Day 48
A wake up call came at 0415. It felt like we had just fallen asleep a minute ago. We were ready to go and down on the bus by 0445. The box breakfasts the hotel provided did not live up to my expectations. It had a croissant, toast, a muffin, a banana, an apple and a strange curry patty. There was jam and orange juice. That may all sound good, but the curry patty was less than tasty, we couldn't eat the apple because it was washed in tap water, and the toast was soggy. The drinks in India are also strange. They like this lime water, which you would think tastes like water with lime, but really it tastes like margarita mix. It's salty, not refreshing. The orange juice is also salty. I can't explain it.
From the hotel we went to the train station. We were taking a train to Agra to see Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. On the way to the station, I saw people sleeping outside on the ground or sidewalk. There weren't just a few; there was one at least every couple yards. Bicycle rickshaw drivers slept in the seat of their rickshaw. People with carts slept on them. Mostly, people just slept on a mat or blanket spread out on the ground.
In the train station, more people were sleeping on the ground on the platform. Entire families just spread out blankets next to their luggage and went to sleep.
We had some confusion on the train. All 70 of us had an assigned seat. But they had told both busses the same seat assignments. So we ended up just sitting where there was an empty seat. I ended up in the midst of a group of travelers from the west coast. They were also going to see the Taj, but they would be in India for another week.
After our two hour train ride, we had a two hour bus ride to Fatehpur Sikri. It is an old monostery and castle of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He built it in honor of a Muslim saint who prophesied the birth of an heir. Emperor Akbar had three wives. For diplomacy reasons, one was a Persian Muslim, the second was Hindu, and the third was christian. Despite having them and several courtesans, he did not have a son. So, he went to the saint, who told him he would get a son. And he did.
Leading up to the city were old stables, and the first room we walked into was where the public hearings took place. It had a room front and center where the emperor sat to give judgment with a large open courtyard surrounded by hallways where people would sit. In the middle of the grass was a stone marking where an elephant was tied up. The elephant was there in case the emperor made a wrong sentence. When someone was sentenced to death, he would go stand by the angry elephant. If the elephant killed him, then his sentence was carried out; if not, then he got to live. It was a way of leaving things up to the gods.
Beyond the public court, there was a private court. It was a small building with a lotus carving inside where the emperor sat. Beyond that were the different buildings of the library, the different queens' bedrooms and the emperors bedroom. The buildings all reflected influence from christian, Muslim and Hindu architecture.
The Muslim queen's room was closest to the emperor's because she was his first wife and he loved her the most. It was the smallest, but the most intricately decorated. Between her room and the emperor's, there was a platform surrounded by water. That is where the greatest musician would perform every night for the emperor.
The emperor had what a king-sized bed really means. His bed was huge and elevated about five feet off the ground. If he wanted to get up or down, he called and someone brought a ladder. There was a secret door at the head of his bed where his courtesans would sneak in if he wanted them. He also had an antechamber that served as a decoy bedroom.
From there, we drove back to Agra to eat lunch at a hotel. The food was great. There was more gulab jamur and ice cream. They also had t-shirts with the Taj Mahal on the front and semester at sea on the back. They were just five bucks! Several of the guys bought tunics, pants and shoes.
Our next stop was the Red fort of Agra. It was another Mughal palace. It had three outer walls for protection. There were several wide courtyards and gardens and rooms for his family, including two for his two daughters. His bedroom was magnificent, of course, with gold and blue stone inlay in the ceiling. The walls were carved marble.
Finally, we went to the Taj Mahal. It was packed with tourists and people trying to sell you souvenirs. These vendors are very persistent. They weren't allowed inside the monument, but they followed you all the way along the path from the street to the gate. They had all kinds of junk that nobody wanted, but they kept dropping their price every time you said no. It was really annoying. They were at every tourist destination.
