We were up bright and early for our trip to Agra and the Taj
Mahal. We made our first stop at a local
carpet maker. The weaver was the
latest family member to continue a 160-year weaving tradition.
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Deborah's New Bodyguard - Leaving Jaipur |
Our second stop was the World Heritage site, Fatehpur Sikri
Moghal Family mausoleum. It is a
huge monumental fort-like structure that rises several hundred feet above the
plain. The mausoleum was built by Moghal
Akbar “One and a Quarter” in 1569 and served as capital of the Moghal empire
from 1571 to 1585. He was one of the many royal heads of India during the 300-year
rule by Mongolia. The monument was
meant to pay respect to a fusion of Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, and gain
favor with the locals. People
travel great distances to tie special strings and make wishes at the holy
place. We made a donation and tied
our strings. Tradition states you
cannot speak about your wishes but if they come true you must return and untie
the string, or as an alternative, celebrate by giving chocolate and ice cream
to children. We will see…
Our last stop was Agra and the Taj Mahal. We booked into the hotel and hired a
local tourist guide. The Taj Mahal
translates into “royal palace”. It
is another World Heritage site and was built by a Moghal in 1648 to honor his
wife (who bore him 9 daughters and more importantly, 4 sons.) Unfortunately she died before it was
complete. Her husband didn’t fare
much better. His third son killed
his two older brothers and imprisoned his father for spending too much money on
building the palace, before assuming the throne.
The sight is best seen in the early morning or at
sunset. At sunrise the white
marble appears pink and at sunset, amber.
We bought our “foreigner” $15 ticket (Indian’s pay 40 cents) and jumped
the long queue. Even though we had all seen pictures of the Taj Mahal, we
followed our guide’s instruction and averted our eyes until we were about 200
meters from the “royal palace”. On
his count we all looked up and there it was. For the first few seconds it was surreal. It looked more magical and magnificent
than any of us had imagined. We wandered
the gardens and gazed at the structure from different perspectives. Inside is much less impressive than
out. The palace was never actually
used for anything and the British stripped any gold long ago. The kindly British replaced all the
gold pinnacles with brass. The
gold pinnacles reside safely in England for all to see (except poor Indians).
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Our Agra Hotel |
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Travelling Like a Royal on a Beer Budget in India |
We had a leisurely sleep in the morning and a little pool
time before completing our last leg of the “Golden Triangle” returning to
Delhi. We made the three-hour
journey on a brand new freeway. Essentially we were the only vehicle present
during our trip. The road toll was
350 rupees compared to 40 to 60 rupees previously. It is a beautiful road but only tourists and rich Indians
can afford to use it.
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Common Sight - Sometimes Four |
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And Our Kids Thought Riding the Bus was Tough |
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This Guy Kept Me Inside the Bus |
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Freeway Riding For Those Without Motorcycles |
We arrived at the Delhi railroad station one hour before our
departure to Jullundur (Jalandher) in Punjab. Jinder had prepared us for the chaos of Delhi Central and we
had a strategic plan. We were to
hang on to our own luggage and either carry them or negotiate a package deal
with one porter. We had a price in
mind and knew they would ask many times more. Most importantly we were to stick together and leave no
valuables within easy reach.
As soon as our van drove into the parking lot we were
“attacked” by a passel of porters.
Three or four leapt up onto the bus bumper before we could stop. Our driver Anand decided to make a hasty
exit and circled the block once more.
We lost three off the back almost immediately but one persistent porter hung
on for about a block. We found a different,
quieter entrance and negotiated a price with a new man. We made our way to the platform,
regrouped and planned the next steps.
We had an assigned car and seats but we knew there would be more luggage
than space. We paid the porter to
stay with us and pack the big cases onto the train. The women were to advance with the daypacks and secure
luggage space. The men would
follow with the big cases. When the
train arrived we went to work.
There was a mass rush to the only narrow entry. The women sped ahead and I followed laying
down my suitcase in front of some older folks to create a barrier. The women were on and our man was
next. Our wily porter slipped
through. Stan set a pick for
Jinder and soon we were all on.
When we arrived at the seats our porter manhandled the luggage into the
racks and we were set.
The ride itself was outstanding. A first class ticket for the five hour trip cost $20. We were given bottles of water and soft
drinks as soon as we left the station.
A tray of sweet Indian delicacies and tea followed shortly. An hour later we had tomato soup and
bread sticks. At the three and a
half hour mark we had a full mean of dal, rotis, rice, vegetable paneer,
chickpeas, pickles and yogurt. A
desert of ice cream followed to finish the meal.
We arrived in Jullundur at 9:30 pm and were met by members
of Jinder’s family. Our bags were
whisked away and we were in our hotel soon after.
Tomorrow calls for visits to local villages and a family
lunch.
