I've been in India for almost a week already and I'm beginning to acclimatise to my new surroundings. It's the most fabulous place, I've never been anywhere remotely like it, and I've had a busy few days.
Wednesday: I went into Old Delhi and walked up from my hotel to the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk (the main thoroughfare of Old Delhi). This took me about an hour but it was incredibly interesting making my way through the crowded and filthy streets. The 17th Century Red Fort, built by the Mughals, is enormous and took me a lot of the afternoon to wander around. The bazaars which run off Chandni Chowk are chaotic and alive with energy. I was too tired to walk back to the hotel after so I jumped in a cycle rickshaw and was brought back via several of the interesting market areas.
Thursday: I visited Central Delhi and went to see India Gate, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's House), the surrounding Secretariat Buildings, Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House), and the National Museum. The whole area was laid out by Lutyens during the time of the British, and is quite a sight to behold. The long drive which drops to a dip in the middle reminded me a bit of the long driveway which runs away from Windsor Castle and out into Windsor Park. There's a lot to see in the National Museum. It's well worth a visit even for the museum weary (which includes me). I spent a lot of time looking at the exquisite miniature paintings on display. They were mostly two dimensional depictions of scenes from the days of the Mughal Empire in Northern India. I was given a ride to the Museum for free by a man called Ramjeet who said it was his birthday and insisted on calling me John despite my telling him my name several times.
Friday: I caught the train to Agra (location of the Taj Mahal) and checked in to the Shahjahan Hotel. I haven't seen everything I want to in Delhi but I'll be looping back there in a few weeks so I thought I'd save some sights for later. The journey down to Agra was only three hours and very straightforward. As soon as I arrived I went over to the ticket counters and bought an onward ticket to Jaipur for 2 April (which is tomorrow). I then walked out of the station and in to a sea of tourist touts. The Shahjahan Hotel is very basic but no worse than anywhere I stayed in South East Asia, and it would be wrong of me to expect the Ritz as it is so cheap. My room which is on the roof top has a view of the Taj Mahal and you can't really ask for more than that. I'm staying in the area immediately south of the Taj Mahal called Taj Ganj. Taj Ganj is the original area where the workmen who built the Taj Mahal set up camp back in the 1600s. I suspect things haven't changed that much since except for the addition of Internet cafes and shops selling Pepsi Cola and Mirinda Orange.
Saturday: I spent the day at the Taj Mahal and in the late afternoon went for a walk along the Taj Nature Trail. It's as beautiful as they say, and a great privilege see. Such a romantic story behind the building of it too. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his second (and favourite) wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631 giving birth to her fourteenth child. Construction began the same year and it took 20 000 craftsmen until 1653 to finish it. Specialists were brought in from all over the world and the result was one of the world's finest ever man made constructions. Just after it was completed Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and imprisoned for the rest of his life (another eight years) at Agra Fort. An octagonal tower with views across the river to the Taj Mahal formed part of his detention quarters and he used to sit there gazing across at his wife's last resting place. When Shah Jahan died his body was taken and placed by the body of his wife reuniting them but spoiling the otherwise perfect symmetry of the building (his tomb slab is off centre). It's hard to accept that the Taj Mahal was built in the 1600s because it looks like it was finished yesterday. Even close up everything is superbly finished, and built - it would seem - to last for eternity. I took a few moments while I was there to spare a thought for Shah Jahan's first wife who got no special tomb and has been forgotten by history.
Sunday: I went into Agra and visited Agra Fort, Jama Masjid, Itimad-Ud-Daulah (sometimes nicknamed the baby Taj Mahal), and a park called Mehtab Bagh which sits the opposite side of the river to the Taj Mahal and offers a wonderful view of the garden tomb. Agra Fort is even bigger than the Red Fort and took out another half day. Jama Masjid (the main Mosque in Agra) is also very well designed but is in need of some significant repair work. The caretaker showed me round and said that very little money was received for maintenance works and that tourist donations were heavily relied upon (hint). It did seem to be the case judging by the state of the building.
