Hi! :-D
All has gone according to plan to this point....although I feel a little lost today because it's the first day that I've had without a plane or train! (I am in Banalore now at the Murphy's, but this blog account covers only my first couple days).
Here's what I've been up to.....
- I only had one connection on the flight here and made it to Delhi probably faster than anyone. My departing plane was boarding when I landed in Amsterdam. I stopped rushing when I ran across a Target employee and her family on the way out of the place. I only knew she had a connection to TGT because of the Mizrahi designed Target bag she was carrying- a one of a kind freebie given out at our annual meeting. I met her for the first time, but she knew of me as she works in an area that I used to work in. Her brother (?) assured me that "it's the airlines liability, not ours. They'll wait for us. ". And so they did. No worries, we had plenty of time.
I arrived in Delhi about 'lunchtime' Friday for you. It was really after midnight here though....and I turned out the lights at 1a.m. with a 4:45 wake-up call to catch my train to Agra early Saturday a.m.
Holy sightseeing batman:
1) Saw the Taj- no reading could prepare me. The size of it, the intricate detail all over the outside carved with many illusionary methods to portray perfection and symmetry, what the inlaid gemstones really look like in the white marble....incredible. The Taj is a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his favorite queen. He is laid to rest beside her here. It took over 17 years and 20,000 men to build. She died giving birth to their 14 child....that must have been a powerful love!
2) The Red Fort of Agra. (Photo of Red building, above). Also built by the Mogul empire, this by Emporer Akbar (1566). Beautiful red sandstone fort with intricate carving and architecture design. It provided for water cooled air conditioning in the emporer's rooms. It is only a couple km's from the Taj. Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the last years of his life here by his son. He was able to see the Taj from the fort, but not allowed to go visit his late wife.
3) Fetehpur Sikri-a. (Photo of white marble temple within the ruins, above). A preserved palatial 'ghost town' abandoned only 16 years after it was built. After the Taj, this was most impressive.....and usually not seen by many tourists because it's a 1 hr drive outside of Agra. The interesting thing....no one really knows why it was abandoned?! Water supply is a favorite guess.
4) Visited a craft shop grinding gemstones into intricate and tiny patterns for inlay into white marble. This is the technique used at the Taj and famous to the area.
5) Visited a hand made persian run craft shop..... and somehow managed to get out without buying one. Whew!
6) Visited a gem/jewelry shop and got the low down on gems available only to this area (they are not released to anyone except local craftsman).
7) At last.....it was over an hour late, but caught the train back to Delhi. Arriving back at my hotel again after midnight.
How?
The travel service that Tracy hunted up for me was incredible. I had the same driver and 'lead' in Delhi and another team that met me in Agra along with a guide. Most people don't get the extra lead...but, I was the only single person and he thought that it would be nice to always ride in my car. We had great conversation- they taught me a lot. You have no idea how nice it is to get off onto a train platform late at night and be immediately accosted with a warm handshake, smile and excited questions about my day from my driver.
He assured me of two things. My country is the best. (And, after telling him about the rest of my visit with Tracy, Tom and the kids) he assured me that the next time I travel to India, I'll have children of my own! I think not!!!!
Until next time, W:)
All has gone according to plan to this point....although I feel a little lost today because it's the first day that I've had without a plane or train! (I am in Banalore now at the Murphy's, but this blog account covers only my first couple days).
Here's what I've been up to.....
- I only had one connection on the flight here and made it to Delhi probably faster than anyone. My departing plane was boarding when I landed in Amsterdam. I stopped rushing when I ran across a Target employee and her family on the way out of the place. I only knew she had a connection to TGT because of the Mizrahi designed Target bag she was carrying- a one of a kind freebie given out at our annual meeting. I met her for the first time, but she knew of me as she works in an area that I used to work in. Her brother (?) assured me that "it's the airlines liability, not ours. They'll wait for us. ". And so they did. No worries, we had plenty of time.
I arrived in Delhi about 'lunchtime' Friday for you. It was really after midnight here though....and I turned out the lights at 1a.m. with a 4:45 wake-up call to catch my train to Agra early Saturday a.m.
Holy sightseeing batman:
1) Saw the Taj- no reading could prepare me. The size of it, the intricate detail all over the outside carved with many illusionary methods to portray perfection and symmetry, what the inlaid gemstones really look like in the white marble....incredible. The Taj is a mausoleum built by Shah Jahan as a memorial to his favorite queen. He is laid to rest beside her here. It took over 17 years and 20,000 men to build. She died giving birth to their 14 child....that must have been a powerful love!
2) The Red Fort of Agra. (Photo of Red building, above). Also built by the Mogul empire, this by Emporer Akbar (1566). Beautiful red sandstone fort with intricate carving and architecture design. It provided for water cooled air conditioning in the emporer's rooms. It is only a couple km's from the Taj. Shah Jahan was imprisoned for the last years of his life here by his son. He was able to see the Taj from the fort, but not allowed to go visit his late wife.
3) Fetehpur Sikri-a. (Photo of white marble temple within the ruins, above). A preserved palatial 'ghost town' abandoned only 16 years after it was built. After the Taj, this was most impressive.....and usually not seen by many tourists because it's a 1 hr drive outside of Agra. The interesting thing....no one really knows why it was abandoned?! Water supply is a favorite guess.
4) Visited a craft shop grinding gemstones into intricate and tiny patterns for inlay into white marble. This is the technique used at the Taj and famous to the area.
5) Visited a hand made persian run craft shop..... and somehow managed to get out without buying one. Whew!
6) Visited a gem/jewelry shop and got the low down on gems available only to this area (they are not released to anyone except local craftsman).
7) At last.....it was over an hour late, but caught the train back to Delhi. Arriving back at my hotel again after midnight.
How?
The travel service that Tracy hunted up for me was incredible. I had the same driver and 'lead' in Delhi and another team that met me in Agra along with a guide. Most people don't get the extra lead...but, I was the only single person and he thought that it would be nice to always ride in my car. We had great conversation- they taught me a lot. You have no idea how nice it is to get off onto a train platform late at night and be immediately accosted with a warm handshake, smile and excited questions about my day from my driver.
He assured me of two things. My country is the best. (And, after telling him about the rest of my visit with Tracy, Tom and the kids) he assured me that the next time I travel to India, I'll have children of my own! I think not!!!!
Until next time, W:)
1 comment:
Glad to see you've made all your connections and are at the Murphy's now!
The Taj sounds amazing. Keep up the travelblog - I almost feel like I'm there (without the jet lag)!
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