The Taj Mahal

Kvz. We headed back down the mountain from Mussorie to head to Agra…home to the Taj Mahal. We’d slowly wandered from Delhi up to Mussorie in little hops and now we found ourselves a long ways away, so we opted for the “Mussorie Express” sleeper train and it was wonderful. We had a first-class cabin of our own with a locking door. We climbed wearily aboard at 10:30 p.m. and arrived in Delhi early the next morning. We’d already been to Delhi so this was just a stop-over…we jumped on another 1st class train for the 5-hour ride to Agra and had our own first class compartment again. Our hotel had a nice courtyard and was clean, and very cheap…so we could even afford 2 separate rooms. The catch? We found out it was wedding season in India…no one is safe. The ear-piercing music and fireworks started at 10:00 in the evening and went till 3:00 in the morning. Plus people were playing cards in the courtyard and having entirely too much fun. But who needs sleep when you’re going to see one of the most amazing structures in the world? We hired a rickshaw driver for the whole day to take us to the Red Fort, the “baby Taj”, and then the big Taj. His name was Guddu (rhymes with Voodoo) and he was patient, spoke great English and is just an all-around great guy. We had to rush a bit to get it all in, but the grand finale was of course the Taj Mahal where we arrived a few hours before sunset. Getting into the place was like getting into a rock concert. Long lines to get through security, everyone jostling to get in…Becca almost got turned back because she had books in her backpack (big no-no evidently…no reading allowed in holy places) and Tim DID get turned back (had to run back and leave his daypack with Guddu) but it was all worth it when we walked through the big arch and saw that famous long strip of water with the Taj at the end. All that white marble is just astounding and the domes are simply beautiful…the whole ensemble is perfectly proportioned to me. Then when you get up close you are amazed to find thousands of semi-precious stones embedded into the marble! There was a impossibly long line to get in (now it was like a line to BUY the tickets for the rock concert) but of course you don’t come all this way and not see Shah Jahan and his beloved wife’s coffins side by side, forever together in this monument he built for her after she died giving birth! Local lore has it that the Shah had decided to build an exact duplicate of the Taj Mahal but in black marble, directly across the river from the original one…where he would be buried in a ying-yang type harmony with his beloved. His son said he was crazy, that they couldn’t afford it , and locked him up in the Red Fort where he could just sit and see the Taj from his balcony…till the day he died. A rather sad love story. We lingered for hours and were rewarded by seeing it change from a brilliant white color to a rose color as the sun set behind the city.

Getting to the Taj by road

traffic in Delhi / Drew sitting shotgun in Guddu’s auto rickshaw in Agra

oxen, bicycles, rickshaws, camels and more all share the road together

Drew got a little restless by about 15th hour of being on trains – which stop freguently for reasons usually unknown to us. Male passengers pile out onto the tracks to buy tea from locals

waiting to get in the Taj

We asked Guddu to please take us to a good, local Indian restaurant for dinner which naturally was wonderful. We offered to buy for him but he said he’d wait and eat with his wife. As we were leaving we heard music and chanting next store and found out is was a family doing an all-night ritual in honor of Krishna. He offered to let us take a peek and we saw the entire extended family sitting around of the floor playing various instruments and drums and singing. As soon as they spotted us they all jumped up and invited us to join in. They said they would be doing this all night, till dawn. I wondered what the kids did…would they stay up or just kind of fall asleep where they were eventually, the way American kids fall asleep in front of the TV? We begged off because we were exhausted and they waved cheerfully goodbye.

The view of the Taj Mahal that the Shah had from his prison / palace on the Red Fort grounds (left) // one of the incredible buildings found at the Red Fort (right)

a doorway of the Red Fort

The baby Taj Mahal

Kristin takes in the gorgeous inlaid stonework at the baby Taj // Drew and Becca at the baby Taj

The next day we did a day trip to the World Heritage Site of “Fatephur Sikki” which is another huge fort that was once the capital of the Mughal empire in the 1500′s. The architecture of this palace is Indo-Islamic and it had lovely gardens enter twined among the palaces. It was a great way to spend the day and Becca and Drew played hide and seek among the buildings. As we were walking along, a fair-sized piece of a roof broke off and crashed to the concrete sidewalk below. Yikes. Guess it’s not our time to go yet.

sites along the way to Fatephur Sikki…

cow dung patties are used for fuel and are everywhere, from rooftops to headtops and roadsides

locals getting around town

folks getting water from the well at Fatephur Sikki

Indian people are beautiful inward and outwardly

The next day we hit the road. Since we had splurged on those 2 first-class trains for the long hauls and this trip would only be a few hours long, we opted for 2nd class. Walking into the train car was like walking into the New York stock exchange. Everyone was talking over one another, some shouting, everyone jostling for space…in other words, total chaos with us right in the middle. First you must politely but firmly (or they would just ignore you) eject the family of 5 out of your 3-seat reserved bench. Then you shove everyone’s suitcases over to make room for yours, all the while trying to keep out of the vendors way who is carrying a tray of ‘scald your face’ hot Chai teas right at eye level…all the while giving hard looks at the passerbys eyeing your bench. When you finally sit down you get to enjoy everybody else’s chaos for awhile till everyone gets seated and the hubbub dies down. And this is SECOND CLASS…in third class there is no assigned seating. I never saw a conductor so I assume that some of the passengers are free-loaders who need to find spaces as well. Through all this chaos my kids were just standing passively in the aisle, looking bored. If Tim and I can just keep our stress levels in check and not pass it onto them in these situations, they will surely come out of this trip as the heartiest, most easy-going travelers on the block. And I’m sure we’ll have to do 3rd class at some point in India..but I can honestly say I won’t do it on purpose.

Once the train started everything was fine, the countryside was pleasant, and we soon arrived in Gwalior, which is known for it’s fort. You’d thing we’d be sick of forts because we’d just seen 2 big ones so recently, and now I do think I’ve had enough of them for awhile. But Gwalior was really cool I must admit. The main palace (Man Singh-15th century) had been used as a prison for some time and we ran around getting lost in the dark dungeons which were filled with hundreds of bats. The fort soars high above the town so we clambered up the crumbling steps of one of the old buildings and enjoyed the view which was panoramic and went for miles. On the long, steep walk up to the fort there were large 15th century Jain figures carved right into the rock, reminiscent of scenes we saw in Egypt. The fort also houses several wonderfully ornate 9th century temples which still look perfect….like time has stood still. We decided to splurge and eat at the Taj hotel restaurant on the way back (of the famous chain now well-known because of the Mumbai attack) which had been built within a grand, old remodeled palace. Very Maharaj and ridiculously expensive (by India standards) but great waiter and great food. Finally we headed to our hotel looking forward to collapsing in our beds after the long, full day. And arrived just as the wedding next door was gearing up.

holy dogs // tunnels of the Gwalior Fort

the folks here sit on motor scooters like we sit on our couch at home