Wednesday 24 January
Jaipur to Agra
Today we left early because it’s a good ways to Agra on a bad road, so we can only go about 30 or so miles an hour, and there are going to be three stops along the way.
It’s another beautiful day, cool and clear. The mornings are hazy because of a mist, and the afternoons because of the amount of dust that gets kicked up during the day. But the cool temperatures and low humidity are heaven for someone from Houston.
We stopped first to see a bath/temple site from the 800s called Chand Bawali. there were 3 sides with the most dramatic steps going down down down along three sides of a square funnel-shaped depression that ended at a small pool at the bottom. The 4th side was a temple area that also went down down down. It was very dramatic and like an Escher drawing.
There was a small village at the site too with about 50 families. There were a number of really poor folks too who were very persistent about coming at you with their hands out. There have been some of these everyplace, but these seemed particularly insistent. Perhaps because the pickings are slim since this is a not-very-well-known site, not even in Lonely Planet! Before very long we fled to the bus to escape them.
I read somewhere that India will challenge your compassion, and it’s true I suppose – the beggars here are more aggressive than I’ve seen in the rest of the world. They practically come onto the bus, standing at the door with their hands out. Occasionally they beat on the side of the bus if you’re not noticing that they’re down there. Of course they’re in a pretty tough situation too, and look bad – dirty, no shoes, kids with no pants on, etc. it reminds me of a homeless person I saw at home once, who had a sign that read, “Have you ever been this hungry?” which was more thought-provoking than “vet out of work please help god bless you.” But where do you start?
Anyway then we rode a long time more on the bus, which I might add has very bad shocks, and on rough roads like we had today it was murder. We arrived at a World Heritage site called Fatah Pur Sikri, which was the home of the moghul ruler named Akbar “the Great.” He was great because he lowered taxes (all citizens can get behind that concept) and tried to get rid of religious intolerance. His 3 wives were hindu, muslim, and Christian. What a guy. His palace was fantastic, very austere in a way, with a series of courtyards and green areas, and a very nice mosque. The light was very nice, so I hope the photos came out.
There was a bit of a panic at one point because to enter a mosque area you have to remove your shoes – you and about 700 other people, so they are all piled up. You have to get someone to watch your group’s shoes or … they might get lost. Something like getting a kid to watch your car in latin America maybe. Anyhow when I came out, my shoes were lost. After a good bit of searching they showed up – whew!
Arrived in Agra at about 7, about a 12-hr day. We get up early tomorrow, leaving at 6:15 to get to the Taj Mahal while the light is good. Better go to bed!
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