Archives for July 2010

A little father/son strife.

After lunch we headed over to Agra Fort, a massive red stone fortress overlooking the Taj. It qualifies as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is best described as a “palatial walled city”, says Wikipedia. I agree.

Agra Fort harbors an interesting father-son story… Aurangzeb, son of Shah Jahan (who built the Taj), overthrew his father and reportedly imprisoned him in a tower overlooking his beloved mausoleum until his death. Harsh.

We didn’t spend too much at the Fort due to the heat and an impatient taxi driver. He was eager to return to New Delhi before the big traffic rush.

Surprisingly, the car ride back to town was my favorite part of our trip to India. Dozing in the backseat, passing towns and countryside, all while listening to beautiful Indian music… it was a great travel moment.

xo, jill

The big one.

Bright and early the next morning we met up with our personal taxi driver. We had a four hour drive to Agra ahead of us. Kindly, our hostel packed us each a brown bag breakfast to eat in the car.

The scenes on either side of the car were interesting to behold. At one point we stopped at what seemed to be a mandatory bathroom break place for all tourist drivers (or maybe it was a checkpoint?). How uncomfortable to be in a stopped car without your driver as men selling bracelets and baubles approach your window. Not to mention the monkeys. Poor poor monkeys. Monkeys on leashes are trained to jump on the side of cars to give each tourist a thrill. I just felt sad.

About midday we approached Agra which was full of traffic and visitors despite being 47 degrees Celsius (117F). It was a slow crawl in the taxi to the entrance of the Taj Mahal. As our driver walked us up to the ticket booth we passed camels, horses, and bicycle rickshaws all offering their means of transport. Motored vehicles are banned from getting too close to the Taj in an effort to minimize discoloration caused by air pollution.

Finally, we entered to see the classic sight.

Unfortunately, there were a whack load of tourists. Of course, I’d assume there were less tourists visiting in June than during the cooler months… so maybe it wasn’t so bad.

After taking a few photos and visiting the restroom, we ventured closer to the mausoleum. [ I kept having to remind myself that it was constructed in the 1600s. Incredible.

Unfortunately, entering the mausoleum requires the visitor to deposit their shoes at the door. Um… I’m just going to say marble + 117 degree heat = pain. We were moving as quickly as possible through the throngs of tourists. It was like walking on coals. In a kind gesture, carpets were laid down to make the barefooted walk more bearable. Too bad the carpets were only degrees cooler than the marble itself. Ouch. For sure.

Too bad for the heat because the gardens surrounding the Taj would be a nice place to sit and relax. It did get me thinking of A Passage to India, I must admit. But alas, we had empty stomachs to fill and more to see in Agra.

xo, jill

I should really brush up on famous Indian figures.

The National Museum proved to be quite exhausting, especially when operating on little sleep. While waiting for Molly and Triin to finish up, I definitely took an impromptu snooze. We decided to return to the hostel for a rest before visiting our next destination.

We tried to time it to be at Humayun’s Tomb for golden hour. Unfortunately, golden hour (one hour before sunset) is also just about the time the park closes. We had limited time but luckily still managed to take a few nice photos. [Ok, the second one has some issues…]

Humayun’s Tomb was built by his wife as she grieved his death. It was built before the Taj Mahal in 1565-1572AD. It stands 47 meters high. Imagine this, the small canopy domes were originally covered in bright blue tile. Beautiful.

Located just next door is Isa Khan’s tomb. It was built 12 years before Humayun’s.

xo, jill

The National Museum.

After visiting Ghandi Smriti we continued our sightseeing at the National Museum. The museum boasts over 200,000 pieces from India and abroad, covering 5,000 years of cultural history. That’s a lot.

It was also the site of our first Indian meal. After lunch in the museum’s cafe to recharge our energy, we began exploring the many displays.

My favorites included the beautiful textiles and traditional dress.

Check out these costumes from tribal peoples. They remind me so much of the dress from native North and South Americans.

xo, jill