Happy New Year and The Amazing Taj Mahal
Welcome to 2007! We welcomed the new year with an exciting apple juice toast and a countdown at the apartment at indu buvan here in Mumbai. If you want to impress family and friends, you can do your new years countdown in marathi like this:
da-ha (10)
na-oo (9)
ots (8)
sots (7)
saha (6)
pots (5)
char (4)
teen (3)
don (2)
eck (1)
Happy new year!
There were lots of big fireworks going off in the skies all around bombay and the little apartment next to us had a fun party for the kids there! Lots of streamers, a d.j. and dancing, and games that sort of resembled musical chairs! SO fun!
What a whirlwind! We just got back from a 30-hour trip to Delhi and Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Although our travel agent said that we couldn't make it because it's peak season, we made it! We decided to go ahead and purchase tickets, rather than fly standby intra-inda, and i think it was a good decision! we left bombay at 9:25 Saturday morning, and flew Jet Airways--they are a great airline that flies mostly domestic within India. Then we met our driver, Ashook, and were off on a superhighway of activity. Literally, the road between delhi and agra was filled with the wildest hodgepodge of transportation methods I've ever seen! ticycles, bicycles, pedestrians, camels, ox, donkeys, motorscooters, buses, cars, rickshaws, 18-wheelers, traveling juice carts, sheep, goats, pigs, women with sticks on their heads... you name it, we saw it!!!
We arrived at the hilton in agra 5 hours after leaving delhi! whew! we were SO excited to be here! It's the fanciest place I had seen in a week!!! it's amazing what a soft bed and toilets that flush without pouring buckets of water in will do for a girl! because we got in so late, we went to see the agra fort saturday night. I could see the taj majal faintly through the smog off in the distance. it was beautiful, even as just a silhouette!
We woke up early, and got to the Taj by 6:45 in the morning. There was a dense fog, which gave the whole place a ghostly feeling. Even as we walked through the courtyard at the main gate, we could just barely make out the beautiful white marble against the fog. The massive structure seemed to peek out at us from the humid air. For the first time on the trip, we were actually cold! We all wore our fleeces, and you could see your breath it was so chilly!
We walked through the main gate and saw the beautiful building! The Taj was commissioned by the emporer/ruler Shah Jahan in 1632 as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal when she died in childbirth after her 14th child (at age 39) and took 22 years to finish. it is absolutely symmetrical and is completely stunning! We walked closer to the building and watched as the sun rose in the skies, turning the beautiful marble from a cool chalky white, to a warm golden glow. The marble is inlaid with ebony, coral, and other semi-precious stones. It's amazing! We spent about 3 hours there, learning all about it's history from our guide, Norinder.
Then, after leaving the Taj, we had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and started the 5 hour drive back to Delhi. We did make one quick stop at the McDonalds on the road-it cracks me up that there's a McDonalds on the side of the "highway" here just like at home! Because cows are considered sacred, they don't serve any beef at the McDonalds, but the french fries were a little taste of home! They do sell some exciting things like, the "Chicken Maharaja Mac," a vegetarian McPizza Puff, Veggie Tikka, and a Chicken Mexican Wrap. So fun! I would have loved more time in Agra to do some shopping and exploring, but it was fun to be back for the new year here with the family. Shanta's parents even brought in a strawberry anniversary cake for their second wedding anniversary.
Today we're off to the market with Meerna (a fashion designer here) to do some shopping, then Tuesday to Thana to see family, and Wednesday we're hoping to go to a Bollywood set. Then, we fly out! I can't belive the time has gone by so quickly, I feel like there's still so much to see! Guess I'll have to come back!
oh, we had one more surprise when we got back--the water is back on in our building so we're back in business! hooray! what a great new year's treat!
da-ha (10)
na-oo (9)
ots (8)
sots (7)
saha (6)
pots (5)
char (4)
teen (3)
don (2)
eck (1)
Happy new year!
There were lots of big fireworks going off in the skies all around bombay and the little apartment next to us had a fun party for the kids there! Lots of streamers, a d.j. and dancing, and games that sort of resembled musical chairs! SO fun!
What a whirlwind! We just got back from a 30-hour trip to Delhi and Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Although our travel agent said that we couldn't make it because it's peak season, we made it! We decided to go ahead and purchase tickets, rather than fly standby intra-inda, and i think it was a good decision! we left bombay at 9:25 Saturday morning, and flew Jet Airways--they are a great airline that flies mostly domestic within India. Then we met our driver, Ashook, and were off on a superhighway of activity. Literally, the road between delhi and agra was filled with the wildest hodgepodge of transportation methods I've ever seen! ticycles, bicycles, pedestrians, camels, ox, donkeys, motorscooters, buses, cars, rickshaws, 18-wheelers, traveling juice carts, sheep, goats, pigs, women with sticks on their heads... you name it, we saw it!!!
We arrived at the hilton in agra 5 hours after leaving delhi! whew! we were SO excited to be here! It's the fanciest place I had seen in a week!!! it's amazing what a soft bed and toilets that flush without pouring buckets of water in will do for a girl! because we got in so late, we went to see the agra fort saturday night. I could see the taj majal faintly through the smog off in the distance. it was beautiful, even as just a silhouette!
We woke up early, and got to the Taj by 6:45 in the morning. There was a dense fog, which gave the whole place a ghostly feeling. Even as we walked through the courtyard at the main gate, we could just barely make out the beautiful white marble against the fog. The massive structure seemed to peek out at us from the humid air. For the first time on the trip, we were actually cold! We all wore our fleeces, and you could see your breath it was so chilly!
We walked through the main gate and saw the beautiful building! The Taj was commissioned by the emporer/ruler Shah Jahan in 1632 as a tomb for his wife Mumtaz Mahal when she died in childbirth after her 14th child (at age 39) and took 22 years to finish. it is absolutely symmetrical and is completely stunning! We walked closer to the building and watched as the sun rose in the skies, turning the beautiful marble from a cool chalky white, to a warm golden glow. The marble is inlaid with ebony, coral, and other semi-precious stones. It's amazing! We spent about 3 hours there, learning all about it's history from our guide, Norinder.
Then, after leaving the Taj, we had a quick breakfast at the hotel, and started the 5 hour drive back to Delhi. We did make one quick stop at the McDonalds on the road-it cracks me up that there's a McDonalds on the side of the "highway" here just like at home! Because cows are considered sacred, they don't serve any beef at the McDonalds, but the french fries were a little taste of home! They do sell some exciting things like, the "Chicken Maharaja Mac," a vegetarian McPizza Puff, Veggie Tikka, and a Chicken Mexican Wrap. So fun! I would have loved more time in Agra to do some shopping and exploring, but it was fun to be back for the new year here with the family. Shanta's parents even brought in a strawberry anniversary cake for their second wedding anniversary.
Today we're off to the market with Meerna (a fashion designer here) to do some shopping, then Tuesday to Thana to see family, and Wednesday we're hoping to go to a Bollywood set. Then, we fly out! I can't belive the time has gone by so quickly, I feel like there's still so much to see! Guess I'll have to come back!
oh, we had one more surprise when we got back--the water is back on in our building so we're back in business! hooray! what a great new year's treat!
Labels: Travel
posted by Katie at 11:11 PM
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Happy New Year!
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