out of Delhi - hooray!

This is a difficult catchup. We have been scurrying all over NW India like rats fleeing the exterminator. The exit from Delhi was via train on the day before Diwali. Diwali is the number one holiday in India where all transportation is flooded. The train station was packed. The train arrived and the crowd literally fought to get into the cheap seats. I did not see fists flying, but the melee suggested it. As members of the upper castes we had a classy and comfortable car without a crowd once leaving the station. There were even two security men at each end to keep the rabble from impinging on our cool comfort. It was almost like Amtrak, that is like an Amtrak car from 1960 that has been cleaned a few times, but not in the toilets. Yuck. The route was heavy with brown smog. It did not look like a good day to visit the Taj Mahal, but that was where we were headed. (Forgive the mixed tenses! I have a cold coming on and my mind is not clear.)

 

Agra is the city of the Taj, but our first stop was the Red Fort - the first of too many forts. An impressive structure of over 400 years age. It once imprisoned the king (?) whose wife was buried in the Taj. The king had the Taj built as a memorial to his wife, but was never to set foot in it. He was imprisoned where he could only see it for the rest of his life.

 

The Taj Mahal is said to be the most beautiful building in the world. I have no doubts about that claim being true. It is spectacular. Even in the hazy skies the first viewing literally brings gasps of Oh my God! It is over 400 years old and looks nearly new. It has been very well taken care of by the generations. In the scope of sites we have seen it is right up there with Machu Piccu for sheer spectacle. We walked up to it in a teasing round about way, taking pictures as we went. We circled around the exterior with some stops for soaking it into greater awareness. Finally we queued up to see inside. It was dusk when we went inside and so the light was poor with only one small bulb providing light. The interior is one large space with two tombs in the middle. It was not terribly interesting. The Taj is on many lists as one place everyone should see in their lifetime. This is good advice.

 

We left Agra the next morning headed toward Bharatpur on Diwali day. There we walked about another 400 year old red fort. This one uncrowded and quite interesting in that the walls enclose an entire ancient city that has never been sacked and is still in remarkably good condition. We left the fort and walked through the very old market street of Bharatpur. Lunch was in a small cafe where we all had the only item on the menu - Thali. (This is my favorite Indian food! It is a sampler plate somewhat like mezza. You can't go wrong with thali.) Upon entering the cafe we encountered a remarkable sight, a pennyfarthing bicycle - an old "big wheel" bike. It's rider was unloading his gear and did not mind a chat. It turned out this fellow is rather famous. He is Joff Summerfield, an Englishman who is riding his big bike around the entire world! Meeting him was a bit like meeting Steve Fosset in a remote village. You can see some of his story here: http://pennyfarthingworldtour.com/. He is writing a book about his adventure as he goes. Maybe we will be in it! (Just kidding...) Later in the afternoon we rode rickshaws through a wildlife sanctuary where 100's of species are commonly seen, except this year. In this part of India the monsoons did not arrive and the area is parched bone dry. The wetlands vital to the sanctuary are dry and the many birds that would have been there were not. We spent Diwali evening at a very nice country inn where the wildlife had not abandoned their pursuit of prey - us. The room was buzzing with hundreds of mosquitoes. They were so bad we had to ask the staff to spray our room with god's knows what kind of toxic mists. The mozzie population took a hit and we had only dozens afterward. Diwali evening is celebrated by a brief religious worship, fireworks, and plenty of free booze. We watched the ceremony with curiosity, then drank Indian whisky and rum with reckless abandon. Not really. The inn was a small family business and it was like being in a stranger's home for Christmas Day, but with 4th of July fireworks and weather.

 

Yesterday morning we continued the journey west in a public bus of dubious safety. Riding Indian buses is a bit like riding a fast power farming implement. It is a hard, rough ride with a lot of dirt. Two of our group became sick - one with intestinal flux that caused him to hang his head out the window and send gifts to the wind, the other with a sore throat and fever - what I am fearing that may be coming my way now. The night was spent in an old small fort on top of a rocky bluff surrounded by a very primitive village. The family that was once the lords of the area still owns and lives there, renting out rooms a few times a month to pay the bills. It was a very lovely place in a rustic way. We walked around the village for a couple hours with a local guide. We were shown various local crafts and the way of life. It was, in a rough sort of way, an idyllic sort of place. School was out for the holiday much to our grief. Every turn brought us into contact with screaming children who begged to have their photos taken. It was cute for about 100 times, then it became onerous as they quickly put themselves into the foreground of every shot taken. Dinner was followed by a silly dress up in local costumes session. The folks who had more beer enjoyed it the most. Stewart had the best costume that looked great until someone pointed out that with his big red turban and red clothing he looked a lot like Ronald McDonald.

 

This morning we took to two cars for the short trip to Jaipur. Above Jaipur is yet another immense red fort. The many forts are interesting, but the enjoyment is curtailed by the Indian guides who drone on and on and on in unintelligibly accented English. The forts become a task of difficult concentration on the guides instead of a viewing of an ancient artifact. "The queen had 3 bedrooms. Summer, winter, and blah blah blah. The king's bed is very big. Blah blah blah. The garden is here. Blah blah blah. Old Jaipur there. 1000 years old. New Jaipur there. Blah blah blah. Rose scented bath water. Blah blah blah. Only 'natural' eunuchs serve the concubines. Blah blah blah." Repeat this 20 more times.

 

Now we are settled into our Jaipur hotel for 2 night's stay. It is a dingy dinky room in an otherwise grand looking grounds. Tonight we are going to try out a Bollywood movie. From what I have seen looking at them on TV, they are all very corny B-grade musicals where the Indian lassies look sultry and the laddies prove that only one population on earth are worse dancers than white boys.

 

Tomorrow, if I am not overtaken by a cold, I am going out to seek my coveted souvenir, a set of tabla.

 

PS - I just found that Joff has some good Taj Mahal pictures here: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=rzyi&page_id=65768&v=Y

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Michael & Susan Kuhn
Trip email: indiaadventure2007@gmail.com
Trip blog: www.indiaadventure2007.blogspot.com