Daisy and I had a great trip to Agra. We decided that she would be Thelma and I would be Louise (of course). She has never seen the movie but loved the idea.
Daisy is a very intelligent, very funny 13 year old. She is concerned about the environment and the future of India. She has started a recycling program in her school and gathers groups of people to clean up the Ganges river. And she is a little bit naughty and likes to do the unexpected. A girl after my own heart.
The 12 hour train ride to Agra was fun. It was a fast train and we shared our compartment with 2 nice women from Australia. The time went by quickly. We arrived in Agra at 6 am and were able to check into our hotel around 9:30. We took a quick bath-in-a-bucket and headed out to see the Taj.
We were both so excited to see it for the first time. We closed our eyes before we got to the entrance and opened them at the same time. It was so magnificent. It is so beautiful, it looks like a dream. White flowing lines. So graceful and feminine. We spent all day there walking around it, looking at it from every angle, walking inside and just sitting in front and staring. Neither of us wanted to leave but at closing time, we had too. Plus we were starving. They would not let us bring any food or drink onto the grounds. But we snuck some chocolate in and it saved us.
The incredible building was created in 20 years and dedicated to Akbar's wife who he loved dearly and who died in childbirth. I wonder if she had any idea how much he loved her. And i wonder if he had any idea that almost 400 years later people would be lining up to see this place. Some workers had their hands cut off after the work was finished so they could never duplicate the work they did on the Taj.
The next day we visited Fatehpur Sukri, a huge city that Akbar built and was thriving in the 1600's. The palaces and carvings were exquisite and very well preserved. We really liked being there and learning the history of the place.
That night was new year's eve and we decided to splurge and go to a fancy hotel for dinner. We ended up at the ITC International, the nicest hotel in Agra. It's gorgeous and dripping with opulence. We walked around to the different restaurants which all looked a little quiet and boring and then we walked by a room that was all set up for a party with movies, food, comfy seats. No one was there so they almost begged us to come in and enjoy. It was so great. We feasted on french fries, pasta, chinese noodles, strawberry milkshakes and pastries for dessert. We watched Monster House and had the best new year's eve ever. And best of all it was free!
The next day we visited Agra Fort, another incredible city inside Agra. The palaces and halls were amazing with many inlaid precious stones in the marble walls. I wish I could time travel and go back to see what it was like to live there. We also went to the Baby Taj, a mausoleum where the grandson of Akbar is entombed.
The next morning we left at 6 am to get to Delhi to catch our train, only to find out that there had been a terrible train crash and that our train was delayed by 8 hours. It was a very long day, and the Delhi train station is no place to spend that much time. It's filthy, chaotic, busy, dangerous and fascinating. People were very curious about why a foreigner like me would be traveling with a young Indian girl. We told everyone that we were Thelma and Louise from Canada and that Thelma was a famous child actor there. Daisy would not speak Hindi unless she had to in order to get information for us. We laughed a lot and had great conversations about spirituality, boys, family, and India and America. She is so funny and I was happy to go on this part of the journey with her.
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