Blogs from Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia - page 159

Yesterday we got the train to Agra. I was a bit sceptical of getting the train but was pleasantly surprised. For a start it left on time! It was pretty spacious and we even got a free meal and drinks! When we arrived at Agra we got picked up and taken to the hotel where again we were really pleasantly surprised - the hotel was lovely (especially when all we had to compare it to was that hotel in New Delhi!) We had a nap and then headed off the the Taj Mahal with our driver and tour guide. The Taj Mahal was amazing, its quite hard to describe, I guess you have to be there! Its made completely of marble with precious stones that sparkle in the sunlight. We stayed there and watched the sun ... read more

Coucou mes Loulou... Juste quelques photos... En attendant plus de mots... Varanassi, cote "ghat", grands escaliers granitiques qui s'etalent et descendent de la ville sur 7 km... Ainsi qu'une photo du grand stupa de Sarnath (au milieu sur la photo), pres du parc aux cerfs, la ou le Bouddha donna son premier enseignement (30 mn en bus de Varanassi). Je suis alle passer la journee la-bas il y a quelques jours, et j'en ai profite pour reccuperer une feuille de l'arbre de la Boddhi qui m'est tombee dans les mains... apres que j'ai attendu sous l'arbre une dizaine de minutes a cet effet, quand meme ! Sarnath, avec Lumbini (ville de naissance du Bouddha) et Bodh Gaya (lieu ou le Bouddha a atteint l'eveil) font partis des lieux de pelerinages bouddhistes. Au fait... Le saviez-vous ? ... read more

After running the hot water for about 10 minutes this morning, and feeling no hot water come out, a certain feeling of resignation came over me as I knew I would have to plod down 6 flights of stairs in order to find out what new twist was preventing me from having a hot shower. I also noticed that, as the floor filled up with cold water, there were rather too many hairs of unknown provenance drifting around. This, together with the mud stains and unflushed turd, were making me suspect that just maybe no-one had cleaned my bathroom before I took the room. After having a brief uncomfortable wash in the sink, I descended to the reception to find out what was going on. The absence of hot water was easily explained - there is ... read more

Today is the 11th of January 2006. Our driver had arrived with a Toyota Qualis for our drive to Agra.. The road was good and had a wide median landscaped with flowering plants like the Nerium Oleander, which is a commonly grown plant here. It was a comfortable ride and by the time we reached Sikandra it was 2 30 pm. Sikandra, being the place where Emperor Akbar was laid to rest. The monument was beautiful and impressive - left one thinking about the legacy of the great secular statesman. He was indeed a man born before his times, a true leader and a clever strategist, its no wonder the kingdom flourished during his reign, when the subjects were happy with their king. From Sikandra, we moved on towards Agra and the Taj. In order to ... read more

Yay...I'm back and everything seems to be working. I can't wait to show you the pictures of the street scenes...unreal. Nick, I don't think I'll ever complain about your driving again! Okay...on to New Year's Eve. We are staying with a wonderful family for our three nights here in Agra. They are so generous and quite wealthy. They have a handful of servants, we have a driver and we are being totally taken care of. For new year's, we went to a huge party in tents that is the Punjab tradtion in Agra. We were the only Westerners there (everyone else was Indian), so we were quite the attraction. We danced almost all night with really enthusiastic folks. We really had a blast. And then there was the food! It was a complete feast...wonderful starters served ... read more