India

I recently returned from spending a week in India.  Since this is most likely the end of our adventures here in Asia, I'm trying to tick off my bucket list of places to visit.  I took off with two of my good friends here to spend a busy 5 days in 3 cities in northern India.  We flew to New Delhi, dropped our suitcases at the hotel, and rushed to Old Delhi for a tour via rickshaw. The streets of Old Delhi were crazy - giving us a good intro to life in India.

We visited the Jama Masid Mosque - our first introduction to the architecture of the Mughal Empire.  This was built by Shah Jahan (same who built Taj Mahal) in 1656. 

You can see the Red Fort thru the columns (below) - also built as living quarters by Shah Jahan.  This was the place where the Mughal Empire fell to the British in the 1850's.

We only stayed in Delhi for a brief half day and one night - to be returned to later in the week.  Boarding another short flight the next morning, we headed to Varanasi - a very holy city on the banks of the Ganges River.

People come from all over India on pilgramage to wash in the holy water of the Ganges.  There were thousands of devotee's on the banks of the river all throughout the day.  At sunrise and sunset special rituals are performed.  We also witnessed serveral sacred Hindu cremations on the banks of the river as people come to achieve moksha, or exaltation, by dying in Varanasi and having their ashes scattered in the Ganges.

Mark Twain famously described Varansi as 'older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together".  I loved this old, holy place and I enjoyed watching the devout people expressing their faith thru their actions.

 After our whirlwhind tour of Varansi, we flew to Agra to visit the famous Taj Mahal.

 It truly is incredible.  Words could never do it justice.  I can see why it is considered one of the man made wonders of the world.  The detail and workmanship is astonishing.  The pictures don't begin to show the detail of all the inlay work and carvings.

Later in the day we visited a place where the inlay work is still being done.  When seeing how much time and skill goes into the inlay process, one can truly begin the appreciate the incredible work and artistry that went into this magnificent structure.  It's hard to not be inspired by the love story that the Taj Mahal respresents.

 India, especially Agra, has done a good job at preserving some of the ancient artistry and hand crafts.  We enjoyed watching silk scarves be woven, persian rugs being hand made, as well as the inlay work.  We also learned about many of the jewels that come from the mines of India.  Shopping at all these places was also a fun time :).

 We visited the Agra Fort - another incredible compound built by the Mughals.  It's a huge complex with many buildings and courtyards with incredible detail.  I read quite a bit about the Mughal empire and so enjoyed visiting some of these places that I had come to know thru books.

 

After Agra, we drove back to Delhi to finish our trip in the capital city.  We had seen old Delhi on our first day so we ended our last day visiting sights in New Delhi - and trying to fit in some shopping. 

 New Delhi is a big city - lots of people and traffic.  We visited the goverenment buildings that were built during the British rule so they have a very colonial influence in the architecture. 

One of our last places to visit was a famous, modern, Bahai temple in New Delhi where people of all faiths can go to pray.  We decided that this was most like a 'temple square' experience as there were missionaries from all over outisde to explain the Bahai faith.

 

This was an incredible trip for me.  I have hundreds of pictures and can't do it justice with these few.  I had fantastic travel companions that made all the difference.  We also had incredible guides in each of the cities.  We will forever remember our time with Manu who spent three days with us in Agra and Delhi.  Not everyone has positive experiences traveling to India but we had a really amazing trip - I love India!