Location: Amritsar, Delhi and Agra. Date July 1 - 7

Amritsar – 1-4^th July 2010

We arrived in Amritsar thinking it was going to just be a quick stopover as we still had plenty to see in our next 12 days until it was time to leave India. Although the heat was not as noticeable as we expected, the change back to days in the high 30s mixed with a need to recover from the illnesses we had collected in Kashmir meant we decided to stay 3 nights here to get as fit as we could for the long days of travel we knew we had coming. We arrived late, after a 17 hour day of travel out of Kashmir, so ended up with quite an expensive hotel but changed to a much cheaper similar quality one for the next 2 days. All with a/c, that we found ourselves using less and less.

We relaxed the first two days then were off to see the two big highlights. First the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh temple and the place where the Sikh parliament and Sikh’s original copy of their holy book is kept. It is a place of great interest for both Sikh and standard Indian tourists a like. But as busy as it was it was still a place of great peace, beauty and tranquillity and we enjoyed the couple of hours spent there.

That afternoon we went to the border crossing ceremony, where there is a theatrical closing of the main gates with neighbouring Pakistan. The army men dressed in their finest military style and funny hats, do crazy marching up and down the street before the flag is pulled down and gates slammed shut, with the Pakistani side imitating every manoeuvre and a handshake in the middle before the gates close. This was a crazy patriotic event, with a full grandstand the India side and heaps on the other side too each shouting and cheering the entire time. On our Indian side the most popular chant was “Hindustan” “Zinza Bad” meaning long live India, or something similar. A real crazy show of patriotism that was a little unexpected and cool to see, although, we did nearly melt sitting in the concrete balcony with the full 40 degree afternoon sun bearing down on us.

New Delhi – 4-7^th July 2010

After a full days train ride from Amritsar we quickly reversed our previous decision not to again stay in the backpacker Paharganj area. Upon arrival the main street seemed far nicer with the dust storm gone and recent rain,

it meant the under construction Main Bazaar road was smooth and even. After finding a room the pre-monsoon rains hit hard, and next time we went out the road appeared as a full scale mud bath. Lucky we had recent practice with Javed walking through crazy mud areas so we were quite adept at getting around the treacherous road.

Again we ended up staying longer than planned, after finding the main two attractions we wanted to see were both closed on Mondays, and that was the day we were gonna see them. We did however manage to book all our further train journey at the wonderful New Delhi train station tourist counter. You feel a little bad when it so easy for us westerners to get the trains we want when the Indians have to book so far in advance, wait in massive queues and fill out numerous forms. But it was so great to have everything confirmed, although two 12 hour plus overnight sleepers (without AC) were looking a little daunting.

So after a quiet Monday, on Tuesday we were able to head off and see the Lotus Temple and the Red Fort. It was cool to see the temple, and think that Tessa’s parents had spent much time there, as well as experiencing the relaxing beauty of the place. We were in time to hear the 10 minute noon prayers and got a few good photos, despite those pre-monsoon rains turning a bit more monsoonal. The Red Fort was a show of Mughal superiority and would have been a magnificent place in its day.

Some of the marble structures that remain are pretty impressive, but it a little sad to think it not as great as it was in its day, especially after being ransacked by the British. We had a crazy walk back from there where we got a little lost but walked down skinny mud streets in the heart of Old Delhi, with busy shops selling everything from kites to locks to fruit, all grouped in their certain categories, and all crazy busy.

Agra - 7^th July 2010

With the need to keep moving and what we had heard about Agra being expensive we decided we would do it all in one day. So after leaving Delhi at 6am and arriving about 8.30am on the fast train, and with a train booked for 11.30pm that evening we were quick to take up our rickshaw driver’s offer of a full day tour.

We started off across the river from to Taj Mahal to see some great views of the famous building. From there it was on to the Baby Taj, which is where the architectural design for the Taj Mahal came from, and we checked out a couple of other similar ancient and overtly artistic mausoleums. Then it was on to the Agra Fort, home of the Mughal Empire for the majority of its reign. This had a similar look to the Red Fort in Delhi, but was far more impressive. It was like a maze of marble and red brick sculptures all pieced together over its few hundred years with a lot still in great condition and each room with a different story to tell.

After an overly expensive lunch and the obligatory trip to the drivers favourite tourist shops, the final stop on the list of Agra’s sites was the great Taj Mahal. Although it rained when we first went in we still got a great look at the impressive building, noting that you could only really appreciate the magnitude of the beauty in its panelling and its immense size from close up. We were able to relax in the grounds for a couple of hours taking in the most recognizable building in the world from a number of angles.

Agra was rather expensive, with the all the sites costing and the big daddy Taj the most expensive at 750rp ($25nz). But it was well worth it and good to see everything. Like everywhere it would have been good to stay a while, but it was off to the rather smelly train station to wait for the 11.30pm 19 hour train to Varanassi.