So we made it to the station in the evening and boarded our train to Agra. Ben and I were in a separate coach to the girls which wad probably for the best as ours was one class lower and full of cockroaches. By the time we went to sleep we had established something of a cemetery on the floor of the carriage! On the whole the train was ok though and I got a reasonable night's sleep. When we arrived in Agra we signed into our hotel - which took forever as they hadn't invested in a photocopier and so had to write out all our information including our passport and visa numbers twice! After a quick nap we head out to see Agra Fort - a red stone Mughal fort (much like at Delhi) with a great view if the Taj Mahal at sunset! It was very tranquil experience which was great after a hectic day of travel. We went for a quick meal before heading to bed ready for our early start.
Getting up at 5am ready to get to the Taj for opening time at 6 we got to see the monument bathed in the early morning light - and all the more enjoyable for having missed the crowds! The intricacy of the carvings were amazing as was the simple beauty if the architecture in general. It was definitely something of a dream-come-true for me having wanted to visit the sight for years and a major tick checked from my travel wish-list! I also got my 'Diana' picture - another coup haha! - the bench where she sat making up part of someone's tour of the Taj I noticed! The only downside was the security. It's quite tight generally in India but it took a long time (with the guards having limited English) and they wouldn't let Alice take in her soft-toy puffin or another guy his pack of cards which seemed pretty ridiculous! However none if thus detracted from the majesty of the sight and experience as we approached the mausoleum! Afterwards we went for breakfast at a cafe near our hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing having planned a full day of sight-seeing the next day.
That morning we got up for 9 and headed for a view of the Taj from the back on the river. We then went to visit the tomb of the Taj Mahal's architect and hid brother who was the Mughal Shah's first minister, decorated with a mixture of Chinese, Mongol and Islamic styles and painted with silver paint. We then headed for the 'Baby Taj', built 30 years before it's full-size counterpart it housed the mother of the Taj architect's family tombs. The symmetrical design and north-east-south-west gates mirrored the Taj and was quiet even in the middle of the day. We then visited a few shops specialising on Mughal handicrafts (something you have to go through to get the driver for the day) before going for lunch in a beautiful garden restaurant. That night we experienced a few power cuts - which are perennial in India due to the fact that there isn't enough electricity to go round!
The next day we didn't get up to much. We had planned to sleep in asking the night before if we could have the room until 5pm (which we had agreed to pay for) but were woken up at 10 and told they needed the room for some other quests. After some 'negotiations' we settled on a basement room which we got for free! We left the hotel in the evening to get our train Jaipur, arriving after 11pm and checking in.
Our first day in Jaipur saw us do nothing cultural whatsoever, I uploaded 3 countries worth of photos and did some research on South Africa until the evening where we enjoyed a huge meal at the mall round the corner!
We started our tour of the city via Auto-Rickshaw at 9am heading straight for city palace. The seat of the Maharajas in Rajasthan it was a very beautiful complex brightly decorated and including a museum about Maharajas - who were seemingly compliant with the British, having been inducted into the imperial Order of India. We the made our way to the same Maharaja's mausoleum, built next to a Bilva devotional tree (the same Shiva is said to have sat under) the white marble architecture and carvings were stunning in the late morning sun and even more sombre as the cremation of Bahwani Singh had been held here so recently after his death in April. We then went to visit the Amber Fort (Dilaram Bagh) and though it was too hot to climb all the way up we got to see amazing views of the surrounding mountains and of the majestic fort itself. Afterwards we visited a textile workshop and saw printing of silk and beadwork before visiting the Floating Palace and then heading back to the hotel in an effort to leave a few things until we returned after Pushkar.
As it turned out Ben had a pretty rough night, suffering from what we thought might be street-food induced sickness. We decided to rearrange Pushkar for the next day and Charlotte not feeling great either Alice and I went out to visit the Bapu Bazaar within the Pink City and then to the Albert Museum.
We got up and Ben feeling better we decided to go to Pushkar. Unfortunately Charlotte wasn't feeling up to it so she stayed behind and Alice to keep her company. The drive took about three hours and passing so many trucks - brightly decorated - and roadside motels and hotels the evidence of India's emerging industrial prowess was all about to see. We drove through some of the most dramatic landscapes we have encountered thus far and arrived in Pushkar through arid desert hills late in the afternoon. Our hotel was very nice so we chilled for the evening and I enjoyed an amazing macaroni and cheese - fulfilling a desire born of a falsely advertised dish of the same name in Agra!
We got up early to start a tour of Pushkar first visiting the Brahma Temple and two others which annoyingly we weren't allowed in, according to our guide because tourists had in the past taken concealed cameras into them. They were nevertheless very beautiful and the Brahma one particularly so being one of a few in the world. We were then taken to the holy lake and had a blessing said for us by our guide, who was apparently also a priest, and asked us to repeat a prayer. It was a little awkward in all honesty but a great experience all the same and the second time I've been bindhi'd in India! We returned to our hotel to wait out the heat of the day before getting picked up at half five for the camel safari we had booked earlier in the day! We were confronted with one very placid and one not so placid camel both of which stood up with little warning after we had mounted them! We toured the countryside of Pushkar for a good two hours, with amazing views of the desert at sunset and taken past herb gardens and traditional Indian farming communities. We got some great photos - it was an amazing little excursion but I didn't enjoy cantering (which felt like my internal organs were bashing against one another) or dismounting which saw me almost fall over the camel's head - ever glamourous!
The next day we headed back to Jaipur and reunited with the girls. We checked back into our room and headed to one of the malls in India for dinner and to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - our second film watched in India, really absorbing the culture lol! - which was quite enjoyable and nice to escape the 'real India' for a moment.
The next two days were pretty lazy, sleeping in and waiting out the heat of the day before returning to Bapu Bazaar on the first and the second (the day of writing) seeing us trapped in the room whilst a sandstorm raged outside - turning the midday sky darker than dusk and cutting off our power! It cleared up later and we headed out for a nice meal to celebrate Alice's 22nd - she's old now like the rest of us.
We fly to Mumbai tomorrow and our last destination in India! Looking forward to a new city!
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