INDIA
DAY FOUR continues
Our guide had us check out several hand made shops so we had lots of opportunities to buy things. Not the fun part of our trip to India.
I did enjoy the tour of the fabric hand blocking. Everyone pick out something from this shop.
Rooms and rooms of the most beautiful fabrics.
Palace of the Winds
Then we drove through the streets of Jaipur
Until we got the the Monkey Temple. On Saturday's it is Monkey day so many people travel to this temple to feed the monkeys. Others carry water from their homes up to the temple for the Holy Man to bless and then they come back at the end of the day and carry their Holy Water home with the chanting through the streets. It was a beautiful site and sound.
Two of the men carry their holy water back home
On our way back to the hotel
Our hotel was so ornate!
Our rooftop dinner entertainment
DAY FIVE
We left Jaipur and headed to Agra. First stop Fatehpur Sikri, tomb of Salim Christi.
There is no parking at the palace so we took a horse cart up to the entrance and walked up the hill to the palace. I think our cart driver wasn't much older than 8. We also met our new tour guide for the day.
Tim and Kennedy found a friend selling rattles. Tim would only buy the rattles if she would take a photo with Kennedy. The girl was very excited to take a picture with Kennedy. Blonde hair and blue eyes, Kennedy had many photo requests during our trip.
Tim's face says it all. It's hot. Hot and humid. Our tour guide just conned us into "donating" $50 to a charity and the opportunity to bring a cloth, flower petals and a piece of string each (to make a wish on and tie on the wall and then the Holy Man would bless it and our wish would come true) Now we are having to wait in this long line at the tomb waiting for a visiting dignitary and his family to have their turn. Very frustrating on many levels.
But I did get this beautiful shot of the women praying at the wall.
The crowd is growing restless to go in.
Again, there is no parking near the Taj Mahal so we took another horse cart ride up. Travel notes if you plan to visit the Taj Mahal. It is closed on Fridays. It is the busiest on Saturdays and Sundays. Because of our schedule we arrived at the Taj Mahal on Sunday late afternoon. Possibly the busiest day and time. It was packed. Our guide was great and got us through in express lines, etc. Still a great trip, just wish we had more time in our schedule.
View of the Black Taj Mahal. The King was in the process of building this black taj mahal for himself to match the taj mahal he had built for his wife. His son threw him in prison because the cost of the taj mahal was already putting India in bankruptcy and there was no money left to build the Black Taj Mahal.
Close up of the inlaid stones. I have no idea how they were able to do this. Absolutely a masterpiece.
(empty freeway)
Tim and Harrison's knee length shorts were too short so they got to cover up in skirts.
But I did get this beautiful shot of the women praying at the wall.
The crowd is growing restless to go in.
A quick bite to eat before we see the Taj Mahal. Look Harrison does smile for photos every once in a while.
Again, there is no parking near the Taj Mahal so we took another horse cart ride up. Travel notes if you plan to visit the Taj Mahal. It is closed on Fridays. It is the busiest on Saturdays and Sundays. Because of our schedule we arrived at the Taj Mahal on Sunday late afternoon. Possibly the busiest day and time. It was packed. Our guide was great and got us through in express lines, etc. Still a great trip, just wish we had more time in our schedule.
View of the Black Taj Mahal. The King was in the process of building this black taj mahal for himself to match the taj mahal he had built for his wife. His son threw him in prison because the cost of the taj mahal was already putting India in bankruptcy and there was no money left to build the Black Taj Mahal.
Close up of the inlaid stones. I have no idea how they were able to do this. Absolutely a masterpiece.
We saw this gentleman and his monkey while our driver was processing some paperwork. We were in the car and I snapped a quick photo. He came over to our car and had his monkey do tricks for us. Then he requested money because I had taken a picture of his monkey. Tim offered him a few dollars and the man said it wasn't enough and requested more money. Another lovely exchange in India.
On our way through Agra before we hit the empty freeway no one uses on our way to the airport.
Some of the many brick factories we passed along the way. I just read up on these brick factories when we returned home and they are used to enslave people. They can never get out of debt from the owners and end up working the rest of their lives trying to get out of debt and out on their own.
We saw a lot of the poverty of India, you have to, it is completely in your face. I didn't see one building that was finished. Every building looked like it was in the process of being built, or being torn down. It was hard to tell the difference. Also, there was no color on the buildings. The only color was the beautiful clothing of the people and the decorations on the carts and trucks. Most of the people we met were so friendly and kind. I am grateful we had the opportunity to see this part of the world and see a very small glimpse into their lives.
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