Day Three: Jaipur

On the last day of our trip, we were in Jaipur. Since we only had one day (and a relatively short one at that) we didn't think we would be able to see much. The night before and in the morning before taking off, we were looking in the book and chose a couple of things that we figured we could do. When we met up with our driver, he recommended a tour guide for the day free of charge (I'm not completely sure how that works but we weren't going to complain, we did tip him at the end of the day). We said sure. I think it also helped the driver because I'm not sure how well he knew the city to get around.

Jaipur is knows as the Pink City because the walled city part is made entirely of sandstone which gives it a pickish color. The royal parts of the city were made of something else though because it was yellow which was a handy way to knowing what belonged to the royal family.

The first thing we saw was called Hawa Mahal or Palace of Winds. It was right on the street surrounded by all the little shops and people selling stuff. It was really wide but only one room deep and covered with windows of a sort. It was built for the veiled ladies of the Harem to be able to see what was going on in the market without being seen. So the windows were made so you can see out but not be seen. This is pretty common in the Muslim architecture in the area. I'm not completely sure why but we didn't go in this one, we only saw it from the street.

From there we went to Jantar Mantar which is an observatory of sorts. There were five of them built around India but this one is the largest and in the best shape. There were all kinds of large stone instruments used to tell time, chart the constellations, and planets, draw up horoscopes and calculate he angles of starts and planet from the equator. They were all really accurate and we could see the ones that use the sun in action. It was so cool that I had to remind Jason to take pictures. If it weren't so hot we would have spent more time there but it was really hot and there wasn't much shade.

From there we went to the City Palace. There were four parts that we went to: the museum that used to be a guest house and now has textiles, an open columned area with some big silver urns, a courtyard with ornate doorways and a shop with crafts in action. The museum with the textiles has clothes from the royal family. The most impressive was the outfit from the guy that was seven feet tall and so fat that his pants were wider than they were tall (I don't remember how wide). Another interesting thing was to see their woolen winter clothes. I guess it can get cold there although that was hard to fathom as we were sweltering. The big silver urns are in the Guinness Book of World Record as the largest silver objects and were used to carry water from the Ganges to London. I can only assume the Ganges was cleaner back then but probably not. Sacredness is not determined by cleanliness I suppose. One weird thing about the urns is the guy that was in our picture. I believe he is a guard but he seems to only stand around and jump in people's pictures then ask for a tip. Strange. The courtyard is outside the current palace (which we could have gone into for the same amount of money each as our hotel room cost) and has four different doorways. Each one is intricately decorated and depicts the different seasons. Of course their seasons are different here: the peacock season, the flower season, the sun season and the harvest season. In the shop, we sat and watched a man show us how they painted the miniature paintings that Rajasthan is famous for. He would take a colored stone and rub it on his table top (maybe marble) then add water and it would become like a watercolor paint. Then he had a really fine brush that was one hair thick at the tip.

Now it was time to leave the walled city. We stopped briefly and looked at the Water Palace. It's built out in the middle of the late and looks like it's just sitting on the water. There was no shade here so we left sleeping Anna in the air conditioned car and stepped out briefly to look and take quick pictures before moving on.

Then we drove up to the Amber Fort. I was worried we wouldn't be able to see it because I couldn't tell how far out of town it was and I didn't know how much time we would have. Fortunately, it's not too far and we moved quickly through the rest of the place (we don't dilly dally). It was up on top of the hill and the drive up was pretty. The view from the top was beautiful. We couldn't drive all the way up so we were dropped off and had to walk up the rest of the way. The fort palace was used as the citadel before the capital moved to Jaipur but rulers kept coming up on special occasions. After we got inside, I thought that the royal families would have been in good shape until I remembered that they were probably carried up by servants.

The fort was in the process of renovation so parts of it were amazing and parts were less than stellar. We walked all over it and I must confess I don't remember what everything was but it was cool. There were a lot of paintings on the walls that were being renovated and some beautiful inlay. One really ornate room we couldn't go in because it was too delicate.

