The love story continues

We were up and out of the hotel by 0730 this morning. This tour is definitely not for the crowd that wants to take it easy. Last night was the first time I actually got to bed before 10, while most nights go until much later. But I digress; we took an early tour of the Fort. It was actually a good thing to get there early today instead of yesterday afternoon because the crowds were minimal. The fort is constructed of red sandstone and covers over two km of land. Surrounded by a mote, it sounds like it took good care of its occupants. Although we could see the Red Fort from the Taj Mahal, we weren't able to see the Taj from the Fort due to the haze (aka smoke). The Fort was also used as a prison for Shah Jahan (the one who built the Taj Mahal for his wife). The Shah’s son killed all of his brothers then captured his father. When he had secured the throne, the son locked his father up in the Fort. Despite being jailed, his father was granted a room overlooking the river, with an unimpeded view of the Taj, so he could forever be in the company of his wife. The grounds must have been beautiful back then, as there were gardens and water features throughout the Fort.

We left Agra and headed toward Jaipur. Along the way we stopped at the Fatehpur Sikri, which is a walled city in the middle of nowhere. It was used only briefly after taking 15 years to build. Again, the architecture is red sandstone, which some has incredibly intricate carvings worked into it. The area we saw included gardens, the public courtyard, the private courtyard, the women’s area and the men’s area. The only place the women’s area connects to the men’s area is at the king’s bedroom. Tricky.

I particularly liked the circular rock in the public courtyard. It was placed firmly in the ground and used in capital punishment matters. The offender would have his head placed on the rock and an elephant would then step on it.

We drove another couple of hours before stopping for lunch, then forged on to Jaipur. Upon arriving, we got set up in our hotel, then went out for a drive. We saw several of the monuments lit up against the night sky, which I think may not be as impressive in the daytime. We also saw a large castle and complex, lit with flood lights, and hanging on the side of a hilltop. The driver took us to the restaurant for dinner and a cultural show of dancing and music.Read more