Our hotel is theLalit Hotel, which is a beautiful hotel in the downtown section of Delhi. I was struck by the security at the hotel which was implemented at all major, hotels following the terrorist attack on the Taj hotel in Mumbai in 2008. The undercarriage of our car and the cargo area were searched,our suitcases and bags were scanned and we had to go through a security scanner as we entered the hotel– every time we entered the hotel. There are guards everywhere!
Qutab Minar
We then went to the Lotus Temple, a B’hai temple built in the shape of a Lotus blossom, situated in a lovely park-like setting in the middle of a busy Indian city.
Lotus Temple
We went inside where we spent a couple of minutes in complete silence – meditating, praying or simply being silent and still for a while. The building is stunning and the quiet in the midst of such a busy Indian city was certainly an interesting contrast.
We then went to a Kashmiri shop werewe saw an array of absolutely beautiful rugs made from cashmere, yak, and silk. Yes, I succumbed and bought one that is going to look beautiful under my dining table in Calgary! Alice bought 2 – and has actually run out of floor space to put them on!
Then it was back to the hotel where we had a good Indian dinner and headed off to bed to catch up on the sleep missed on our over night flight the night before.
March 12, 2011 - Delhi
After a great night’s sleep and a good breakfast we met our guide, Diljeet, who took us first to Old Delhi. This is more like the India I expected, but still not scary at all. Our first stop was Jama Masjid, a muslim temple built in 1656 by the same emperor who build the Taj Mahal. It is the best and most well-known mosque in India and is made of beautiful red sandstone. To get there we walked through a street of stalls selling just about any/everything you can imagine.
Market in Delhi
It was colorful and the people were interesting to watch. There were beggars, one young boy being especially persistent, but I’m a tough old bag and ignored the pleas. If you succumbed to one you’d be doling out cash all day – much like the bears in the mountains who don’t understand when you’ve run out of food, the beggars likely wouldn’t understand that you are out of money.
After the mosque, we went to Raj Ghat , the site where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated. It is now a memorial park, maintained by volunteers. An eternal flame burns there and every Friday a remembrance ceremony takes place there. The flowers there were beautiful and it was a very peaceful place.
Our next stop was an amazing Sikh temple – the Guruwara Bangla Sahib. This was not actually on the tour itinerary,but our guide, Diljeet, is Sikh and he was very proud to show us the temple and talk about all the good works of the Sikh followers. We had to remove our shoes and put an orange scarf on our heads (we were lovely – sarcasm), and we entered the sanctuary where people come to pray before the holy book.
Me wearing lovely orange scarf at Sikh temple
Our guide kept emphasizing the cleanliness of the place. As we left the sanctuary we received a sweet made of flour, butter and sugar and went to taste the water which was reputed to be what saved the entire population of Delhi from small pox. Anyone may come to the temple for a meal. Volunteers have served breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for an amazing number of years (I can’t remember the number, but it was huge). He toured us through the kitchen where we observed the volunteers preparing and cooking the chapattis and stew that is served for lunch. We also watched the people to be fed entering and being seated on the floor and served a tray of food. It was all incredible!
We then visited the Gandhi museum which is onthe site where Gandhi was martyred. It was very interesting and, as you would expect a very beautiful and peaceful setting.
Then back to the hotel, where we spent some time at the pool before dinner.
March 13, 2011 - Delhi – Agra
On the way out of Delhi, we made a stop at Humayan’s Tomb. This is the tomb of a 16th century Mughal emperor and was commissioned by his wife. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is undergoing restoration. The tomb is one of the first structures that was built of the red sandstone that we were to see a lot more of on our tour.
The drive from Delhi to Agra, a distance of about 250 km, took about 5 hour, a good deal of that time spent getting through and out of Delhi! Traffic is exceedingly slow moving in India, but it gave us plenty of time to see the ‘real’ India. Some of the unusual (for a North American anyway) sites I saw were: a barber on the side of road (complete with his chair and stand with mirror), tuk-tuks carrying at least 20 people, women in beautiful saris perched on the backs of motorbikes holding infants, cow pattie bricks piled up and huts made out of these, piles of garbage everywhere, brahma cattle everywhere, goats, camels pulling carts, people carrying enormous loads of crops on their heads, beggars at stop lights, traffic – how do they not get killed? Much movement! Our driver is so good – been driving for 20 years. He told us the 4 things needed to drive in India are: 1) Good brakes, 2) Good horn, 3) Good luck, and 4) Good patience!
As we approached Agra, we stopped at another tomb – the tomb of Akbar the third Mughal Emporer, the son of Humayun(he of the tomb we saw earlier in the day in Delhi). The grounds were lovely and the structure was magnificent, made of red sandstone and marble (Agra is known for marble). We then set off through Agra to our hotel since it was now late afternoon. We drove through many market areas, past the Red Fort and had our first view of the Taj Mahal from a distance – breath-taking!
