The Taj
Streets of Mcleodganj
Raven and a local
One of the many environmental signs (amongst the rubbish sadly)
An auto rickshaw (powered by compressed natural gas) in Delhi
The contrast of Singapore on the way over
The Baha'i Lotus Temple in Delhi
I've been home from India for a while, but only just settled back at home home, in Wellington. Before that I spent a lovely Christmas in shaky Christchurch. Here's the details about the last part of our trip.
Where I last left off, we'd come close to the end of our time in Mcleodganj. It's a great place - the best place we'd been to in India. Next stop was Dalhousie, an old colonial outpost high in the Himalayas - up to about 2700m or something, on a ridgeline. It had good views over to the mountains of Kashmir, but not much else! It was a quiet few days in its low season, but had some good India food, and some good walks.
On from there was a crazy taxi ride to Pathankot (where we almost got into a head on collision with a truck, while overtaking another truck at double its speed, while wearing no seatbelts). From there we caught a train (two tier AC, the highest class, with only two bunks, rather than three, and no crammed seats) to Amritsar.
Amritsar is right on the border with Pakistan, and home of the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh temples. We stayed right around the corner in the crowded streets surrounding it, and I was lucky enough to go all the way inside, after waiting an hour in the hot sun in a cramped line (nothing Big Day Out wouldn't have prepared me for). It's an amazing place - a calm area within a crowded city, complete with free food and free accommodation, anyone welcome.
On our last night we heard arrhythmic deep booms, sounding like bombs in the distance, presumably coming from Pakistan. But without prior experience of hearing these things in peaceful New Zealand, I can't be 100% sure that's what it was.
Next was back to Delhi for our last few days, where a couple of Raven's friends had just arrived. They shared a private tour with us to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located. We were relieved to get a modern car, with seatbelts in every seat and a sane driver for once.
The Taj Mahal really deserves its status as one of the Wonders of the World. The size and stunning appearance are only half the magic - it's the details which really make it. A perfectly symmetrical building and grounds, the place was built in 22 years, as one of the lucky numbers for Muslims. It has 22 steps up to it, and was built by 22 000 workers (according to our tour guide). The details within the white marble are also astounding, with rocks from around the world embedded in floral patterns gleaming in the sun, and still stuck in just as hard as as when it was built. Voices echo for around 22 seconds inside the main chamber, producing stunning harmonies.
Interestingly the four minarets surrounding the Taj lean slightly outwards, a design feature incorporated by its Turkish architect to prevent the minarets falling inwards during a large earthquake. And yes, we did get a photo taken on the seat where Princess Diana had her famous photo, and where Sarkozy and Carla Bruni had their photos taken about a week before.
Our last day was spent negotiating Delhi's many touts and auto-rickshaw drivers who wanted to take us to stores we didn't want to go to so that they would get commission. We finally made it to the Lotus Temple, of the Baha'i faith. I like the Baha'is, their religion is about bringing people together, peace and open dialogue, and I have met some really nice ones in Wellington over the last couple of years. The Temple was quite amazing, made out of Indian white marble, like the Taj, but with even more incredible acoustics, which rang with the many harmonies of the prayers being sung as we entered, reminding me of a piano with the damper pedal depressed.
So that was our trip. India's a crazy country, with many place left undiscovered for us (such as the deserts of Rajistan, where we were constantly told to go). To top it all off, we arrived home with a good dose of campylobacter. Luckily we recovered in time to eat all the delicious dinner and desert for Christmas.
