Agra, India
Today we woke up, took cold showers, packed, then ate a hotel breakfast before our driver picked us up. Like many of our drivers, he does not speak much English. He is from Agra and was driving us from Jaipur to Agra. I tried to sleep for part of it, read for part of it, and watched out the window for the rest. As we see each new thing on our vacation, I think of how lucky I am to be able to see things that many people will never be able to see. All three of us agreed that we have a whole different sense of the world, seeing some of the poverty and need that we have seen--especially in India.
One thing that screams out to you is garbage. There is garbage everywhere. I saw one woman take a bag of garbage to the edge of the street, pour it out, then throw the bag on top before turning around and walking away. Some houses and some businesses are nicely swept and picked up, but those are only a few. The gutters and drainage ditches, the vacant lots and the areas in front of stores and homes on the edges of cities and in the small towns are full of garbage. Some areas of Jaipur even smelled strongly of urine, so that is there as well (we saw some people urinating in public). Joshua and I had a conversation about this today. I was feeling conflicted--was it just our Western sensibilities that were offended, is it a cultural thing, were we being too judgemental? After some discussion, I think Joshua hit the nail on the head by saying that in many parts of the world they are still trying to find ways to provide bathrooms for everyone. And I realized that yes, if you can't find clean water for your people, garbage collection isn't at the top of your list. Having said that, though, there is the public health risk of all that garbage.
Our driver stopped for a bathroom break about halfway, then continued to Agra. When we arrived, the roads were choked with vehicles. There were some "VIPs" in town our driver said. In fact, we did see some cars with flags on them. Eventually, the traffic began moving, one motorcycle at a time. We saw children in school uniforms everywhere going home. Some rode bicycles, some rode vespa-style scooters, some rode buses, and many rode in tuk-tuks or were walking. Eventually we made it to our hotel--the Aman Homestay. We noticed a 7:30 dinner (traditional Indian food) offered, so we signed up for that.
Then we walked to find an ATM and on to the Taj Mahal. Randy thought it was farther than it was and the air was very hot and humid, so he called an uber. He dropped us off and we had to walk the rest of the way. It was much more expensive than anything else that we've done (about $15 each). With your ticket, you get shoe covers and a bottle of water. Also, you get a free guide. Ours showed us his credentials, then led us through. We had to go through security (separate lines for "ladies" and "gents") with pat downs and x-rays.
The tour guide was somewhat hard to understand, but explained about the Taj Mahal being a mausoleum, not a palace like most people think. Shah Jahan at the time had three wives (they are allowed four) and one of his wives died giving birth to their 14th child. She was a Persian princess. He loved her and wanted to honor her, so he commissioned the Taj Mahal for her body. It was finished in 1643. There are four pools in the form of a cross to represent the four elements in the hereafter that Muslims believe in: honey, milk, water, and nectar. All of the lines in the grounds are very specific. There is a central line that everything is aligned with, including her tomb. Each arch has a prayer from the Quran on it written in arabic. The guide told us that the writing at the top is larger than at the bottom so that it all appears the same. I asked about the flower mosaics and he explained and showed me the stones. They include coral, lapis lazuli, abalone, and many others from around the world (including New Zealand). There is a mosque on the grounds, but we were not allowed in because we are not Muslim. We were not allowed to take photos inside the mausoleum. A man came over to show us how the marble glows when light is shone on it. Thus it glows at sunrise, sunset, at the full moon, and during the day.
Toward the end of the tour, our guide asked if we had other questions, so I asked about cows, he told us about his family, we talked about the new prime minister, family planning, and education. Children are required to go to school, but not all do. Many work to help their families, even young children. His answer for a few questions was that India is complicated. At the end, he took us to a shop that had masons that create the same type of mosaics. They showed us the raw stones, how they grind and shape them, and then how the marble glows in different lights. They wanted us to buy a table top or plate, but we didn't (they were quite expensive). I kind of wish I had bought a small plate.
Tomorrow we signed up for the hotel breakfast, we will see the red fort, and then be driven to Delhi.
