India - Journey's End

As you may know, I am already back on American soil - glad to be home, but sad to see the end of a wonderful trip. The final leg of my journey took me to India to see some amazing palaces/monuments and some dear friends.

Delhi-Agra

Delhi-Agra
Since my flight to and from Nepal was routed through Delhi, I just had to see the famous Taj Mahal. I must admit, despite my usual adventuresome nature, I found traveling alone in India rather intimidating. I had booked a tour to Agra (where the Taj Mahal is located) via internet and was a little nervous about how things would work out.

I arrived in Delhi at night and was transported to my hotel, which seemed to be in a very busy commercial part of town - not a place I wanted to walk around by myself at night. I didn't have much cash, but I couldn't find an ATM nearby, so I ordered a small snack for dinner and went to bed. The next morning, my driver met me at the hotel for the trip to Agra (about 5 hours from Delhi). It was a long trip with just me and the driver, who asked a lot of personal questions - did I have my own car? a house? was I married? why not? did I have a boyfriend? Understandably, these questions made me rather uncomfortable, but I figured the driver was professional and would never try anything impertinent and risk losing his job. He was probably just making conversation. Still, I would much have preferred either a female driver or to be traveling in a group on a bus. (I could have taken the train to Agra, but then I would have had to figure everything out for myself, and the timing didn't work out as well.)

Anyway, we made it to Agra where I met my guide for the Taj Mahal and Red Fort (the two monuments everyone visits in the area), found an ATM that worked, and had a delicious lunch of veg curry and garlic nan. Then we went to the Taj Mahal, which is really a tomb for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's most beloved wife. The gardens and grounds are beautiful and peaceful (even with the hordes of tourists), and the red sandstone and carved white marble with inlaid jewels are amazingly massive and intricate. I can see why so many people from all over the world, including India, visit this place, and I'm glad I came. After the Taj, I went to see another monument - the Red Fort, which lies across the river from the Taj Mahal in perfect symmetry (supposedly). The story has it that one of Shah Jahan's sons took power forcibly and put his father under house arrest in the Red Fort, where he could not visit his wife's tomb but only see it across the river.

As it's name implies, the Red Fort is built mostly of red sandstone. There are various sections of the fort, including palaces for different wives and halls for public and private audiences. As with the Taj Mahal, the sheer size of the fort and the amount of work that went into cutting and carrying all that sandstone and marble are impressive. But the architectural features (arches, turrets, scalloped windows, etc.), symmetry, colors, patterns, and carvings are truly pleasing to the eye. I took hundreds of photos (fortunately, I won't subject you to all of them!). I would have loved to just sit and soak in the peacefulness of the place (after all the tourists left).

After the Red Fort, my guide took me to a shop where I was able to see the process for making the inlaid marble as well as woven carpets. The work is so precise and painstaking, but the result is beautiful. They have to carve the marble images just right and then cut the malakite, lapis lazuli, and other semi-precious stones to just the right shape and size to fit into the marble so that it looks seamless. And the carpets are gorgeous as well. Of course, at the end of the show, I was encouraged to buy something (they could ship it to me anywhere in the world...). Actually, I wish I could buy a marble table top or an Oriental rug. But even the smallest of items was out of my price range.

Finally, I ended my day with a dinner buffet at a five-star hotel (I stayed in a two- or three-star hotel). It was a little weird to eat by myself while my driver waited outside (don't know where he ate), but I thoroughly enjoyed a sumptious Indian buffet (and a glass of wine - the first in a long time). And, though I wouldn't have admitted that I missed it that much, I have to say the vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce was really, really good.

On the way back to Delhi, we stopped at the monument of Fatehpur Sikri, another emperor/shah's palace. Actually, this shah had three wives - one Hindu, one Christian, and one Muslim - and built separate palaces and temples for each of them on the grounds. Like the Red Fort and the Taj, Fatehpur Sikri is all red sandstone and white marble. It's enormous - bigger than either the Taj Mahal or the Red Fort (I guess you need all that room for three wives not to quarrel or get in each other's way). Apparently each wife got one week a month with the king, and the fourth month was for his concubines. Hmm. I wonder what the Christian wife thought of that?

