There are two popular stops between Agra and Jaipur: Fatehpur Sikri, a giant abandoned city and Chand Baori, one of India's largest stepped well and only below ground temple. We chose the lesser traveled sight and saw the well. It’s located in a rural village not far off the highway with no one trying to sell you souvenirs.
That white dot on left is Quarup.
Once at the Royal Heritage Haveli Hotel in Jaipur we were ready to relax and we couldn’t have chosen a better hotel to do that in. Our room was gorgeous! No sooner that we arrived in Jaipur, the monsoon rains arrived too. Good thing our awesome hotel offered a delicious set dinner menu.
By the time we dragged ourselves out of the hotel room, the rainfall had stopped and the sun was quickly drying up every last puddle. It was getting hot - and fast. By the time our cab driver got us to our first stop, Amber Fort, it was very hot. We bought the audio tour and a couple bottles of water. The audio tour wasn’t worth the two bucks but the water was.
Making friends on the way up to Amber Fort.
Too bad we gave up on the boring audio tour
before it was over because we'll never know
the significance of this beautiful room.
A common activity for tourists at Amber Fort is to ride an elephant up the hill to the entrance. We
decided to save our money because our next stop of the day was Elephantastic. Rahul, the owner provides tourists an opportunity to spend a day with the same elephants that tourists ride. Unlike the abused elephants that Q saw in Thailand and Laure saw in Cambodia, the elephants in India are well treated and cared for by their owners and regulated by the government.
No, we don't need an elephant's help to get up this hill.
We live on a steeper hill than this.
We arrived at 1PM and joined Belinda and Cathy (two Aussies) to learn how to care for elephants. We prepared their lunch while Rahul's mom prepared our lunch at her house. We also painted an elephant's trunk in the traditional style, went on an elephant ride, and gave an elephant bath in a local swimming hole. Here are a few more photos. Our day with Rahul and the elephants lasted for almost 8 hours and it was fantastic... no, no, it was ele-FANTASTIC.
Lunch is served.
Perfecting the wrapping of the elephant's nutritious lunch
Almost two hours of feeding.
Rahul's mom's delicious homemade lunch.
Laure learned to climb up the trunk.
And so did Q. We're ready to join the circus!
Testing our artistic skills on a moving canvas.
Believe it or not, turbans keep you cool and comfortable in hot weather.
Royal treatment.
Bath time for the elephant...and us.
Saturday we hired a private driver for the day and visited several of Jaipur's sights. We saw Jaipur City Palace (yawn), Jantar Mantar Observatory (interesting), and Hawa Mahal "Palace of Wind" (beautiful), all before lunch. We took our Lonely Planet Guide book's and Rahul's recommendation and stopped by Ganesh Vegetarian Restaurant for lunch. It's located on the roof of a few tourist shops in the old city and worth the extra effort to locate the stairs up to the roof. It was delicious and best of all it was very cheap.
Laure found the little bit of shade under Jantar Mantar's sundial.
Exploring the interior of the Palace of Wind.
The no-frills, open air kitchen at Ganesh Restaurant.
You'll have to trust us that the food at Ganesh to die for.
Before returning to our hotel to enjoy the pool, we stopped by Ladli. It's a non-profit organization that provides street kids with education, vocational training, and in cases of family abuse or forced prostitution they offered housing. We learned about the street kids being left behind as India races ahead to become an advanced country.
Q meeting the talented young lady that made several of the cards we bought.
Before heading to the airport, we made one last stop, Galwar Bagh, a.k.a. the Monkey Temple. With the a local young local kid tagging along we bought some nuts, which we handed out to lucky monkeys. Just as we're ready to head out, the kid informs us of his "helping" fee. We reluctantly give him half of his asking price of four US dollars. As we're walking out somewhat annoyed, a little girl (with the encouragement of her dad) puts her hands together and whispers "namaste" to Laure, whose heart melted instantly.
Another luck monkey.
"Where can I get a pair of those cargo shorts?"
A sacred pilgrimage of the Hindus
Here are a few more pictures from our adventure in Jaipur.
The best part about arriving in the airport early - a Cafe Coffee Day bended coffee.
With an amusing ride through Delhi traffic we were on our way to Agra. Our friend, Sidharth, arranged a private driver to take us three hours south to Agra. After two days on our feet in the blazing humid heat we were more than happy to sit in an air conditioned car and watch the country side go by.
We stayed wide awake as our driver raced around other cars and autos driving down both sides of the roads. We constantly heard horns blaring and occasionally saw camels pulling carts.