Today we woke up, took cold showers, packed, then ate a hotel breakfast before our driver picked us up. Like many of our drivers, he does not speak much English. He is from Agra and was driving us from Jaipur to Agra. I tried to sleep for part of it, read for part of it, and watched out the window for the rest. As we see each new thing on our vacation, I think of how lucky I am to be able to see things that many people will never be able to see. All three of us agreed that we have a whole different sense of the world, seeing some of the poverty and need that we have seen--especially in India.
One thing that screams out to you is garbage. There is garbage everywhere. I saw one woman take a bag of garbage to the edge of the street, pour it out, then throw the bag on top before turning around and walking away. Some houses and some businesses are nicely swept and picked up, but those are only a few. The gutters and drainage ditches, the vacant lots and the areas in front of stores and homes on the edges of cities and in the small towns are full of garbage. Some areas of Jaipur even smelled strongly of urine, so that is there as well (we saw some people urinating in public). Joshua and I had a conversation about this today. I was feeling conflicted--was it just our Western sensibilities that were offended, is it a cultural thing, were we being too judgemental? After some discussion, I think Joshua hit the nail on the head by saying that in many parts of the world they are still trying to find ways to provide bathrooms for everyone. And I realized that yes, if you can't find clean water for your people, garbage collection isn't at the top of your list. Having said that, though, there is the public health risk of all that garbage.
Our driver stopped for a bathroom break about halfway, then continued to Agra. When we arrived, the roads were choked with vehicles. There were some "VIPs" in town our driver said. In fact, we did see some cars with flags on them. Eventually, the traffic began moving, one motorcycle at a time. We saw children in school uniforms everywhere going home. Some rode bicycles, some rode vespa-style scooters, some rode buses, and many rode in tuk-tuks or were walking. Eventually we made it to our hotel--the Aman Homestay. We noticed a 7:30 dinner (traditional Indian food) offered, so we signed up for that.
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| Our bathroom (and the shower has a water heater!) |
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| The room |
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| photo of the Taj Mahal from the roof |
Then we walked to find an ATM and on to the Taj Mahal. Randy thought it was farther than it was and the air was very hot and humid, so he called an uber. He dropped us off and we had to walk the rest of the way. It was much more expensive than anything else that we've done (about $15 each). With your ticket, you get shoe covers and a bottle of water. Also, you get a free guide. Ours showed us his credentials, then led us through. We had to go through security (separate lines for "ladies" and "gents") with pat downs and x-rays.
 |
| Some monkeys |
The tour guide was somewhat hard to understand, but explained about the Taj Mahal being a mausoleum, not a palace like most people think. Shah Jahan at the time had three wives (they are allowed four) and one of his wives died giving birth to their 14th child. She was a Persian princess. He loved her and wanted to honor her, so he commissioned the Taj Mahal for her body. It was finished in 1643. There are four pools in the form of a cross to represent the four elements in the hereafter that Muslims believe in: honey, milk, water, and nectar. All of the lines in the grounds are very specific. There is a central line that everything is aligned with, including her tomb. Each arch has a prayer from the Quran on it written in arabic. The guide told us that the writing at the top is larger than at the bottom so that it all appears the same. I asked about the flower mosaics and he explained and showed me the stones. They include coral, lapis lazuli, abalone, and many others from around the world (including New Zealand). There is a mosque on the grounds, but we were not allowed in because we are not Muslim. We were not allowed to take photos inside the mausoleum. A man came over to show us how the marble glows when light is shone on it. Thus it glows at sunrise, sunset, at the full moon, and during the day.
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| the mosque |
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| Individual rooms |
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| The older woman next to me, on the right, wanted to have her picture taken with me |
Toward the end of the tour, our guide asked if we had other questions, so I asked about cows, he told us about his family, we talked about the new prime minister, family planning, and education. Children are required to go to school, but not all do. Many work to help their families, even young children. His answer for a few questions was that India is complicated. At the end, he took us to a shop that had masons that create the same type of mosaics. They showed us the raw stones, how they grind and shape them, and then how the marble glows in different lights. They wanted us to buy a table top or plate, but we didn't (they were quite expensive). I kind of wish I had bought a small plate.
Tomorrow we signed up for the hotel breakfast, we will see the red fort, and then be driven to Delhi.
Some nice pictures for the next xmas card ;-)
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