Day 2

TajMahal

First a side trip to Fetehpur Sikri.

“ Fetehpur was built by Mughal Emperor Akbar during 1564 AD. A sonless Akbar had gone to Sikri to seek blessings of a Muslim saint Sheikh Salim Chisti. When a son was finally born (he had 3 wifes each of a different religion), he, in gratitude, constructed this capital city and named it Fatehpur Sikri. Later due to a shortage of water and unrest in the North-West, Akbar had to abandon the city. A marble tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti still attracts thousands who seek blessings of the revered saint.” The fort/city had a wall that surrounded three sides. The back wall was a large manmade lake. So after this fort the Red Fort we saw yesterday was built. The fort, as all good forts are, is built up on a hill and commands a 360 degree view. Very defensible against invaders. Unfortunately they did not have a continual source of water.

Our guide and prime barterer is Rama Krishna or Ram (short a as in ah) Krishna. A wealth of information of the local history. He warned us about the hawkers of wares once you leave each site. Unfortunately once you make contact they are very persistent. Leaving the Taj one was selling snow globes – just too tacky for me, I don't it snows here in Agra. Once he left about a minute later his brother approached us with the same pitch. I said, “hey we told your brother we didn't want a snow globe what makes you think we will buy one from you?” He looked at us quizzically for a moment and decided to pester some other tourist. Another urchin was selling magnets 100 Rupies, (~$2.15) , RN said oh too much. Please 2 for 100, no now you are trying to cheat me. 3 for 100, definitely not. 5 for 100. You are robbing me – no. I think she is picking it up.

Next stop The Grand Mausoleum. We were dropped off at a side entrance and were quickly inside. Like the forts the Taj has an outer and inner building. The outer is red sandstone and of course the Taj is white marble. All these forts and tombs include black onyx, jade, jasper, mother of pearl, malachite and other stones used for intricate inlay. I had seen earlier photos of the Taj and the whole tomb was surrounded by scaffolding. The scaffolding is gone but they are still working on the roof. The grounds are very well kept and they had the fountains running.

Tonight we are going out for a “traditional” meal. The hotel has a buffet breakfast . We noted that most of the foreigners were sticking to what they know. I looked at the room pamphlet to see what they had listed as an Indian Breakfast –

fresh fruit,

Poori Bhaji - deep fried whole wheat flour pancakes and spiced potatoe curry

Parantha - stuffed or plain fried whole wheat flour bread served with yoghurt and pickles (picked veggies)

Onion & tomato Uttappamn – lentil or rice flour pancakes with coconut chutney, tomato chutney and sambhar.

Sounds great, tasted excellent, all for a mere $12.23 per person. Should have gone back for seconds. I am trying to eat what my body needs rather than what my eye wants. My goal is not not gain weight on this trip. So the food I eat better taste really good. Due to a medical condition of the wife, the family has been on rather tight dietary restrictions. Off the menu is sugar, chocolate, starch. That does not leave much on the food pyramid. While in London we had a sandwich. As this is not on the diet I have become somewhat of a snob when it comes to forbidden food. If it does not have excellent texture and taste then I pick around it. The bread in London was less than average and was very disappointing. Indian cuisine can work for this diet and our forbidden food intake is in moderation and it had better be good.

The wife calls me the liar of the family and when we got back to the hotel after our days journey she apologised for thinking I was being funny when I told her the Taj is just one huge mausoleum. She thought I was joking. I wonder if I should tell her about my sister not getting the history question right when the following was posed to her “Who is buried in Grants (as in Ulysses S. Grant) tomb?” At least she will know she is in the good company of her FSIL.

Tomorrow we get trinkets for the kids and mementos of Camille's home country. I think I will people watch as the girls shop.

I wonder what the folks that live here think about those of us that don't After all it is normal to have mangy dogs running around, monkeys scrapping and begging for nuts and treats, the cacophony of horns tooting at all hours telling others to “move to the side I'm coming through.” What is normal for one is foreign to another. It is the music of life.

Everyone says Don't Drink The Water. Well don't drink the water from sources you don't know, that is for sure. but it really is a misnomer to say DDTW. If you live here the water from the tap boil it first. The real problem is when you are a foreigner and your body does not have either the defences or coping mechanism for the bugs that are endemic to he local area you are at a disadvantage. Thus your body is not ready for the bugs that live in the local treated water. In the states we call it Montezuma's revenge as South America/Mexico is a favoured playground for Americans. There is a local term for the stomach bug of which I do not know. The hotel supplies a bottle of Himalaya for each guest. There is a pot that is used just for boiling water. We boil it twice and then use it to brush our teeth. Showers suck because I tend to drink water when I am in the shower. A dry hand towel close by to wipe my face when it gets wet has helped me to not drink the tap water. Oh to be a native with native gut juices. Of course I wouldn't dare drink the water when I would come to visit they states as your water has bad bugs in it.

Know where I am going with this. Yep when we get Camille home she is going to have her body inside thrown upside down. Her bugs will be fighting our water bugs and there is nothing we can do for her.

Note to Nani – we miss you and wish you could be here.

Dinner at Dasa Prakash Thali trays from North and South India

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