Home again!

And trying to recover from jet lag!

 

Some of the 300+ pictures we took are here:   http://travel.webshots.com/album/579814969DblLbc

…and that about wraps it up!

I’m sure everybody is more or less familiar with the famous Taj Mahal and that part of India, at least through pictures and film.  The rest of India is sadly unknown to us!

Assam was wonderful!  Think, perhaps, of Costa Rica or Cuba…  Tropical and largely ‘unspoiled’.  We had excellent riding, there are several extremely significant nature preserves in the area, there are many tours available, by boat and land…  I would absolutely recommend it to anybody who wants to go somewhere completely different!

Check out www.assamteatourism.com   or you can email   purvidiscovery@gmail.com 

 

and I think that about wraps it up!

Last Day!

Got up early to greet the sunrise at the Taj Mahal!

Because of the heavy rain a few days earlier, humidity was high and the air seemed hazy.Whole books have been written about the Taj Mahal, so it is difficult to know where to begin.  In addition to being, really, incredibly beautiful it is also an engineering marvel.  Built 400 years ago, it displays an accuracy of construction that is partly responsible for its beauty.  It is almost perfectly symmetrical; on entering through the gate, each step you take reveals more of it in perfect stages—the first step shows only the mausoleum through the gate arch, the next step adds the rear columns, the next step adds the front columns, and so forth.  One step to either side removes 1/4 of the structure, another step removes 1/2, a third step removes 3/4s.  The arches of the mausoleum are bordered with script from the Koran.  Each letter (made of black stone imbedded in the marble) is progressively larger, so that the writing at the top of the arch (two stories high) appears exactly the same size as that at the bottom.(Oh, there are monkeys)  There are floral patterns of inlaid stone throughout (see smaller arch above), there is lattice work carved into the marble…  It is really quite amazingly beautiful.

Yes…we were really there!

All the places we saw in Agra—the Taj, the Fort, and Sikandra—were populated by brilliant green parakeets

there was a nest in that tree trunk…  also the maniacal ground squirrels…they look more like our chipmunks, but we were told ‘squirrels’:The sun was up by the time I took this picture…and it STILL looks like a mirage, or a vision from a fantasy….

Left, reluctantly, as we had to, to begin the trip home.  Another few hours on the road back to Delhi—reverse of the previous day…arriving in the city just as the full moon was rising.  Took this shot of India Gate: More shopping, then a dinner at a local restaurant (part of the package tour) then off to the airport, arriving about 10 pm, where we were met by the IndoAsia Tours rep who got our stuff squared away.  Check in counter opened at about 11 pm, then through the security stuff….which was INTERMINABLE!  Took something like an hour and half of standing in line to get the exit visa stamp...and that was BEFORE the ‘xray’ etc…that was just to get a date stamp applied to the passports!  Finally boarded the plane about 2:40 am for take-off at 3:20—on the 18th.  At this point we had been awake since about 6 am, so say 21 hours at this time.  Then a 5 1/2 hour flight to Shanghai (slept a little).  Oddly, Shanghai to Delhi took 7 1/2 hours…dunno why the difference.  Time is very strange over there!  I’ll never figure this out….  Anyway, hour or so layover and then the flight back to Vancouver (10 hours 20 mins—going the other way took 12 hours 5 minutes.  Prevailing winds?)  By now we had been up about 38 hours, other than sleeping on the planes….  Nice to get home, obvious new snow on the mountains…a lot colder than Delhi.  And that’s our story!

Road to Agra—Terre’s Report

Shortly before arriving Agra—perhaps an hour—we were met by our new guide at Sikandra.  Sikandra is the mausoleum of the Mogul emperor Akbar--construction was begun during his lifetime (1550-1605) and completed a few years after his death.  This isn’t Sikandra:--this is the gate to get INTO Sikandra.  The mausoleum itself is much, much bigger!  Between the gate and the tomb is a large park filled with some kind of “deer”—we think ibex (spelling?) of some variety.

There were also green parrots, and quite a few rather maniacal ground squirrels.  This is some of Sikandra itself:      

Look at the ‘lattice work’—this is carved out of single blocks of sandstone:       There is similar lattice work at the Taj Mahal—but there it is carved out of marble.

