Here is another segment on my trip to India in the winter of 2007..mostly taken from my journal.
Tuesday January 30th - Woke up very early to get to the Taj Mahal by 6:30 a.m. Words cannot describe the Taj - it is much better than in pictures and the detail on the building is amazing. The interior of the building was fantastic as well - way below the ground are the tombs of Shahjahan & Mumtaz Mahal. Shahjahan built the Taj in his wife's memory when she died after the birth of their 14th child. (yikes!!! I think I'd roll over and croak too) The original plan was for her tomb to be in the white Taj and he would be entombed in a black twin version of the Taj. Unfortunately, he was imprisoned by his son in the Red Fort (which we visited that afternoon) and spent the rest of his life gazing across the river at the Taj Mahal. I was so lucky to see such a beautiful tribute to love and visiting it was truly one of the highlights of my life. It is unbelievably beautiful in person - photos do not do it justice.
As you can see from the pictures there was a lot of haze..er.. pollution no doubt...
Here is our tour group...and ladies....on the far right in the back row...introducing Mr. Hotty (our tour guide) Oh my...anyone got a fan?
Then it was back to the hotel for a well-earned buffet breakfast. Judy's other daughter had arrived from Bangalore (where she was doing research for her university degree) with a private driver to see the Taj Mahal with her mom and sister - they kindly invited me to come along in their private car so I spent the afternoon with them. We went to the Red Fort then on to Ikamd-Ud-Dailah which is known as the Baby Taj. It was very pretty and similar to the Taj but smaller - it was the building the Tah Mahal was modeled after. We got caught in horrible traffic getting to the market only to find everything closed but we did have a wonderful lunch at a place called Zorba the Buddha which had been recommended by our tour company.
The Red Fort or Agra Fort (its official name) was the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal Dynasty until 1638 when the capital was moved to Delhi. It took 4,000 workers working 7 days a week 8 years to complete this building. I have to be honest here and say it's not fair to see it on the same day you see the Taj Mahal. If seen on its own it would be spectacular but to me that day it was just okay.
I have to say I didn't take many pictures of this beautiful building. Hmmm..might have to do a return trip someday.
Then it was on to the "Baby Taj". This is the tomb of Itimad-Ud-Daulah (the name bestowed upon the chief treasurer of Moghul Emporer Jahangir). It was built between 1622 and 1628 and is known as the "jewel box" We just popped out of the car for a photo op and didn't go inside - MISTAKE!! (sometimes the downside of traveling with others) Goodness, I think I need a return trip to India to see the inside!
We then went back to the hotel, had a quick dinner in a nearby restaurant then headed to the local train station to get to our next stop. The train station had resident dogs & monkeys - not your typical station!!! Judy and I once again bought food for the dogs and I was told off by a tourist that I was offending the locals as “people are starving in this country and you are feeding dogs”. I was quite taken aback but after a quick pep talk with Judy I went back and deliberately fed a dog right in front of him!!! A word on the begging situation in India which is rife in tourist areas. There were many beggers in the cities (not Kaurali) which is heartbreaking. We were told not to give them money as a lot of them are a part of gangs but that it was better to donate to a local charity. Men and women with limbs missing were everywhere; we were told many chopped off by the gang leaders in order to make more money. It's hard to get your head around that. So we were told to just walk by women who were thrusting their dirty crying babies in your face and begging - I think a bit of my soul died as I walked by not looking at them. It sounds cruel but it has to be done. If you tried to help one you would have been swarmed and Mr. Hotty would not have been happy with me. Anyway back to the railway station and the animal situation. Monkeys were all over the tracks and even dogs would jump down onto the track but would jump right back up again (I was quite impressed with their dexterity) - it made me so nervous!! I didn’t want to see a dog hit by one of the trains that came roaring into the station. Apparently, during Diwali what seems like the whole monkey population of Agra come here as they are frightened by the fireworks and general commotion. People who aren't vigilant have their possessions stolen - nothing like a monkey jumping off to a rooftop holding on to your purse containing your passport. Yes it has happened - luckily not to me or any of the group! (though I did have one crawl up my front and sit on my shoulders with its paws over my ears in Bali many many years back - and everyone was so busy laughing no one got a picture!) As it was we had to guard our possessions as anything they could have lifted would have been gone! Sneaky things! I survived the overnight train trip even though I kept waking myself up snoring in my sleeper compartment (shared - they must have loved me!) and had to visit the loo five times. (nerves!) Luckily the toilet was European style but I noted in my diary it was "gross". Though nothing beats the squatie I used (or tried to...)in Thailand with cockroaches circling the outside. Suddenly my bladder totally seized up - I wonder why? For those who don't know what a squatie or "squat toilet" is...
Pure hell for those of us with bad knees - I won't go into details why. You fill the bucket with water and flush that way. It's actually very sanitary (if it's clean) and lots of people prefer them - and I would if not for the darn knees that make scary sounds when I try to squat! Anyway, that's enough information!!! (though you haven't lived until you've had diarrhea in one - that was Cambodia!)
And then we arrived in the amazing city of Varanasi, a place that would totally blow my mind. But that's for the next India post! Hope you are enjoying traveling around India with me as much as I am enjoying reliving it.
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