Some pigeons for you, El!

8.00am, Thursday 4th November, and I am leaving Delhi. I have a new driver, whose name is impossible for me to pronounce. He too cannot pronounce my name, and so we are officially renamed "Bj (!) and "Flower". The drive to Agra takes 5 and a half hours, but this is my favourite way to see India in all it's polluted, hectic and noisy glory, and so the time flies by. Before reaching the Taj Mahal, we stop off at Akbar's Tomb, for a brief photo opportunity, and a run in with some monkeys!

 


The Taj Mahal is everything you can imagine from the postcards, utterly breathtaking and an awe to stand in front of.

 


A few facts that my guide informed me about the building:

1) 30,000 people visit every day, and around 100,000 during festive period such as Christmas and other Public Holidays.

2) It took 11 years to make. With 8 of these years being spent on the structure alone!

3) Many precious stones are in bedded into the building's walls, such as Jade, Coral, Turquoise, a yellow stone specific to India and Onyx. The building itself is made from marble, and changes colour depending on what time of day you view it (yellow in the morning Sun, white during the day, and a shade of pink at night).

The outside pillars are not at an upright angle. They actually lean 5 degrees to the outside of the Taj Mahal. This is because, if ever hit by an earthquake, the pillars would fall to the outside of the building therefore not destroying the Taj!

After the Taj I nipped over to see Agra Fort, very beautiful and interesting, but not a patch on the Taj Mahal. However, it did have a spectacular view across the water. The Fort, my guide informed me, was firstly protected my a moat, and secondly by Lions and Tigers, and Elephants, who roamed the surrounding space of land just before the Fort walls.

Another pigeon for you, El!

Perhaps my favourite part of the day was being taken, by my guide and driver, to one of their friends' marble workshops. Here, an Indian man named Ricky explained to me all about the festival of Diwali, and also how the art seen at the Taj was carried out. As Ricky explained, I sat and watched one boy sanding the chips of precious stones with an old fashioned wheel, whilst the other boy chiselled out the grooves in the marble where the stones would sit. The first boy also made me a Turquoise Bindi, placing it between my brows, which I was thrilled with!

That night me and my driver shared a bottle and a half of Rum, and ate curry on the rooftop of our hotel! And this is good Rum, its 42.8%. Ha! Here he invites me to spend the most celebrated of Festivals in the Hindu calendar, Diwali, with him and his family in his village home. How could I refuse?

The following day we hit the road for the 4 hour journey to his village. Just before we get there I suddenly feel anxious, "Do they know I'm coming?", "Will I be welcome?". But of course I am welcome, this is India. I meet the Eldest son of my driver, Suresh, who is watching videos of Michael Jackson's thriller tour, and Britney Spears "Oops, I did it again". Very surreal. A few hours later, Suresh and his cousin take me for a walk around the village, and we end up at their friend Raj's house (who is a member of the Delhi police force). We sit upstairs, the four of us, and in broken English, and lots of Hindi (apart from me), we talk about families, our countries and... Yup, you've guessed it, Rum! Oh, and I forgot to mention, before we enter the house, Raj's 90 year old Grandfather is sat on the porch, cross legged, puffing away on his Hookah pipe, and chuckling very hard at the sight of me. I am told he says he just wants to look at me! As the sun starts set, signalling the start of the festivities, the Whisky comes out. Now, I'm not a massive Whisky fan, and especially not when your mixer is water, so it takes some drinking!

Back at my Driver's house, I remove my shoes and enter the bedroom of the first celebration/offering. It is an amazing sight, and I feel very honoured to be here, especially when I am included and have the rituals of red rope tied around my wrist (left, not right like them - I am unsure why, perhaps as I am not Hindu?) and a red Bindi spot painted on my forehead. We move into another bedroom, and the same (or similar!?) routine is carried out. After another walk with Suresh, and a stop off to sample hot Buffalo milk at his cousin's house (delicious!) we crack on with more Whisky back in my bedroom, with all of the men of the family (about 6 or 7 of them, and me!). The Hookah pipe comes out again, and the party really starts. We eat late, after we are done drinking, which I have learned is the order of events round here. A delicious meal is prepared by the Wife, who sits roughly 3 ft away from me, staring at my every mouthful. There is only so many times I can tell her how lovely the food is, just to fill the awkwardness. One of the sweets was an marzipan like cube, very sweet and very moorish. I later realised this too was the taste I had experienced when drinking the Buffalo's milk - my new favourite!

Up at the crack of dawn (as per usual in the village) and after a breakfast of rice and more of that amazing dessert, Suresh, his cousin (whose name I forget) and myself walk further down the village, and they show me  a Hindu temple. During the afternoon I decide to take a walk by myself, but I am soon chased by one of the young girls who takes me back to their backyard, where 17 (that's right, I counted) of the Indian villagers, young, old, male, female, stare, laugh and chatter intensely about me. The second evening is much like the first, except without the rituals, and the Whisky is replaced with Rum, hoorah! This time even the ministers of the village come and sit with us, and the novelty of their English, Rum-Drinking Guest is far from getting old.

The next morning we leave for Jaipur. A beautiful sandstone city with a City Palace and the Amber Fort high up in the mountains. A wall surrounds a portion of the city, with an even higher Fort overlooking the lot. I met Raja, a 21 year old Indian who studies Italian (and also speaks English). I ask him how to get up to the highest Fort, and he offers to take me ("Free of charge") on his motorbike. Amazing! Unfortunately his friend had taken off with it, but he walked me up there and back, free informative tour included, which was very sweet of him. He wanted to take me further sightseeing, but my driver was waiting. Later, he text me to go back to see the Amber fire show, but I was already in a hotel...

Indian Kurt Geiger!?

I love this: The Fort is their "'joint"!

After more sights and a Hindu temple, I am dropped at a hotel to kill the remaining few hours before my Midnight, 12 hour train journey to Jaisaimer. The train is typically Indian; late. After a struggle to find my upper berth bed, and with 2 lost French girls with me, we eventually find our beds. The train is a great experience, but very noisy and very long - we pulled in to Jaisaimer a little after 2pm. I'm now at my hotel, and I swear, it must be at least 4*! So a guaranteed better sleep tonight I think...