Leaving Sikandra, we completed the trip to Agra and visited the Agra Fort, also build by Akbar.  This was actually a fascinating place, as far as engineering goes.  You entered by crossing a drawbridge (a real drawbridge) that led you into a curved corridor—attacking soldiers that had passed through the curve could not retreat nor the following soldiers see what was happening; it was a trap.  A narrow, high walled ‘channel’ rising at a fairly steep angle that could be fired upon by archers from several directions—if that wasn’t enough there were channels for pouring boiling oil down that –if that didn’t kill them—would cause them to slip and fall trying to make the grade.  Beyond that and through another gate you entered a open area before another gate—this part was heavily populated with monkeys!then through another gate into the fort itself.  There was a LOT to see and visit in this fort—we were there for hours—and like the Red Fort in Delhi, only 25% of it is open to the public!  The rest is occupied by the Army.  For example, this is a huge bathtub, originally in one of the halls but pulled out by the archaeological society:

  Shah Jehan, builder of the Taj Mahal, spent the last years of his life imprisoned in this fort:  from his “cell” (above) he could see the tomb of his beloved wife.Two moats—an out, water-filled one and an inner ‘dry’ moat that we were told was similar to quicksand, back in the day…  altogether a fascinating place!

 

Leaving Agra Fort, we were driven to our Agra Hotel, the Clarke Shiraz, and got checked in and more or less put away.  Quick snack and we went back into Agra to see a live show called Kalakriti, which depicted the life and love story of Shah Jahan and his beloved Mumtaj Mahal, her death and the construction of the Taj.  Dancers, actors, film and lasers and a huge model of the Taj.  (Headphones for narration in any of a dozen languages).  Then—back to the hotel and a needed sleep.  Up early tomorrow to see the sunrise at the Taj Mahal.

Road to Agra - Barbara’s take

 

So?  Where were we?

We were in Delhi and now we’re going to Agra to see the Taj!!

After another late night, hurried dinner and sleep till 4 or 5, Terre and I packed and repacked trying to get all the things we had purchased into our bags and checked our room for any left-behinds.  Our driver, Mr Jagmohan was waiting for us at the door and we loaded with not a little sadness at leaving Delhi – a complete opposite to Debrugarh but just as wonderful!  We are really going to see the Taj Mahal!!

It took about 1 and a half hours to get completely out of the city and into the farming district.  They grow wheat, sugar cane, peas and mustard (for the oil) there as well as various kinds of nuts and beans. 

The poorer people collect cow patties and dry them for fuel much like the buffalo chips in our ‘Old West’.  Of course there are many cows wandering around – some buffalo and perhaps Oxen.

It was hard to distinguish the difference between cows used for labour, milk or the sacred ones that are owned by all and wander freely everywhere!  Many, many cows, goats, dogs, cows, sheep, cows, small horses, elephants, camels, and did I mention cows?  (we only have pictures of everything else – not cows):

Horse and cart;

Camels with and without loads;

 

Elephant – not a worker though – maybe a ceremonial one.  It had facial decorations and patterns on the ends of his ears!.

We noticed these peculiar round huts in the fields of wheat and also closer to the road.  Interestingly the roofs were a continuation of the grass/bamboo/reed walls which went in a twist to the top!  The ones in the photos below are very well kept up – a lot of them are old and half falling down.  We think they are for storage but they could also be lived in by the field workers.

We also asked the driver (Mr. Jagmohan – more on him later) we were told the history of these “mileage markers”.  About 500 years ago when the Moghul King Akbar moved his palace from Agra to Delhi, he built these markers every 20 kilometres to make a way station so the riders could rest and, we presume the horses or camels or whatever.  Unlike the Pony Express, both horses and riders were changed at the markers; then changed back to carry the reply.  As you can see they are in remarkable good condition even now.  We saw many, some in the fields and others close to the road thus marking the changes in the main route over the years!

