Once again....exhausted! But I will carry on with my writing. I’m waiting for the guy from the hotel to come fix my safe anyway. It’s showing “Low Battery.”) (The WiFi in this swanky hotel is not so swanky, so I will have to try to add pictures later. Sorry! https://www.jaypeehotels.com/hotel/jaypee-palace-hotel-convention-centre-agra )
Yesterday morning ten of us left on our optional safari at 6:45. Abhi didn’t come because he was having stomach issues, so we were left in Bitu’s expert care. We were soooo close to seeing a tiger, but only saw paw prints and also heard the warning cries of some of the deer. It’s so funny how it works in the jungle with all those safari vehicles....everyone is driving around, searching for tigers, stopping and waiting and listening, then moving on to a new spot. The drivers and naturalists are in constant communication, but not on phones. Instead they stop when they see each other.
We came back to the hotel, had breakfast, and then were off to the OATCamp, a “luxury camp,” which is about a 4-hour drive away. One of the stops along the way was at this beautiful temple.
The camp was pretty cool—the tents are huge (we all had our own) with large bathrooms and everything. Regular flush toilets, a shower with hot water (only at c train times), and earplugs to drown out the sound of the jackals. But I didn’t put in my earplugs—why would I want to not hear jackals?! I slept like a rock anyway. We had a cooking demo by Abhi and the camp chef, and before we ate we were serenaded by some local farmers, who sang and beat a drum. Abhi encouraged us to dance with them but only Linda and I (and Tim for a bit) did. It was a blast! Then we had dinner and went to bed. In the morning I noticed three spiders on my towel. 😳
This morning wasn’t the greatest because after breakfast I got sick, despite the fact that I vowed that I
wouldn’t. Grrr. The good thing is that I was prepared with the right medication, and Diane gave me extra stuff too. It’s great that Tim is a nurse. Everyone was really caring and motherly. I had it pretty much under control except when we stopped at Chand Baori in Abhaneri, a 9th-century stepwell. The archaeological site was breathtaking! But I had to run to the bathroom several times, which was a bit of a walk and extremely basic, i.e., no toilet paper and just a hole in the floor. To flush, the attendant would toss a bucket of water onto the whole area. To wash my hands, the attendant would pour water over my hands in the sink. I was happy with what I had, believe me! I’m sure the bevy of Japanese tourists who were there at the same time were not pleased with me! I survived and ate mild food the rest of the day. Damn! Anyway, hope everything is fine for me now.
We stopped a couple of more times, once at a test stop/gift shop and once for lunch, and then in less than 5 hours we were in Agra at our swanky hotel with bad WiFi and a crappy safe lock. Oh, both days we traveled, Abhi told us all about Indian life, religion, politics, economy, etc. etc. He is very engaging! I told him he should do TEDTalks. His description of the caste system was fascinating (and sad). Today he told us that his belief is that whereas Americans value freedom the most in life, Indians value family. That’s why even though he was given the chance to work in America and make
a lot of money, he would never want to be away from his family. He says you either have freedom or family—you can’t have both. He lives with seven other family members. I keep learning more about him, by the way. For instance, he’s given private tours to
Richard Gere, Judy Dench, and Mick Jagger.
After we got settled, we headed out again to THE TAJ MAHAL! (Pronounced correctly, by the way,
as “Taj Meh-hel.”But I won’t go on and on about this yet, as we only saw this magnificent structure
from afar, a trash-strewn, bird screeching place called Paradise Gardens. Tomorrow we go see it up
close and inside. I wonder if the American who takes pictures of these tiny figurines in front of
famous places all over the world will be there. “I have a lot of followers on Facebook,” she said. I’m
definitely going to check it out. So, so odd....
For dinner we went to a place called Sheroes, which is a cafe run by survivors of acid attacks. This was probably the most moving/emotional thing we’ve done yet. Wow. After we ordered our food, we watched a short documentary in which the women who work there told their stories. It is such a tragic situation, and Abhi said the numbers of attacks we see reported are definitely far fewer than how many there really are. One woman was saying that her own mother threw acid on her.
