Seat of Our Pants » Uttar Pradesh

Three Months Later . . .

Martin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 13:54:14 +0000

. . . and we’re still trying to figure out what this notice means. Opera table I can guess, but what’s with all this stuff about Geezers?

As seen in a hotel in Haridwar.

So, Um, What the Heck is This Used For? I’m always on the look-out for weird and wonderful things...

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Tying the Knot

Jaime — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:36:24 +0000

Inside Fatehpur Sikri’s mosque lies the stunning white marble tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti. Akbar, the infamous Moghul responsible for the construction of Fatehpur Sikri, consulted this saint four centuries ago hoping for a son. Shaikh prophesied the birth of a son, which came true with the birth of his heir (who imprisoned him in his later years, but that’s another story) in the late 1500′s.

And why does all this matter to me, you ask? Well, you might say that I’m investing in my future. Women who hope to have children come to Shaikh Salim Chrishti’s tomb and tie a string to its intricately carved marble screens.

So, this is what I did – telling the string that it needed hold off for another year and change.

Martin shuffled around, pretending to inspect the tomb. Typical.

: Mosque courtyard

Fatehpur Sikri Once upon a time, there was an Emperor called Akbar....

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Who Let You Out Looking Like That?

Jaime — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:28:44 +0000

Beautiful setting, check.

Sincere, happy smiles, check.

Forgetting to take off your embarrassing hat for the photo, check.

Oh Martin. I love you, but that hat’s gotta go.

What do you all think? Are you with me on this?

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Fatehpur Sikri

Martin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:12:44 +0000

Once upon a time, there was an Emperor called Akbar. He went to see a Sufi saint called Shaikh Salim Chisti, who foretold that Akbar would have a male child. When this came true, Akbar was so impressed that he decided to move his capital to the Saint’s obscure hometown – Fatehpur Sikri. Note that Akbar had three wives and five thousand girlfriends, so this story isn’t exactly trustworthy.

When Akbar died, there was no longer any reason to keep the capital here, and the city was abandoned in 1585 after only fourteen years of habitation.

Today, the well-preserved ruins are nice excuse to go on a day trip from Agra. The only drawback is the swarms of postcard-selling touts, guides and various con-artists that swarm the area. You can avoid these guys by hiring one. We paid a guy two USD to accompany us, and people miraculously stopped approaching us. Believe me, it was far more pleasant this way.

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The Tunnel

Martin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:10:08 +0000

Back in the day, the Mughal Emperor wanted an exclusive way of commuting between his new capital and Agra. He thought it would be handy to be able to show up in either place without having to travel there with his whole entourage. His solution was to have a secret forty kilometer long tunnel built to connect the two.

These doors guard the entrance to that tunnel. I’ve got a hunch that an adventure worthy of Indiana Jones await behind them. Too bad I couldn’t convince my wife that it would be a great idea to bribe the local Imam to let us in. I did talk to a local youngster who said he’d gone five kilometers into it but had to turn around because of cobras and cave-ins.

I’m sure I could have managed in there with a bull-whip and a fedora, but since wifey’s mocking everything I wear these days, I’ve opted to not go tunneling tonight.

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Agra Fort

Martin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:07:32 +0000

If you’re the Mughal Emperor and you’ve got a Taj Mahal standing around on your property, you probably want to have a strong fort next to it to scare away your rivals. That is my (completely untrue) theory behind the existence of the Agra Fort.

Yesterday, we did a hurried tour through the fort – sunset was fast approaching and we needed the sun in order to take good pictures.

I guess that if the Taj Mahal wasn’t in the same town, people would flock here to see the fort on its own – it is that impressive. In the end, the sunset light made for some pretty cool pictures.

If you’re interested in the real story behind the fort, I recommend that you check this out.

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Taj Mahal!

Martin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:54:09 +0000

Even if you want to be a super independent traveler, boldly going places where no one else dares (or cares) to go, I say it is still wise to mix in a few super high profile tourist things into your daily sightseeing. Today the turn came to Taj Mahal, a place I first heard about when I was five years old. Back then, I was told that it was one of the absolute wonders of the world, a ultra fantastical creation that symbolizes eternal love, grief and devotion. Talk about a setting myself up for a let-down.

Turns out it isn’t much of a let-down. It IS an ultra fantastical creation that symbolizes eternal love, grief and devotion. It looks absolutely surreal where it stands, surrounded by the polluted industrial city of Agra – a pocket of sublime beauty in the middle of poverty-ridden chaos. This is a trait it shares with the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Actually, if I was more experienced as an India traveler I would be tempted to generalize and say that this is the way things work around here.

On another note, I’m not sure if the trick of ‘holding’ Taj Mahal with your fingertips is something that every visitor does, but it sure looked that way when we were there. Maybe it is a fad that changes from day to day?

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In All Fairness

Jaime — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:21:12 +0000

I’ve been making fun of myself on this site a lot lately, so I figure it’s only fair to point the finger at my favorite travel buddy, my hussie.

Not only does he now have a huge Mexican-style mustache, for reasons he hasn’t been able to explain to me, he’s also started dressing like an airline check-in attendant.

Mr Mustache I’ve always believed that traveling is man’s chance at experimenting...

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