Magical Rajasthan

I am finding that India is exciting, but extremely overwhelming. I've had several frustrating days where I had no idea what I was thinking when I decided to come to India, and I just wanted to be done - but then I think about the incredible places I've seen and I realize that the frustrations are worth it. I am now in the Golden Triangle area, visiting famous sites in Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra. It's very different than southern India, and I am enjoying the change of scenery.

Some random things I've seen here:
-A man with a bamboo cane and his evil-psycho monkey of doom attacking our car window.
-16 people riding in one tiny auto-rickshaw, three of which were on the roof. Note: auto-rickshaws typically only seat three plus the driver. They are basically glorified riding lawn-mowers that can go fast and weave through roads congested with people, busses and cows.
-Highway traffic was super slow at one point, so people in tractors, motorcycles, rickshaws, and even carts pulled by donkeys crossed the raised median and drove up the wrong side of the road, weaving through fast, oncoming traffic!
-Everyone here does have a water-buffalo. I passed ponds full of water-buffalo, with just the horns and heads above water. And camels, donkeys, and water-buffalo (with or without their owners) share the road with modern traffic.
-I saw a wild peacock sitting atop a bush in the middle of a field, green parrots flying around the countryside, and monkeys running across the road. Exotic animals everywhere :)
-Newspaper is used as tissues and napkins, and to serve food.

Mathew and I spent one day in Agra. We were lucky enough to be there on World Heritage Day, so we got into each of the World Heritage Sites for free! We went to Akbar's Tomb, where there were huge sandstone buildings and vast lawns (with wild gazelles grazing on the property). The tomb had incredible acoustics! A man working in the tomb sang a short melody that echoed through the otherwise silent room and sent chills down my spine. In all the other open-air rooms surrounding the inner tomb, the architecture (pillars and domed ceilings) allows sounds to travel from one corner of a wall to another. When one person faces one corner of the room, and another faces the diagonal corner, you can whisper and hear each other from across the room!

I've seen several world wonders, like the Great Wall of China and the Colosseum, but the Taj Mahal is the most beautiful architectural masterpiece I've ever seen! Built with white marble, it stands out drastically from the sandstone landscape all around. The first site of the Taj Mahal through the main gate is the most stunning, since the gate is built in such a way the opening of it frames the whole Taj Mahal as you walk through - creating an optical illusion that it's even bigger than it is. The marble surfaces are decorated with floral patterns made from inlaid semi-precious stones. When you shine a light into the marble, the stone lights up and the gemstones glow brilliantly. Adding to the exotic atmosphere, there are also monkeys climbing around and parrots flying between flowering trees.

We went to Fatipur Sikri, and ancient palace and mosque. The swirls of color in the sandstone structures are lovely, but even more impressive are the huge carved doors made from solid ebony, and windows made from one solid slab of marble with intricate lace-like patterns cut through them. When you look out the window, it looks a little like stained glass. You can look outside, but you can't seen inside through the cut-marble windows very easily.

In Jaipur we saw the famous Amer Fort and Amber Palace, set on a hillside overlooking the ancient city. There were elephants carrying tourists up to the palace, and people playing drums and flutes. But the best part was the snake charmer!!! An old man with an instrument and a small basket was crouching in the shade on the stairway to the palace. He gestured me over and as he played, a cobra rose up from his basket and opened it's hood! The cobra stood up tall and swayed back and forth for several minutes. And the best part? The charmer let me touch his cobra!!! After he stopped playing, the cobra hissed and moved around, then laid down in the basket again.

As one last activity before he heads home tonight, Mathew and I are going to ride some elephants! I'm off to play, so Namaste!!!