Mark’s sister, Susan, came to visit us a couple of weeks ago (Nov. 6) and we had a fantastic time together.
The first couple of days were spent in Delhi easing our way into Indian culture and lifestyle. Unfortunately, the smelly, dirty side of Delhi decided to show itself in the form of terrible pollution so seeing things at a distance was difficult (I mean can’t see down the block bad). We made the best of it and visited Humayan’s Tomb, India Gate, the Presidential Palace, Tibetan shops, Jama Masjid and many parts of Old Delhi, plus a few nice spots for meals and breaks. We even got snake charmed.
At Humayan's Tomb
The ridiculous garments we were made to wear at Jama Masjid
At the crack of dawn Monday, we took the train to Jaipur or the Pink City. It’s a walled city that was “pinkwashed” when Prince Albert came for a visit in the 1850’s and the color stuck. The city was pinkwashed again in 2000 for Bill Clinton’s visit. It’s very pretty.
One of the gates into the walled City
On our first day in Jaipur we had lunch poolside at our hotel (a renovated Palace) and then hit the town and visited the Ancient Astrological Park. Indians are very into astrology and it plays an important part with decision-making, match making and wedding date selection. It was a very clear day and the juxtaposition of the structures against the blue sky enhanced the experience.
A big way to get your horoscope
We then went the flagship Anokhi store (one of my personal favorite stores) and bought a few gifts and then went on a quest to find this jeweler which we read was in an amazing old building and had a stunning collection of jewels. It took us quite a while to figure out where it was (we were on foot). It’s one of the more frustrating parts about India…No clear roadsigns. After a few phone calls to the place, we found it and were amazed by all the frescoes in the haveli. Frescoes we learned hadn’t been altered since they were finished a couple of hundred years ago. Oh, and the jewel collection was indeed, stunning.
Our hotel offered dinner and an “evening programme” of traditional Rajasthani entertainment which included music, fire-breathing and the ever entertaining “how many jars can you balance on your head” act. Plus, a puppet show.
Lots of jars.
The next day we were up early for a walk with a guide through the Pink City. He led us through a few havelis, some very run down and some still in great shape, a Jain temple, a Hindu monastery (with a great view from its roof) and a Krishna temple. We got to go places and see things that we wouldn’t have exposure to without the guide…We’d been a bunch of snoops instead.
Haveli Archway
Song and Prayers at Krishna Temple
Then we went to Amber Fort, in the foothills of mountains. This is one of the more opposing forts I’ve seen since it’s so high up. We rode an elephant up there since we were feeling lazy. Just kidding! We did it because it’s cool. Our elephant was quite insistent on walking very close to the edge which made me a little scared but we made it!
With a friendly elephant
Susan on her way up to the Fort
After that we went to the Anokhi Museum of Hand Painting which displays the work of the designer, the restoration of the haveli in which the museum is housed and demonstrations on hand block designing.
The Rambagh Palace was supposed to be a nice place for lunch so we headed there. Um, it’s a ******** place (as in 5+ stars) and we sat on the veranda and overlooked this:
Aaahhhhhhh
That night, in an attempt to find an auto rickshaw, we stumbled upon a wedding procession. The groom was on a white horse and his relatives and friends were dancing to a brass band. The entire party was encircled by men carrying chandelier type electrical lamps which were connected to a generator at the back of the parade. Mark was dragged into the dancing but Susan and I stayed behind to watch and laugh and catch it all on video.
The next day, we were up early for a train to Agra. We were placed in a sleeper car even though it’s only a 4-5 hour ride. It was nice because we all sat together instead of 2 and 1 seats. We saw the rural parts of India, the little villages that sit by the train stations, the filth and poverty that goes along with it. These places are worse than the poorest county in the US by leaps and bounds. I must say I saw some things that I’ll never forget but am glad I saw.
And then to suddenly switch gears to see the most extreme dedication of love in the entire world, The Taj Mahal. It is magnificent! It is opposing! It has so much detail! And we took a ton of pictures and tons of people took our pictures. One woman grabbed Susan by the arm and shook her hand and insisted that her relatives took their pictures. Susan is a celebrity in India…didn’t you know?
The Taj Mahal
Spectacular!
We visited Agra Fort because we needed to kill a lot of time before our 8:30 train departure. Forts are India like churches are to Europe…you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. The most amusing part of the Fort were all the monkeys! I mean lots of monkeys. A few got into a rumble as we were exiting and their screams are very shrill and loud and they have big teeth that they were baring at each other. Yep, that was a good time to leave.
That same night we took the train back to Delhi and boy, were we glad to be home, sweet, home. Lots of travel in a short amount of time and worth it!
On the last day, we slept in (well, not Mark, poor guy, he had to go to work), had coffee, went shopping, had lunch and lounged in the evening before taking Susan back to the airport.
Thank you Susan for being a great travel companion, open to our ideas and sharing these experiences! It’s a trip we’ll never forget.
A farewell salute. Really, we wanted to capture the pointy toed shoes.
Delhited 