Golden Triangle ... with Pita & Tasi

Taj Mahal ... really is spectacular!!

We have been in India for 13 days. I must confess we were very anxious about coming here ... we had heard some really nasty stories ... we met some people who loved India and some who did not but everyone had a rough story to tell. We were feeling comfortable in Nepal. We had no idea what to expect but we were bracing ourselves for the worst. To our surprise and relief we are enjoying India ... yes it is sensory overload ... there are cars tooting all the time ... there are people everywhere ... there are amazing colour ... there are some truly beautiful women here ... their wonderful brown eyes and colour of fabric they wear is breathtaking at times. There is plenty of pollution, dirt and rubbish. But there is so much life. So much history and the buildings are beautiful ... the Taj Mahal exceeded all expectations ... we were blown away by its beauty. Of course having Pita and Tasi to share in our experience for a few days was a treat as well. They are experienced travellers and are very good at saying 'No'. We have warmed up gradually to India ... Turkey, Nepal and then India, I think that has helped as well ... we have not come cold. I find it hard to describe India because everyone has such a different  response ... the best way to describe it is to suggest that people come and experience it. 

Here are some photos of our time with Pita and Tasi and visiting the Golden Triangle ... enjoy.

The biggest hazard on the roads are cows and water buffalo ... they wander all over the roads looking for food. They know their way around really well and they totally suit themselves. We have seen them walking on motorways into head on traffic, just cruising. While driving to Udaipur I saw a dead water buffalo on the side of the road being eaten by birds and it smelt. I am guessing that it will be there for a while.

Pete and I at Agra Fort ... we are a little over Forts at the moment. They are beautiful and huge.

One of the court yards of Agra Fort. The craftsmanship here is amazing! So many beautiful buildings, made from marble and carved and painted with such detail.

This is the Mosque in Agra Fort.

Take note of the detail here in the marble ... I never got sick of looking.

Pita and Tasi having a rest ... hard work being a tourist and Tasi is over 12 weeks pregnant, I thought she did very well.

We had a guide for the Taj Mahal ... he insisted on taking lots of photos of us in front of the Taj. We loved it here and spent quite a bit of time just wandering around and sitting and watching the light at the end of the day reflect off the building. The light in India in the evenings is beautiful. Here was no exception.

Again our guide wanted us to get romantic ... this  is how Pete & I look romantic.

Under instruction from our guide Pete went on bended knee to declare his love to me ... a little embarrassing as there are literally thousands of people walking around and many of them stopped and stared. I think our children might like this though ...

Pete really got into into it ... 

I love this photo of Tasi ... she looks so happy and in love with her man, Pita.

Did I mention how beautiful the evening light was here. We were here at the best time of the day, just as the sun was going down and the shadows of light on the Taj were beautiful.

The sun going down on the Taj Mahal. 

Big Pete ... Little Pete ... guess which is which? Bharatpur Fort on our way to Jaipur. 

A taste of some of their workmanship ...

I love this sign ... 

A truck at the other entrance to this bridge overpass had broken down, it was full of stones. The truck that you see in the photo was transferring stones from the broken truck into the back of this truck, using a stainless steel dish. Traffic was backed up on both sides of the bridge, there were no traffic police ... motorists just trying to get through at every chance ... our driver just kept pushing his way forward until we got through ... we must have waited for nearly an hour. It was mayhem. When the police did arrive they were yielding sticks to try and control the traffic.

Pita standing in front of one of the Indian ministerial cars ... practising for his future role as Ambassador, ironically the car model is Ambassador. Pita looks so much like Rob around the eyes.

We had a really good time in Jaipur ... we just walked around for hours visiting the sites and the markets. This photo is taken at the Jantar Mantar ... an observatory. I loved the shapes and angles at this site.

We visited the City Palace ... Pete standing in one of the doorways, under the peacocks. This palace was built in the 1700s. Peacocks are the national bird of India so can be seen in lots of the decorations  of historic buildings that we visited. I seem to have gone a bit crooked with some of my photos ... not sure what that was about ... probably not focussing properly.

This building is the Women's Room called the Hawa Mahal ... or Palace of the Winds. It was built in 1799 to allow the palace concubines to look out onto the street without being seen. It was lovely inside ... some really nice spots to sit and rest, just as well as they never left the building. Jaipur is referred to as 'the Pink City' ... there are a lot of pink buildings like this one.

Tasi wanted to vist this Step Well ... our driver had no idea where it was but we found it thanks to Tasi's GPS on her phone. We thought it was very cool. The local people used to climb down and draw water from this well. It is quite old and deep, the water is very dirty, I am guessing that no one uses it now.

We found a textile store just up the road from the Step Well and stopped off to do some shopping. These are some colours that were used in a block printing demonstration. Pita and Tasi bought a beautiful rug made from Yak Wool ... Pita is the master negotiator and had the seller on his knees.

Saying goodbye to Pita and Tasi as they head off in a tuktuk with all their luggage to catch a bus back to Delhi and heading home to Jakarta. Our driver Kamal is in the front seat. We felt sad saying goodbye ... we had such a fun time with them chatting about politics, family, religion, philosophers ... you name it and it was talked about.