The Colors of India

Just one parting thought as we move on from India...

For all the chaos and mayhem that Teresa and I experienced while traveling in India, one thing did shine through on a number of occasions to make the trip constantly rewarding... the color in the people, places, and food.

















While the bigger cities can be more than a little grey, and the traffic a little loud and maddening, the women especially always somehow manage to inject a splash of life and color wherever they appear.












We're not sure how they stayed so clean and vibrate, and full of life, but we're very glad the did.

The sanctuary of Jaipur

Teresa and I had been in India for about 2 weeks when we made our way from Agra to Jaipur. By that time the sensory overload was beginning to wear more than a little on us both. We had enjoyed seeing the Taj Mahal, but we happy about leaving Agra behind us.

And then there was the train ride from Agra to Jaipur.

We were very proud that we had managed to negotiate the train system relatively well from Delhi to Agra, but the trip to Jaipur was going to be 4 hours long (instead of 1.5 hrs) and it would be a night time train (instead of daylight), and the train wasn't scheduled to arrive in Jaipur until mid-night.

I'm not ashamed to say, that in hindsight, we had bitten off more than we could chew. In theory it was simple... arrive at the station, wait about 30 mins, board the train, read and play cards for a couple of hours, and then be picked up at the Jaipur station by a car from our hotel... easy.

Well unfortunately the practice was nothing like the theory. First, the train was 90 mins late and we arrived at the station about 60 minutes early, so a simple 30 minute wait turned in to 2+ hours, and the Agra train station wasn't as clean or well kept as the New Delhi station, and the people looked a little less friendly (we saw several men carrying what looked like hunting rifles). Not to mention that everyone seemed to be obviously staring at me and Teresa (but mostly Teresa). Second, as we waited on the platform for the last 15-20 mins for the train to arrive, the power occasionally failed plunging the platform in complete darkness. Fortunately we had a small flash light, but it was a very uneasy situation being the only foreigners as far as we could see, and our nerves were already on edge from the long wait.

Finally the train did arrive, but the night train was much less clean than the short ride from Delhi, and our fellow travelers didn't seem as polished or worldly or friendly as the city folks traveling from the capital city.

Regardless of all this Teresa and I survived the journey by playing cards and keeping to ourselves, and trying to smile and say a cheerful 'Namaste' when we had the opportunity. The 4 hours seemed more like 8, and needless to say we were grateful to be off the train when we finally arrived.

The last straw was when we arrived in Jaipur (at close to 1am) there was no hotel car anywhere to be seen. Apparently there had been some mix up with the platforms and unfortunately the hotel driver couldn't find us... it seemed our trials were not yet over.

But little did we know our luck was about to change, and Jaipur would prove to be a much needed escape from the madness.

Our first break came at the station, when amongst the chaos and hustle and bustle of people coming and going we connected with Janu (Shabbir Khan). Initially Janu appeared just like one of the usual hawkers trying to get us in to his car and we fully expected he would try some trick to get us to his, or his brother's hotel.

But instead he was very patient, courteous, and appeared genuinely interested in our plight. He offered us a very reasonable fixed price to get us to our hotel, despite the fact that we would have been willing to pay considerably more given that our choices appeared limited at one in the morning, then he proceeded to call a few friends to confirm the hotel location and never once tried to talk us in to some other hotel.

The only selling he did was to show us a number of written references he had from previous clients, that he kept in a small note book, and let us know that we could look him up on the internet if we wanted more confirmation of his credentials (which we subsequent did, and confirmed).

We used Janu's services for a number of trips during our Jaipur stay and we would highly recommend him to anyone visiting the area... he also arranges airport pick-ups from the New Delhi airport, and drives to Agra on the way to Jaipur (which I would recommend over the train). He also conducts tours of the Rajasthan region, which would be great fun. So please feel free to give him a call on 0091-9929 152 946 or email him at shabbirkhan4u2005@yahoo.com.

The second thing that went our way that early morning was the hotel, the Royal Heritage Haveli, Jaipur. Once we arrived at the hotel we were greeted and shown to a lovely room, with a couple of complementary bottles of cold beer... just what we need to sooth our nerves.

Later that morning the staff were very apologetic for the misunderstand at the station, and because things at the hotel were a little quiet the owner (Pradip Singh) offered to upgrade us to one of their larger suites, if it was to our liking... and it was.

The Royal Heritage Haveli is a true oasis of calm, and the facilities and service rivaled that of any 5 star hotel we had stayed at. The operator/owner (Pradip) has been meticulously restoring this old 1850's hunting lodge for the last 4 years, and while there is still some light construction on-going it is easy to feel the past glory of the royal residence in every brick and stone.








The breakfast also wins our award to the best breakfast of the trip, and the happy hours were both entertaining and well supplied. One evening he Pradip put on a beautiful romanic dinner for two by candle light at the pool, and Teresa and I couldn't have been happier.