The traffic was horrific!  If there were 3 lanes painted on the road then there were 5 lanes of traffic.  If there were 2 lanes then there were 3 to 4 lanes of traffic.  By ‘traffic’ I mean little 3 wheels cars called Tuk Tuks because the the noise they make (there are two in the photo of the camel pulling the load of wheat) They are legally only holding 6 people but we saw as many as 12 packed in with kids hanging on the outside, ordinary cars, motor cycles and scooters (at least 3 people to a machine with an infant crammed in the front or being held by its mother), bicycles and rickshaws and the ubiquitous cows, dogs, horses and camels!  What a circus!  Everyone is blowing their horns constantly – I think there is a horn language but hadn’t got it really nailed down by the time we left!

We stopped along the way at a place where Mr. Jagmohan had to pay a tax.  He said to stay in the car.  Do not roll down the windows.  So we did and didn’t.  The car was swarmed by little kids trying to sell us tacky souvenirs and men with trained monkeys who lept up onto the car.  Terre took a photo of one who jumped onto the window beside her to she snapped a photo.  The man kept yelling at us to pay.  We tried to ignore him but he got considerably angrier till Mr. Jagmohan came back and asked if we took a photo!  We said well, you didn’t tell us not to!  So we paid the man 10 rupees (25 cents) and he went away happy.  I guess you have to pay to take a photo even if you had nothing to do with the fact there was a monkey hanging onto the window of the car!

Other tipping were the toilet attendants, the door holders, the baggage handlers, don’t give money to kids, their parents just take it for drugs.  At every traffic light the “tourist” cars were surrounded by beggars – one of our guides call it the “Traffic Light Industry”.  I gave a couple of girls a granola bar through the window once – not the wisest thing I ever did!  We were swarmed again but not by cell phones taking pictures!  Our driver had to use (I assume) very strong language to get them away!

That’s it for now – I’ll let Terre talk about Sikandra – The tomb of King Akbar, the Agra Fort designed and built by Akbar, and the Taj Mahal.

Delhi

Arrived at about 8:30 pm and were met by the IndoAsia representative; collected our bags and headed off to the hotel in light rain.  The Radisson Marina was a loooong way from the airport—or at least it seemed so in Delhi traffic, which ranges from horrific to terrifying.  Hotels in India (and perhaps in most of the world for all I know) have a different aspect than we are used to.  You pass through a metal detector at the entrance, and your bags and x-rayed, just like at the airport.  The Indo Asia rep got us all checked in, reviewed the itinerary and paperwork with me, and we dropped our stuff in the room.  Nice and comfortable, although it had the most bewildering electrical system I’ve ever seen.  India has the same voltage of electrical current that we do, but the plug configuration is different, so you can’t just plug in.  In Assam, Vineeta had given me an adaptor, but I left the part I needed in the wall-socket in Dibrugarh. When I looked through the hotel Service Book, I saw where it said “adaptor available from housekeeping on request’, so I for one and they brought it.  The adaptor fit into the wall,..but my plug didn’t fit into the adaptor—because it had a different configuration.  That’s why I needed the adaptor, ok?  However, a piece of Vineeta’s multi-part adaptor fit between the hotel’s adaptor and my laptop, so I could plug in and recharge.  The next day, however, when I went to  plug the hotel’s kettle into the wall socket in the ‘kitchen’…it didn’t fit.  It DID fit into the piece of Vineeta’s adaptor that fit my laptop—but when I plugged it in it cooked the adapter.  It seemed to fit into the hotel’s adapter WITHOUT Vineeta’s adaptor—but it didn’t work.  However, next to the bed I found an outlet that both the laptop and the' kettle fit without any adaptor, and they both worked…so I stopped at that point.  Huh.

Anyway, long before the kettle debacle, back to the preceding evening…we arrived to late to feel like ‘dinner’—it was about 10 when we got to the room.  So we just went to the bar (which was conveniently close—had a beer each and split the appetizer of the day—which was delicious and all we wanted.  Then, finally to bed…and sorely in need of it.

Up the next morning for a breakfast buffet before being picked up by our guide and driver.  Very tasty and plenty of it, although I have no clue what most of it was.  Well, there were some things we recognized,..the rest of it I had to taste first and tell Barb whether it was “hot” or not.  (Actually, as a sidebar, neither of us ever had any trouble at all with the food.  We ate ‘whatever’, enjoyed it, and suffered no ill effects.).  Picked up at 10 for the beginning of the tour.

