Agra- Fort, Baby Taj and Room with a View

Indians apparently do not stores lot of food particularly refrigerated food but rather shop each day for the ingredients in market for their or other meals-

After completing the safari, i traveled to the city of Agra   Along the way I stopped at a former Mughal capital (it seems like most cities in India were Mughal capitals at some point) and saw the largest gate in the world-

Red sandstone was clearly the Indian fort material of choice. 

Then on to Agra and another huge red sandstone fort, Agra fort  -

And then the so called “Baby Taj”, a Mughal tomb building built in the early 1600s before the Taj Mahal-it was quite impressive in its own right- 

I had gotten a boutique hotel which advertised that it had a view of some other obscure tomb  building from it’s rooftop-

It seemed intriguing so, having a little time on my hands, went to visit this little known place- 

The Indians should really think about marketing this place  

Yes the Taj Mahal   It is truly breathtaking. I can honestly say I have never seen a more beautiful building.  Just exquisite. The detail with all of the inlaid marble (no painting on it) and the carved screens is phenomenal. Pictures do not do it proper justice but- 

While often frustrating and maddening, not to mention “cluttered “ and “receptical challenged”, India is a fascinating country with a rich and varied history and culture and the only place in the world where you can see with your own eyes  the world’s most spectacular building     

Pink City; Tiger Safari

 Jaipur- the 2nd leg of India’s  so called Golden Triangle (Dehli is 1st leg and Agra the 3rd)- is called the pink city but I am not sure why-

 

Next to Dehli, it is a small town, a village really, with only 4 million people. It is famous for the enormous Am er Fort which is surrounded by the 3rd largest wall in the world- 

It was built in the 12th century tho some parts go back a couple of centuries earlier.  Some invaders still enter by war elephant- 

These vats would feed 2000 people  That’s a lot of soup-

Ancient forts are a big thing in India particularly in the dry  eastern state of Rajasthan where Jaipur is located. Most were logically built on hilltops   

In the midst of a lake, there is a famous “water temple”  built 600 years ago where I met up with some authentic locals dressed in traditional Indian garb- 

Ok they were from Canada but roots in India- authentic enough for me  

Besides the Amber Fort, the big tourist attraction is the Royal Palace where the Maharaja (super king rather just plain Rajah  run of the mill king) still resides though without any political power   The Palace was built in the 1600s and, while open to tourists, is still today privately owned and operated - 

I understand that the Maharaja is a world class polo player  ell I guess you have to do something if you are an unemployed Maharaja  as they aren’t many Maharaja openings nowadays  

Jaipur also boasts the worlds largest sun dial, built by a bored Maharaja in the 1750s, and accurate within 2 seconds and somehow great for predicting monsoons-

After leaving Jaipur, I travelled to Ramanbore National Park where I did a safari in the hope of seeing a tiger  I saw large monkeys, antelope, some beautiful peacocks, wild boar- 

And one tiger (blow it up to see)- 

They are big! 

On to Agra and the Taj Mahal  

A Unique Country

 I flew from Hanoi to New Dehli a city of more than 30 million people. As it was the  weekend, the good news was that the crowds were down and I don’t anymore than 20 million were out and about as I toured the City’s sites. 

Though predominantly Hindu, Dehli has the biggest mosque in India and one of the biggest in the world, holdup to 25.000 people (a small gathering here)-

I toured the streets of Old Dehli where I am not sure all of the electrical work was up to current code but the street food was plentiful and (unsurprisingly) cheap- 

Perhaps Dehli’s most famous site is Humayan’s Tomb a model for the later (100 years) Taj Mahal, both built during the Mughal period- 

Also visited a beautiful Hindu temples, tho unlike the Muslim tombs there are no remnants there as the Hindu will usually scatter their ashes in the holy Ganges River- 

And saw a shrine to some obscure Indian who seemed underfed despite the good street food- 

People here keep telling me India is like no other country in the world.  They are not wrong   The sheer mass of humanity is astonishing  Knowing it intellectually and experiencing in it are 2 different things   People, cars, motorcycles, cattle etc are everywhere and it is slow going to just walk down the jammed and chaotic streets. It makes Hanoi seem well regulated and sparsely populated. 

In my way to Jaipur the next day, I stopped to say hello to some India’s most famous residents -

Next is the pink city of Jaipur