First we drove to Jama Masjid, built in the 1600's and the largest and best-known mosque in India. As you can see from the photo below, the courtyard can fit over 25,000 people!
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| Elephants roam the streets with ferraris speeding by! Where else in the world will you see that?! |
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| An actual photo taken during our drive. |
Next we visited a Sikh Temple in the city. The architecture was so interesting and colorful. There were quite a few people praying in the temple, and Taryn and I rang the bell at the entrance, and then placed flowers in front of various Hindu gods. The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious
sound called Om, which calls to the Hindu gods to let them know you are there to pray. Different Hindu gods are depicted in statue form throughout the building, and people leave flowers in little collection plates as 'gifts' to the gods.
After the temple we visited the India Gate War Memorial, a memorial to over 80,000 soldiers who died in the First World War. Here there were quite a few large student groups on what we thought was probably a school outing. It was one of the first of MANY times that Taryn and I were asked to take photos with a group. I found it so interesting that people would want a picture with us! We were told by our guide that blonde hair is not seen often in India, and many Indians rarely meet Americans.
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| Typical traffic on an Indian street. |
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| We just loved seeing the saris of all colors - the women were so beautiful - and mostly shy, although they asked us to take a photo of them! |
We then went to see Ghandi Smitri, the location where Mahatma Gandhi spent the last 144 days of his life and was assassinated on January 30, 1948.
Here, another family asked us to be in their family photo! How cute are these kids? We also saw the first of many snake charmers in India. When we popped out of our bus he was right there! Taryn and I loved meeting this man and his cobra, honestly we probably talked his head off and he was most likely happy to see us go after we left him a tip for letting us play with the snake. Yes, we touched it, and yes it was scary.
Lunch was next, and we were taken to a local restaurant (I wish I had written down the name!) where a buffet style meal was included in our tour package. However, Taryn and I asked the waitress to bring us the most ordered dish at the restaurant, because we wanted to try true Indian food, and not the buffet-style lunches prepared especially for tourists. It seemed that each restaurant we visited had 'tourist' food that wasn't too spicy, and then the real thing. This dish was amazing, and honestly I couldn't even tell you what it was! Other than it was chicken and some type of curry with garlic naan. Delicious.
We had just one more stop after lunch before the bus was headed towards our next destination - Agra. The Lotus Temple is a main attraction in the city, and looks like a .... lotus flower. On the way here we passed the New Delhi Courthouse, which was bombed just a few days prior to our arrival, on the 7th of September in 2011. The blast killed 17 people and injured over 70 more. The scene was still chaotic, and extremely sad. Although we were nervous that this happened right before our visit, we knew that it was an isolated incident, and we honestly felt really safe through the whole trip.
Our drive to Agra, south of New Delhi, took about four hours by bus. The drive was interesting, with so many small towns and villages to view on the way. I was shocked by the lack of restaurants or quick places to stop throughout the drive, which we are accustomed to in the U. S. The landscape was gorgeous. The problem was that there were no rest stops with bathrooms and some of the older folks on the bus were hurting after eating all that spicy Indian food! One of the most hilarious parts of this trip was when our bus stopped on the side of the road and everyone ran off and popped a squat behind a random stone wall. Not sure if you could bond better than that on a trip like this....
We arrived in Agra at about 5 PM, and checked into the Gateway Hotel - the perfect location in Agra. We could actually SEE the Taj Mahal from our room.
Agra is a municipality in Uttar Pradesh India. It is generally accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lodī, the Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate founded Agra in the year 1504, but historical documents describe the city earlier, in 1000 BC.
Agra is a municipality in Uttar Pradesh India. It is generally accepted that Sultan Sikandar Lodī, the Ruler of the Delhi Sultanate founded Agra in the year 1504, but historical documents describe the city earlier, in 1000 BC.
After a quick dinner, Taryn and I headed out to explore the town. A few others from our group joined us, and we met a couple from D.C. who was also traveling with our group. Taryn and I had a plan - we wanted to buy traditional Indian clothing to wear to the next day's activities, which included the tour of the Taj Mahal. We found a quaint little tailor shop just down the street from the hotel and, after trying on quite a few saris, chose one each. Of course we didn't tell anyone our plan as we wanted it to be a silly surprise for the group.
The next day we were up early to enjoy the delicious breakfast spread - it took a bit to get used to eating curry first thing in the morning! There were more American-ized options, but why eat the usual when I can eat like a local? After breakfast we had to get ready for our trip to the Taj, but we had no clue how to dress ourselves in our new gear. We ended up calling reception and asking for a female hostess to come assist us. She was incredibly sweet, and dressed us properly, explaining how to wrap a sari properly. We would NEVER have been able to do this on our own - it was so complicated! Once we were all pinned and tucked, we headed out for the day! But, of course we had to get a few photos on the way out.
We definitely surprised our tour group when we boarded the bus all dressed up. They loved it! There were so many sweet retired couples that we ended up making friends with, they were so cute. We started a trend, because the next day so many of the women were wearing salwar kameez and saris!
The tour bus set off for the Taj Mahal next, and we couldn't believe we were actually going to see this storied Wonder of the World. On the way we soaked up the sights, which included camel-pulled carts and rickshaws galore. When the bus arrived, we were swarmed by small children begging for money and women selling trinkets for pennies. This was when the poverty of this country really hit home - and we wondered how we could help some of these people without being overrun! Once you give a child any money, or buy something from these women, they will NOT leave you alone. Our tour guide asked us to ignore them, but how could we?! Taryn and I did give a few rupees and bought some bangles. The children were gorgeous - dark skin and clear blue-green eyes. The women had small babies, and it just pulled at our heart strings.
