I’ve put the day and date in the heading for our own benefit as it’s all going mega fast and is all a bit of a blur.
Today was an early start to see the sunrise over the Taj Mahal. But despite Eileen’s organisational abilities, some things are outside of her control. On a clear day you can see the Taj Mahal …
So pleased we saw it yesterday, but still magnificent close up.
As I said yesterday, one definitely ticked off the bucket list.
Also, as we were at a HomeStay in Agra, we had dinner with the family. Fabulous food, albeit a bit pricey, and the husband regaled us with his stories of business and travel. Eileen asked his wife what car she drove, and was told she didn’t know as she had a driver. And then said what a fabulous dinner we had eaten, and she said she had a good cook. A bit of friction on politics – suffice to say they are huge Modi fans.
But then we’re off again. This time to Fatehpur Sikri. Another magnificent palace which was only occupied for 14 years.
The King was a fan of all religions, and so had a Hindu wife, a Muslim wife and a Christian wife. They each had a separate palace within the walls, but all liked each other so the Hindu had Christian and Muslim carvings in her palace and so on for the others. We liked that.
And the King also had a giant games board.
We are standing on the squares. Apparently he had a giant golden dice, and the “pieces” on the board were his concubines. According to the roll of the dice, they had to move and dance. Not quite as sure about that one!
And the Mosque.
Couple of discomforts. Cover your head in this shrine (good job I had a couple of clean handkerchiefs, but no photos). And sometimes shoes off, in other places shoes and socks off, in other places cover your shoes with outer protection. Go with the flow, without really understanding why.
Also, the hassle here was mega. And being surrounded by 4 or 5 began to get a bit frightening. And when they said it was only 10 for a chess set (that’s rupees, so about 10p and still thinking it’s a rip off), apparently if you show the merest flicker of interest you find out its dollars and you can’t get away.
The guide bundled us into a tuk tuk and we escaped!
R&R – much needed in Bharatpur. On the move again to Jaipur tomorrow.
Oops – Jo on a bike on the beach in Aarhus – how did that happen??????
