Agra and Jaipur, India
Well, we did it, we survived the Indian tourist mad house known as the Taj Mahal and have the pictures and memories to show for it. Our journey to the Taj took about six hours from Delhi as we weaved our way in and out of oncoming traffic. In India, there are no traffic lanes and directional dividers like in The States. You drive by dodging oncoming traffic, which can an include buses, cars, motorbikes, humans, livestock, and farming equipment. After our spirited 190km drive we finally made it to Agra, India, which is probably the filthiest place on earth. As we entered the city we made a brief stop at Akbar’s Tomb, which was nothing too special, but we captured one of our best photos of the trip…
It’s kind of artsy or something you’d see in a Lonely Planet book, but I like it. Shelly saw these two women walking by and I quickly snapped the photo. Maybe we’ll send it to National Geographic when we return 🙂
Eventually we made our way to our hotel and were able to mentally “get back to neutral” before heading out to the Taj and see it at sunset. We arrived that evening about 4:30 p.m. and successfully navigated through the onslaught of vendors, con artists, and anyone else wanting our money and finally saw what we came to see. The Taj Mahal was amazing and worth the sacrifice. It was packed with people, but everyone there was just soaking up the moment and enjoying the experience. For those that don’t know, the Taj Mahal is basically a mausoleum built by a Mughal Emperer for his favorite wife after her death. After taking off our shoes, we were able to walk inside the Taj and see their marble caskets. Below are a few other pictures of us at the Taj:
Walking around in my socks…
Shelly reflecting on the magnitude of the experience… actually, I just caught her while she wasn’t looking.
The classic shot, which Shelly had to fight through crowds to get.
The next morning, we drove to Jaipur, which is known as the “pink city”. It’s home to some of the best bazaar shopping in India and also some great historical sites. We spent most of yesterday just walking around the old part of town, dodging in and out of shops, and checking out our surroundings. On our walk were able to view the Hawa Mahal (a.k.a. Palace of Winds), which is where the Maharaja’s harem of women used to be housed. Apparently, each of his women had a window and could peer out and view city life below. Gauging by the number of windows, he must have had quite the stable of Indian women…
Other than that, everything is going well with us and no “Delhi Belly” or other intestinal ailments to report (knock on wood). Life in India is definitely a stark contrast from anywhere we’ve been and it’s a real learning experience. There’s such a mix of good and bad that it’s hard to process it all. It’s rampant poverty, beautiful women in sarees, amazing historical sites, stifling pollution and trash, great food, crazy traffic, kind people, and male public urination all rolled up into a ball. That last one I still have problems with since it doesn’t matter where we are, someone is peeing on a wall. I suppose that’s enough for today. We hope everyone is doing well back home and we’ll write again soon.
Tags: India
nkurtz
Deep thoughts by Nate….I like ’em 🙂
You both are looking good out there. Really glad you’ve stayed healthy throughout. Keep up the great travelling. We’re all counting on you to provide us momentary vicarious vacations from our hum-drum jobs 🙂
BB
As Randy Jackson would say, “It’s good lookin’ out”! You are missing Idol season. I am glad you are having so much fun and Nate, I am looking forward to a happy ending.
Not to be the constant clothing auditor, but did you get new pants and India-style shirt? You probably earned a new outfit after surviving the bush in a tent for ten days. I’m very proud of you…maybe now we can do some real camping together here in the states where there aren’t hyenas and lions ready to eat you!
Jas and I received the postcard from Tanzania…that was FAST! We both had a chuckle.
Happy traveling!
Looks like you guys are having the time of your lives! The photos and commentary are great. All the best.
Graham