10/25/10-10/27/10:New Dehli and Agra

Sorry for the length of this post, I just have so much to write about and so little time to do it.

Okay, now we are back in New Delhi. As I've said before, we left Mussoorie on a train that was supposed to arrive in New Delhi around 11:00pm, but it ran extremely late due to problems on the track and we got there at about 3:00am. So, at three in the morning we had to find a taxi that would take us to our hotel, that was definitely not very fun. All of us got about...two hours of sleep that night because we had to get up early to move to a hotel closer to where my Grandpa is attending a conference. After we had transferred ourselves from the small hotel were we had stayed four hours at to a beautiful five-star hotel, Grandpa's travel agent for India, who's name is Lalit, picked up Grandma, Steve, and I and took us on a small tour of Delhi. Firstly, Lalit took us to a mosque called Jama Masjid. In order to enter we had to remove our shoes and Grandma and I had to put on robes.

The mosque, where 20,000 people can pray at once.

 After viewing the mosque, our next destination was the India Gate.

Next was Qutab Minar, the tallest tower in India.

The tower is 234 feet high , with 376 steps although when we were visiting there no one was permitted to enter because some time ago a group of school kids were climbing the stairs, and the one whom was first tripped and fell, creating a domino effect and caused supposedly thirty young children to fall to their death. 

After visiting the Qutab Minar, Lalit took us back to our hotel. (Which is also called Lalit) We definitely slept quite well that night. 

Tuesday morning we had to get up at 5:00am because that day we went to see the Taj Mahal, and it being in Agra we had to have an early start. We went via private car, thanks to Lalit. The car ride was five and a half hours long just to get there, but it was worth it without a doubt to see the greatest monument in India. 

The magnificent Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal means 'crown of buildings' in Hindi. This beautiful building was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, whom he met whist dressed as a woman in order to snoop around the ladie's market. They were married for nineteen years, and had fourteen children. During the birth of their fifteenth child, Mumtaz knew she was dying and had her husband called to her bedside from war. She asked him to promise her three things before she passed. One: that he would love all their children equally and that he would take care of her parents. Two: that Shah Jahan would never remarry. Three: that he would build her a tomb that would be more beautiful and more wonderful than any other in the world, and be unlike anything else. Shah Jahan kept all three of those promises. The Taj Mahal is widely considered as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world and stands as a symbol of eternal love.  

Fact: It only took 22 years to build.

See the reflection?

We had the privilege of going inside the tomb, but photography was prohibited. After departing from the Taj Mahal we had lunch, visited a few stores, and then ventured out on our long car ride back to New Delhi.

Steve, playing a Citar in a store.

Today, Wednesday, Lalit took us to see the Red Fort, which was also build by Shah Jahan. We walked though a museum dedicated to Indian independence from Brittan, and viewed the various beautiful buildings  inside the fort. 

After we left the Red Fort, we went to lunch. The food was so spicy that even Lalit, who is Indian, was tearing up! Haha. The only other thing we did today was go shopping at the Tibetan stalls, where they sell beautiful jewelery. 


Okay, I'm finished, finally. Thank you for anyone who read this whole post.
-Jessica

P.S

A little boy charming a cobra.