On the walk towards the Taj Mahal, we were also asked to take more photos. Taryn and I can never say no, plus we truly enjoy talking to locals wherever we travel, so we agreed more often than not. Parents wanted us to hold their kids for photos, and women were interested in our newly purchased saris. They told us that they loved that even as tourists we were trying to immerse ourselves in their culture. We encountered huge smiles wherever we went, most people were incredibly friendly. One note is that we tried to be very careful not to smile at or engage with any of the older men. They do stare, and don't think it is rude! But, they did not try to talk to us, so we didn't feel too uncomfortable.
When we reached the entrance, we were divided into three lines, as you can see in the photo below. I thought it was horrible that Indian women were separated from "Ladies." Why are Indian women not considered "Ladies?" Ridiculous. I look back and wish I had joined the Indian women in their 'lane'. I do believe that locals pay less to enter the facility but I think the signs should be modernized.
Our first view upon entrance onto the grounds, which was covered by our tour price but would usually cost 750 rupees, was one of the two grand red sandstone buildings that
mirror each other, and face the sides of the tomb. The western building
is a mosque and the other is the jawab (answer), thought to have been constructed for architectural balance although it may have been used as a guesthouse.
Once we walked through the first sandstone building, we could immediately see the outline of the gorgeous Taj. One thing you don't realize until visiting in person is that the building is SO white that it is actually hard to see against a cloudless sky! The sun glimmers off of the marble, and it is extremely bright.
Once our entire group were inside the grounds, our guide took us aside to provide the history of the Taj. The Taj Mahal is located on the southern bank of the Yamuna River. It was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (reigned 1628–1658) to house the tomb of his favorite wife of three, Mumtaz Mahal. He explained that the building of the Taj was the ultimate love story. In the year 1631, when Mumtaz Mahal was giving birth to their 14th
child, she died due to some complications. While Mumtaz was on her
deathbed, Shah Jahan promised her that he would never remarry and will
build the richest mausoleum over her grave.
After our introduction, we were free to explore! We headed directly to the Taj, to view the intricate in-laid marble surrounding the tomb. Although we were not supposed to take photos we did try to sneak a few. While exploring, we were approached by literally - no joke - 100+ separate groups or individuals asking to take photos with us! We had to stop agreeing because we were not enjoying our visit but rather taking photos every few steps! I believe it is because we were blondes in saris!
Later in the evening we were taken to a local restaurant and treated to some wonderful food along with local children performing songs and dance. The music was exotic and beautiful, and we truly enjoyed the outing. Taryn and I also had henna done on our arms and hand.
Our driver didn't know initially where we wanted to go because we didn't know the name of the temple at the time, but after we said "where the monkeys are!" he knew which way to head. When he pulled into a small, smelly, dark alley we were a bit worried until we saw the temple at the very end, where the narrow road opened up. As soon as we hopped out of the car we saw a few stray monkeys ambling about, along with a few goats. Quite a few of the monkeys had the tiniest little babies holding on for dear life while they jumped about.
At this point we paid the driver, and thanked him - but he didn't leave. He said this wasn't the best area of town, so he would stay and accompany us to the temple, since it was a bit of a walk. We were so impressed by this man's kindness. As we all walked towards the temple, a group of about eight young children, ranging in age from about 6 to 10, approached us. We thought they were going to ask for money, as the kids had in many other places throughout India, but they told us they were offering a service - they would be our 'monkey protectors' - as they mimicked some karate punches and kicks in the air! Of course Taryn and I couldn't let them down, so we told them what we were offering to pay and three of the boys came with us and our driver towards the temple. On the way there was a little shop selling peanuts, so we grabbed those for just a few rupees.
Our little random group climbed the ramps and stairs up into the main temple, and along the way the children were shooing away some of the larger monkeys that approached us. I will say that I was quite happy we brought them along! The monkeys here did not seem aggressive or bare teeth at us, but did get close to try to take the peanuts. Do NOT bring anything valueable here and be careful with your cameras! The monkeys wanted to grab anything and everything we had with us. They were bouncing around all over the place, and even the moms were letting their babies come up to grab peanuts. One jumped from the floor straight onto the top of my head, that was kind of scary! But once again our 'monkey protectors' scared them back. They had no fear! They were adorable, and we really enjoyed talking with them. They spoke impecable English, amoungst other languages, and even invited us to their house! Indian people are so friendly, and this is not uncommon. If we had a bit more time we probably would have agreed as long as it wasn't too far away!
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| Our Driver! |
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| Our driver showing us how it's done, while our 'monkey protectors' look on. |
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| If I look scared, it's because I was. |
After dinner at the hotel, we set out with a group to head to the bazaar in Jaipur. We grabbed another rickshaw and, weaving through the cows all over the roads, headed out for some shopping.
Cows are sacred here, of course, and the reason they are everywhere is that once they stop producing milk, they can't be slaughtered! And, people can't afford to keep feeding them so they just let them go! They are everywhere. Drivers are used to it, though, and it's not uncommon to simply see a cow standing in the middle of a busy highway and cars swerving to avoid it. A little warning if you plan to drive in India - if you DO hit a cow, get out of there as fast as possible. People have been known to be beat up by an mob angry that you killed their sacred animal!
The next day our bus headed out, back towards New Delhi. On the way we stopped at the Floating Palace, also known as Jal Mahal. Because it is surrounded by water, and requires a boat to view we just took pictures from the road. When we arrived Taryn and I also saw some camels just hanging out on the right side of the road so we had to go pet them, of course.
We made one more stop, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I have no clue where or what it was. I just saw all of these pigeons and has to run through them. I still feel bad to this day because one pigeon was missing a leg and all he was trying to do was eat some grain and here I came running up disturbing his little world. You can see him right in front of me here - poor little guy couldn't move out of the way! So then I ran back to the bus.