Sometimes, inside the monuments people would act as guides to show you the best picture locations. Then they would ask for money for helping you. People were asking for money for every small and unnecessary task they performed. There were also beggars. Women and girls were always holding children. They would motion towards their mouth asking for food. But they continued to ask even if you gave them something. Plus, all the others would flock to you, wanting something as well.
Once we got inside the monument, beyond security everything was beautiful. Gardens lined paths to the entrance to the Mausoleum. Just in case you didn't think it was the most beautiful building you had ever seen, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan had the surrounding buildings built in red sandstone to draw your eyes to the marble building. The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal. It is made completely out of white marble with stone inlays. (No cranes were used in the construction of this building.)
I couldn't believe I was there. The Taj Mahal. One of the seven wonders of the world. In India. You could see it framed through the archway in the entrance gate. It was beautiful, perfectly symmetrical. I was blown away...until six guys offered to take my picture in front of it. Kelly and I slowly meandered down the path towards the building, taking it all in. I really never imagined I'd ever be there.
We watched the sun set behind it, then got in line to go inside. The line was miles long, so we joined Daniel's group. That turned out to be a great move because their guide was full of good info. He showed us how the marble and inset stones were translucent and said they lit up beautifully from the moon at night. The walls were all covered with the stone inlay of tiny flowers. They were green and red and blue and black. It was so detailed.
In the middle of the main room was the Mumtaz Mahal's coffin with Shah Jahan's next to it. They are actually buried in a tomb below, however. The mausoleum was much smaller inside than I expected. It is huge on the outside, but the inner rooms are pretty small. I wish we had had more time because we had to rush to get out and meet the group before they left. Being harassed by the vendors on the way out also cheapened the experience.
While we stood by the street waiting for the bus, we were attacked. Everything must be sold. It was all on sale. Fifty mini snow globe keychains for 200 rupees. Books of post cards for 20 rupees. Magnets, light-up pens, carvings, jewelry.
We had dinner at the same hotel where we had lunch then headed back to the train station to take the Shatabdi Express back to New Delhi. Everyone fell asleep exhausted.
A wake up call came at 0415. It felt like we had just fallen asleep a minute ago. We were ready to go and down on the bus by 0445. The box breakfasts the hotel provided did not live up to my expectations. It had a croissant, toast, a muffin, a banana, an apple and a strange curry patty. There was jam and orange juice. That may all sound good, but the curry patty was less than tasty, we couldn't eat the apple because it was washed in tap water, and the toast was soggy. The drinks in India are also strange. They like this lime water, which you would think tastes like water with lime, but really it tastes like margarita mix. It's salty, not refreshing. The orange juice is also salty. I can't explain it.
From the hotel we went to the train station. We were taking a train to Agra to see Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and the Taj Mahal. On the way to the station, I saw people sleeping outside on the ground or sidewalk. There weren't just a few; there was one at least every couple yards. Bicycle rickshaw drivers slept in the seat of their rickshaw. People with carts slept on them. Mostly, people just slept on a mat or blanket spread out on the ground.
In the train station, more people were sleeping on the ground on the platform. Entire families just spread out blankets next to their luggage and went to sleep.
We had some confusion on the train. All 70 of us had an assigned seat. But they had told both busses the same seat assignments. So we ended up just sitting where there was an empty seat. I ended up in the midst of a group of travelers from the west coast. They were also going to see the Taj, but they would be in India for another week.
After our two hour train ride, we had a two hour bus ride to Fatehpur Sikri. It is an old monostery and castle of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He built it in honor of a Muslim saint who prophesied the birth of an heir. Emperor Akbar had three wives. For diplomacy reasons, one was a Persian Muslim, the second was Hindu, and the third was christian. Despite having them and several courtesans, he did not have a son. So, he went to the saint, who told him he would get a son. And he did.