We stayed at the Jaypee Palace Hotel which reminds me of an old colonial hotel that has been updated. We ate at the Indian restaurant where we tried some more unusual dishes that I really enjoyed.
March 14, 2011 - Agra
TAJ MAHAL!! We could have spent all day here. It truly took my breath away when I first caught sight of it through the gate.
My first view of the Taj Mahal
It is completely symmetrical – the same from every side - including the gardens; and there are several optical illusions that change the view as you approach the Taj. There are photographers all over the place offering their services to take professional (?) photos of you in front of the Taj. We caved in and hired one, and it was somewhat like being followed by a wedding photographer! He stopped us at all the right spots as we approached the Taj (it’s a 1.5 km walk) and posed us, shooed other tourists and photographers out of the way, etc. The results were ok – would have been better if either us had given a thought to what we wore for the day - but we now have these wonderful memories!
Not so professional photo ofme at theTaj
Our guide was very knowledgeable about the Taj Mahal and told us the entire story, all about the design, construction, materials, labour, length of time to build, etc. The grounds are lovely and lush. To walk into the Taj Mahal building itself you have to put booties (like surgical booties) over your shoes – which we preferred to having to remove our shoes and go barefoot as we had at all the previous temples (will our feet everbe clean again?).
Our guide then took us to a local marble shop, under the ruse of showing us the tools and how the craftsmen work with marble. That’s code for, “come help our economy by buying something.” We happily obliged, but my luggage is now sooooo heavy!
Our next stop was the Agra Red Fort which is 2.5 km longand contains many palaces. This is where the emperor who built the Taj Mahal was imprisoned by his son in a tower where he had a view of the Taj Mahal, so he spent the remainder of his days looking at the reminder of his beloved.
Much of the fort is now occupied by the police and the military, but we toured all that is still open to the public. It is made of red sandstone that is much harder than the sandstone I am familiar with from North America. Most rooms also had carved marble and inlaid marble panels, most of which had been vandalized over the years, so the precious stones were no longer there.
It was late in the afternoon andvery hot when we ended our tour of the Fort, so we headed back to the hotel for a beer (or two) and some relaxation. I have enjoyed the pace of this trip – we have seen a lot, but are not too exhausted by the end of the day.
March 15, 2011 - Agra to Jaipur
We surprised our driver this morning by being on time and off we headed to Jaipur. Along the way we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri which is another red fort built by some emperor (I'm losing track of all the emperors) for his three wives – oneHindu, one Christian, and one Muslim. It was huge and a wonderful example of architecture that combined all three types design in such a beautiful way. We were quite annoyed by our guide who talked so fast and hurried us around in a rather disinterested way. In addition, were were '10-ruppee’d' to death with tipping and donations for charity, not to mention having to run the gamut of peddlers trying to sell us all sorts of useless stuff. (Oh, they’re only trying to make a living, I know, but it is so annoying to have to say “No, thank you” time after time after time.)
The rest of the day was spent on the drive to Jaipur. We actually got on some "open road” in rural areas, where I continued tobe fascinated watching people go about their every day lives, in ways so completely foreign and different from my very privileged North American experience.
March 16, 2011 - Jaipur
I must say that, although the Taj Mahal was the highlight of the trip for me, Jaipur was the loveliest surprise. It is called "the Pink City" because the entire city was painted pink for the visit of the Prince of Wales in the mid-1800's. We visited the Amber Fort which is high on a hill outside of Jaipur. There we had a hilarious elephant ride up to the entrance; Alice was sure we were going to fall off the elephant and take a dive over the cliff that we rode along.
Alice and me on elephant
The fort and palaces within were lovely, but by this time, all of these were melding together in our memories. Our guide for today was excellent - very knowledgeable and interesting. After a couple hours touring the many palaces within the Amber Fort, we headed down to the Winter Palace, passing by another palace that was built right in the lake (can't remember the name of this palace - maybe "Palace in the Lake?").
We toured the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) which looks sort of like a honeycomb. It has over 900 small windows which were forthe ladies to be able to look out without being seen.
At the Palace of the Winds
After that we visited Jantar Mantar - an observatory built by a Maharajah in the 1700's. He was fascinated by both astronomy and astrology and built this collection of instruments as well as four other similar facilities. This one is the best preserved and it was amazing to see.
March 17 - Jaipur back to Delhi
Today was simply a hair-raising drive back to Delhi. We were told it would take 5 hours, but there was road construction and very heavy truck traffic, so the trip took nearly 7 hours. Our driver is truly amazing! On arrival back in Delhi, Alice and I both headed to the spa for a much needed pedicure - after having walked barefoot through so many palaces, etc., our feet were pretty grungy! I also had a wonderful massage which helped unknot the muscles that had tensed up so much during the harrowing drive!
March 18 - Home again
Up very early to get to the airport for our 9:00 a.m. flight. How I long for the days when you simply went to the airport and got on a plane without all the preliminary security checking that is now required. It makes me sad that the world has come to this.
It is good to be home; but already I am thinking/planning my next adventure!