After a long drive back to Delhi, I begged my driver to take me directly to the airport and not to any more shops. He wanted me to "just look" at some marble and carpet factories in Delhi (I am sure he gets a commission or kick-back for bringing tourists to certain stores), but I just couldn't face any more shopping pressure. Everywhere I went in Agra the hawkers badgered me constantly to look and buy - jewelry, animal figurines, religious artifacts, whatever. I kept saying "no thank you," but some of them just wouldn't take no for an answer, pushing things in my face and begging me to consider their poor parents whose sole livelihood was making these fine hand-crafted whatevers. I felt mean saying no and ignoring them, but there's not much else you can do. Boy was I glad to get to the Delhi airport and relax. I was even happier to see my friend Colette waiting for me at the other end, in the Bangalore airport!!

Bangalore-Coorg
Some of you may know the Fraziers - Brian and Colette. They were members of Sovereign Grace Church for a while before heading to India as very non-traditional missionaries. Brian works for an Indian micro-finance company, providing loans for low- to middle-income people (mostly women) to start small businesses as income for their families. So, although he is working in business, he is interacting with Indian and non-Indian people all the time with opportunities to serve God as a witness through his life, work and relationships. Unfortunately, Brian had to leave for a business trip to Delhi the day after I arrived, so I only got to hear a little about his work. But I had a great time hanging out with Colette and the boys, seeing what their life is like in Bangalore. We visited a beautiful park/gardens in the city, ordered Indian take-out food for dinner, had a pedicure (bless you, Colette! My feet sorely needed pampering after my trek in the Himalayas), and took a short but very relaxing vacation to a farm and elephant camp in the hill country around Coorg.

Bangalore

I have to admire Colette for her spunk and courage. She has jumped right into life in a strange land, despite cultural, religious and language barriers. She even manages to drive her own car around the streets of Bangalore. Besides driving on the wrong side of the road, Indians rarely respect lanes, and cars compete with trucks, buses, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians and cows, even on "highways". But Colette seems to have a gift for getting around the city. God's grace was abundantly evident on our trip to Coorg, about a five-hour drive from Bangalore.

We stayed on a small farm owned by a couple from Bangalore who decided to give up city life and a high-tech job to live in the country. They have a beautiful farm with animals and agriculture - a vegetable garden, vanilla trees, coffee, and other exotic fruits and spices. To supplement the slow process of making a living from agriculture, they have built a little paradise with comfortable bungalows, sumptious meals and warm hospitality where city folks can get away to the country for a relaxing weekend. There are lots of touristy things to do in the area - the elephant camp, where you can ride and bathe the elephants, jeep safaris in the jungle, the local Buddhist temple and monastery, waterfalls, the river, dam and reservoir (good for rafting, boating and bird-watching). The boys spent hours playing with the puppies and throwing rocks into the water from the top of the dam. Colette and I enjoyed the sunshine and tranquility of the bungalow and beautifully manicured lawn (while the boys were busy with the puppies). And the meals were sooooo good. We were treated to a different Indian dish at every meal, including breakfast, and the owner's wife hovered over the table offering seconds and thirds of every dish, so it was hard to refuse. And of course, on the way to and from Bangalore, we had to stop at the MacDonald's (a highlight for the kids).

What a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend my last days in Asia before heading home. On Sunday morning, I got to attend church with Colette and the boys - all in English!! It was great to sing and hear a message that I could understand, and fun to meet the Frazier's pastor and small group members. Colette - if you are reading this, thank you so much for a wonderful time. I loved seeing you and spending time with the boys!

After that, I got on a plane and spent the next 30 hours traveling back to Houston. I thank God for a safe and smooth trip from start to finish. I miss Nepal and India, but it's so good to be back home in my own bed, to see my parents and roommates again. I think it will take me a while to adapt back to life in the USA, but hopefully the memories of the people and experiences I've had over the last two months will be with me for a long time.

Thanks for keeping up with my blog and for your prayers and encouragement during these last months. I hope you have enjoyed hearing about my travels. I can't wait to see you!