More Monkeys

We are on our way home.  It may take awhile because of traffic.  We left at 11:00 from Agra to catch a 9:20 pm flight in Dehli.  I'm feeling fine today, but mom mom is sick.  Not sure if it was the salad or her normal stomach problem.

Taj Mahal gate in the background.

These are called auto rickshaws here. (Tuk tuks in Thailand)

Mom had an episode of her stomach problems on the last day.  It could be the normal problem or the salad she ate the previous night.  She just barely  made it to the airport bathroom after a 5 hour drive.  As we were sitting she threw up.  Someone saw her and asked if she needed to go to first aid.  They gave her a shot to control the diaherra and nausea.  The young women Doctor also prescribed several pills and electrolytes.  Her sister is a systems analyst in Seattle. The doctors visit and medication cost 850 rupees which is about $13.  The medics were making small talk with us.  One of them is getting married this July.  He is inviting 1,000 people, which is his entire family and the people who live in his community.  They give people cards to get through security gates so there are no wedding crashes.   His brother who works in Dubai is paying for it.   I think the US is one of the few countries that don't have very formal wedding customs.  Mom also got a wheelchair which allowed us to go through a shorter security line and board first.  When we went to Germany mom also had food poisoning and had to go to the doctors.  Perhaps our days of exotic travel are over until the stomach problem gets taken care of.

This was posted in the air on the free wifi.  Mom is feeling better.  Good thing we went to the doctor.

Two Kinds of People

February 13

We drove to Agra yesterday. Our first stop was the Johadi's Palace. He was a Mogul Emperor.  He had 12 wives and over a thousand concubines.  Can you imagine Valentine's Day.

Today we went to the Taj Mahal. It is a mausoleum named for Shan Jahan's favorite wife.  She was married at age 18 and bore 14 children by the time she died at age 38.  On her death bed she made the Shah promise to take care of their children, to not remarry, so their kids were first priority, and to construct a memorial.  It took 22 years to build and was completed in 1653.  You would think that this was a big waste of money, but the construction employed 20,000 people and thy were well paid.  Sounds like our infrastructure projects.  Our guide Ali said there were two types of people, those that have seen the Taj Mahal and those that haven't.  Foreign tourists pay 800 rupee ($12) and Indians pay 20 rupee ($3).  He has probably told that joke thousands of times.  Unfortunately I am missing the marble store ( a good thing) and Agra Fort.  By now all the forts, which is where the Emperors lived, mosques, and temples are starting to look the same anyway.

Snake Charmer

February 11

We took off this morning for Jaipur.  The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was filmed here.

This snake charmer was at the entrance to the city palace museum which is where the royal family used to live.  They actually still live adjacent to the museum but they don't have any more power.  When the snake charmer sees you taking his picture he asks for money.

Jaipur is called the pink city.  One of the Maharajas like pink and had everything painted pink.

Nearby was the observatory.  This is a sundial.  The worlds largest sundial is here.  One of the Marajas was into astrology.

We have seen quite a few monkeys.  We also saw some camel carts.

Cows go wherever they want.

February 12

Our guide told us a lot about his Hindu religion and marriage customs.  They still have arranged marriages.  Hindu marriages are a five day affair.  One of the customs is for the groom to ride in on a camel, elephant or horse.  Bernie will have to do at Hannah and Nick's wedding.

This morning we started off with an elephant ride to the Amber Fort, which was one of the places where royalty lived.

When the other members of the group went to the jewelry and rug store we went to mom's favorite place, the bazar.

No need to go to the zoo here when you can see animals in the street.

Our hotel doorman.  Note the security we need to go through.  I think it is because they know foreigners stay here.

Bollywood

February 8

Good thing we got to the airport early.  The lines to get through security were the longest I ever saw.  To compound things we got in the TSA pre check line but when we got to the front they sent us back because Emirates doesn't do pre check.  Then we got held up in the scanner because I had a wine opener in my backpack.  I was wondering where that was.  We got to the gate just in time.

Emirates is the best airline we have been on.  Great movie (including Bollywood) and music selection.  Mom watched four movies.  Good food with Indian selections. And free drinks.

Our flight left Seattle at 9:00 am and we arrived at 8:00 pm the next day.  Delhi is 13.5 hours ahead.  The additional half hour is odd.  We got to the hotel at 10:00 am, so we were traveling for 24 hours. Got up on Wednesday morning at the regular time so at least our sleep cycle isn't off.

February 10

We met the other two women in our group at breakfast.  They are from Los Angeles.  Their names are easy to remember, Ruth and Ann.  Our local guides name was Davindar.

The Qutb Minar was built in 1193 to signify the Islamic conquer of India.  A minar is a minaret, which is a tower where the imans announced the five daily prayers.  The minar is the tallest stone tower in the world.  

We took a rickshaw ride through Chandigarh Chowk in old Delhi.  There was one section dedicated to weddings.  It was so crowed that we had to make a u turn down one street.

Jami Masjid, built in 1656, can accommodate 20,000 people.  The mosque is the outdoor area.  The building in the back is just a fascade.  Note the robe mom had to wear.  We also had to take off our shoes.

Humayun's Tomb was constructed by one of the many wives of the second Mughal emperor in 1565.  He also had a harem of many women.  The tomb was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal.

 

Note the sign on the back of this van.  It is related to the Muslim treatment of women.

Animals are sacred in the Hindu religion.  We saw some wild monkeys also.