After this visit we proceeded to visit the crematorium where Mahhatma Ghandi is laid to rest, after he was assinated in 1948.
The same evening we all went out to dinner to a spice restaurant, and were entertained by musicians and dancers.
One pot on the head,many more to follow
The next morning we departed for Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, the bus ride was 4-6 hours, quite a long day.
After arrival into Jaipur, we all did a tour of Jaipur, aptly named the pink city. Jaipur's population is 5,000,000, the city is surrounded by pink walls, as in the 15-16th century was a fort.
We had an afternoon visit to the city palace, our tour company does not use elephants to get tourists up to the top, as it is not good for the elephants backs, we were ferried up to the top in jeeps.
Photos were not great due to the heavy pollution.
Dinner was at a spice court restaurant, quite nice food, our group is enjoying the naan bread and curries.
The next morning we visited Jantar Mantar, an observatory of astronomy, built by Jai Singh in 1728.
Each structure has a specific purpose, some measures the position of stars, whilst others calculate eclipses, the lunar calendar and simply the time of day.
This observatory was mind blowing to say the least.
I forwent the market Brazzar to go to a textile shop to get another kantha quilt and kantha jacket.
Being Diwali, most shops are closed, so to get my jacket, I purchased a vintage quilt and had one made in 5 hours, I am very impressed with my jacket.
All in all Jaipur, although being filthy with rubbish and heavy pollution, has a certain charm.
My other purchase in Jaipur was a camel rug, a gorgeous burgundy and gold.
Camel wool rug being made.
Day 5, after Jaipur we travel to Abhaneri, on our way we stop and visit Chand BaorI, which is the largest and deepest step well in the world, this incredible well has a staggering 3,500 steps and is 13 stories deep.
We continue onto Bharatpur, we visit Fatehpur Sikri,which was once a magnificent fortified city and the capital of the murghal empire from 1571 until 1585.
Our hotel in Bharatpur is out of town, so a quite night, had by all.
We visited the bird and animal sanctuary in Bharatpur
The next morning we travelled to Agra, a short drive. On our arrival we visit Agra fort, which was built during the rein of Emperor Akbar.
In the afternoon the girls and two guys from the group, dressed up in sari's and off we went to the Taj Mahal. I must say the experience of going to a poor family's home and being dressed in sari's for $15 was quite and experience. It was also quite hot as I had my clothes on underneath and no makeup, all in all the visit to the Taj Mahal was an experience and such amazing architecture.
45,000 people a day visit the Taj Mahal, thank god we had the fast past.
The line to get to see the tombs were very long and very crowded.
The Taj Mahal is one of the most extravagant monument ever built for love,Mathis fine example of murghal architecture was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory is f his beloved second wife Mumtaz-Mahal, who died tragically during childbirth.
Built entirely of white marble, construction began in 1631, the year in which Mumtaz died and was not completed until 1653. A staggering total of 20,000 workers contributed their skills, in the construction of this unique monument.
The next day we travelled to Orchha, which is a small village and situated on the Betwa river. The palace Jehangir Mahal, a 17th century palace, a stunning and rambling complex.
We watched the sunset on the Betwa river setting over the temples, a majestic site, not so much all the fecal matter on the rocks.
Our India adventure will be continued in more posts.
No comments:
Post a Comment