agra and delhi

i arrived at the taj mahal in a truly foul mood. my flight from jaipur to agra was cancelled, so kingfisher airlines arranged for a taxi to take me there instead. the ride took over 5 hours, and i lost patience with the driver, with his frequent stops at gift shops and persistent attempts to introduce me to his "government tour guide" friends.

but once i saw the taj, i was glad i made the trip. it's one of the most beautiful buildings you will ever see.


i was happy to leave agra for delhi after a few hours, though, and particularly glad that i had booked a very nice room at the Imperial Hotel. i took a long bath, sent my dirty clothes off for laundry, and sank into a 15-hour sleep.

the next morning, it took a while to notice that something was wrong. the porter and concierge were hovering over a newspaper behind the desk instead of standing at attention, but i speculated that perhaps they relaxed a bit on fridays. and when the waiter asked me if all my friends and family were doing alright, i thought he was just being friendly. then i opened the newspapers, and read the headlines about the attacks in bombay. i immediately turned on my blackberry, and for the next few hours, sat in front of a computer e-mailing colleagues and friends.


delhi felt safe, though. i also did not find it soulless as my friend from south india said it would be. not the most colourful of indian cities, sure, but it felt forward-looking and pragmatic in a good way. the highlights: seeing the modern india, visiting jama masjid mosque in old delhi and the nearby market, and taking a long walk around the eerily atmospheric humayun's tomb.

jaipur, the pink city

after jaisalmer, jaipur felt like a huge, modern city. the city is built around the city palace, which blends rajasthani and mughal styles and still houses a living maharaja. the buildings surrounding the palace are all painted dusty pink.


after a quick tour of the palace, tourist fatigue kicked in and i succumbed --quite willingly, to be honest-- to the temptation of crazy shopping. and what better place to do it than jaipur, with its combination of cheap and lively bazaars, upmarket jewelry shops and block-print textile boutiques. ok, i admit some of this was premeditated, and i had a long list of shops to visit, so i hired an auto-rickshaw driver for half a day to go about this expedition efficiently. the result? by the time i left, i could hardly close my suitcase, even after stuffing all the leather sandals and mini-kurtas into the extra-large canvas tote bag i bought on a whim in jaisalmer. oh, what would tyler brule do?

the hawa mahal (in photo, top) was built so that women of the palace could sit and watch the bazaar traffic below without being seen. i imagine it must've been fun to people-watch, sheltered from the heat and dust of the markets. but then again, i'd much rather be out shopping on my own.







from top left, clockwise: cotton shirts and mini-kurtas from anokhi and fabindia, rings from gem palace, shirt with tourist-tickling block-printed motifs, cushions by abraham+thakore, skirt by thierry journo for hot pink, speeding from one shop to another on my auto-rickshaw, shirts from soma, earrings from gem palace

jaisalmer, the gold city

from jodhpur, my friend joyce and i took the train to jaisalmer, a city in rajasthan's northwest corner and a missile's-throw-away from pakistan. from the window of our three-tier no-AC carriage, there was little to see except miles of desert with patches of shrubbery. but the 6-hour trip was definitely worth it.
- on the platform at jodhpur station at 6 am, fellow travellers.
jaisalmer is called the gold city, and it's immediately clear why. the city is full of beautiful sandstone havelis, or mansions, that once belonged to wealthy merchants. it's nice just wandering around the narrow alleys, marveling at the ornate carvings of these buildings, occasionally stopping at handicraft and jewelry shops. we also spent a lot of time sitting on the rooftop cafe of our hotel, the killa bhawan lodge. the location was perfect: right across the street from the most beautiful of havelis, the patwon-ki haveli, with a perfect view of jaisalmer's fort. compared to jodhpur's mehrangargh, jaisalmer's fort is less imposing, more personable. in fact, hundreds of people still live inside the fort and there is a lot of foot and auto-rickshaw traffic between the town and fort. the fort itself is worth a full day's exploration --there are several gorgeous Jain temples, and the palace is well preserved.


it's hard to say which is more breathtaking, the view of the fort at sunset, or the view from the fort of the golden city below.








from top left, clockwise: patwon-ki haveli, a lake near jaisalmer, sandstone reliefs at a jain temple, delicious rajasthani thali at killa bhawan cafe, riding a camel in the thar desert, roadside samosa i didn't try, a haveli balcony, view from our room

jodhpur, the blue city

i fell in love instantly with jodhpur. with a skyline crowned by the massive Mehrangargh fort and the whole city painted blue, it's visually stunningly. and such fun to walk around.


the city does depend on tourism to some extent, but it also has a life of its own. its colourful textiles with intricate mirrorwork, gold-stiching and tie-dying aren't just for exports; i saw some of the most beautiful saris and scarves on the women here, and brightly-hued turbans on the men. i loved watching everyone go about their daily chores, like carrying water back from the communal fountain, feeding cows leftovers from breakfast, shopping for vegetables...

and i was touched by details like these: strings of chili peppers and lime hanging in doorways to invite prosperity, and artfully stacked lime at the nimbupani-juice stands.

bombay

my trip started in bombay...

even before the sad events of the past week (which happened while i was in delhi), i felt a certain melancholy about bombay. everywhere around colaba, the southern central district of the city, you see beautiful colonial buildings in various stages of decay and disrepair. which made the taj mahal hotel seem even more of a rare, sparkling gem.

the other thing i noticed about bombay was that for a big congested city, people seem to enjoy each other's company. it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between groups of friends and total strangers.





i also visited one of the slums in colaba, near the fish market. i only lingered for several minutes before becoming a bit overwhelmed. as i was on my way out feeling a bit distressed, a middle-aged woman in a bright orange sari came out of one of the makeshift huts. our eyes met and she gave me a wobbly-headed grin, then walked on. it's a moment i think about often, not only because it made me more appreciative of indian-style friendliness but also since i wish i could have responded in kind, with a grateful shake of the head.

india

i'm still recovering from the sensory overload.
from the faded grandeur of bombay to the bustling markets of jodhpur and the sandstone labyrinths of jaisalmer, there was so much to take in... a dizzying combination of sounds and smells, and the most friendly, curious people.