NEW DEHLI
We arrived in New Dehli on Friday night at 8-30 pm (2:30 pm Melb time ) so it was a long day as we had got up early but flights to Sigapore and then
to Delhi were delayed. The airport was so quiet and there was hardly anybody about! So much for bracing for culture shock... our driver was waiting and took us to our hotel The Manor, in Friends Colony West, off Mathura Rd. It was freezing,
about 8 degrees. The Manor is a small boutique hotel, about 15 rooms, set in a very green garden, in a gated community. It was so quiet, but we were pretty wired so sat up for hours, too jetlagged to sleep. Next morning we got up late and had a beautiful indian
breakfast of idlis and dosas, plus waffles in their famous restaurant Indian Accent. It was pouring with rain and cold, so decided to go to the New Dehli Museum for the afternoon. Spent 3 hours there, it is amazing, lots of
sculpture and art. Their special exhibition was "Reinventing India-" from prehistoric times (cave painings, tools, etc) to 1900s, so stuff exhibited was so interesting. Loved the Harrapan exhibition, with sculptures around 3000 years old.
We got back to the hotel just in time for Aryvedic massages, set in the tiny spa rooms at the back of the hotel which were followed by steam baths infused with rose and cinnamon. Not cheap but fantastic! Then going the whole kit, booked
into the 10 course degustation menu with wines ( a rarity here) We worked it out to be $100 each but forgot about exorbitant taxes so was $150 (gulp!) and we were both so stuffed we couldn't sleep... but it was a fabulous experience as this restaurant is famous
due to the innovative chef.
Day 2 was cold but sunny and we hit saturday traffic. Visited Qu'tab Complex with hundreds of school children and mainly Indian visitors. What a spectacular Heritage
site! It was so beautiful with its mosques and famous towers, with their superlative architecture and scroll work, surrounded by parklands. We then caught a taxi to Huyamans Tomb which took an hour to get to, across town. Was greeted
by a snake charmer, but hardly any touts. Again, full of people, but very peaceful, surrounded by parklands and trees. The buildings are World Heritage listed and are reminiscent of the Taj design, with moats and fountains. The Begum took eight years to complete
her husbands tomb and the scroll work and architecture is sublime! I must admit I crashed when we got home late in the afternoon after walking so much...and again we ate at the restaurant ala carte, still beautiful food creatively cooked and presentation was
great!
JAIPUR- THE PINK CITY
We were met by a disgruntled driver who was standing with his sign that welcomed us as delegates of the Festival, but was
not impressed with the plane being late. We soon understood why, we had a 5 minute drive and arrived at the very swish and very welcoming Jaipur Marriot
This hotel is about 20 months old and has
300 rooms, giant pool, 4 restaurants and spa centre. We have just been to the Okra restaurant for a buffet compromising anything from Japanese Tepanaki to Pizza, pasta and Indian cuisines. Plus french style desserts along side gulub jalam. Stuffed to the eyeballs
for $30 Aus each. Forget the alcohol, makes it too expensive, so stick with sparkling water. Service was fabulous and the decor was very upmarket.
The next day we were very eager to explore The Pink City as we hadn't
passed through it. It was founded in 1772 by Maharajah Jai Sing 11, a Kachhwala Rajput who ruled from 1699- 1727, Initially the capital was Amber about 11 kms away but the population was increasing at a great rate and there was a scarcity of water.
Jaipur was the first planned city of India. He consulted many architecture books and employed architects for the project. He consulted with Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, a Brahim scholar from Bengal, who aided in the design, drawing from his knowledge of ancient
Indian Literature on astronomy, books of Ptolemy and Euclid.
Construction started in 1727 and took 4 years to complete the major palaces, roads and squares, following the principles of Shlpa Shastra, the Indian
architecture. The city was divided into 9 blocks, 2 being for the state buildings and palaces, while the remaining 7 sections were for the community. Huge fortifications were built around the city with 7 access gates.In 1853, the whole city was painted pink,
(really a terracotta) to welcome the Prince of Wales.
As we drove through the city gates, we were stunned by its colour and beauty. We spent the morning in the City Palace, which consisted of a large public square with Four Seasons Doorways which
led to various sections of the Palace. We were treated to Puppet Shows, court music andguards in Rajistani costumes. One amazing spectacle was two huge solid silver containers, made out of beaten silver coins, with a totally smooth finish and no soldering.
Each jar carries 4000 litres, and were filled with water from the Ganges for Edward 7ths Coronation in 1902. They are the biggest silver objects in the world.The Towers and minarets were beautiful and housed lots of monkeys. We also visited the Lake Palace,
which is a beautiful structure built in the middle of a man-made lake. It reflected perfectly in the water. We drank marsala tea from a chai-wallah under the spreading trees with the locals. Jaipur is known for its precious gems, so I succumbed to the allure
of muli-colours sapphires and had a simple ring made for a very reasonable cost.
We later visted the very famous Amber Fort Light and Sound Show... the fortification is set on a very high hill and is huge. We sat rugged up as it was a freezing evening
and immersed ourselves in Mughal History of story-telling, ghazals and Indian music all reflecting the Mughal reign of 700 years. The views of Jaipur in the distance were magical from this height.
AGRA
We arose at 530 on Tuesday, 22nd and after a quick breakfast left for our 5 hour car trip to Agra. There is a new tunnel which was only 2 weeks old that led onto the Tollway that now exists from Jaipur to Agra.
We therefore bypassed many small towns on the way, but we got to see rural scenes on the way, with hand-making of bricks and some animal husbandry, mainly sheep and buffalos, with camels still doing their age old work of hauling loads and transporting humans
to their menial work, rather than carry Rajahs. People were living along side the highway in lean-tos and stick and hay constructions that didn't look as if they would survive a gentle breeze, let alone wind and rain. Women and children were bathing and defecating,
wahing their tattered colourful saris, pumping water and of course the Indian favourite past-time, eating. I was so glad we didnt fly, as this was a great way to see the real rural India, even if only briefly... we did have marsala tea-breaks along the way
and I bought those perennial favourites Chips Ahoy cookies.
We picked up our local guide in Agra who happened to have a Masters in English Literature, who was a very passionate story-teller about the story of the
Taj Mahal and its very romantic history. I was not that impressed with Agra but nothing can quite prepare you for your first viewing of the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal brought tears to our eyes and one can understand
why it is now named the 8th Wonder of the world. We had arrived at around 1130, on a glorious day of around 24 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. Its white marble glistened in the sun, and Indian tourists, dressed in their finery were there to show off and
pose for family photos with the Taj as their backdrop. There were hardly any European tourists or any touts with their cheap merchandise, so it was very peaceful, uncrowded and picturesque. The jewelled inlays glistened and shone, and our guide spoke
in detail about all its merits in architecture and its romantic history. We spent far too long there, so left the Agra Fort and went to a very late lunch in a tourist restaurant where the food was surprisingly good. We then looked around Agra and ended our
day at sunset looking at the back of the Taj Complex from a secluded park. Then another 5 hour trip back to Jaipur, where the dull, dusty villages took on a fairy-tail appearance because of their love for rope coloured lights which were threaded over shabby
buildings and spindly trees.
The next day was devoted to sleep and hotel massages, reading and as mentioned earlier the Amber Fort.