New Delhi is under construction. Or better yet construction is over New Delhi. Everywhere you look there is a new over pass, highway or sky train. There are metros going in, streets being remade and a crane on ever corner. This is not an exaggeration. There is so much construction that they can't reroute the traffic as the next street has an elevated highway going up and the one after is being dug up to put in a metro. So you walk, cycle and drive around all the heavy machinery. Its a little scary! I was joined in this adventure by Shani, who I had visited in Hong Kong a few months ago.
We started out on a Monday and it turns out that just about all the tourist areas in Delhi are close don Mondays! So we had a nice tour of the city trying to find some sights which we did. I don't remember the name but we some some grand old fort type thing, not the red fort which was closed, and got ready for our early morning train to Agra.
Agra is the home of the Taj Mahal and a few other world heritage sights. We hired a cab for the day and were taken to all the highlights. The first being a fort built by Emperor Akbar for his 3 wives. One Christian, One Hindu and one Jedi. I mean Muslim. It was quite beautiful but it was too hot to care! On the way we had a yummy lunch with one dish being a fruit curry, with bananas, grapes and some other tasty treats. It was fantastic and a meal I wont soon forget. There was some great architecture, especially in one of the wives rooms, and this was one lucky man...although I think his end was not so super.... He didn't even get to blow up a death star like Admiral Akbar... (see: 'Return of the Jedi' He's the red fish like guy)
We were getting friendlier with the cab driver and he wanted to take us to his home to talk a little English with his son. We went along and had some tea, and a little slightly awkward talk. We met the rest of the family, a daughter and another son, and the wife, and they invited us back for dinner. I had been wanting a home cooked meal for a long time and we were both quite excited. The youngest son had never been to out next destination so he came along with us. It was a Grand Fort, and fun to appear to be a western family with an Indian child. It seemed like security was looking at us a little funny but that was fun too.
There was a view from the taj from this place and again great architecture. All the stuff, except the Taj seemed to be made of the same red sandstone and the same design, all beautiful but a little repetitive.
Next stop was the Taj and I will give a few words of personal background. I like to label myself as visitting 'real' areas of countries, and trying to avoid the craziest tourist areas. I had no full desire to see the taj, and ony Shani did. I will be forever grateful to her. As soon as we walked through the gate and saw the building my heart and breathing stopped. I was pie eyed. What a magnificent building! The everything about it.... color, proportions, lines, curves all blend into absolute beauty. No picture will do it justice, nor any description.
If you are a Muslim,
do the haj,
every one else,
go see the taj.
Okay no more poetry and Muslms should see it too...but as a once in a lifetime journey this one is worth it.
There is nothing more I can say.
We lest after dark and headed back to the cabbies home. There as a powerfailure so we sat on the roof under a full moon. The heat was quite high up there and the daughter and grandmother produced fans and began to fan Shani! Indian hospitality is awesome! We had tasty food, they had asked what we wanted to which I shouted Bhindi! (Okra or lady finger) and a couple otehr curries as well as bread and water.
I think they even bought some bottled water for us. It was great. Shani got to try on a Sari...
I think they were a little sad when she did not purcahse it (where do you wear one in Hong Kong?) and we said our goodbyes...
The next morning we caught a train...it was an hout late but we eventually got on and upgraded out of crazy class to sleeper class and had a good ride back to Delhi, followed by a local bus ride to our hotel.
On this bus the shoulder wraps of ladie's Saris were blowing in the wind a couple feet out the windows, so our bus had beautiful multi colored flags blowing alongside it!
Either that day or our first day in Delhi we popped in on a movie during the hot part of the day, a great move in the heat... and at ngiht (deffinately that night) we went to the Red Fort (closed on Monday) for a sound and light show. It was great for a while. There were speakers and maybe 20 clored lights going on and off tellin gthe history of the fort. With jsut sound effects it made your imagination work more than watchign TV and I enjoyed the medium quite a bit. I didn't enjoy the mosquitoes and Shani was as bored as I was itchy so we both were happy to take off. We went to dinner by bicycle rickshawa t a fancy restaurant with live music. The food was tasty and the music good but on bad speakers, as is most amplified music in India.
The next daywewent for a a yoga class at the Sivananda center in south Delhi. While I really enjoyed the class the highlight was being in a residential neighbourhood, clean and quiet, and very surprising. Next was a cooking class nearby. We go tit out of the lonely planet and while we had fun it was a super disappointment. We paid 1200 hundred rupees each, about $30 top watch a nice man cook mediocre food. While we each made a flat bread, he did everything else. We had both done other classes where you go to the market, learn about the food and everyone gets their own mini kitchen to cook on. We had a 100 rupee meal and paid 1100 rupees to watch someone make it. Good business! Also it was in another neighbourhood, in an upscale apartment. Change my view of dirty dusty loud Delhi. Going back we had tuk Tuk driver offer us a reasonable price without even trying to bargain. I almost fainted. It was a great wayto head home.
The next day I was off to Rishikesh to get a little more into the yoga!
Serve Love Give Purify Meditate Realize!
Swami Sivananda
