Once upon a time, I wanted to go on a big adventure to Egypt in 2023, but things changed. There was some trouble near Ukraine, and I got worried. So, I decided to change my plans. I thought about going to a country I’ve never been to before. But it was hard to choose. Luckily, I always go to the same travel agency when I go on trips alone. They have lots of trips for people like me. Mr. A, who works there, has been on many trips with me before. He’s really good at his job.

One day, Mr. A suggested going to India. At first, I didn’t feel too excited about it because I didn’t really want to go there. But I trust Mr. A, so I said yes. On January 11, 2024, we flew from Haneda to Delhi, the capital of India. It was a long journey, about 10 hours. When we landed, it was 7 in the evening local time. We stayed at a hotel that night.

The next day, we went to see a temple that looks like the Taj Mahal. Then, we went to Agra to see the real Taj Mahal, which is made of beautiful white marble. The third day was the best part of the trip. I wore a sari and walked around the Taj Mahal. I brought sandals from Japan, but my feet hurt after walking 13,000 steps inside the Taj Mahal for about an hour.

There were eight people in our group, and some of them were older, even 86 years old! It was funny because lots of Indian schoolgirls were surprised to see us. They had never met Japanese people or older people before, so they wanted to take pictures with us. It made me happy to take pictures with them.

In some western countries, people often thought I was Chinese. But in India, they knew I was Japanese and asked me, “Are you Japanese?” It felt good to be recognized.

The next event was at the Taj Palace Hotel, where we danced and had fun.

At first, I wasn’t sure about going to India. But after wearing fancy clothes and seeing beautiful places, I changed my mind. Traveling to India was a special experience that I will never forget.