Click on images below to enlarge:
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| Train To Agra
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| The vegetable biryani we ordered on the train didn't have much flavor,
nor many vegetables.
| The vada was similarly boring and hence merely okay.
| One of the shanty-towns the train passed.
| A video from the train's window. The train passed many flat, open
fields. Occasionally it passed straw huts. I can't tell if the straw
mound two or three seconds into this video is a hut or simply a pile. I
tried many times on this train ride to get a picture of a straw hut.
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A kid, probably six years old, with a bell on a string tied to his hat,
came through our train car begging for money. He swung his head around
to swing the bell and make noise. If I remember correctly, he
practically crawled everywhere. Following him by several yards was a
man, who could be his father, manager, owner, or some set of those. It
was a pretty disturbing scene.
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| Agra
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| The first thing we did in Agra was take a rickshaw to our hotel to check
in. This photo is of the hotel's relaxing central courtyard.
| Agra's main market.
| More of this market.
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One stall sold carvings of shrines (for use at home) that were so nice
they should be photographed. Photography was hard, however, because it
attracted even more attention than that attracted by our mere presence,
and I decided not to take a picture.
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| A mosque.
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| One of the many baboons hanging around above the streets of Agra. At
one point, we saw a whole family watching something happen on a rooftop.
| Another photo of the same baboon.
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From the outside Agra Fort looks much like Red Fort, though it's actually
older, much larger, and supposedly better preserved. We didn't go
inside, mainly because I knew J and N only had a certain
amount of patience of forts and some of the forts we'd visit later were
higher on my list. Besides, we decided pretty quickly we didn't want to
spend much more time in Agra than needed to see the Taj Mahal.
We got a better view of the fort from the south--this view is from the
west--but since it was from a rickshaw, I didn't manage to take a
picture.
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According to Frommer's,
the emperor who built the Taj Mahal was imprisoned by his son in this
fort, Agra Fort, within view of the Taj.
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| Drinks at Amarvilas
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The driveway separating the hotel from the surrounding town.
Artificially brightened.
| One of the impressive sights one walks by on the way to the hotel lobby.
If only real Indian tourist destinations were so well maintained!
| The fancy chandelier in the bar area where we had drinks.
Artificially brightened.
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| Dinner at Shankara Vegis
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| Saag paneer.
| Dal masala.
| Aloo mattar.
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We ate using chapati. (N prefers eating with bread rather than
rice. J and I usually do rice, but decided to go along with her
preference/opinion during most of this trip.)
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| Rama Festival
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| The first of many pictures and movies from our rooftop perch of the
procession in honor of Rama.
| | | To get the full effect of the celebration, you need to watch the movies.
And you ought to have sound as well.
In this movie, check out all the modes of transportation: auto-rickshaw,
scooter, foot, donkey.
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| Honking and hee-haws.
| Camels.
| | With the floats taking up so much of the street, it's hard for people to
walk by.
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| Wild rambunctiousness, possibly excited by the drumming.
| The view of other rooftops (including another rooftop restaurant) from
our rooftop seats.
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