Post #4 - Temples, Forts & Tombs

Namaste All,

We've arrived safely in Delhi and we couldn't be happier to be here.  We hit our first snags of the trip getting to and leaving from Agra.  We were wait listed on our overnight train from Udaipur, and ended up being wait listed passengers 1 & 2, meaning we were the next two to get beds.  However, Shauna gave the ticket collector her best pouty face and sweet talked our way onto the A/C Chair class.  This meant we got on the train we wanted, except it was more like an airplane ride rather than sleeping properly.  While this was a nuisance it was nice to get on the train and not have to pay for another night in Udaipur.  The other and more frustrating snag was getting out of Agra.  We originally had an 8:25am train to Delhi.  We got up with plenty of time and waved good bye to the hotel's owner as we made our way to the rickshaws.  To our shock, there were none to meet us as all of the roads were closed due to a marathon that morning.  Really, a marathon?!  We didn't see one person running.  The whole city simply shut down.  No one cared to point this out to us, especially our hotel's owner.  After figuring out a bus to Delhi, we returned to the hotel and told him we couldn't get out due to the road closures.  He said, "Oh yes they are all closed, did you not know that?!"  Pat mumbled something or other and we slept off our frustration for an hour.  We ventured out a second time to catch a 12:00pm bus to Delhi.  Upon arriving at the scheduled departing station 20 minutes early, we were told through a series of awkward encounters that our bus was not here for this day only.  We could only assume this was because of the damn marathon, and we were told it was at another station.  A nice girl who spoke English well enough told us it was 3 or 4 kilometers away and to simply get in another rickshaw.  It turned out the second station was about 12 kilometers away and it took us a good half hour (at some point on dirt roads the rickshaw could barely navigate).  Our patience wearing thin, our rather luxurious bus was still waiting for us as we arrived panting and moaning.  Thankful for us time means nothing to Indians.  Add the fact that Pat got "Delhi Belly" for the first time the night before and one can imagine how happy we were to be leaving Agra.  Oh yes, we cannot leave out the fact the Shauna got no sleep either between Pat's trips to the toilet and the loudest packs of barking dogs in the world.

With all of bad news out of the way, we are happy to say there are plenty of good things to write about as well.  After checking out of our Udaipur hotel, we took a day trip into the countryside and saw some of the most impressive sites we've seen.  We had a driver named Ganesh, who was ridiculously friendly and navigated the sometimes frightening roads like a pro.  He is now 32 with three children, but was married at 15.  His wife was 12.  Ganesh is from one of the villages we drove through and in a lot of ways this life seems better than those in the cities.  From our brief tour, we would certainly want to live here if we were low caste Indians.  The pictures won't do it justice, but the countryside is gorgeous, with field after field of chapati grain, mustard oil plants and soy plants.  The villages are not picturesque like in France, but they have a definite calm and peaceful essence to them.  It's a simpler life where things run much as they have for the last 1000 years.  They were still using oxen to run a water wheel from a stream, for example.  Again we were celebrities to the villagers, and we have some great pictures to support this.  Look at the school children around Shauna.  Amazing.
Besides the beautiful drive and avoiding the sacred cows in the road (there were a couple close calls), we saw one of the two best Jain temple complexes in the country and one of the most impressive forts.  First up was Kumbhalgarh Fort, built in the 15th century and only falling once to the great Mughal emperor Akbar.  Next was Ranakpur, arguably the best work done by the orthodox Jain Hindu sect, who are known for their intricate detail.  This may be our favorite site so far, and the pictures here without a doubt don't do it justice.  The temples are set deep in a wildlife sanctuary and so the backdrop is beautiful as well.  The roads rival those on the 101 in California, but with only one lane for two-way traffic and dealing with crazy Indian drivers.

The next two days were spent in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.  We woke up before the sun to be at the East Gate by 6:30am.  We were about the 15th and 16th people in when it opened and we were rewarded with some great pictures without the hoards of "package" tourists.  When you look at the pictures they will seem superimposed, and it was actually the same when looking at it in person.  Really, really impressive.  This was the first of three tombs we would see that day, but was by far the best.  Agra was the home to the 200 year-old Mughal (Muslim) dynasty of India, starting with Babur.  It seems they all loved to be buried in grandiose tombs, as the Taj and "Mini-Taj" attest.  The fort Akbar built (Agra Fort) is quite impressive as well.  It's always the Taj people come here to see, and it does not disappoint.  We ended the day in this quaint garden across the river from the Taj and saw sunset fall over it.  We were told sunset was nicer than sunrise, but we felt the opposite.  Maybe it was too hazey that day, who knows.          

We spend the next two days in Delhi followed by Varanasi.  We're writing this post from an amazing guesthouse after sleeping for 11 hours with the soothing sounds of our first rainfall of the trip.  It was exactly what we needed after a tough night in Agra.  Shauna says it was the perfect Valentine's Day treat, for all you girls.  Pat hates V-Day.  

Much love,

S&P