Surprisingly, after all of this, we still had time so we did a little shopping (apparently guides can be a good call). Mostly we looked around but we did end up buying me a turquoise necklace. Anna already loves it. Then it was time to go to the train station to head home. While we were waiting for it, I looked at the board to see when it was due to arrive and noticed that were had misread the time by about 4 hours (stupid 24 hour time). So, rather than wait around in the hot, stuffy station, we took a rickshaw back to our hotel. We had already checked out but they have a roof-top restaurant so we hung out up there and ate a bit and rested. Then we took a rickshaw back to the station and caught our train.

Day Two: Agra

On the second day of our trip we drove down to Agra. When we were working on planning, the driver said it would take 5 hours to drive the 200 km. Fortunately it didn't take that long because we didn't leave Delhi until about 10:30. I think it took us more like three and a half. It rained while we were on the road but by the time we got to Agra, it had stopped. There was a lot of standing water though and at one point as we were going through the city there was a huge puddle and people were backed up in both directions trying to get through it. We made it but we passed a rickshaw that had gotten stuck.

While there are some other things to do in Agra, our time was limited (especially with the late start) so we only had time to see the Taj Mahal. Which was still pretty cool. The way it's set up is, you have to park the car and then either walk, get a horse cart (which we did), a camel cart, or a bike rickshaw to the entrance of the Taj complex which is about 1.5 km away. Also at the parking place we decided to hire a guide. He started telling us the history of the place as we drove to the entrance.

The gate that leads to the Taj Mahal (after the ticket gate)

The Taj complex starts with a gate in a wall where you buy your ticket and go through security. One funny thing is that our ticket included a bottle of water (you couldn't take your own in, I don't remember why) and shoe covers so we didn't have to take our shoes off (although I kind of wish we had, I've found I like walking around barefoot).

Once through the gate, there is another gate that leads to where the Taj actually is. Because it was a Sunday afternoon, there were a ton of people there. Most of whom wanted to get their picture taken with Anna. A group would come up an take several pictures with just trading out who stood on either side of us.

So as everyone knows, the Taj Mahal is a tomb built for the man's wife. Apparently she was the second wife of three. I wondered how the other two wives (who have to share a tomb) thought of that but oh well. The man is also buried there. Apparently he was going to build a matching one out of black marble but he ran out of money so he had to go there. Unfortunately his tomb messed up the symmetry of the place but I guess we will forgive him. Other than that, the whole place is symmetrical. There is even a mosque to the left so they built a guest house on the right that matches the mosque.

The mosque to the left.

The guide said that the four pillars lean out slightly because if there is an earthquake, that way they will fall out and not on the Taj itself. Apparently there was an earthquake not long before he started building it but hasn't been one since then. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

Detail of the relief carving and inlay. The color is all inlay of semiprecious stones.

There was no photography inside the tomb and Jason didn't sneak any pictures this time. It was really dark and hot and stuffy and smelly in there though. We were glad when it was time to leave the tomb room. Ironically, what we saw were actually only replicas of the tombs which are underground. You used to be able to go down and see them and the replicas up top were for the peasants but that part has been closed off. Probably good because who knows how dark and hot and stuffy and smelly that would have been.

Another close-up of the marble carving.

We were for about two hours before getting back in the car and driving to Jaipur. This part of the journey was 235 km and the driver said it would take 5-6 hours. Fortunately it didn't take that long. By the time we got to our hotel it was more like 4. The road was not in good shape and it was worsened by construction but at least there wasn't traffic once we got out of Agra. One cool thing was that as we were driving through the country side, we saw a bunch of peacocks. I think the peacock is the national bird and they are everywhere here. Since they like to show off, they are easy to spot, usually in the middle of a field of on top of a building or something like that.

Getting to our hotel took a little while. Our driver didn't know where it was so he stopped and asked for directions several times. Sometimes the person didn't know where it was either but a couple of times they did. We only had to turn around once so that was nice. Our hotel was great but I will talk about that in the Jaipur post.

