The Golden Triangle - Agra

Delhi - Agra:

After we overslept (our alarm clock didn't go off) and having almost all off the staff at the hotel (Hotel Grand Park Inn - Delhi) trying to wake us as we almost missed breakfast, we got ready and met our driver, Bhanu and our travel companion, Rajesh (or Raj in short) in the lobby.  They were understanding as we apologized and at long last we were on the road to Agra.  Raj was a blessing to have in the car with us as Bhanu's English was "slowly, slowly" as he described it.  I had a long line of questions Raj could answer and he explained a lot about religion, marriages, women's roles in India, the driving habits in India, the strange decorations in and around or under all the cars and trucks and a bit of the politics and history of the Singhs and Maharajas which fascinated me immediately.  But later about all the facts.

Halfway to Agra we were told the road is blocked, but Bhanu took a chance and we drove on.  Big message boards across the very neat and quiet highway displayed messages that we didn't fully understood:  "Villagers something something the road." Blocking the road it seemed.  Raj and Bhanu also wasn't keen to explain even though Rajesh's English was very good.  The rest of the highway was dead empty as all other vehicles weren't taking the chance and left us with a deserted, almost ghostly clean road.  As we came to the blockade, the soldiers let us through.   Women in beautiful, bright saris were huddled together, in a circle, in the middle of the road.   Rajesh then explained  that someone was run over and all the villagers came to the road to pay their respects (and to show their dismay).  It was beautiful and sad to see at the same time.  Beautiful because of all the bright, beautiful saris, sad because of the death surrounding them.

We saw a lot of women walking barefoot in the road and Raj explained that the day we arrived in India was the last day of one of the Hindu festivals where pilgrimage to the temples takes place. 

Agra

Agra is situated on the banks of the river Yamuna.  Nothing seemed to be completed.  Agra seemed like a pile of rubble but with a twist.  Waiting in traffic I got a chance to take some pictures of the locals:

The Agra Fort, one of the three UNESCO world heritage sites in Agra: 

With a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal:

Next stop the Taj Mahal...

Namaste! Welcome to India: New Dehli

“Namaste!”  Welcome.  Holding both hands in a prayer like position in front of your face and bowing your head slightly.  Welcome to India!  We were greeted with warmth and open-hearted friendliness.  We realized, with great pleasure, we were back in Asia…

I had this idea about Dehli as suffocating, the heat unbearable, pollution, half-limped beggars not letting you out of their sight and a concrete jungle that would pollute my soul.  But I was quite surprised to find (yes, a bit of the above) a lot of trees, green shrubbery and parks, beautiful monuments, laughing men stopping in the middle of a traffic circle to chat or just to say hi, beautiful women in colorful, bright saris which swoosh around the bells on their ankles as they walk.  Children dressed in neat school clothes on their way to school,”tuc-tucs” hooting around every corner (and every other moving vehicle for that matter).  But the noise didn’t agitate or irritate.  Instead, it welcomed, embraced and enriched the senses.   And so did the rest of India. 

Paharganj - this photo represents India for me:  the hustle and bustle, the sounds, the smells, every tangible object moving and me, the observer, caught in the middle of it all, being absorbed by it all.

The heart of Dehli

We explored the heart of Dehli on our first day and found green parks, lush trees and a lot of wreckless driving...



Rajpath (King's Way), stretching from India Gate to the president palace.  Lined on both sides by green lawns and trees. 

India Gate - commemorates Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War 1

The Lotus temple

The Qutab Minar 

The Qutab Minar - 72.5 meter red sandstone tower

Paharganj 

Paharganj is a bustling market place, ideal for backpackers with affordable hotels, restaurants and shops.  Diwali (the 5 day Hindu festival of lights) was just around the corner and all the stalls and shops were selling lights, candles and accessories transforming the streets into a festive hub.
We used this spot to do all our shopping for family and friends back home.  Really affordable clothes, shoes, leather products, beautiful embroideries and jewellery can be found.