A little info on Delhi:
The city of Delhi is the capital of India. It has a population of 7.1 million and is at good 1700 miles north of Chennai, so the only practical way to get there is to fly. However it is not actually the home to the Taj Mahal. The it is located in Agra, which is a small city to the northwest of Delhi. That's all the info I can remember. Google it if you want.
It occurred to us that we should have put a little more planning into this weekend trip. As soon as we got off the plane we had to look for a place to stay because we were already tired and in need of showers. The YMCA and other places Lonely Planet-approved were booked, so we walked up and down Main Bizarre Road (which is just how it sounds) until we found a hostel with a spare room. Which was lucky for us. However the place didn’t come with towels or bedsheets, but it did have a/c.
The city of Delhi is not like Chennai in the least. The first thing I noticed is how much cleaner it is than Chennai. There aren’t piles of garbage and construction rubble everywhere. There is a lot more green space and fewer people mulling about the roads and sidewalks. But don’t get the impression that we preferred this city over others. Delhi is still harsher than the other places we have been. Within an hour of touching down, one guy’s wallet was stolen right out of his pocket on the tube. We had to make a detour to an Internet café where he could promptly cancel every credit card in his wallet. Everywhere we went there were children trying to sell us something; fruit or ice cream or little cheap toys or postcards and they would follow us Pied Piper style.
Since there are far more tourists in this city, there is an entire industry of people working to rip you off. We learned this first hand when on the day we went to Agra. Ryan at least had the foresight to book train tickets in advance, considering they fill up on Saturdays. Unfortunately we couldn’t make it to the proper train station on time, which rendered the pre-ordered tickets useless. (In actuality, we did make it to a train station on time. Little did we know that New Delhi Station and Delhi Station are two different places). So we wound up paying an arm and a leg to have a man drive us the four hours to Agra because there was no possible way to get six new seats on a train.
Anyway, we figured it cost each of us 48 American dollars total, which really isn’t that much to experience one of the most incredible tombs ever built. However Jayson says that he talked to the night manager at the hostel later and he outright laughed at us for how much we spent.
I guess I don’t need to say the the Taj Mahal itself is really incredible. By the time we arrived in Agra the six of us were really hot and tired but just walking into the first entrance gate was enough to shake us from our coma.
The structure was completed in 1649 by Shah Jahan to be used as a mausoleum for his wife. She died while trying to deliver her 13th child. The king was so upset that he had the structure built for her and was finally completed 22 years after her death. It’s made of white marble and the entire thing is decorated in semi-precious stones. It is surrounded on two sides by two “baby tajs” which are smaller red sandstone buildings designed exactly like the original. One is a Mosque for worship, and one is a guesthouse. The emperor had planned to build a second Taj Mahal for his own tomb and he wanted it in all black marble, however he was imprisoned before construction ever really got underway. All the remains today is a small concrete foundation that was started across the river. When the emperor was imprisoned by his son, he was placed in a jail tower with a room facing the Taj so he could spend his final days of life staring at the resting place of his wife.
Charming, right?
In addition to seeing the Taj, our tour guide/driver took us to a small marble factory and store where a family has been making marble carvings for generations. One of the workers showed us how they etched their designs into the stone and added the stones that make up the intricate pattern work of the Taj interior. I think we would have enjoyed it more if we weren’t tired and sweaty and completely uninterested in spending any more money.
Throughout the weekend, we also got a chance to see the India Gate, which is a large monument in the city that looks exactly like the Arc de Triumph in Paris. (sp?). It is in memory of all the soldiers whose lives were lost in World War II.
We also saw a Baha'i Temple called the Lotus Temple, which is a place of worship that is shaped completely like a gigantic lotus flower. The Baha'i temple was by far one of the nicest places to visit, because it was unlike any tourist attraction. We never waited in any lines or bought any tickets. We weren’t accosted by any small children trying to sell us postcards or snow globes. They didn’t even ask for any donations. The guards just politely asked us to remove our shoes before going in and to keep our voices low to accommodate those in prayer. The Baha'i faith is really fascinating and peaceful and if you have time, read more about it and the other incredible temples built all over the world.
http://www.bahai.org/
After a very frustrating day of traveling all over that stubborn city, my friends and I decided to have a nice chill dinner at a highly recommended joint near our hostel. The place was called Metropolis, and is a North Indian restaurant in the Main Bizarre area. (You should google that too. I've never seen a street with more character). We were pleased to be seated at an amazing table on the roof of a four story building that could overlook the busy streets below us. However we must have seen enough scenery for one day because I all remember of that place was eating my weight in paneer masala and paratta and Kingfisher. It was super good north Indian food (which I have decided is far superior to south Indian food. I can’t seem to explain why. It just is.) It was probably the first meal i have had in a very long time that involved tablecloths and metal silverware. Plus, our waiter there informed us that when Richard Ghere and Claire Danes come to Delhi, they eat at Metropolis. I can't tell if he was making that up or not, but it's cool either way.
Now that we are back it is hard to believe we only have one more week of teaching before our program comes to an end. I still feel like I have so much left to do!
[The view of the courtyard from my window at CSI hostel]
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