Apr 23, 2013 - Agra, India

The only thing that made the 5 hour bus ride to Agra tolerable was the fact it is the only way to get to see the legendary Taj Mahal! We got teased all afternoon when we visited the Agra Fort, a World Heritage Site, because we could see the Taj Mahal in the distance along the Yamuna River! This fort was absolutely stunning in its own rite and if located in a different city, would be the main attraction and well worth a big effort to visit! The massive walls of red sandstone look more like a painting than a sturdy fortress! This fort was...

Apr 15, 2013 - Abandoned City - Fatehpur Sikri

Abandoned city approx 40k from Agra – After only 14 years and in its hey day being the Moghul capital, Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned possibly due to a diminishing water supply. A ghost town immaculately preserved. “Akbar was religiously curious. He regularly participated in the festivals of other faiths, and in 1575 in Fatehpur Sikri—a walled city that Akbar had designed in the Persian style—he built a temple (ibadat-khana) where he frequently hosted scholars from other religions, including Hindus, Zoroastrians, Christians, yogis, and...

Apr 15, 2013 - Taj Mahal (no ... its not that highset in Woodridge)

AD1631 the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan carrying out the last wish of his dying wife (giving birth to her 14th child), Mumtaz Mahal, and in her memory commenced the contructions of this awesome mausoleum. According to our guide, it took 20,000 men 22 years to complete. 1000 elephants transported the building materials from all over India and Asia. You can see the beautiful inlay work in the photos. The descendants of the original artisans still live in the adjacent workers village, Taj Ganj, and still practice their art and craft. Imagine all...

Apr 15, 2013 - Agra Fort

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Agra Fort stretches along the Yamuna River and overlooks the Taj Mahal. An impressive and imposing red standstone structure, the Fort was founded in 1565 by the Moghul Emperor, Akbar (Akbar the Great – vastly expanded the Moghul empire; had 3 wives – a Christian, a Hindu, and a Muslim; and he was a liberal leader with a policy of religious co-operation, followed by Jahangir (Akbars eldest son); then Shah Jahan(1628 - 1658) and then his son, Aurangzeb (1658-1707) ... the Moghul empire then fell into decline....

Mar 27, 2013 - Orchha - Happy Holi

This morning we start later in the morning to avoid many of the Holi Festival that begins very early. On Holi, people "play" with colours and the town, as we walk through, shows the signs ... bright pink powder is spread along the sides of the road ... teenagers, men and women are covered with colours ... hair, clothing ... even cows and horses have been coloured. Perhaps this is where Holi Cow comes from? Our guide and Mansi are careful to avoid any areas of town where we may get into difficulty with Holi ... but we are all adorned with...

Mar 24, 2013 - Varanasi at sunrise

We're up early to take our bus to the Ganges for sunrise. Unlike last evening, the streets are deserted until we get closer to the river. Mornings on the Ganges are full of devotional chanting, praying and bathing. As we board the small wooden boat, the sky is just beginning to lighten. Along the ghats are hundreds of colourfully dressed devotees, barely clad bathers and holy men performing their rituals. Floating on the river are dozens of prayer candles and garlands of marigolds. Considering the pollution in the river, I am surprised to...

Mar 23, 2013 - Varanasi

This morning, we have an early flight from Delhi to Varanasi, a city on the banks of the Ganges. It is the holiest city in Hinduism and Jainism. We are also told that it is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It's not full of glorious temples, those were plundered in the 12th Century. Most of the sights are in tiny narrow winding alleys that head to the banks of the River Ganges. Varanasi is the spiritual capital of India. The culture of the city is entirely centred on the Ganges River; it is a Goddess for people of the...

Feb 28, 2013 - India - Varanasi

Thursday 28th February 2013 Varanasi Group left at 5:30 am to view the sunrise over the river Ganges Motor rickshaws to riverside, then boat with a small motor out into the calm Ganges river to drift down river and watch the sunrise on one side and the activity of the people on the other. The river is narrower in dry season but the river is many feet higher in monsoon season. Thousands of tons of mud is deposited on the banks of the river, it is very rich in nutrients and used for many purposes. The river bank on the city side is lined by...

Feb 24, 2013 - India - Orchha

Sunday 24th February 2013 Agra to Orcha Left hotel at 7:15 for Agra Chatt Railway Station. Train before ours was mobbed by men trying to board and as it slowly left the platform each door had many hanging on to handrails. Crossed some wide rivers, dry sandy soil with taller crops, not sure what. Faster train as this is electrified rail and can reach 100km/hr. Arrived in Jhansi around 10:50am, on to Orchha where the hotel was an opulent oasis next to a poor town. Some houses had fronts missing. Apparently they had encroached on road width...

Feb 23, 2013 - India - Agra

Saturday 23rd February 2013 Left at 7:30am on small tourist bus. New dual carriageway toll road. Not very smooth, and no lane discipline, heavily laden lorries, tractors, goats grazing or being herded along roadside. Crops of mustard seed, millet, and chickpeas seen. Poverty increasing as we approached Agra, the state of Uttar Pradesh is the most densely populated. We went straight to Agra Fort which is made of red sandstone and has many similar features to the Red Fort in Delhi. Built by Emperor Akba in 1565, the grandfather of the man...

Feb 18, 2013 - Varanasi and the Ganges

Monday 18th February Today started with a 5am alarm call as we met up for an early start. It was back to the Ganges for a sunrise boat trip. Things were a little quieter than last night, but it is still unbelievable how many people there are on the streets at 5:45 in the morning. We set of again, sixteen of us in a rowing boat with one oarsman and we went upstream to see the rituals on the river bank. There were many bathers, mainly men but some women too. There was also washing of bed sheets being done, and being placed to dry out...

Feb 17, 2013 - Overnight to Varanasi

Sunday 17th February Yesterday we were at Orchha, a small village outside the town of Jhansi. The hotel we stayed in was unusual. The 'rooms' consisted of tents in the grounds. They were comfortable enough, and had TV, showers and even aircon! The hotel itself was very nice with a very pretty reception area and a good restaurant. The backdrop to this was four huge mausoleums, where the bodies of the royal family are taken for cremation. Each building was put up as a memorial. There were also two ancient palaces a short walk away, and we had...