Thursday: I visited Central Delhi and went to see India Gate, the Rashtrapati Bhavan (the President's House), the surrounding Secretariat Buildings, Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House), and the National Museum. The whole area was laid out by Lutyens during the time of the British, and is quite a sight to behold. The long drive which drops to a dip in the middle reminded me a bit of the long driveway which runs away from Windsor Castle and out into Windsor Park. There's a lot to see in the National Museum. It's well worth a visit even for the museum weary (which includes me). I spent a lot of time looking at the exquisite miniature paintings on display. They were mostly two dimensional depictions of scenes from the days of the Mughal Empire in Northern India. I was given a ride to the Museum for free by a man called Ramjeet who said it was his birthday and insisted on calling me John despite my telling him my name several times.
Friday: I caught the train to Agra (location of the Taj Mahal) and checked in to the Shahjahan Hotel. I haven't seen everything I want to in Delhi but I'll be looping back there in a few weeks so I thought I'd save some sights for later. The journey down to Agra was only three hours and very straightforward. As soon as I arrived I went over to the ticket counters and bought an onward ticket to Jaipur for 2 April (which is tomorrow). I then walked out of the station and in to a sea of tourist touts. The Shahjahan Hotel is very basic but no worse than anywhere I stayed in South East Asia, and it would be wrong of me to expect the Ritz as it is so cheap. My room which is on the roof top has a view of the Taj Mahal and you can't really ask for more than that. I'm staying in the area immediately south of the Taj Mahal called Taj Ganj. Taj Ganj is the original area where the workmen who built the Taj Mahal set up camp back in the 1600s. I suspect things haven't changed that much since except for the addition of Internet cafes and shops selling Pepsi Cola and Mirinda Orange.
Saturday: I spent the day at the Taj Mahal and in the late afternoon went for a walk along the Taj Nature Trail. It's as beautiful as they say, and a great privilege see. Such a romantic story behind the building of it too. The Taj Mahal was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his second (and favourite) wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631 giving birth to her fourteenth child. Construction began the same year and it took 20 000 craftsmen until 1653 to finish it. Specialists were brought in from all over the world and the result was one of the world's finest ever man made constructions. Just after it was completed Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and imprisoned for the rest of his life (another eight years) at Agra Fort. An octagonal tower with views across the river to the Taj Mahal formed part of his detention quarters and he used to sit there gazing across at his wife's last resting place. When Shah Jahan died his body was taken and placed by the body of his wife reuniting them but spoiling the otherwise perfect symmetry of the building (his tomb slab is off centre). It's hard to accept that the Taj Mahal was built in the 1600s because it looks like it was finished yesterday. Even close up everything is superbly finished, and built - it would seem - to last for eternity. I took a few moments while I was there to spare a thought for Shah Jahan's first wife who got no special tomb and has been forgotten by history.
Sunday: I went into Agra and visited Agra Fort, Jama Masjid, Itimad-Ud-Daulah (sometimes nicknamed the baby Taj Mahal), and a park called Mehtab Bagh which sits the opposite side of the river to the Taj Mahal and offers a wonderful view of the garden tomb. Agra Fort is even bigger than the Red Fort and took out another half day. Jama Masjid (the main Mosque in Agra) is also very well designed but is in need of some significant repair work. The caretaker showed me round and said that very little money was received for maintenance works and that tourist donations were heavily relied upon (hint). It did seem to be the case judging by the state of the building.
The weather feels very hot to me at the moment, but quite copable. I think I may be noticing it more because I've just spent a bit of time in the UK. I'd better get used to it because it's set to get hotter and hotter.
2 comments:
Do you know what the stone is that the red buildings are made from (agar fort, etc)? Looks like brick, and another looks painted. I can't decide just from the photos...reminded me of tattershall castle, but on a much larger scale! lol
Forgot about that place!
The Red Fort is made of red sand stone blocks and is about 900 times larger than Tattershall Castle. The exterior walls are 33 metres high and stretch for over 2 kilometres.
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