Tonight finds me in the house of a fine lady named Chanda and her family in the city of Agra, about 2 hours south of Delhi by train. I came down on an early train this morning to see the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world. I had arranged a taxi (rather the lady I was going to stay with had) and the taxi driver arranged a guide - one of those Indian I'll help you if you help me kind of deals (which get really annoying after a while). However, I was met at the train station and we headed off to the Taj. I'll post some pictures another day when I can get them up but suffice it to say this is a monumental, awesome, superlative piece of art/architecture, history, and so on.
The grounds cover many acres but the designer of the Taj constructed it in such a way that when you look at it there is nothing behind it but sky. This and many other countless details combine to make it a beautiful, striking, fantastic piece of art...but in reality a tomb. Perhaps the most beautiful gravestone in the world;-). Following our exploration of the Taj we went to the Red Fort a fort and palace where the king who constructed the Taj actually lived. This too is another amazing piece of Mughal architecture with marble baths, fountains, inlay work with semi-precious stones, massive walls, huge gates, etc. By this point in time the sun came out and it got VERY hot. The high today was 46C according to my guide. After the Red Fort and the obligatory stops at the craft shops we went to the B&B where I am spending tonight. A lovely lunch of egg curry, rice, roti (basically Indian tortillas), yogurt, etc was prepared. I had a bit of a nap and then set out to see some more sights.
The afternoon was similar to the morning - exploring the ancient history of Agra. Tomorrow morning I return to Delhi and will be with the sisters for meeting in the afternoon which will be very nice. On Monday I head to Darjeeling to see the tea plantations and hopefully enjoy some cooler temperatures in the mountains.
Hope all is well in Canada.
The grounds cover many acres but the designer of the Taj constructed it in such a way that when you look at it there is nothing behind it but sky. This and many other countless details combine to make it a beautiful, striking, fantastic piece of art...but in reality a tomb. Perhaps the most beautiful gravestone in the world;-). Following our exploration of the Taj we went to the Red Fort a fort and palace where the king who constructed the Taj actually lived. This too is another amazing piece of Mughal architecture with marble baths, fountains, inlay work with semi-precious stones, massive walls, huge gates, etc. By this point in time the sun came out and it got VERY hot. The high today was 46C according to my guide. After the Red Fort and the obligatory stops at the craft shops we went to the B&B where I am spending tonight. A lovely lunch of egg curry, rice, roti (basically Indian tortillas), yogurt, etc was prepared. I had a bit of a nap and then set out to see some more sights.
The afternoon was similar to the morning - exploring the ancient history of Agra. Tomorrow morning I return to Delhi and will be with the sisters for meeting in the afternoon which will be very nice. On Monday I head to Darjeeling to see the tea plantations and hopefully enjoy some cooler temperatures in the mountains.
Hope all is well in Canada.
No comments:
Post a Comment