Leading up to the city were old stables, and the first room we walked into was where the public hearings took place. It had a room front and center where the emperor sat to give judgment with a large open courtyard surrounded by hallways where people would sit. In the middle of the grass was a stone marking where an elephant was tied up. The elephant was there in case the emperor made a wrong sentence. When someone was sentenced to death, he would go stand by the angry elephant. If the elephant killed him, then his sentence was carried out; if not, then he got to live. It was a way of leaving things up to the gods.Beyond the public court, there was a private court. It was a small building with a lotus carving inside where the emperor sat. Beyond that were the different buildings of the library, the different queens' bedrooms and the emperors bedroom. The buildings all reflected influence from christian, Muslim and Hindu architecture.
The Muslim queen's room was closest to the emperor's because she was his first wife and he loved her the most. It was the smallest, but the most intricately decorated. Between her room and the emperor's, there was a platform surrounded by water. That is where the greatest musician would perform every night for the emperor.
The emperor had what a king-sized bed really means. His bed was huge and elevated about five feet off the ground. If he wanted to get up or down, he called and someone brought a ladder. There was a secret door at the head of his bed where his courtesans would sneak in if he wanted them. He also had an antechamber that served as a decoy bedroom.
From there, we drove back to Agra to eat lunch at a hotel. The food was great. There was more gulab jamur and ice cream. They also had t-shirts with the Taj Mahal on the front and semester at sea on the back. They were just five bucks! Several of the guys bought tunics, pants and shoes.
Our next stop was the Red fort of Agra. It was another Mughal palace. It had three outer walls for protection. There were several wide courtyards and gardens and rooms for his family, including two for his two daughters. His bedroom was magnificent, of course, with gold and blue stone inlay in the ceiling. The walls were carved marble.Finally, we went to the Taj Mahal. It was packed with tourists and people trying to sell you souvenirs. These vendors are very persistent. They weren't allowed inside the monument, but they followed you all the way along the path from the street to the gate. They had all kinds of junk that nobody wanted, but they kept dropping their price every time you said no. It was really annoying. They were at every tourist destination.
Sometimes, inside the monuments people would act as guides to show you the best picture locations. Then they would ask for money for helping you. People were asking for money for every small and unnecessary task they performed. There were also beggars. Women and girls were always holding children. They would motion towards their mouth asking for food. But they continued to ask even if you gave them something. Plus, all the others would flock to you, wanting something as well.
Once we got inside the monument, beyond security everything was beautiful. Gardens lined paths to the entrance to the Mausoleum. Just in case you didn't think it was the most beautiful building you had ever seen, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan had the surrounding buildings built in red sandstone to draw your eyes to the marble building. The Taj Mahal was built in the 17th century in memory of his queen Mumtaz Mahal. It is made completely out of white marble with stone inlays. (No cranes were used in the construction of this building.)
I couldn't believe I was there. The Taj Mahal. One of the seven wonders of the world. In India. You could see it framed through the archway in the entrance gate. It was beautiful, perfectly symmetrical. I was blown away...until six guys offered to take my picture in front of it. Kelly and I slowly meandered down the path towards the building, taking it all in. I really never imagined I'd ever be there.
We watched the sun set behind it, then got in line to go inside. The line was miles long, so we joined Daniel's group. That turned out to be a great move because their guide was full of good info. He showed us how the marble and inset stones were translucent and said they lit up beautifully from the moon at night. The walls were all covered with the stone inlay of tiny flowers. They were green and red and blue and black. It was so detailed.
In the middle of the main room was the Mumtaz Mahal's coffin with Shah Jahan's next to it. They are actually buried in a tomb below, however. The mausoleum was much smaller inside than I expected. It is huge on the outside, but the inner rooms are pretty small. I wish we had had more time because we had to rush to get out and meet the group before they left. Being harassed by the vendors on the way out also cheapened the experience.
While we stood by the street waiting for the bus, we were attacked. Everything must be sold. It was all on sale. Fifty mini snow globe keychains for 200 rupees. Books of post cards for 20 rupees. Magnets, light-up pens, carvings, jewelry.
We had dinner at the same hotel where we had lunch then headed back to the train station to take the Shatabdi Express back to New Delhi. Everyone fell asleep exhausted.
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