Travel to Delhi/Agra/Jaipur

Kids were off for Dushera so we decided to do some sight seeing in India which we haven’t done in 12 years. I couldn’t get much of Delhi as I was in the US. Kids and Pallavi enjoyed Delhi. On the only day I was there we managed the tour to the Parliament (it is by “vashila” only). To be frank it was such a let down. The premise is so poorly managed and does not give the feeling in any way that you are at the parliament. The carpets are run down, buildings are plain, the signs are pathetic, even the names of the members etc are in handwritten paint. It left a very bad impression and I wished I would have used that time to check something else out. In the evening, on insistence of other family members I went to the Swami Narayan Temple (Akshardham). It’s a huge premises with really nice architecture. It definitely is very beautifully done, but seems like a gross waste of money to showcase life of Neelkanth.

On the way though I ventured into the Delhi Metro which definitely was very impressive. It was very clean, great stations, signs that made sense and overall great. Would have liked Maps inside the trains too so that I know where to connect just in case I forgot what I saw on the Map outside (which I did).

Then we set off for Agra late evening. Reached late night. This whole trip was semi planned as in only the mode of travel was planned. Everything else was as and when we get there. So after reaching at about 12ish I set out the desi way of finding a hotel. After checking out 3 places managed to bargain a 5 start hotel guy to half price. Did feel good and part of mother land.

Next morning woke up at 5:30 to check out the sunrise at the TAJ MAHAL. The roads leading to the Taj or so awful that you start wondering if you actually are going to witness a wonder. After reaching we found out that the gates don’t open until 6:00 AM. Not to my surprise 80% of the folks out there so early were foreigners.

http://picasaweb.google.com/shahlalit/TajMahal02

Once the gates opened and we were beyond the security frisk I got a glimpse from the entry door right across. The whole setup really adds up to the anticipation and once you are through the door in front of the monument one just gets amazed. I was transfixed in a position for a long time until I remembered I had to take pictures too J Luckily the sunrise was still a few minutes away. In about 10 minutes we could see the orange tinge appearing on the monument and getting brighter. It was spell binding. In fact I don’t have words to explain the whole experience; you have to be there to take it all in.
Well it was just Mummy and I as the early birds so we headed back to the hotel and kicked the others out of bed. First stop was Agra fort followed by Fatehpur Sikri and then back to the Taj for the others.

Plan in the evening was take the train to Bikaner, then drive to Jaisalmer and spend a day there and come back to Jaipur. In a way it was a boon that we didn’t preplan the whole trip. The train to Bikaner was 5 hours late, which in turn would have completely messed up our Jaisalmer plans as we wouldn’t have been able to do the dunes. So we dropped that plan and got off at Jaipur. The travel was like what we had heard about Uttar Pradesh. 20 people were already occupying our berths and after a lot of arguing we got 2 of them back. I wonder how it would be in Bihar, but don’t want to find out personally.

Jaipur we were at Pallavi’s friend Ruchira’s place. Got some royal treatment there.
Really liked the city. They have preserved the old city very well. The City Palace was great and so were all the other sites like Hawa Mahel, Amber Fort with the ride on the elephant to the top, Seesh Mahal, Jantar Mantar, Chokhi Dhani, Jal Mahel, etc. We also took a day and half trip to a place called Khimsar. It’s a fort that is converted into a resort style hotel. But the time where we spent the night was at a Sand Dune that they have a resort at. It was beautiful. Jeep ride to the Dune, then Camel cart to the huts. Only 15 odd huts surrounded by serenity. No TV, no telephone, not even intercom. You actually have to ring a traditional hang bell to get the attendant. Took a camel ride to the top of the dune for the sunset, followed by dinner at the fort. Whole experience was relaxing and refreshing.

One thing I noticed after checking out the several forts and taking the guided tours. The Kings in that era really had a really lavish lifestyle. Cannot compare it with any other kings in history. One of the kings in Jaipur had built a fort to accommodate his 12 wives. Each one had a separate apartment of her own. They were architected in a way that at any given time any queen does not know who is with the King.
Perfume fountains, Summer and Winter sections in the Forts, Live dancers as pawns to play Ludo, the list is endless. The architecture was also amazing. Pillars of Diwan E Am so arranged that everyone has unobstructed view of the King, Air conditioning without electricity, Windows that have visibility only from one side, exquisite Marble carving, paintings that use vegetable colors and liquid gold… it was fascinating.

The other thing that I detested was the vendors shoving stuff in your throat. As an Indian I was getting so embarrased when they repeatedly harrassed the foreigners to buy stuff. How much ever reasoning I tried it really pissed me off.