Photo courtesy of Chris Smith.

The top-ranked Harvard women's squash team is traveling to India for an 11-day training and service trip. Members of the team will post regular blog entries on GoCrimson.com during their trip over the next few weeks.

Blog Post by Vidya Rajan '13 on Jan. 5
Blog Post by Alexandra Zindman '11 on Jan. 8
Blog Post by Cece Cortes '12 on Jan. 9
Blog Post by Vidya Rajan '13 on Jan. 10
Blog Post by Katherine O'Donnell '10 on Jan. 11
Blog Post by Johanna Snyder '10 on Jan. 12
Map of Harvard Destinations During Trip to India
Photo Gallery of Harvard Women's Squash in India

Blog post by Bethan Williams '11

Today we had the earliest start of the trip, getting up at 4am to make our flight from Chennai to Delhi. We arrived in India's capital at around 10am, and the first thing we noticed was that is was much colder there, being much further North. We were met by a large bus and began our long bus trip to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal.

After a long and sleepy drive, with many fascinating sights along the way, we reached Agra, and were stunned by the amount of people and traffic in this busy city. We drove past the Agra Fort, which is a grand fort not far from the Taj Mahal. We met our tour guide for the day, and he started his history lesson.

We left our bus behind and traveled to the Taj in a battery powered vehicle. The sheer number of people was overwhelming, but we were all incredibly excited about what we were about to experience. We entered the site, and walked towards the main entrance gate to the Taj. When we first saw the incredible marble structure, it seemed as though it was a mirage in the distance, since it was surrounded by a foggy haze. None of us could truly believe that we were at the most famous of the seven wonders of the world , and everyone was immensely impressed with the building and its surroundings. We learned from our guide that the Taj was a tomb built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife, in the 17th century. We walked around and inside the building, took a lot of a great photos, and learned a lot from our tour guide.

The team was in awe of the size and beauty of the Taj Mahal, both inside and out, and it was an incredible experience to share with each other. By this time it was evening, and the sun began to go down as we had to leave because the site was closing. The team said goodbye to our tour guide, got back onto the bus, and began the journey back to Dehli, where we were staying the night. The amazing sights we had seen made the 10-hour round trip journey to Agra more than worth it, and after the same journey back, we were ready for a good night's sleep in Delhi, and more sightseeing the next day.