It's been over 6 years since I have visited Agra and the Taj Mahal, but Rajisthan is still one of our favourite Indian destinations, and I was lucky enough to travel north again last week with my friend Steph. We started in Jaipur, to wonder in it's pink beauty, it's wonderful and varied history, the glorious textiles and the fabulous food.
We stayed in two wonderful haveli's (Samode Haveli and Shahpura House) and we felt like royalty staying in these renovated guest houses from an era gone by. The early morning walk organised by the haveli had us wander through the back streets of the old city and see the city wake up. Everyone was grabbing a chai on the way to the temple and/or market before heading to work. Along the way they will also grab a samosa, or for a true sugar hit they would have jalebi…..
Our first real stop of the day was Amber Fort, which stands majestically above the surrounding lands and lake and is steeped in history and beauty - the mirrored and mosaic walls would have been stunning when lit up by oil lamps or candles. The city of Jaipur has now been added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the celebration was taking place while we were in town - much fan fare at the City Palace, Fort and Albert Hall. A visit to Jantar Mantar displaying the mathematical and astrological genius of Sawai Jai Singh II, left us feeling less than intelligent but amazed at his skills and talent and in awe of the sundials he created a thousand years ago.
We had another early start to leave for Agra, as again, I mistakenly had us arriving in Agra on a Friday, when the Taj Mahal is closed to visitors. So we changed our plans and went a day early and needed to be in town to have our Taj visit by the afternoon. On the way, we visited the famous Chand Baori. This is a thousand year old stepwell that is 30 metres deep and has the most spectacular geometric design. It featured in the movie 'The Dark Knight Rises' and has also been used for a number of Indian movies - it is absolutely amazing to see.
The Taj Mahal - what can I say? It truely is a special place and I am so happy that I had the chance to revisit in a different time of year and see it in all its glory again. A must do for anyone visiting India. On the Friday, we visited the Agra Fort which is very deceiving in size and has some of the most spectacular detail in the sandstone walls. After another history lesson we jumped back in the car for the 4 hour drive to Delhi where we were meeting Mike and boys.
Steph and I had the best time and had so many laughs celebrating our 24 years of friendship - that is whole other story !!! Countless stories to tell and things to see in our time in Rajisthan.
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| It is wedding season in the north and this procession was amazing. This is the groom, but the procession had a at least 50 people, a band, more horses and even an elephant ! |
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| The daily milk delivery - the farmers will leave at 5am to bring these tins of milk for people to 'dip' their hand in to find out the amount of cream in the milk, and then determine a cost |
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| Steph and her 'sweet' ride |
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| Off to the temple |
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| morning chores - water collection |
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| wow that looks heavy !! |
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| Chai Time |
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| Fruit and Vegetable Market negotiating |
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| The colours in Rajisthan are just so beautiful |
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| A family of monkeys playing at dawn |
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| The most accurate and amazing sundial I have ever seen |
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| These amazing creatures |
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| Stunning ! and the mosaic isn't too bad either…….. |
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The Lake Palace is currently not habitable but is now being renovated and will be stunning when completed.
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| Bangle making by hand |
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| The fabulous textile block printing in Jaipur |
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| it was just too funny not to take a photo |
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