Trip report to India, part two
Mar 10th, 2005 | 02:29 PM
#1
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Trip report to India, part two
We hired a car and were driven to Agra. There is a new road and all went pretty well. Along the way we were entertained by a monkey and bear show at one of the toll stops. Good thing for the monkey the bear had a muzzle on otherwise he might have been dinner. 
All the time we saved traveling on this new road was lost and then some when we hit in town traffic. In short in was horrible. It took 6 hrs. to reach our hotel, the Taj View. And it does live up to its name. We went off to see the Taj after checking in and folks even though this is the 4th time I have seen it, and I do consider myself very lucky, you can never get tired of it. It is the most magnificent structure I have ever seen. Its beauty has to be seen to be believed. we hired a guide who was with us for around 30 min and asked for 20 rupees or about 45 cents. He did not hustle or bug us for more but he got plenty more! Wish we had him at Pushkar but that is another story. Interestingly the original plan was to have a 2nd Taj, the exact duplicate of the 1st across the river in BLACK marble for Shah Jahan. This never materialized as he was overthrown by his son. Shah Jahan never set foot in the Taj until he was laid to rest there upon his death. We then went back to the hotel for a nap and then had dinner at the Sheraton, a short walk from the Taj View. The meal was terrific! Interestingly around 2200 that night a band was playing outside our hotel. Weird I thought. Well they dispersed quickly and later we found out that marriages are often conducted at night. It all depends on what the priest says is the best time for the happy couple to tie the knot based upon their astrological charts. Several times after that we saw wedding processions at night with huge portable lamps carried by bearers which were all strung together and connected to a portable generator. We left he next day for Del. Interestingly it saved us alot of money to have our relatives there book the hotel rather tan us doing it from here. What also surprised me was that the cost of our room was slighty less than the room for our nephew and his wife who accompanied us. I thought as US citizens we would have to pay more, esp. as there were 3 of us in a room. We of course did some shopping and a word to the wise is this. If they tell you its marble but its really inexpensive then its chalk covered stone. I learned this trick a long time ago. We did spend arounf $220.00 for a beautiful replica Taj from a reputable store and it now adorns our bow window. Very nice indeeed. We had a great breakfast at the hotel, then it was time to go back to Delhi. Along the way back we stopped to visit my nieces uncle who owns and operates a school there. We had a nice lunch and I couldn't help but notice that he was packing. Yes, I mean he had a revolver in his pants. Why? Well apparently there had been some trouble at the school recently. It had to do with this being a Christain school in a predominately non-Christain area. In fact there was an armed guard at the gate. He asked if I wanted to fire a shot in the air and said around here no one would care. I sort of wanted to as I used to be an avid pistol marksman but felt it better to decline. I say this as a statement of fact with no intent to lay out a judgement. This is just how it was. Perhaps if I was in his situation I would have done the same. After that it was back to Delhi and more nervous traffic and another night time wedding procession lighting up the street. Next, the Shadabti to Ajmer
All the time we saved traveling on this new road was lost and then some when we hit in town traffic. In short in was horrible. It took 6 hrs. to reach our hotel, the Taj View. And it does live up to its name. We went off to see the Taj after checking in and folks even though this is the 4th time I have seen it, and I do consider myself very lucky, you can never get tired of it. It is the most magnificent structure I have ever seen. Its beauty has to be seen to be believed. we hired a guide who was with us for around 30 min and asked for 20 rupees or about 45 cents. He did not hustle or bug us for more but he got plenty more! Wish we had him at Pushkar but that is another story. Interestingly the original plan was to have a 2nd Taj, the exact duplicate of the 1st across the river in BLACK marble for Shah Jahan. This never materialized as he was overthrown by his son. Shah Jahan never set foot in the Taj until he was laid to rest there upon his death. We then went back to the hotel for a nap and then had dinner at the Sheraton, a short walk from the Taj View. The meal was terrific! Interestingly around 2200 that night a band was playing outside our hotel. Weird I thought. Well they dispersed quickly and later we found out that marriages are often conducted at night. It all depends on what the priest says is the best time for the happy couple to tie the knot based upon their astrological charts. Several times after that we saw wedding processions at night with huge portable lamps carried by bearers which were all strung together and connected to a portable generator. We left he next day for Del. Interestingly it saved us alot of money to have our relatives there book the hotel rather tan us doing it from here. What also surprised me was that the cost of our room was slighty less than the room for our nephew and his wife who accompanied us. I thought as US citizens we would have to pay more, esp. as there were 3 of us in a room. We of course did some shopping and a word to the wise is this. If they tell you its marble but its really inexpensive then its chalk covered stone. I learned this trick a long time ago. We did spend arounf $220.00 for a beautiful replica Taj from a reputable store and it now adorns our bow window. Very nice indeeed. We had a great breakfast at the hotel, then it was time to go back to Delhi. Along the way back we stopped to visit my nieces uncle who owns and operates a school there. We had a nice lunch and I couldn't help but notice that he was packing. Yes, I mean he had a revolver in his pants. Why? Well apparently there had been some trouble at the school recently. It had to do with this being a Christain school in a predominately non-Christain area. In fact there was an armed guard at the gate. He asked if I wanted to fire a shot in the air and said around here no one would care. I sort of wanted to as I used to be an avid pistol marksman but felt it better to decline. I say this as a statement of fact with no intent to lay out a judgement. This is just how it was. Perhaps if I was in his situation I would have done the same. After that it was back to Delhi and more nervous traffic and another night time wedding procession lighting up the street. Next, the Shadabti to Ajmer
Mar 12th, 2005 | 07:29 AM
#7
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I forgot one thing. I really wanted to call my work to tell them I was viewing the most beautiful structure I have ever seen when we went to visit the Taj. Of course then I would have been speaking to the night folks given the time difference. However cell phones are not allowed on the Taj premises. Bummer.
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Mar 19th, 2005 | 09:20 PM
#8
Joined: Feb 2003
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Hi jacketwatch-just a word of advice for your next trip-educated travellers do not stop at "monkey & bear shows". Stopping encourages the awful people who use these poor animals for "entertainment" to continue with the practice! I'm not an animal activist-just an animal lover & I am ashamed (as a human) that these poor creatures have to endure muzzles etc. for our entertainment. Just my humble opinion!
Mar 21st, 2005 | 06:29 PM
#11
Joined: Feb 2003
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Hi jw-sorry I upset you however it really bothers me when people say "we were entertained by a monkey and bear show". What's so entertaining about stopping at a toll booth watching some unfortunate creatures "jump through hoops" for money? I'm sure you get my drift! Happy days!
