for my taste buds with each of their unique flavors.

On my stay in India, I also went to some other smaller cities such as Mysore. My other grandparents live there. Wherever we stayed, the beds would always have a net-like canopy to prevent mosquitos from entering and biting you at night. The country is also very hot with occasional rain. On the streets, many vendors sell their goods and foods. Others walk the streets yelling out to the houses. You can witness stray, harmless dogs and cows roaming the streets as well.

There are many tourist destinations we visited. We went to many different temples, the place of worship for Hindus. The architecture and design is beautiful. Palaces are also popular sites. The Mysore Palace is a magnificent sight at night when all the lights turn on. Gardens, parks, zoos, and amusement parks make up the fun part or our trip. There are a variety of animals found at the zoo; the white tiger is always my favorite to see. Aside from exploring, a common tradition we have is setting off fireworks with my relatives. Diwali, the festival of lights, is a holiday where we celebrate with fireworks and colors. It occurs around December so we do not get the chance to celebrate it in America. Instead, we enjoy it later in India with lots of pretty and loud fireworks! Weddings are another pleasant event I enjoy. I went to one of my uncles’ wedding on my stay and it was a blast! All the fancy rituals and outfits are a memorable scene.

Traveling to India is truly an amazing experience and there are new excitements every visit! I love being able to spend time with my family, enjoy the culture and food, see the beautiful buildings, and just relax. It is the vacation that I will never forget and will look forward to each time.