Incredible India: Part 1

This leg was long and hard and hot, hot, hot. Surface of the sun hot. Heat stroke after 10 minutes in the shade hot.  Oppressively hot. But so great. I just love India. Every dirty, yucky square inch of her. The colors burn a place in your soul and you can never forget this country.

I’ve finished the blog for the first half of the leg so I’m going to upload that part now and do the second part when I get to Dubai.  (Yes … next destination is Dubai …which is great as I’ve never been there... I love new countries).

We decided to just dive headfirst into India so, once the leg opened, we walked straight out of the hotel and into Tuk-Tuks. It's our first impoverished SouthEast Asia country.. so the first time some of our group have ever been in Tuk Tuks. 

What a familiar sight: from the back seat of a Tuk Tuk. It bought back found memories of last January when we drove Tuk Tuks - ourselves (seems crazy in hindsight) - from the North of India to the South for three weeks.  Miss you “Run Around Sue” (what we named our custom-painted Tuk Tuk).

We headed for Chandi Chowk.  For those who have never been to Delhi, Chandi Chowk is the central street in the Old City of Delhi.  It is busy, chaotic, colorful and powerfully overwhelming. 

There were so many people – everywhere – it’s hard to breathe, far less move.

For the newbies to India, it was being thrown into the deep end of the pool. People pushing and jostling. Stiffling heat. Claustrophobics beware.  Naturally we had some meltdowns and tempers were frayed between team members.

Plus Bill – of course - made us try some pretty sketchy street food.  Here’s Gol Gappa: pastry balls filled with super spicy stuff:

We ended up getting into bicycle rickshaws just to avoid some of the crowds on the streets.  Johnathan had to squish down to fit.  Tuk Tuks do not come in American sizes.

School Bus:  Funny image.  The Delhi "school bus."  So cute.  One bicycle Rickshaw and 11 kids all piled on top of each other and hanging from every available metal bar.

Agra: We left Delhi by train and went to Agra that afternoon.  The train station was an experience and a half.  It looks like a movie set from Slumdog Millionaire.  We got to Agra tired and dirty.  But the next morning we got to see India's crown jewel and a Wonder of the World: The Taj Mahal.  We got up early and were at the Taj Mahal when it opened at 6AM.  And it was still hot.  But at least not as crowded.  What a beauty she is.

And a money shot from across the river … the Taj in the mist.

The Taj is made from marble inlayed with semi-precious gems. It’s an art form called pietra dura.

Naturally we had to go and watch some local artisans actually make some pietra dura marble-inlaid pieces … and yes, we ended up buying some (such typical tourists).  We bought some coasters and shared them out so everyone got a small memento of India. The work really is intricate and beautiful and it seems impossible to believe that it’s created by men sitting barefoot on the floor with little more than a stick that they push back and forth to power a grinding wheel. They etch a groove in the marble and then hand-grind a chip of semi-precious stone to fit exactly in the grove. 

Agra Fort:  We then visited the Agra Fort complex which had wonderful backdrops for photos.  Actually the whole of India - for all of its grime and nastiness - provides amazing backdrops of color.

Literally everywhere you look is something interesting, unique and a gazillion years old.

And my personal favorite… two women working in the grounds of Agra Fort.  They spend hours each day bent over weeding and planting with nothing more than a small hand shovel… but look at their colors.