Life On A B-I7

Agra

Today began with a leisurely, and at times (more often than not) scary drive to Agra. Agra is 185 Km from Delhi. We will spend the next two days there. Agra is the home of the Taj Mahal. We will visit first thing in the morning. We will have a special guide that will tell us all about the Taj. I do know one interesting story. When it was completed, the Emperor wanted to build an identical Taj next to the original using all black marble. His son told him no, and locked him up in the Taj to prevent him from carrying out his plan. (Note: I actually found out on the tour this story is a myth!)

Half way to Agra we stopped for chai. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I had nothing to worry about, the chai was divine. It was served in a small unglazed ceramic cup. When you are finished you throw the cup in a recycle bin. All the cups are recycled and made into new cups. This is a very practical and also very sanitary practice.

Chai stop along the the way to Agra.

One of our in-country hosts (Ahash) has taken me under his wing and has adopted me as his second father. It’s charming. He looks after me and makes sure I have everything I need. He takes great pleasure in explaining things to me and making sure I get a hot cup of chai whenever there is one available.

My new step-son.

We arrived at our hotel in Agra at 3:00 pm. We sat down in the hotel restaurant for a late lunch early dinner. We had rice, sag paneer (a creamy spinach dish) naan, and masala. Very simple, but prepared to perfection. It was marvelous.

After dinner we all went to a silver shop. The jewelry was exceptional. I bought a black onyx ring. It reminds me of a ring my father used to wear. The price was very reasonable. Black Onyx is from Belgium. Interesting fact, the Sanskrit in-law work on the exterior of the Taj is all in black onyx. The interesting metaphysical property of black onyx is that it is respected because of it ability to ward off negative energy.

A few of us went for an Ayurvedic massage after our visit to the silver shop. Also known as a hot oil massage, I’ve never experienced that before and it was extraordinary. I’m back in my room at the hotel now and feeling relaxed and ready for a good rest. Tomorrow is going to be another exciting day.

Red Fort

Today was largely intended as a day to recover from jet lag. I started feeling good but by 3:30 in the afternoon tiredness took over in a big way. That being said, today’s tour was nothing short of amazing. We visited the Red Fort in the middle of Old Deli.

Getting there and back was a thrill. It was about an hour drive each way. The traffic in Deli makes congestion back home appear to be child’s play. One of the more experienced travelers joining us on the excursion offered me a Dramamine as soon as we climbed Into our ride. I thought that peculiar. It wasn’t long before it became abundantly clear just how practical that offer actually was! I survived without Dramamine (and without any sort of embarrassing repercussion) by keeping my eyes focused out the side window instead of looking forward. Even at that, keeping an even keel required focus. There were times when I could reach out the window and touch the car next to me, while traveling 25 mph, and do so without straightening my arm at the elbow. We only collided with another vehicle once (that was on my side) fortunately it was a Tuk Tuk and not a full size car. (Full size in India would be about the size of a Honda Civic.) Our driver stopped to examine the damage, the Tuk Tuk having already disappeared, fortunately it was minor.

The Red Fort was amazing. I was immediately struck by the size. Just walking around the perimeter would probably have taken an hour or more. Inside the grounds were so large you could easily get lost without signage. It is called the Red Fort because the walls, battlements, and perimeter structures are all made of red sandstone. The air quality in Deli is the worst I have ever experienced but I was glad to see the color of the sandstone remarkably undamaged, at least to my eye. (There is some blackening.)

The Red Fort was built in 1530 for the Persian Emperor that conquered the Indian subcontinent. You can tell immediately by its grandeur that it was built to not only house and protect an Emperor, but also to reflect that Emperor’s importance.

After the day’s excursion and having arrived (safely) back at our hotel, we enjoyed an excellent early dinner and retired to our room to try and sync our biological clocks.

The Red Fort is said to embody the zenith of Mughal creativity.

Welcome to India

After 18 hours in the air with a one hour layover in Paris between flights, we have arrived. It’s 1:35am Tue, 12/2. The time difference will take a bit of adjustment. I’ve never been this far away from home. It’s eye opening. Our host met us at the airport and gave us a ride to our hotel where we will be staying for the next two nights. It was a bit hair raising. We stood in the road 500 yards from the terminal waiting for our driver so he would not have to use the terminal drive to pick us up. Good for him, a little unusual for us. The drive to the hotel was uneventful, if you call going the wrong way down three one-way roads normal. It did get us to the hotel more quickly… It’s a very nice western style hotel. Tomorrow morning we will go into Deli for a tour of the Red Fort.

Here I am with our host waiting for our lift. No worries, all the traffic is making an effort to avoid us… for the most part. Kelsey, my daughter and traveling companion is behind the camera.

Get Outta Dodge

Dodge in this case is Salt Lake City. That’s the home of my daughter whom I will be traveling with on this adventure. We will be spending the better part of two weeks in India!

We have boarded for our 9 hour 18 minute flight to Paris. We will have a 3 hour layover in Paris, then another 10 hour flight to Deli. All the cabin announcements are in both English and French. I don’t speak a word of French, but I will say without reservation it is a beautiful language. We are flying to Paris on an Airbus A-330. As a former Boeing employee, I’m not the least bit bothered by that. In fact, in this case, I find it to be a very appropriate coincidence.

Here’s to a wonderful adventure!