Adventures in Forts and Tombs - Part 1

India Gate

Back in my bed in Hyderabad Saturday night, belly full of naan, feet a bit tougher, nose coated with dust, body a bit weary, I was glad for the journey through North India.  Mind rested and expanded, beauty-filled images danced in my head as I lay down to sleep (and made a to-do list for this week).

Ah, Monday has brought me back to power outages and productivity… Let’s go back! (A 3-part series.)

The trip up north consisted of 4 cities, 4 forts, 4 tombs, 5 palaces, and many UNESCO World Heritage sites, various animals, food, people, and architecture in 10 days.

Excerpts from the Week Away (Part 1):

10/18/12

Sunset yoga at Agra Fort

Leaving H’bad, I realized how fancy the airport is.  When I arrived 3 months ago at 2 a.m., I didn’t notice or care how modern and efficient it is.  Likewise, arriving in Delhi this evening, I was reminded of that trip from the airport – only 3 months ago, and yet a distance which seems so far from my current place.  

The ‘cab’ we took to our hotel tonight was a rusty minivan-type vehicle (only smaller) that was likely made in 1978.  (The cab 3 months ago was a new, fresh smelling SUV.) The ride was similar – fast, swerving, dark.  In the earlier cab ride, I was a little tense, a little worried, a little more aware.  Tonight, I was glad to be on my way to a bed; I noticed a huge statue that might be worth noting; and I breathed in the cool air and aromatic street food.

Three months is a short and gaping time period.   

10/19/12 Delhi

Red Fort

The metro, reportedly the best in the world, is fantastic.  It is clean, has frequent trains, is easily navigated, and goes all across the city.  It is superb.  There is the usual Indian-style security check (similar to that upon entering a mall) at every station – bag check, body check, ladies’/gents’ lines separate.  The trains themselves also have a ladies’ car at the front.  (More on this at another time..) 

Otherwise, the Delhi metro is truly grand.  Case in point, Yasmin and I barely missed a train when the others caught it.  No big deal.  Yasmin and I caught up – since Delhi trains come every 2 minutes, it was fine.  ♥ effective public transit!

The sites were likewise impressive.  The Red Fort, a combination of Mughal and British architecture, was intricate baths and living quarters. 

 

 

 

 

Next, a mosque at the end of a crowded market.  The view of the market-bustle and Old Delhi from the top of the stairs was magnificent.  

 









Humayun’s tomb was a park with a grand final resting place of a wealthy man and his staff.  ‘Grand’ is only a small way to describe this palace of a grave.  Orange trees and ‘squipmunks’ and dogs and monkeys – oh my!  Stone and waterways and a breeze – beautiful.  

India Gate – a memorial to fallen Indian soldiers – was photo worthy and in a lovely public green space.  (What?? Did I just say a ‘public green space’? Am I still in India????) 

Dilli Haat – an open air market – was a peaceful marketplace (oxymoron?) and made for a perfect, relaxing end to the evening.

Overall, Delhi was lovely – a clean, well-planned city that seems safe and pleasant. 

Corners of character shine through – the residential area where we found fruit and lunch; the open urinals on the roadside where we covered our mouths and noses with our scarves; the beautiful ox waiting patiently outside our hotel for his cart to be filled; multi-colored goats going to market on leashes.

Tomorrow, 5 a.m., bus to Agra.

10/21/12 Agra

We arrived in Agra yesterday, midday.  Coffee, instant and weak, before heading out to Agra Fort.  The fort is huge!  Red and ornate, with a mosque devoted to the harem, it was impressive.  Most impressively, perhaps, was the view of the Taj Mahal from the fort.  

This morning we collected ourselves out of bed, put on our photo-worthy faces, and headed for the Taj Mahal at 6:00 a.m. The security check was more thorough here than most.  They went through our bags searching for things like lighters and cigarettes, which are banned.  They confiscated Yasmin’s playing cards after first confusing them for cigarettes – “Playing cards are not allowed,” he replied as Zuha explained in Hindi that they were not cigarettes.  To save face, he kept the cards.


Entering the gate finally, beauty strikes.  Tourist-mode enters.  The obligatory photo shoots, awing, and upward facing glances ensue.  We spent the morning exploring the mausoleum and grounds.  “Wait, someone’s buried here?,” Dave said as we approached the mausoleum.  Monkeys, security guards, intricate design, light, marble, sandstone.  Beauty.

 

(Click on the pictures to enlarge.)