Day 23 Jaipur – Agra
We left the hotel at 9:00 to begin our journey to Agra. We passed by Hawa Mahal, The Palace of the Winds where royal women of the day would be able to view the street without being seen. Driving out of the city, watching the people and animals and life happening, every blink of an eye you see something different.
On the way we stopped at a small village to see how they live. It is one big family with brothers taking wives and and now many children. The women were there, some children but the men were working in the fields. Cows were tied up and calves were free. One woman grabbed my right arm quite firmly and took me into her home which was sparsely furnished. There was a pile of marigold garlands and she motioned for me to come and she placed a garland over my head. I felt kind of weird, but Nancy said it was because I had a nose ring and I had a Ganesh hanging on my necklace. Maybe that’s why? The other women in our group were being handed loose flowers by the locals. We were shown a very shy girl who had her head covered by part of her Sari she didn’t want to see us and I really felt bad for her. The mother in law or what ever she was, kept trying to lift it up so we could see her face and it was accomplished. What a beautiful young girl! She was married last week and was new to the village. It is their custom that the sons bring the wives to their homes. What a life change for this girl!
Soon we arrived at Fatehpur Sikri, an abandoned Fort which you can read about more. The architecture is a blend of Muslim and Hindu and was so beautiful to look at. I envisioned the people and parties that happened here. It was only lived in for a few years. What a shame.
There were the signs to the Taj Mahal! We were going to the other side of the river, entering a park in order to see the rear of it during sunset time. It wasn’t quite sunset and the skies were cloudy and grey. I had a feeling the it would clear in a little while. And it did! The glow on the white marble was beautiful and we all took pictures. Back on the road again and we soon arrived at the Clarks Shiraz Agra.
A beautiful hotel in a complex that had a pool and green space with palm trees and several birds. When I got into the room I looked out and it was dark, but I could hear the peacock screeching. Dinner was buffet style allowing for anyone to choose what they want. It was great! The bed and pillows were perfect and I had an excellent restful night.
0 Comments