Pouring rain.  Almost all day, with the occasional break.

Started with Jama Masjid—Friday mosque.  It lies directly opposite the Red Fort.  I’m going to have to upload a lot of pictures later!  This place was HUGE—it can accommodate 20,000 worshipers at one time, and does on some Muslim Holy Days.  Then India Gate (in the pouring rain), a monument to Indian military losses in WWI and  the 1919 Afghan War.  Barb and I weren’t too bad—we were wearing jackets—but our guide Prashant got soaked..for the first but not last time.  Then a photostop at the official residence of the President of India.

Next was a memorial and museum dedicated to Mahatma Ghandi, at the site where he was assassinated.  Very interesting! even in the rain…

Then the Lotus Temple, an enormous Bhai temple that looks somewhat like the Sidney Opera House, but more like a …wait for it…lotus.  Then to the Qutub Minar, a huge tower celebrating Akbar’s military victories.   Then to a craft ‘fair’ called Delhi Haat where we both spent too much money.  followed by a tour of a Hindu temple, with an explanation of all the different ‘gods’ and their significance and relationships.  Then back to the hotel to change clothes and dry out and grab a quick dinner—we opted for another beer and appetizer in the bar; a good choice because we had Tandoori Prawns while Prashant and our driver went to MacDonalds'.  By now the rain had stopped enough for the Sound and Light show at the red Fort to be staged, so off to the Red Fort for that…home again around 10ish.  The Sound and Light show is very interesting…it’s essentially the History of the Red Fort played out with sound effects and lights played on the different parts of the Fort.  Very effective.

Then to bed…being picked up early in the morning (8:30, after breakfast and checkout) to head to Agra.  You may have noticed this post is a few days late…I was kinda busy!

 

(Oh, by the way—in the middle of the horrendous Delhi traffic we saw an elephant packing a huge load of tree branches of some kind marching sedately down the road.  Saw a couple of monkeys, as well)

Last day in Assam

Had a wonderful ride around the tea plantation early in the morning—nothing but birdsong—so serene.  Finished up with a tour of the tea ‘factory’ and an explanation of how the tea leaves are processed.  Then back to pack up, lunch, a good-bye to Vineeta and off to the airport to return to Delhi.  We are sad to be leaving this place—it really is very special.

Four and a half hours later, met at the Delhi Airport by the Indo Asia representative who took us to our hotel, got us all checked in and squared away for the next few days of tourism.

Off to bed; more later!

Assam Day 3

Today we went for a wonderful two hour ride around the area, partly on the course used for the Endurance Rides put on here. From the field where we mounted up, it was just a short ride up the lanes to come out on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, one of the major rivers of Asia.  We were told it is 8 miles across when ‘full’.  We rode on the beach in deep sand, passing some boats being built, then went up on a dyke that led back towards the tea plantations.  We wound around through fields and past villages and schools, finally re-entering the tea gardens, where we were met by a car with the grooms to hold our horses while we took a breather and had a drink.  I could get used to this!  Koszaar seldom gives me a break like this, I’m lucky if I can snatch a sip.  Then around and about the tea plantation; you can go for miles just winding around the various plantings.  We were told that for the Endurance rides, they get permission to ride through all the adjoining tea gardens, so they can string out a very long trail with excellent footing throughout.  I’m getting quite fond of Ginger, now that I’ve started to understand him.  He gets a little frustrated when he isn’t allowed to go fast—that’s a situation I’m used to!  I wore Chris Thomson’s helmet cam throughout, but it was very bouncy—viewing the video is likely to make people seasick!  I’ll have to edit and see if I can salvage anything…

After returning home and having lunch, we were taken in the afternoon to visit a “weaving centre”.  Assam is famous for its silk, including a variety (That I don’t know how to spell!) that is unique to this province.  We were told about th weaving process, and the silkworm cultivation, and the traditional uses of the various patterns..fabulous!

 

Not much time left here—we fly out tomorrow at 2:20 pm.  SO much to see in this fascinating place!  I wish we could stay here longer…  I may get another short ride in tomorrow, then it will be off to Delhi…

Barb hopes somebody is passing the news onto Grant.