Tuesday, November 21, 2006

India Trip: Agra/Back to Delhi

We woke up early to try and squeeze in a few more sights in Agra before heading back to Delhi for dinner. Our first stop was the castle of Fatepur Sikri. It was a huge sandstone castle, with amazing carvings throughout. Almost every column and wall was filled with carvings of vines, flowers, or interesting patterns. There were seperate houses for each of the king's wives, apparently he had a few. We ran into our friend the soap star again, filming in the castle, and were surrounded by school groups on field trips. I'm constantly amazed at how they could build such impressive structures in those times.

Our next stop was the prison where Krishna appeared. The area surrounding the temple was really filthy. I couldn't believe that such a holy place would be so unkept. The entrance to the temple area was guarded by extremely tight security. I don't think I've ever gotten such a thorough frisking. The security here was far tighter than that of the Taj Mahal.

The prison where Krishna appeared was a large concrete structure, and you had to go down a short tunnel to get to the cell. In the cell were various pictures of Krishna and a few priests who would bless items for you. On the roof of the building was a mandap directly over the spot were Krishna appeared and people walked laps around it. It certainly made for an interesting side trip.

We left what I call "Krishna's House", and went back to Delhi to have dinner with Vinay. He took us to Pizza Hut, which is apparently a fancy, high end restaurant over here. They have Indian style pizzas, and I had one with some paneer and spices on it, very tasty. On the way back to Vinay's house, we stopped for some hot fresh Gulab Jamun which was fantastic! Then went headed off for bed.

No comments: