Wow! What an amazing weekend I have had. There are few words to describe the things I saw this weekend, hopefully some of my pictures will do some justice.
Saturday morning I was able to meet up with an old colleague of mine, Sureetee, who worked in Gap India liaison office. We had communicated for a few years during our Gap days over e-mail, and talked on the phone, but never actually met in person. This was our first time to meet, and it was so great to put a face with the name. We enjoyed talking about what has been going on in our lives the last few years, as well as the textile business…some things we have in common. It’s really amazing to have friends in many places of the world, it’s a good feeling when you can go to another country and meet up with a familiar friend.
Saturday was our day to make the trek to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. I knew that it would take approximately 3 hours + to get there, but had no idea of the things I would see along the way. For starters, I saw a wild monkey, camels pulling cargo, water buffalo crossing the roads, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, & people driving all over the road. In my eyes, there are really no rules to driving other than if someone is honking at you, you need to move out of the way! The horn is a necessity here, and they use it like we use our blinkers. We stopped at a restaurant about 2 hours into our journey, and on our way out, we saw a snake tamer. I thought this was only in the movies, but, it was for real! See for yourself!
Back on the road, now we are flying on the road, and come to a screeching hault, there is a precession on the opposite side of the road, which has caused for the on-coming traffic to move to our side of the road because of the many people taking over the road. It was a tight, stop-and-go traffic jam for an hour or more. The driving here in India is surely something not everyone could handle. In fact I think it is a mastered skill to be able to drive here. You have to be on alert at any given second because you never know if someone is going to dart out in front of you, a car is going to cross your immediate path, or an ox is going to meander into the road with it’s pack. Finally, at 7pm, we arrived at Jaypee Palace hotel. The choice hotel in Agra.
We needed to get a bite to eat, so Tapan, Geetha, and myself decided we would first play a game of bowling, and then get some food. We were having so much fun bowling, that we didn’t eat for another hour or so, and played another 5 games of bowling, some air hockey, and a few games of pool. We ordered food and ate while we played, we had so much fun! We finally decided to go to bed since it was midnight and we had to leave at 5:45 for sunrise at the Taj.
5:15am came very fast, my bed was so hard, so I did not sleep sound. By the time the phone rang for the wake-up call, I was a zombie, but knew that it was worth waking up so early for.
When we arrived at the entrance, I soon felt like I was in a different world. I saw the Taj from afar and could not believe my eyes, what I saw was simply breathtaking.
I decided to hire a photographer to take pictures while I was there, this way I could have perfect photos for a lifetime. It was fun, the photographer followed me around and took pics, I could only imagine the quality he could get with such a fancy camera and expertise.
If you ever have the chance, read about the history of the Taj, and if you get the opportunity of a lifetime, travel to see the Taj for yourself, you will be amazed. The Taj was built in 1631 by 20,000+ workers, and each and every stone was placed by hand. It took 22 years to build, and was a gift to Mumtaz from her emperor husband Shahjahan after she had died. After the Taj was complete the workers were impaired either blinded, crippled or hands/fingers cut off, so that they would not be able to replicate this structure. There are many stones that are very precious, but many have also been removed because people over the years have stole or tried to steel them.
In any case, this is definitely one of the most amazing, incredible journeys I have made to date.
I need to sign off for now, I am going to an India wedding this evening with my colleague. More to follow.
Saturday morning I was able to meet up with an old colleague of mine, Sureetee, who worked in Gap India liaison office. We had communicated for a few years during our Gap days over e-mail, and talked on the phone, but never actually met in person. This was our first time to meet, and it was so great to put a face with the name. We enjoyed talking about what has been going on in our lives the last few years, as well as the textile business…some things we have in common. It’s really amazing to have friends in many places of the world, it’s a good feeling when you can go to another country and meet up with a familiar friend.
Saturday was our day to make the trek to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. I knew that it would take approximately 3 hours + to get there, but had no idea of the things I would see along the way. For starters, I saw a wild monkey, camels pulling cargo, water buffalo crossing the roads, cars, motorbikes, bicycles, & people driving all over the road. In my eyes, there are really no rules to driving other than if someone is honking at you, you need to move out of the way! The horn is a necessity here, and they use it like we use our blinkers. We stopped at a restaurant about 2 hours into our journey, and on our way out, we saw a snake tamer. I thought this was only in the movies, but, it was for real! See for yourself!
Back on the road, now we are flying on the road, and come to a screeching hault, there is a precession on the opposite side of the road, which has caused for the on-coming traffic to move to our side of the road because of the many people taking over the road. It was a tight, stop-and-go traffic jam for an hour or more. The driving here in India is surely something not everyone could handle. In fact I think it is a mastered skill to be able to drive here. You have to be on alert at any given second because you never know if someone is going to dart out in front of you, a car is going to cross your immediate path, or an ox is going to meander into the road with it’s pack. Finally, at 7pm, we arrived at Jaypee Palace hotel. The choice hotel in Agra.
We needed to get a bite to eat, so Tapan, Geetha, and myself decided we would first play a game of bowling, and then get some food. We were having so much fun bowling, that we didn’t eat for another hour or so, and played another 5 games of bowling, some air hockey, and a few games of pool. We ordered food and ate while we played, we had so much fun! We finally decided to go to bed since it was midnight and we had to leave at 5:45 for sunrise at the Taj.
5:15am came very fast, my bed was so hard, so I did not sleep sound. By the time the phone rang for the wake-up call, I was a zombie, but knew that it was worth waking up so early for.
When we arrived at the entrance, I soon felt like I was in a different world. I saw the Taj from afar and could not believe my eyes, what I saw was simply breathtaking.
I decided to hire a photographer to take pictures while I was there, this way I could have perfect photos for a lifetime. It was fun, the photographer followed me around and took pics, I could only imagine the quality he could get with such a fancy camera and expertise.
If you ever have the chance, read about the history of the Taj, and if you get the opportunity of a lifetime, travel to see the Taj for yourself, you will be amazed. The Taj was built in 1631 by 20,000+ workers, and each and every stone was placed by hand. It took 22 years to build, and was a gift to Mumtaz from her emperor husband Shahjahan after she had died. After the Taj was complete the workers were impaired either blinded, crippled or hands/fingers cut off, so that they would not be able to replicate this structure. There are many stones that are very precious, but many have also been removed because people over the years have stole or tried to steel them.
In any case, this is definitely one of the most amazing, incredible journeys I have made to date.
I need to sign off for now, I am going to an India wedding this evening with my colleague. More to follow.
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