Morning traffic while leaving Delhi.
You can get a ride even if there are no available seats inside the bus.
There's plenty of room on top.
Before checking into our hotel, we stopped at Agra Fort. In the scorching heat of the afternoon, we took an audio tour of the complex. The fort provided a clear view to the Taj Mahal for Sultan Shah Jahan to remember his late wife, Mumtaz Mahal for whom the Taj was built.
Perfume water once flowed in this desert fort's fountains.
Our first view of the Taj Mahal from Agra Fort.
Once we checked into our hotel we didn't want to leave. Not only was the air conditioning an amazing relief from Agra's heat but our hotel was very luxurious and our plan to see the baby Taj that afternoon flew out the window.
ITC Mughal Hotel lobby
The next morning we took a guided sunrise tour of the Taj arranged by our hotel. Security to enter the Taj was tighter than our airports after 9/11. Metal detectors and pat-downs prevented any food, lotion of any size, or stuffed animals from entering. This included our travel buddies, Mochi and Rug, who had to stay behind.
The closest the boys got to the Taj Mahal.
An electric powered auto arranged by our environmentally conscious hotel.
Seeing the Taj up close was breath taking. We both agreed it is truly a world wonder.
Our guide knew the best spots to take photos.
Love
Checked another world wonder off our bucket list.
We made it back to our hotel before the sun had a chance to turn us into a sweaty mess, had breakfast, and packed our backpack. Our hotel arranged our next private cab for us and we were on our way to our next stop - Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Quarup's Indian experience started before we even arrived there. An European girl next to him on the plane frantically kept complaining to the stewardess about the airplane food: “Too spicy! Too spicy!”
Upon arrival in Delhi, our good swing dancer friend, Sidarth Kapoor, received us and kindly hosted us at his parents’ beautiful home. This is how it felt leaving the air conditioned airport:
“SMACK” -- slap on the face!
The weather in Delhi was hot (108F or 42C) and humid and didn’t ease up much even at night. Sid kindly offered us an air conditioned bedroom, which we came to appreciate very dearly especially after the power went out in the middle of the night. We later found out the power goes out at least once a day in most parts of India.
But Sid really took us under his wings and made us feel very comfortable. He cooked us some traditional Indian cuisine that his mother had made for him growing up. We quickly became accustomed to the daily ritual of chai and cookies.
Starting off each morning in Delhi with Sid's chai and cookies
We took autorickshaws and the metro to see various sights in Delhi including the Jama Masjid Mosque and Lotus temple. But frankly what we enjoyed the most was the wonderful food from some of Sid’s favorite restaurants including Karim's. The spices were very rich and diverse!
Delhi Metro during rush hour.
Always room for more cables
Jama Masjid Mosque. India's largest Mosque.
Lotus Temple, a temple to celebrate all faiths.
Pure deliciousness
Laure also bought a beautifully hand-made Kurti, which is a long Indian shirt. The affordable 20 USD price even included custom fitting and tailoring. At night, we passed by a night bazaar near Sid's home. It makes a lot of sense to shop at night when the sun is no longer beating down on you!
Laure's Kurti.
Night bazaar.
After a couple of days, we had to depart for Agra. But before we left, Sid and Quarup decided to swing dance to the song “All That Meat and No Potatoes.” Just like the good old days!
Half way between San Francisco and India we stopped for a 12 hour layout in Italy. Since we spent time in Milan last year, Quarup suggested that we spend the day at Lago di Como.
Directly from the Milan airport we set out by train to the lake. The train ride to Como took an hour, including the transfer at the Saronna Station. The weather couldn't have been any better for a day by the lake. After grabbing a gelato in Como's plaza, we boarded a ferry for a two and half hour scenic ride to Bellagio.
Bathing in the Italian sun on the ferry in Lake Como.
Two and half hours of villas like this.
Wonder if any celebrities got married here.
Once docked, we spent a few hours exploring the tiny cobblestone streets of Bellagio and had lunch outside on a terrace. Quarup mentioned that Bellagio was nothing like the Vegas version except for the water fountain on the lake... 30 kilometers away.
Main entrance into the town from the dock.
Narrow streets of Bellagio.
Bliss.
The only resemblance to the Vegas Bellagio Hotel.
Overall the layover was relaxed and easy going. Here are a few more snap shots from our day. After a day of sightseeing and being in the sun, we were ready to nap during our red eye flight to Delhi.
