… to rejoin the ship. Our long day, which began at 4 am, continued with a trip to the “Baby Taj Mahal” – officially called Itmad-ud-Daulah. Built in 1622 by Empress Noor Jahan, it may be the only memorial tomb built by a daughter for her father, the Prime Minister of the Mughal court. It was the first building made of white marble, and has many similarities to the Taj Mahal, including four red sandstone entrance gates; however, unlike the Taj, only one is functional, the other three added only for symmetry. It also has four minarets, inlaid inscriptions from the Quran, and beautiful gardens. The building holds coffins of many family members, housed in separate chambers.
We asked Waheed to take us shopping for fabric and glass beads; he found us a fabric store, but unfortunately, no beads. Two women had silk tunic tops sewn for them while we waited, and we even had time for a quick dinner at Pizza Hut before we had to leave for the 8:15 pm train. As we rolled on back to New Delhi, most of us slept, which was a good thing. Arriving in New Delhi, our morning driver met us and we began the drive back to the hotel, arriving after midnight. The bad news: we had to be up at 4 am the next morning for the drive to the airport and the flight to Mumbai!
We slept quickly, then headed to the airport. Our IndigoAir flight was pleasant; a new airline, all their planes have been purchased since 2005 and are clean and modern. The stewardesses, all female, wear uniforms reminiscent of Pan Am in the 60s.
Arriving in Mumbai, we took two cabs to the dock. The trip passed beside the slums, affording us a quick glimpse of this world. Traffic was as bad as in New Delhi; Frank witnessed two men on a motorbike steal a purse from a woman riding in a tuk-tuk. Street vendors were everywhere; beggars came up to the van at intersections. We finally made it to the “Green Gate” at the port, where our port entry cards were supposed to be waiting; they weren’t. However, we had a paper from our concierge on the ship which listed phone numbers for the ship’s port agent. Calls were made and our cards appeared, along with a minivan to take us to the ship. It was good to be back onboard!
Impressions of India: lots of smells – spices, smoke, sandalwood, incense. Animals – monkeys, cows, horses, goats, pigs, chipmunks, rats (in the train station, mostly). People everywhere – sleeping on the floor in the train station, squatting beside the railroad tracks, standing in fields, sitting on curbs. Bright colors – beautiful saris, lights, sequins, painted houses (esp. bright purple!), blooming flowers, fruit on carts. Overwhelming traffic – bikes, cars, tuk-tuks, trucks, horse carts, ox carts, motorcycles, pedicabs, all totally disorganized and ungovernable. Also signs everywhere, telling people what not to do – no plucking of flowers! Keep the monument clean! No walking on grass! The last photo is a picture of the slums of Mumbai from the air – the lack of streets is striking, it’s just one carpet of roofs.
Such an interesting country!
Wow want a world wind trip for you both. The Taj Mahal pictures are wonderful and sounds like a great adventage. I bet it was good to be back on the ship. It's hard to believe you have less the a month to go. Miss you both all is good here.
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