J's India Trip

I really am here for work, but I haven't gotten an assignment yet, so our weekend was free and weekdays are spent at the office working on emails and reading about what other people have done in the areas we might be sent to.

Anyway, that was just my plug to try to convince everyone that this really isn't a vacation. :)

Saturday was another shopping and Delhi tourism day. We went to Chandni Chowk, one of the major market areas in Old Delhi. And it was very much classic developing country market, with lots of side alleys, tiny little shops stuck in out of the way places and touts on the street trying to get out to visit their shop, which, without a doubt, has the best possible goods at the cheapest prices. We did have some good luck there; A and I both got salwar kameezs since it is generally advisable to wear the local dress (especially for women traveling outside of the major cities).

We also visited Qutb Minar, which was the first mosque built in India. The complex is a series of beautifully preserved buildings; it was fun to wander around the ruins for a few hours looking at the carvings and architecture. There is a gorgeous 73 meter tall tower which has beautifully intricate carvings and quotes from the Quran.

After visiting the requisite old temple/ruins, we, of course, had to visit a new one as well. Baha'i is a rather interesting religious tradition, and if I was forced to pick one to adhere to, it might be in the top ten. But, as with all organized religions, there are a fair number of inconsistencies. That said, the temple in Delhi has an interesting design (a very large lotus flower), is very peaceful inside and the gardens are pretty enough.

After our requisite round of temple hopping (I'm getting somewhat tired of this part, but A and H seem to enjoy it), it was back to shopping. This time we went to the state emporiums, which are run by each individual state and, theoretically, represent the handicrafts and styles specific to that area. Generally, the goods were decent and the prices were reasonable. I found a non-profit women's cooperative selling textiles and clothing from Gujarat, so of course I had to buy some stuff. :)

Sunday was a visit to Agra, which is about 2 hours away from Delhi by train and the home of the Taj Mahal, as well as Agra Fort and several other interesting tombs. The day started quite early, in time to catch the 6:15am train. We worked through a travel agent to arrange the train tickets, and a guide and car in Agra. Well, the agent got our names wrong, so the names on the train tickets were wrong, so we ended up having to buy new ones of the train (I was rather surprised that the ticket collectors really expected the names on the passenger list to be accurate. Despite the incredibly chaotic appearance that Indian train stations have on the surface, they are really very well run and very organized). We splurged for the first class AC car, and got fed breakfast and dinner (on the way back); both meals were better than I've received on most airlines.

The Taj was beautiful, and the craftsmanship that went into building and decorating it is really amazing. Sadly, (or perhaps luckily, since most of the north has been experiencing a drought), the rains started Sunday morning, so our pictures were of a beautiful building sitting amidst a fog of grey clouds. Not the most picturesque setting in the world at the time. But, it was still worth seeing. As were the various other sites in Agra.

I'm getting a bit tired of typing now (and I do actually have some work to do), so I'll leave it at that for now. Hopefully the next post will have some details about where I'm going next and what I'm expected to do while I'm there.

-J