Cindy and I, early morning, in front of one of the Seven Wonders, The Taj Mahal.
On Our Way to the 7th Wonder
We arrived in Agra via the town where Siva was born and lived as a child. I didn’t take any photos of these towns that were next to each other for two reasons: One, if you brought your mobile or other camera, you were in danger of the many monkeys taking it. You even had to worry about them taking your GLASSES. I changed to contacts but Cindy had to cover her head and put on her Croakies to make sure she didn’t lose her glasses. We first visited the town where he lived and entered the home/temple. We thought maybe foreigners didn’t visit here often because we were stared at more than usual (which is a lot!) and because we were also trying harder to take advantage of us (a Sadhu at the temple tried to get us to donate $200 USD for the retirement ashrams). BTW, we did look at some ashrams as well and entered one where old women with no where else to go could be housed. We did donate but more like 200 INR (about $2.50 USD). The second reason is that the jail where Siva was born which was in the neighboring town of Mathura. It was a cool old jail…that didn’t look that old…but we were hearded through very quickly and couldn’t take photos. So there you go. The first time we felt like it wasn’t really worth the stop…although the history is interesting…BTW, the story goes that Siva’s mother was put in jail to give birth to Siva to protect him. She wasn’t able to nurse him, so they found a cow who kept him alive with it’s milk…hence, why cows are sacred here in India.
…And Now to the Actual Wonder
We arrived late on October 7 to Agra, had dinner and went to our hotel early so we could get to sleep early for our sunrise Taj Mahal visit. Here, we did hire a guide because we wanted a bit more history about the area and the beautiful structure completed in 1653 as a masoleum for the beautiful and favorite wife (who died in 1631) of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The wife had 14 of his children and died in childbirth with the last one. It was a girl and was the favorite of the Shah. The guide gave us more interesting information and history about the Taj including how long it took to build and how many men it took to build it. It took 22 years to build the Taj Mahal and 20,000 artisans. The style is a combination of Indian, Persian and Islamic architecture and art. The workers had to sign contracts to never rebuild a structure like this. It is built next to the Yamuna river which also runs through Delhi and next to the Red Fort which was also built by Shah Jahan.
He also talked about the different visual details of the structure built mostly of marble from Rajasthan with decorative details of precious gems from all over the country and from afar. Some of the gems include carnelian, jade, lapis lazuli, turquise, mother of pearl, onyx, jasper, agate and more. It is simply a masoleum but what makes it a wonder is the size, the architecture, the materials and on and on. The tomb is actually in the basement but there is a replica built on top of it so you cannot walk over the grave. It is built completely symmetrical so any direction you look at it is the same, even including the two red sandstone structures on the two sides. One was mosque and the other was built just to keep it symmetrical but later was used for an administration building. The four pillars around the main domed building are built as slight angles out so that if there is an earthquake they won’t fall on the tomb. We went early in the morning to capture the sunrise and to miss the crowd. The sunrise did change the light on the Taj but the beauty was there through the whole time we were there.
Click on the first image in the gallery below to see all the images of our visit to the Taj Mahal
No, We Didn’t See Tigers?!@#$#@$
…but we did see lots of monkeys
Again, we arrived late to the Ranthambore area and found our hotel. The hotel was newly built by saavy young business-man, Hanuman (yes, that is the name of the Hindu monkey god). It was recommended to us by Garmeet because he had stayed there several times in the area for drivers. The hotel was sweet and clean with the entire family hanging out on the veranda…grandma, grandpa, children, etc. We were treated here, as well, to homemade food cooked by Hanuman and his wife at their house which was within a short distance from the hotel. They brought a table out to the yard and served us while the little ones watched on. We also watched the making of chapatis on the outdoor fire and rolled a few ourselves. The stay, the food and the family were all fabulous. Hanuman has plans to open a restaurant as part of the hotel. He already has a cement store, a car wash and a snack shop attached. If you’re in the area, it’s in the small village just beyond the national park. You’ll see some images of the walk around the village as well.
The next day we left early for our safari in Ranthambore National Park known for it’s larger tiger population. It also houses spotted deer, Nilgai (a large antelope), wild boars, lots of monkeys and many birds. We took a larger safari vehicle and were placed up front because the rest of the multi-seater vehicle was full. The driver and the guide tried their best to find us some tigers but we didn’t see any. We did see all the other animals with many peacocks as well as monkeys and others. There was one area where some folks were putting out feed for the animals and that was packed with black-faced monkeys, boar and deer. Felt like cheating a bit but it was fun to see so many in one place. We plan to do another safari that also has tigers and elephants, so maybe we’ll have more luck there!
More Possibilities for Tigers at the Fort
That afternoon Hanuman and Garmeet took me to the Ranthambore Fort located within the wildlife park, as well. We have seen a few forts already including the impressive Red Fort in Delhi but this one was worth the trip back to it. I say that because it was a nice walk through without too many people and some beautiful old structures and overlooks. Wow! I thought I saw a lot of monkeys in the park, here they were all over the place hanging out on the crumbling walls, on the walls, on the steps, well, just about everywhere. I did see one sneaky one take someone’s snack they had just bought…and, we were told these type were not the sneaky, stealing kind. Oh, I also forgot to say that they weren’t allowing just anyone to drive up and go in the fort anymore because someone had been killed by a tiger there. I was shown where the person was killed and told that the quiet walk we went on was called Tiger Alley! Yikes! It’s one thing to be up in a high safari vehicle looking for them but another to walking through an area where they are known to visit!
See images below from the safari and the Fort. Click on the first one to see the full gallery.
