Jaipur Revisited and the Taj Mahal

My first visitor from Bellingham!

Marisa at Nizamuddin for Sufi singing

Marisa at the Red Fort in Jaipur

My first visitor from home, Marisa, arrived last week. Marisa is renting my Bellingham home and has been my hair stylist for a few years. She is a delightful and fun young women who took the risk to learn more about incredible India. Sure has been fun introducing her to the wonder and craziness of India. The first three days I must have heard, "Oh, my god" a hundred times. By the fourth day it was simply, "Amazing!"She's off to Goa (beach area) for a couple of days. Can't wait to hear her stories.

Decided to take her to Jaipur and Agra on a road trip. We hired a driver and four of us hopped into a van with AC (it's in the 90's right now). Our driver, Dinesh, was amazing; dodging cows and swerving scooters with 3-4 passengers, buses with toploads of people hanging on any graspable part.

Just an ordinary truckload of hay

 You can't think about the craziness of the seemingly no-rules on the roads in India. Closing my eyes often is my only way to stay sane.

Traffic- stopping herd of cattle

Holy cow!

This holy man was leading his holy cow along the highway in pilgrimage to the next temple.


 Since I had been to Jaipur before, I wanted to discover some new sights. Didn't have to look too hard. The Royal Observatory Jantar Mantar was a gem of a find! Dating back to the 1700's, this open-air observatory is full of ancient astrological and time-telling structures. So far, this is one of my favorite finds in India. The Maharaja Jai Singh was a passionate astrologer and astronomer. Huge sculpture-like sundials and zodiac charts feel like a giant board game. One of the time instruments still tells time within two seconds of accuracy!

"Clock"

Libra zodiac piece

Of course, we just had to take the elephant ride to the Amber Fort. I do struggle with the treatment of some of the elephants. Although it was supposed to be abolished for the elephant "driver" to use a metal hook, ankush, to poke the elephant, our driver was using one. When I asked him how many trips he took with his elephant each day, he said from 9-7 P.M. Took the joy away a bit.

Elephant with a "turban"!

Cristi and her mother, Ellen (visiting from Texas)

Family making and selling puri for the passing elephant drivers.

The Amber Fort is magnificent. I was really able to focus on more of the details this time.

Inlaid marble ceiling.

Silver mosaics!

After two sensational days in Jaipur, our driver began the long journey to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. Five to six hours of driving in the U.S. is quite bearable. But on Indian highways, it is a like a surreal theme park ride that you can't get off!

Camel carts all along the way.

Trucks are hand-painted.

Agra is not a lovely place. There are many historical sights worth seeing, but I was glad that we were only there for the day to see the Taj. Our driver secured us VIP passes because I have an Embassy ID. No lines, thankfully, and a private guide who has taken many dignitaries on the tour. Or at least that is what he told us!

The glorious Taj Mahal

 There is really nothing quite like the Taj Mahal. Inlaid marble throughout with precious stones. The entire structure is perfectly symmetrical from all sides. And imagine, built for love!

The classic "Diana" pose

Dinesh managed to get us home safely through mad traffic for another five hours of driving. Nice to be back home. Next...Varanasi!