Mar 2008

Another 6 hour drive (man this country is big, maybe that's why they call it a subcontinent) gets us to Agra and a chance to see the Taj Mahal. I've been eagerly awaiting to see one of the 'wonders of the world'.

It doesn't stand alone You have to enter into the area through one of the gates. It's a long queue and we're persuaded by a ticket tout the can get us in in five minutes if we follow him and pay 250 rupees. He leads us to the east gate, which is a good 5 minutes walk, to a shorter queue and I join it having bought a ticket from a booth for locals. I get questioned by one of the gaurds at the entrance. "Are you a NRI ?"
"No, I'm from Punjab." He starts talking to me in Hindi - I'm busted. I have to go to the ticket booth again and pay 750 Rupees.

It's a little bigger than I imagined, but not very different in shape as I've seen many photos and little statues of it. Behind it is a river. Apparently, there is a plinth on the other side of th river where a black Taj Mahal was started but never built. We wonder around it taking photos and just taking in the experience. There is not much to see inside, just a couple of coffins behind somekind of grill.

After a couple of hours we leave having made our pilgrimage. Another six hour drive to Delhi. Did I mention India is big ?

Woke up this morning and had a warm shower. When I say shower, what I mean is, Indian bathrooms tend to have like a wet room. You fill up a bucket with warm water and have a plastic jug to douse yourself with the water. It's as good as a shower, almost. The night was a little cold I could have done with an extra blanket. I've got one for tonight. We're in the Pink City - Jaipur. A six hour drive from Delhi last night got us here around 9pm. I order food; it's takeaway really. We all tuck in. If only I could buy a meal for four people for 3 pounds in England.

The 'pink city' seems to have a lot of buildings that are painted pink - or a version of pink anyway. Jaipur is in the state of Rajasthan. This is a huge state. We could spend days and weeks looking around if we had the time. The weather is a little warmer here too. I think we're close to 30 degrees centigrade. The city is a mixture of ancient buildings and new buildings coming up. In the migddle of a lake we see a building that's being renovated. It is reputed to lie deep in the water and was once used as a summer retreat by a Rajah. Summers here can be unbearably hot I understand, I bet he was ok.

We have hired a guide for the day who will be able to show us around the main attractions and save us time. At 250 rupees (about 3 pounds) it's money well spent. We see a couple of interesting temples, the Tiger Fort, Amber Fort and visit a few shops too.

When we went to lunch at a restaurant the Driver and Guide had their own dining room to go to. They get free meals for bringing customers to certain restaurants. A similar thing happens when you stay at a hotel. There are special rooms for the drivers. I never new about this before I came to India. Again, something new everyday for me.

Camel Ride

I wanted a ride on an elephant but somehow ended up on top of a camel. The elphant ride will have to wait. Here's me holding on to the saddle praying for it to end :

As we are in Delhi, we might as well look at all the normal tourist attractions.

We visit the Red Fort. Its red on the outside and it's a big fort with grounds and a museum in the middle. Can't say it was particularly enthralling to anyone, unless you happen to have an interest in army memorabila. I dare say I would have wodered what it was like had I not gone to see it.

We also go and see Qutb Minar, a 240 foot tower, errected to celebrate the Turkish conquest of Delhi. It's architecture is quite interesting even to a philistine like me. It reminds me of the story of Rumplestiltskin: it's where a girl is stuck at the top of a tower. She grows he hair and a Prince climbs up it to rescue her - I think it's that fairytale ? The tower's interesting anyway ! Also, I find that locals can come and see it for 10 rupees. Foreigners and NRI's (non-resident Indians, that's me I think) have to pay 250. Today I am a local.

The Lotus Temple

Next, we head for the Lotus Temple. This is a really interesting looking building from the outside. It looks a little like a Lotus flower/Sydney Opera House , I imagine. And on the inside is a big auditorium where you are allowed to sit down and contemplate. Nobody is allowed to talk or take photographs inside. It's a temple for the Bahai religion. For some reason it's administration centre is in Isreal. I wondered why white people with American accents were showing us where to take our shoes off and showing us inside. You always have to take your shoes off when you go to a temple of any religion here.

India Gate

After a brief drive around Delhi we see India Gate. It's a huge arch with the names of fallen Indian soldiers written on every brick. We stop and take photographs of this impressive site.

Having seen most of what we wanted to in Delhi we begin our 6 hour drive to Jaipur. We had hoped to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra tomorrow, but the site is closed to the general public on Fridays.

We (me, my cousan Lallit, cousin Sonia and driver Bhopinder) set off on our trip about 9:00am. It will be a five hour journey before we eventually reach Delhi. On route we stop off at a Dhaba to have some lunch. There are some shops around so I go and buy some new boxer shorts. 230 Rupes (about 3 pounds) for 4 pairs. I also buy a chocolate bar. I want to see what Indian chocolate tastes like. It's in a wrapper designed to look like an American dollar bill and is supposed to taste of hazelnut. We all have a taste and aren't really very impressed by it. I wrap the remaining half up in the wrapper and put it in my pocket.

We reach Delhi. At one of the traffic lights a group of beggers go up to cars and tap on the windows begging for money. It's hard not to give when you see how destitute they look. I give away the rest of my chocolate to a little girl who must have been about 10 years old. Her face lights up when she sees the chocolate. The chocolate I dismissed as not that appealing seems anything but that to her. She eats it with a delighted look on her face. How very different our lives are ! I feel a little sad.

When we reach our hotel it's only mid afternoon, but we are a little tired. Lallit and I go for a walk and look around the local market in search of a map of India. We walk back to the hotel and meet the driver outside. He's a great conversationalist is Bhopinder and manages to tell me enough nightmare stories about things that have happened to tourists to make me a little apprehensive about the rest of my trip. However, touch wood, so far I've managed okay.

We watch tv in the hotel bedroom and have an early night.

Today I managed to lose my cashpoint card. For some inexplicable reason I was typing in the wrong pin number and managed to get it wrong 3 times. I ring the bank and they offer to send me a new one, which is very nice of them, except I can't exactly pop home to get it. Luckilly, I have a second bank account and I do remember the pin number for that one !

My second job for today is to arrange to see a taxi driver. It's a little bit more than that, because I have to negotiate a price to take me aound the golden triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) for 7 days. These taxi drivers are like mercenaries. They'll drive you on journeys of hundreds of miles either in your vehicle or theirs for a price.

A quiet day otherwise. I enjoy the sun, read a little and visit a cybercafe to see what's happening in England these days.