Incredible India

Namaste!
For winter break, we decided to go to a country that has been on our list for a long time: Incredible India!

The Jahangiri Fort in Agra was impressive because of its red sandstone construction.

Moghul style archways and colonnades in the Hall of Public Audiences. 

Every inch of every surface in India seems to be lavishly decorated.

Our next stop in Agra was the famous Taj Mahal.
(That's 0.6 miles to the Taj Mahal for our American friends.) 

This is what the Taj Mahal looks like on a December morning with lots of fog, but very few tourists.

This is what the Taj Mahal looks like later that same day - less fog, but many more people.

This place is big.

Really BIG!

There are gemstones inlaid in white marble everywhere.  Not marble painting, inlay! 
(See this NatGeo video for an example of inlay work: Taj Mahal: Inlay Artisan)

Our tour guide said that women would stand behind these marble screens so that they could see out, but nobody could see them from the other side.

There are hundreds of screens cut from single pieces of thick, thick marble. 

This place really is incredible!

We spent a couple nights in Dousa and visited a local school there.  We played games with the students and learned about education in the local village.

Since we were on a cultural tour of India, our accommodations were not traditional hotels but rather old forts and renovated palaces (havelis).
This was our room in a town called Shahpura, four hours from Agra.

Our doorway was the middle window.

This is our room from the outside - second floor, upstairs.  It must have been nice to be royalty 300 years ago!

This was called the cloud room because of the blue clouds painted on the ceiling.  We enjoyed drinking masala tea there.
Doesn't it look like a museum?  

Since it was Christmas, we were the only guests at the hotel for a couple of nights.  (There are only five rooms in the whole palace.)  So the seven on-site employees told us to consider the palace our home.  We had no problem obliging!

Of course, I couldn't leave Shahpura before enjoying a highly recommended facial.  My skin has never felt so smooth!

The next morning we woke up early to avoid the long elephant lines at Amber Fort (built 1550-1614) near Jaipur.  You can walk all the way up to the fort or ride a (regulated, cared for, healthy) elephant.

The Sheesh Mahal (Hall of Mirrors) was decorated with tens of thousands of tiny Belgian mirrors that could reflect the flame of a single candle to light up the entire hall.

Where does this door take you?

This is what can be accomplished over 100 years without TV or YouTube.

The fort was filled with hundreds of stairs, doors, and passageways so that the Maharaja could move around his fort home freely.

I hit my head repeatedly while walking through narrow stairwells.

This time I was careful to duck.

This is Amber Fort from across the man-made lake.

Our next accommodation was a 15th century converted fort in Neemrana, two hours from Shahpura.  Our room is the big, salmon-colored one on the second floor in the center.

Unfortunately for the porters, there was no elevator in this ancient fort.
Is he carrying my suitcase on his head?

One morning we rode on "Raju" to the famous step well in Neemrana.  (He is muzzled not because he bites but because he spits.)

This 18th century step well is nine stories deep and transformed Neemrana from a poor city into a prosperous one since nobody else in the area had access to water.

This is a view of our hotel/fort from the neighboring village.

Someone has been practicing their ABC's.  Can you find the mistake?

We enjoyed our balcony view at Neemrana Fort even though it was very cold outside.

There are animals everywhere in India, and they all seem to get along with each other and with humans.

Some people in India really know how to carpool.

During our trip, we visited the memorial site of Mahatma Gandhi.

Our tour guide told us that this black marble platform marks the spot of Gandhi's cremation. 

Humayun's Tomb in Delhi (construction began in 1569) was also amazing.  It's actually bigger than the Taj Mahal but not made out of pure marble, and pre-dates the Taj Mahal by about 60 years.

The three-tiered inner chamber is elegantly designed in the Moghul style of architecture.

In the late afternoon, we visited the home and garden where Gandhi was assassinated.

They have imprints of the footsteps he took that day leading to the place where he was shot.

We were told that these are Gandhi's actual glasses, walking stick, and other personal items.

Our last stop was at the Qutab Complex, with the main attraction being the Qutub Minar, a brick minaret soaring 21 stories.

It is the second tallest minaret in India, built in 1192, and is made of red sandstone and marble.  It has over 370 steps inside that lead to the top, but it is closed to visitors.

There are only scattered remains of what used to be a thriving community.

I was inspired to do a quick sketch from inside the ruins of a mausoleum with a view of the Qutub Minar.

On our last day in New Delhi, we had to try an Indian-style McDonald's where cows are sacred, thus no beef hamburgers.  The Chicken Maharaja was tasty and spicy!

This was just a sample of the many experiences we had on our trip to India.  We hope to return one day to see Mumbai, the Ganges River, the Himalayas, and so much more.
Alvida!