Now back to our trip: Delhi

So the first day we spent in Delhi. It was a beautiful city with lots of trees and really green. Of course that was probably just where we were which was the international section of the city (we stayed in a hostel) where all the embassies are and stuff. Either way, it was nice after the long train ride.

Our first stop was at the Red Fort. This was the seat of Mughal power until 1857 and where the first Indian flag was flown. It was a huge sandstone complex with a number of different buildings and beautiful grounds. The buildings were mostly all open so we could see inside even if we couldn't go inside. They also had a museum with things like clothes and paintings and other artifacts.

From there we went to the Baha'i House of Worship which is a huge, lotus shaped building. It's like a prayer house so the inside is just a big room with chairs and a pulpit at the front. All along the wall there were quotes that I assume relate to the Baha'i faith. They would let people in in groups and we had to take off our shoes, be quiet, and couldn't take pictures. Of courses Jason surreptitiously got a couple of the ceiling. This was Jason's favorite thing we did the whole trip.

That evening, after dinner, we saw the India Gate. It reminded me of the Arch de Triumph (not that I have ever seen it in person) and commemorates Indian and British soldiers who have died in war. It was really pretty seeing it at night and there were a bunch of people just milling around including, what else, people selling stuff. Jason let me get cotton candy. MMMM

The next day, before we left for Agra, we stopped off at Lodi Gardens. We didn't have much time but as we were walking around we stumbled upon a tomb and a mosque. They were really cool although they stunk inside. I think people have lived in them over the years. While we were there we got to see some parrots. There was also a bonsai garden but it was closed (Jason was way bummed).

We had fun in Delhi but I have a feeling we only scratched the surface of the city. Maybe some day when we live here again we'll come back and see more.

Catastrophe Adverted (barely)

Last night we almost had to unwillingly wean Anna off her binkie. As I was putting her to bed, partway through the bedtime routine, I noticed that her binkie was gone. I figured she had just dropped it on the floor and I would get it when we got to the end of things and I was ready to sing to her and put her down (she was in a good mood so I didn't really need it just then). When the time came to sing, I couldn't find it anywhere. Her room is not that big and it's clean so there aren't that many places for it to hide. I retraced me steps and searched even where I was pretty sure it wasn't (like the rest of the apartment). Jason even looked in the trash with all the dirty diapers. Anna was intrigued with us running around but when we turned the lights off and she still was without the binkie, it wasn't funny anymore and she wasn't happy.

Now part of putting her to bed includes closing her window. I used to have her AC on all day because she was always in there sleeping but after a while it started being less effective. Now I only have it on at night and during the day we go with an open window and her ceiling fan. Seeing as there are no screens we thought she might have thrown it out the window. The problem with that was that she wasn't that close to the window and the curtain was in the way (or so I thought). I did check the ledge outside as well as the lower, bigger ledge and we didn't see it either of those places. As a last ditch effort, Jason went outside to see if it had made it to the groud and we just couldn't see it because it was dark.

While I was waiting for him to come back, I decided to try to calm Anna. While I don't usually pick her up after I have put her down I figured this time I could make an exception. It took a little bit to get her to stop screaming but she calmed down after a bit. Fortunately Jason came back with the binkie! It was in the parking lot and after we washed it off, Anna got it and promptly went sleep.

Now, the obvious question is why, oh why do we only have one binkie?!? I honestly don't know. I know we did have more (three others in fact) at one point but when we were moving we gave two away to some friends who are having twins and I have no idea what happened to the other one. Apparently it didn't make it to India. Besides, we haven't had this problem before thanks to the binkie tether which has, unfortunately broken. We did have a second one of those too but it's another thing that I don't know where it is. I thought it was here but I haven't seen it since unpacking. I guess we just need to get another one.

One of Jason's panoramas. This is the Amber Fort, just outside of Jaipur, from the road.

