Amber Palace, Jaipur

This weekend I am in Jaipur, Rajasthan! It's one of the bigger states in India just west from Delhi.  It took about four and a half hours to get here but overall a much smoother trip than the one to Agra. 

The town's all about tourism and especially shopping!!  I only wish I had known that most shops are closed on Sundays.  I didn't do any shopping on Saturday so Sunday was spent roaming around with a coworker from Delhi, his family, the guide, and our driver trying to find places that didn't want to rip us off completely.  But not to worry, found plenty of stuff. 

Besides the shopping Jaipur also has some great sightseeing.  I'll go in a bit of backward order and start with things I saw today.  First off was Amber Palace (pronounced Amir). It's a gorgeous palace sitting on top of a hill right outside of Jaipur in the town of Amer.  And what better way to get to the top than on top of an elephant.  It wasn't the most animal friendly way but I couldn't resist.  I got asked by a coworker in a completely serious voice, "You never rode an elephant before??"  He was shocked when I said "No, it's not a common thing in the US." 

The walls of the fort are 16 kilometers long.  It looks like the Great Wall of India.  Pretty impressive!

I loved all the different windows.  Such beautiful frames for the pictures.

Mirrors were used to reflect the lights of the oil lamps to light the palace.  

One of the balconies from the Raj's quarters.  This looked onto the court that had 11 doors - one for every 'official' wife.   The other 21 had other 'quarters.'

Definitely worth visiting if you're in the area.

Happy Diwali!

Today, India is on hold.  Only a few cars are out and about which, if you've been in India, is just weird.  The constant sound of honking is overtaken by the sounds of fire crackers going off.  Women are wearing fancy saris and our driver got a haircut in honor of today.  Now that the sun has set, the festivities begin.  Being that we're not really in a residential area, I can only a lot less than I can hear.  The hotel gave traditional candies (see below) and decorated the outside with colored rice. 

Happy Diwali Everyone!

To all a Happy Diwali and to all a good night!

Agra Outtakes

This is probably my favorite picture I've taken of everyday life in India

This is probably my second favorite - taken seconds after the above picture.

I've seen people sleeping/resting at all times of the day merely because some work all nights.  The work ethic here is very admirable.

This was extremely inspiring and very humbling to me to see this woman sitting outside on the side of a very busy intersection with her sewing machine.

This is the part of the complex where tickets to the Taj are purchased - parts of it were very deserted

Taj Mahal!

Yesterday, I was able to experience first hand the beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra.  From the outskirts of Delhi (Gurgaon), it took us over 4 hours to get there by car.  Most of the drive was on a freeway (2 lanes in each direction) but it still takes a long time due to just a lot of cars on the roads.  We arrived in Agra where we picked up our guide.  Everything was organized by our office but as far as I know these guides are free and all we did was tip him 200 rupees.  The guide was knowledgeable but it felt like he was just reciting a paragraph that he memorized. He also showed us some good spots to take pictures from.  One thing to note to those that may use these guides (vs. those from hotels, etc.) is that afterward he took us to a place that showed us how they made the decorations which turned into a total pitch for the store that was inside.  Luckily we were warned that they may do this since the owners will give the guides a kickback so we didn't buy anything there.   Besides the prices were ridiculously high.  The guide also took us to a restaurant where he knew the owner (you get how this works, right?).  The place was filled with tourists and tourist prices. Again, a warning.  Nonetheless, it was helpful to get some of the history.

It was very hard to believe that I have actually been to the Taj Mahal.  One interesting fact that I didn't know is that the wooden foundation of the Taj is deteriorating.  When standing on the northern side of it I thought that it was slanted and the guide said, "Good observation, m'am. That is true."  Apprently due to age and I think also the fact that the water of the adjescent river rises almost to the balcony of the court during the monsoon season, the foundation is significantly weaker.  According to the guide, the architects are working on its.  Let's hope they figure it out soon and fix it in time.  For now, enjoy the beauty!

This is the roof of the entrance to the Taj Mahal.

The Northern entrance to the Taj.  There are four gates to the court where this picture was taken - one from every direction.

This way to the Taj...

It is simply breathtaking.  Truly one of he most beautiful pieces of art I've ever seen.

According to the guide, the emperor's wife (Mumtaz Mahal) asked the emperor Shah Jahan to build a place so that she may be remembered.  Not too shabby.

Everyone was doing it so I couldn't resist.

One of the several reflections of the Taj in one of the fountain pools

The view from the Eastern court

Shah Jahan had intended to build a replicate Taj Mahal across the Jamuna river but it was never completed.

Workers were manually cutting the grass at the base of the Taj by the river

Passages (or Suras) of the Qu'ran are inscribed around the Taj

Maintenance on the Taj is done by the descendants of those that originally did the decorative work (top right corner is newer than the remainder of the stone)

Absolutely magnificent

75% of these boys have a picture of me on their phones

So happy to check this off the list of things to see!