Two Sides of a Triangle: Jaipur and Agra

 

 

entering one of the seven gates into the Pink City

Google searches of  "must see places in India" or "India Tours" will most likely lead to The Golden Triangle, a tourist circuit between Jaipur in Rajasthan, Agra, and Delhi. Though we didn't use any tour package and did the circuit out of order, we managed to hit each of these places. Agra, I get, because of the Taj Mahal. Delhi is a huge city and the capital, so it makes sense to go there. But Jaipur? Maybe my recent sojourn to the desert fort town of Jaisalmer spoiled me, but Jaipur only requires a day at the most.

Jaipur is nicknamed "The Pink City" because the entire city was painted pink in honor of a visit from the Prince of Wales in 1853. The majority of the buildings still use the colour on their facades. It is also a planned city but is much more chaotic and run down than Chandigarh We spent our time their roaming the streets, hunting tandoori, and not buying souvenirs from the hoardes of shop owners who wanted to sell them. As with most of our trip, we saw few foreigners. And it was hot. So hot.

view from the  minaret below

 

There were several temples, forts, and palaces to be seen, but I think we were just too worn out to go in. Often, a brief glimpse from the outside is all it takes to get the gist of a place. One regret though is that we didn't go to the famous Raj Mandir cinema to see this film that was advertised everywhere.

 



Jain temple

had while waiting for the monsoon rainstorm to stop

AGRA

The Taj Mahal is probably the most famous and well-known tourist site in India, especially for Westerners. It was built by a Mughal emperor in the early-mid 1600's to honor his wife who died in childbirth. It's an iconic symbol found on any tourism poster, so I imagined that every street corner would be filled with touts enticing me with plastic Taj replicas and a myriad of other services a rich foreigner might need. I pictured being swarmed by street urchins selling postcards and key rings. But the reality was that Agra, home of one of the sometimes listed wonders of the world, was a totally laid back and friendly place.

In addition to the Taj, there is also an impressive fort. We walked there in the blistering heat from our guesthouse and ended up going the wrong way. This meant that we walked completely around the thing before finding the entrance. However, we got to see the entire fort without paying the entrance fee as well as a short walk with the bulls.

suckers going in the main entrance

The fort was nice, the Taj was amazing, eating curry and drinking a beer on a rooftop was bliss, but what I loved the most about Agra is that at sunset, everyone goes to their rooftops and flies kites. None of my pictures captured it very well, but imagine as the sky becomes a darker blue it is filled with bright splashes of colour bobbing up and down and the joyous shouts of neighbors in friendly competition. I tried to think if there was any singular activity like that in the States that would draw out an entire community to participate in such simple fun, and none came to mind.

boy manoeuvres his kite

a few of the kites bobbing about

More Taj Pictures Including Requisite Cheesy Tourist Shots

view of the Taj from near the fort

Agra Fort from the back

Agra Fort from the side

roof top restaurant

hawks at sunrise

a little bit after sunrise

wild peacock!

I have no idea why I wore my bed time t-shirt to see the Taj Mahal. Or why I didn't comb my hair.

normally that middle bit is filled with water but it was being repaired while we were there

mosque next to Taj

such a beautiful and over the top memorial for a loved one

I Can't Raja-sthand the Heat!

sunrise over the fort

On the 20 hour train journey from Delhi to Jaisalmer we shared a first class cabin with a soldier in the Indian army. He told us we were insane to be going to Jaisalmer in June. I was inwardly smug and thought "whatever". I was used to people telling me I wouldn't be able to handle some aspect of their country. But in this case, the soldier spoke the truth. It was hot. Twice as hot as the hottest day I've ever experienced. So hot that you could drink 2 liters of water and sweat it all out in a matter of minutes. The sun so bright that I thought  my contact lenses would fuse to my eyeballs. So medieval that I thought I had travelled back in time. But nowhere else in India did I feel I had experienced life as it must have been in the far past.

Jaisalmer is located in the state of Rajastan in the Thar desert in western India. The main claim to fame is the Jaisalmer Fort built in 1156. People live within the fort and our guesthouse was actually inside the fort wall. From the rooftops you can see Pakistan if you squint hard enough.

June is definitely off season in Jaisalmer. This had the pleasant outcome of fewer people in general and a lack of people trying to hustle us for business. The rather unpleasant consequence was that many restaurants could only offer a few things and getting a beer, cold or otherwise, was near impossible. We stayed a week, during which I was ill for over 24 hours, nearly was taken over by desert beetles, and watched as a sandstorm shut down the entire fort's electricity. It was a magical place and despite the heat and lack of meat on a stick, I think it was my favourite stop.



HIGHLIGHTS
Walking in the Fort

The tiny lanes made of stone create a maze within the fort. On any given journey, you are likely to collide with a cow. Cows nearly outnumbered people and roam about like highly revered strays.

Looking at the Fort

I never tired of gazing at the golden beauty of the fort. It is especially breath-taking at night.

Stephen ponders the fort

Havelis

Havelis are the mansions of the rich and famous in Pakistan and India with separate courtyard and quarters for men and women, beautiful balconies and archways, and intricate carvings in the sandstone. We visited several including the most ostentatious and well-preserved called the Patwon Ji Ki to ones that are in disrepair and seem to have squatters.

Jain Temples

The only thing that sticks in my memory about the Jain religion is that they don't eat garlic or onions because of the mere act of pulling them from the earth can kill living insects. They also make some stunning temples. These were right next to our guesthouse.

LOWLIGHTS

Other than the mindnumbing heat, the biggest lowlight was the overnight camel trip. We'd done one in China and thought it was the best part of the trip. The guys who took us were great; they had a  never-ending supply of water and made a delicious campfire meal of pakora, curried vegetables, and chapatis. But we were assaulted from all sides by desert beetles that seemed intent of climbing over us. Then one of the guides nonchalantly killed a snake near our blanket and told us there probably wouldn't be any more. Before we arrived, we were given the option of sleeping on a blanket in the sand or on rooftop of a sheep barn. After the snake incident, we moved to the barn. I actually loved being under the stars and hearing the occasional bleating of sheep but I was afraid to move and didn't sleep much the entire night. Oh, and on the way back on the camels, S nearly passed out. However, the views were magnificent. There's a certain feeling of being a finite speck in an infinite canvas that I only feel in the desert.

hated these things!

"do you think he'll notice if we hitch a ride?"

I fell in love with peacocks on the trip

Random Extras

view from the train

Mud Mirror guest house. 6 euro a night and air-conditioned

I never tried the "very special lassi". I was already hallucinating from the heat.

at the gate

woefully empty rooftop bar

thankfully this place was open

delirious with heat

cow standoff

inside a Jain temple

imprisoned Buddhas in Jain temple

outside the fort

outside the fort

life outside the fort

kids have no problem playing cricket in 110 degree heat

son of a camel guide waves us off

sweating is much better than being burned

outside the fort

owner of Mudd Mirror, an absolutely wonderful guy

cows

the rooftop seems to be the heart of the home