Final Travels

This week I had a lovely visitor from the States , so we took the opportunity to see two iconic cities: Udaipur (with lakes surrounded by palaces surrounded by mountains)  and Agra (home of the Taj Mahal).   As we were riding in a rickshaw in Udaipur, we saw two cows angrily fighting with each other and locking horns in the middle of the road.  Rather than stop the rickshaw, the driver decided to drive around them as best he could.  This of course led to one cow slamming the other into the side of our rickshaw.  We were fine, and I found the whole thing pretty hysterical – and perhaps the moment that best encapsulates my time in India.

Udaipur is also known as the setting for the James Bond movie Octopussy, a movie that every other hotel screens every night.    It was fairly easy to walk around from the hotel, a small establishment run by a family of artists.  Around the corner was Jagdish Temple, a temple to Vishnu, covered with carvings of elephants, horses, and other Hindu imagery.  Further down the road was City Palace, certainly the largest palace I’ve seen in India.  There were endless activities and exhibits around the palace, and we picked two: the world’s largest collection of Osler crystal (the bed made of crystal may have been a bit much) and a boat ride to Jagmandir Island (containing a small hotel surrounded by stone elephants).  Beyond City Palace, we found the ropeway (cable car) up to Sunset Point, atop fortified walls overlooking the city.   We spent the rest of our time in Udaipur wandering around parks north of the city, which went well until a policeman shunted us off of the main road and wouldn’t allow us to return.  We ended up walking around an area where they appeared to be setting up a carnival.  I’m still not quite clear what happened, but somehow we made it back.   

The Taj Mahal was exceptionally impressive – even hearing everyone talk it up for the last two months didn’t diminish the grandeur.   Flowers in marble relief and in inlaid semi-precious gems cover the walls, as do verses of the Quran, and you need to slip a cover over your shoes (or take shoes off entirely) to even approach the building.  The inside, while amazing, was not very well lit, so we spent most of the time walking around the sides and to the mosque next door.  We also travelled to Agra Fort, a city-sized complex a few kilometers down the road, where the builder of the Taj Mahal was locked away after his son deposed him.  At the end of the day, we had dinner at a rooftop restaurant with a spectacular view of the Taj Mahal, as well as a spectacular number of flies. 

We bookended our travels by touring around Delhi.  The most notable sight was Humayun’s Tomb, a massive 16th-Century Mughal (Islamic) tomb that pre-dates the Taj Mahal.  The red-and-white sandstone building was pretty unforgettable, as were the rigidly-planned gardens that surrounded it.  We also spent some time in Hauz Khas Village, a popular restaurant/bar section of Delhi that sits next the ruins of an ancient madrassa.  Unfortunately after our second outing to Hauz Khas – meeting some friends at a south Indian restaurant – we both become incredibly ill with food poisoning.  (Or “Delhi Belly,” as it’s called here.)  I suppose now I’ve had the full India experience.

For the rest of my time in India I’ll be in Khajuraho, the site of some famous, intricately-carved Hindu temples.  This will likely be my last post, unless I get the chance to put up a few pictures before I head back Thursday.  Thanks for following!

Pictures:  1) Humayun's Tomb, Delhi; 2) City Palace, Udaipur (from Sunset Point); 3) Bagore-ki-Haveli, Udaipur, with the worlds largest turban; 4) Taj Mahal, Agra.