Jaipur itself is also a very different city from Delhi and Agra. The old city has a pleasing sense of structure to it, and the people seem to have a little more time to sit and relax and explain things to you. We had a very interesting visit to a custom rug manufacture and learnt a great deal about the real rug trade, not the fake rug trade usually put on display for tourists.

Jaipur also has the Amber Fort, which I think is amongst the best places I've seen in India. It's a fun place to visit because it's one of the few places you can just freely stroll around the myriad of passageways leading from courtyard to courtyard, and the freedom tends to give you a much better appreciation of the scope and complexity of the architecture.








We visited a few other places in and around Jaipur, like the the palace of the winds (Hawa Mahal), the royal observatory, the monkey temple, the city palace, and the floating palace... but to be honest Teresa and I would have been happy to spend the whole 4 days at the hotel... it was that good.














As it was we decided to extend an extra night, because we couldn't stand the thought of returning to New Delhi again for our last night in India... not after our Jaipur sanctuary.

Tripadvisor: Reviews Royal Heritage Haveli, Jaipur

From Delhi to Agra and Visiting the Graceful, Wonderful and Awe-inspiring Taj Mahal

Leaving crazy Delhi and it's constant drone of blaring horns with people in your face hawking something was a welcome relief.  We were happy that we were headed to a smaller town where we thought things would be a bit more tranquil and slow. And we were looking forward to seeing the Mausoleum that a broken hearted king built for his love.

The train ride from Delhi to Agra was quite good.  We ended up chatting with two gentlemen during the two hour trip (one of whom was making a 30 hour  train trip with his family to Chennai!).  They asked us about our impressions of India, which is a common question you are asked while traveling throughout the country.  We also talked about the level of corruption that exists in India and we assured them that although it doesn't seem as though the US has as much obvious corruption as India, there are many back room deals being made between the politicians and businesses.  And one of the gentlemen asked me what I thought about the US killing bin Laden.  Paul wisely turned the conversation to Gandhi and asked them when we will have another Mahatma to lead this great country.

After the train pulled into Agra, we hopped into the hotel car waiting for us and moved onto the Hotel Taj Resorts.  Things were looking good, until we got up to room.  Immediately we could smell this toxic paint odor, so we asked to switch rooms.  Unfortunately, the other room had the same odor, so we stayed put.  Then we wanted to take a shower, and the water was very cold.  We called the front desk and asked if there was an issue with the hot water, to which the nice lady on the phone replied, "you want hot water?".  "Yes please", I said.  She turned on the hot water heater and let us know that it should be warm in about 15 minutes.  I wasn't particularly clear if we needed to have this conversation through the rest of our stay at the "resort".  What was clear was that the water wasn't particularly clean water - it had a saline quality to it, so my skin had a tacky feeling to it during our stay.  Having said that, when it comes right down to it, one needs to adapt and get on with it!

So, since we were settled in our room, had a shower, and a bit of dinner, we decided to turn in for an early nights sleep so that we could get to the Taj Mahal first thing in the morning!

To say that we were excited was an understatement.  Paul had been here before and he was looking forward to sharing this experience with me.  I couldn't wait to see this wonder with him!  

Walking in, I could hardly wait to see it and when we finally saw the Taj Mahal, it took my breathe away...literally.  It's every bit as spectacular, pristine, poetic, and lovely as you would expect.  And the real magic of it is that as you get closer and closer to it, the details reveal themselves in some surprising ways.  The decorative glass and stone inlays and carvings in the marble are impressive. There are herringbone details in the marble that I never knew existed and passages from the Qur'an are beautifully inscribed on the exterior of the building. India should be very proud of the level of attention they have given to the Taj to keep it in such great shape. 

We left with a warm glow in our hearts (kinda like ET!), and we felt very lucky and grateful to be able to come here and experience the Taj together.  

We moved onto Agra Fort where the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (who built the Taj Mahal) was put under house arrest by his son.  To be honest though...if you had to be imprisoned anywhere, you would want this to be the place. Talk about country club prisons! Having said that, if you know the history the real tourture was that the king could see the Taj from his window, but was never allowed to visit it again while he was living (very sad). He was ultimately laid to rest next to his wife, which I guess is some small consolation.

And finally on the next day, we moved onto Fatehpur Sikri which is a lost or forgotten city that was built and then abandoned by the king (this is a recurring theme throughout our travels...kings abandoning cities/temples/ect...).  Water supply problems led to abandonment in this case, as legend has it anyways!  This city was also incredibly well restored, with beautiful gardens and amazing details throughout the property.  Paul especially liked the squirrels!  He had them eating right out of his hand...literally.

As an aside, I thought the public grievance areas we saw in several palaces were interesting.  For better or for worse, I couldn't stop thinking about Festivus (from the show, Seinfeld) and the ceremonial "airing of the grievances".  Anyways, besides that, it must have been quite a grievance if you were able to stand in front of the king, who is high upon his throne looking down on you in a great space.

We set off for Jaipur the next day, wondering what the trip ahead had in store for us.