On a completely unrelated note, Jason has found a new toy. He was going through the pictures on our trip and started putting together the panoramas he took. Photoshop has a tool called photomerge and he loves it. All you do is choose the pictures you want it to merge and it puts them together mostly seamlessly into a panorama shot. He started merging pictures that he hadn't taken for that purpose but went together anyway. He had a fun night.

The Problem with Tourist Attractions...

is that not only is it full of tourists but people who cater to tourists. And in the case of the Golden Triangle, foreign tourists. When we got out of the train station in Delhi, we were mobbed by a bunch of rickshaw drivers asking if we needed a taxi. I was really glad that we had a car and a driver but we had to find him and our walking around looking kind of lost was practically an invitation. We were able to meet up with him and get in the car without problems (he had a sign with our name on it). The same thing happened when we got out of the train station in Ahmedabad. There was one rickshaw driver in particular who would not leave us alone and followed us almost all the way to the parking lot. It took us a while to find our driver that time because he was waiting at one exit and we came out another. Plus, he is hard to pick out in a crowd, he kind of blends in. Jason was saying he could easily be a spy, or he may already be one.

Then anywhere we got out of the car to go to wherever we wanted to go, there would inevitably be a bunch of people selling different things. For the most part I avoided them by not making eye contact. Sometimes they would still offer me things but usually backed off when I said no. This didn't bother me so much as the people who wouldn't take no for an answer. Fortunately that was the minority.

At one point, when we crossed the state boarder, we had to stop the car and the driver got out to, I think, pay taxes. Naturally a number of people then came up to the car with things to sell. I tried to focus on Anna with the hopes that they would go away while surreptitiously sneaking peeks at what they had to sell (what can I say, I love window shopping). There were two guys with necklaces, one with a mini wooden chess set, one selling peacock feather fans (which were really pretty, I fear I looked too long at that one so he was harder to get rid of) and some guys with monkeys on leashes. These were smaller than the monkeys we have here and I have no idea what he was going to have them do to get money out of us. One of them jumped on the outside of the car but I refused to look.

While I am good a avoiding things like this, Jason has a soft spot in his heart for the kids. Often they would talk to us when we got out of the car and Jason would talk to them a bit and tell them to find him when we get out. He figures if they do then they are committed to the sale and he can talk them down (he is a shrewd negotiator). This happened twice and we got some good deals on postcard books.

The other thing to look out for are the pickpockets. A number of places we went to had signs to be careful of your valuables. For that reason, Jason carried anything of monetary value and I had Anna. This especially was nice so I didn't have to worry about the people who were taking their picture with us wanting anything more than a picture. One time a guy came up to Jason and said he was an American too and wanted a picture with him. I have no idea why but was nervous when he stood on Jason's side with the diaper bag (where we had things like money and passports). So I got on Jason's other side and put my hand on the bag. When we left, we checked and everything was there. Of course, it would have been impressive if he had taken something of value out of the bottom of that stuffed diaper bag. I know I have a hard time finding the things I want.

At a couple of places we hired guides to show us around. They turned out to be very helpful in pointing things out and giving us context. Plus, we could comfortably give them our camera and get pictures of all three of us. They also helped with things like buying tickets in Jaipur and at the Taj Mahal the security guards pulled some things out of the diaper bag that we couldn't take in with us (I have no idea why) and the guide left and put them in a locker for us then got them back at the end.

The Trains

We are back from our whirlwind trip. I'm thinking I'll talk about it by category rather than chronologically so I can remember things and to give us time to get our pictures in order. So, first, our train experiences. To get to Delhi, we took an overnight train. I had never been on a train before and was kind of excited after all of the movies I've seen involving trains (and not just the ones where people die or disappear). Our driver took us to the station and found out which platform to be on and then waited until the train arrived and told us which compartment was ours. He was very helpful and I have a sneaky suspicion that Grace put him up to it (she called us while we were waiting for the train to make sure things were going smoothly). He was also helpful because if the people looking at Anna got too close, he would tell them to back away.

