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Published: July 26th 2011
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Delhi didn’t sound all that appealing when Gordon first mentioned it. Sure, it was another place in India to visit, but isn’t India the same everywhere? Surprisingly, no. Delhi was very refreshing and a welcome change from the ‘limited for entertainment’ Ahmedabad.
The actual reason for going to Delhi was to apply for Gordon’s Employment visa for China. So after we’d done that we focused on the fun part of the weekend: seeing the Taj Mahal. The journey to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located, is only 200km. Most of us would assume that travelling an average of 100km/hr, it would take 2 hours. Simple maths. But oh no, not in India. Arriving in Agra 5 hours later, we were happy to be off the chaotic roads. Cows, dogs, people, motorbikes, potholes that the car almost disappeared into and traffic, traffic and traffic! We were lucky to get our own car and driver for our time in India. We occupied ourselves by looking out of the window. Every few minutes there was something funny, weird or scary to see. (See photos 😊 I honestly don’t know how we haven’t seen a few people seriously hurt, or a lot of
road rage incidents!
As we arrived in Agra, we dropped our bags at the hotel and picked up our guide, courtesy of our well-connected driver, Nandan. He whisked us past the queues and into the Agra Fort; a 6km long fort which is still occupied by the Indian Army. A small section in open to the public. India has a lot of historic sites. I’m not really one for looking at buildings, but some just blow you away. Part of this fort was where the king was imprisoned by his son for spending so much money building the Taj Mahal (which it overlooks). It’s not a shabby prison: the ceilings are covered in gold, and precious and semi-precious jewels adorned the walls. In winter the walls and floors were covered with expertly woven wool carpets and in summer, the breeze flows right through the rooms. Viniet has been a guide for many years. He told us stories of how the ‘aircon’ used to work in summer. At about chest height around the room, there are carvings in the stone, making small holes in the wall. Keeping in mind that this is a king, about 30 women used to stand
behind the wall and wave palm leaves, creating a breeze in the room. This just gives you an idea as to how majestic the king and fort are.
Another benefit to having a guide is getting into places that the general public don’t see. After it was all clear (and a small sum paid), we were sneaked into a room that we would probably now call a bathroom. But this isn’t just any bathroom. With one in-the-ground-tub for cold water and another for warm water, this was the place to be if you were the king or queen. The ceiling and walls were inlaid with reflective glass. The keeper used two small candles and the entire room lit up. Without the candles, the rooms were pitch black. It was such an amazing sight. You can image beautiful ladies dancing around the baths and singing songs. 500 years on and there is still magic in these places.
India wouldn’t be India without some deals being made. Viniet had obviously had a few deals with local craftsman; he would bring tourists to their shops in return for a something. First we visited a place where they use marble. We were
shown how semi-precious stones are shaped and placed into the marble to create a pattern. They hold the stones with their finger tips and use a manual grinder to shape the stones. I am not sure how they manage not to grind their fingers because some pieces are probably 1mm big. After being wowed by the demonstration, we walked out with a hexagonal piece of marble with delicate flowers inlaid as a memento of Agra.
I’m afraid our spending ended there that day. We also watched such skilled craftsmen make mughal carpets, where they spend anywhere between 2 and 6 months on one carpet. At first I felt very unnerved by that you are fussed over everywhere you go in India. We went into the carpet showroom and before we knew it there were quite a few big carpets being carried by (small) guys and rolled out in front of us. You feel compelled to buy something because of the effort everyone makes. I feel bad to just walk away after they literally pull everything off the shelf and out of the packets to show you. They are persistent, I have to give them that, but we would be
broke if we bought something every time someone showed us something.
The last stop of the day was a jeweler. This family has been making jewellery for hundreds of years. They use precious stones and produce some fabulous pieces. As a compliment I’d say something like ‘Oh, that’s beautiful’, but that leads them on to show me more and more and more. My argument is that it is rude not so say anything, but Gordon insists that I am just encouraging them and giving them false hope. So after a few times insisting that we wouldn’t be buying anything, we headed back to the hotel.
It was an early start on Saturday with the much anticipated visit to the Taj Mahal. As we walked through the arch at the entrance, there it stood. The pictures really don’t do the it justice. At 6.30am the place was already teeming with tourists and it was very hot and humid. The entire building is made of white marble and there are spaces in the walls where gems were placed. It took 20 000 people 22 years to build. The Taj Mahal was built as a monument to the King’s second wife who
died giving birth to their 14th child. Of course I also had to pose on the same bench as Lady Diana sat on during her visit to the Taj Mahal 😊 It really was a wonderful morning and a great time spent in Agra.
The next day we visited some local tourist attractions in Delhi. There were lots of tombs and temples and gardens. They were all very beautiful, but being outside can be exhausting because it is so hot. Gordon and I both agree that we could probably deal with the cold a lot better than we can with the heat. That’s a good thing, given how cold it will be in Harbin.
Now that Gordon has his visa we will probably be going to China the first week in August. I start my teaching job at the end of August and still need to get my work visa before then.
It feels like we're still at the beginning of what we can see and do in the world.
Miss you all!
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