For going out, we weren't able to get first class so we were in the next best thing called two-tier AC. That means that there are two beds, with AC, but only a curtain separating you from the walkway. Our compartment was on the end by the door which means we didn't have anyone across from us, it was like having a private compartment which I really enjoyed. The beds folded up for when we were awake and there was a little table and plenty of space between us and the wall.

Anna thought the train was pretty cool. When we first got on, she was jumping and looking around. Then we put her on the seat and she was scooting and rolling. Unfortunately, sleeping on the train wasn't as much fun for her. I put her in her car seat and put her on the floor. She slept ok but she is getting to the point where she doesn't sleep so well in her car seat. I think it's because she can't roll onto her tummy. She woke up a number of times in the night so naturally I did too. Once Jason woke up, he watched her for a bit while I rested until we arrived. I don't know how much sleep I actually got but I did feel a bit better.

There was another little girl near us and she kept coming over to see Anna and then to offer us some of her food. She was really cute but got a little bit annoying after a while. Her mom would come over and take her back. At one point, she had no interest in going back and resisted it for a while. I guess we were pretty fun.

When we first started on our journey, there were a ton of people coming along with all sorts of things. First there were the bedding people. They brought pillows, blankets and sheets. Then people selling food: bottled water, tomato soup, chai tea, cold tea and other cold drinks, omelet sandwiches, and finally dinner. We were hungry when we first got on so we got a couple of omelet sandwiches. They came wrapped in newspaper! We kind of hoped there was something like foil under it but no, only the newspaper. We tried not to think about it as we ate our sandwiches which were pretty good. After a little bit, Jason was hungry again so he got some tomato soup. The guy selling it had it in something like a cooler with a spigot and held it in his legs while he dispensed it into the cup. Dinner, in true Indian fashion was at around 9 pm. It had a couple of dishes with rice, roti and some digestive plain yogurt. It was pretty good even if it was all yellow (they only have three food groups here, the yellow group, the green group and then red group). Breakfast was more omelet sandwiches.

On the train back, it was another overnight sleep but this time we were in first class. The main differences were that it was bigger and had a door that we could close. Unfortunately, we had to share it with two guys. So while the beds were bigger, I was less comfortable. I did have Anna sleep with me rather than her seat that time and I think it helped both of us sleep better. She did so-so but they guys were pretty tolerant of her cries. Our train was later and we ended up missing dinner. It was also earlier and we didn't have time for breakfast. All in all, I enjoyed our trip out better.

While the driver who picked us up was there, he was waiting at a different place than we came out so after getting rid of all of the rickshaw drivers trying to give us a ride and walking over to the parking area, we called Bindu who called him and told him where we were (we didn't have his number). Then we went home and Anna and I took naps while Jason got ready for and went to work.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Our little goodwill ambassador in Udaipur.

Other than the plane part, that pretty much sums up our coming weekend. Jason is taking Monday off work and we are leaving tonight to take an all night train to Delhi. (Side note, Bindu said it used to take 3 days in a non-A/C coal-powered train. When they got there they would be completely black from all the soot because everyone wanted to sit by the window.) From Delhi, we have hired a car and a driver to take us down to Agra where the Taj Mahal is and then it's off to Jaipur. From there, we come home on another all night train.

It's going to be a LOT of time in the car but that seemed like a better idea than taking the train. Plus, Bindu and Grace are worried about us enough as it is. They might just die if we were on the train and had to use rickshaws to get around at our different locations. Yesterday Grace was giving us advice along the lines of "don't trust anyone". She even asked the driver to follow us when we were going around in the different cities and make sure we were safe.

I'm really excited to do this but a little apprehensive at the same time. I've never been on a train before and don't really know what to expect. We do have places to stay which look good but somehow our schedule is such that we do an obscene amount of driving on the middle day. Hmmm. Plus, I have a lot to do today before we leave.

So we are off to exotic locations (although the longer we are here, the less exotic the locales seem) and I will be back on Tuesday and will eventually tell you all about it.