After dinner, Bala, one of the cafe workers (age 24) came over and talked to us about what happened to her seven years ago and how she dealt with it and how she is surviving now. (Abhi translated.) She is so strong and brave and positive and beautiful! (She said it’s actually a good thing that this happened because if it hadn’t, she would have been stuck a housewife in a small village instead of working in a cafe and pursuing her education dreams. And she’s going to be in a Bollywood movie
that opens in January. One of the girls is now a fashion designer who was asked by Michelle Obama
to come to America during Barack’s time in office. Going to that cafe was definitely one of the best things about this trip. http://www.sheroeshangout.com
Yesterday morning ten of us left on our optional safari at 6:45. Abhi didn’t come because he was having stomach issues, so we were left in Bitu’s expert care. We were soooo close to seeing a tiger, but only saw paw prints and also heard the warning cries of some of the deer. It’s so funny how it works in the jungle with all those safari vehicles....everyone is driving around, searching for tigers, stopping and waiting and listening, then moving on to a new spot. The drivers and naturalists are in constant communication, but not on phones. Instead they stop when they see each other.
 |
| Zoom in to see the print. The tigers like walking on the road because of the soft sand. |
We came back to the hotel, had breakfast, and then were off to the OATCamp, a “luxury camp,” which is about a 4-hour drive away. One of the stops along the way was at this beautiful temple.
 |
This morning wasn’t the greatest because after breakfast I got sick, despite the fact that I vowed that I
wouldn’t. Grrr. The good thing is that I was prepared with the right medication, and Diane gave me extra stuff too. It’s great that Tim is a nurse. Everyone was really caring and motherly. I had it pretty much under control except when we stopped at Chand Baori in Abhaneri, a 9th-century stepwell. The archaeological site was breathtaking! But I had to run to the bathroom several times, which was a bit of a walk and extremely basic, i.e., no toilet paper and just a hole in the floor. To flush, the attendant would toss a bucket of water onto the whole area. To wash my hands, the attendant would pour water over my hands in the sink. I was happy with what I had, believe me! I’m sure the bevy of Japanese tourists who were there at the same time were not pleased with me! I survived and ate mild food the rest of the day. Damn! Anyway, hope everything is fine for me now.
 |
| Paul and Bob are the first to board the vehicle we took out of the camp. We all stood up! |
 |
| Chand Baori |
 |
| Chand Baori |
 |
| Some of the sculptures at the stepwell that used to be part of the temple. There are dozens of them. |
We stopped a couple of more times, once at a test stop/gift shop and once for lunch, and then in less than 5 hours we were in Agra at our swanky hotel with bad WiFi and a crappy safe lock. Oh, both days we traveled, Abhi told us all about Indian life, religion, politics, economy, etc. etc. He is very engaging! I told him he should do TEDTalks. His description of the caste system was fascinating (and sad). Today he told us that his belief is that whereas Americans value freedom the most in life, Indians value family. That’s why even though he was given the chance to work in America and make
a lot of money, he would never want to be away from his family. He says you either have freedom or family—you can’t have both. He lives with seven other family members. I keep learning more about him, by the way. For instance, he’s given private tours to
Richard Gere, Judy Dench, and Mick Jagger.
After we got settled, we headed out again to THE TAJ MAHAL! (Pronounced correctly, by the way,
as “Taj Meh-hel.”But I won’t go on and on about this yet, as we only saw this magnificent structure
from afar, a trash-strewn, bird screeching place called Paradise Gardens. Tomorrow we go see it up
close and inside. I wonder if the American who takes pictures of these tiny figurines in front of
famous places all over the world will be there. “I have a lot of followers on Facebook,” she said. I’m
definitely going to check it out. So, so odd....
For dinner we went to a place called Sheroes, which is a cafe run by survivors of acid attacks. This was probably the most moving/emotional thing we’ve done yet. Wow. After we ordered our food, we watched a short documentary in which the women who work there told their stories. It is such a tragic situation, and Abhi said the numbers of attacks we see reported are definitely far fewer than how many there really are. One woman was saying that her own mother threw acid on her.
After dinner, Bala, one of the cafe workers (age 24) came over and talked to us about what happened to her seven years ago and how she dealt with it and how she is surviving now. (Abhi translated.) She is so strong and brave and positive and beautiful! (She said it’s actually a good thing that this happened because if it hadn’t, she would have been stuck a housewife in a small village instead of working in a cafe and pursuing her education dreams. And she’s going to be in a Bollywood movie
that opens in January. One of the girls is now a fashion designer who was asked by Michelle Obama
to come to America during Barack’s time in office. Going to that cafe was definitely one of the best things about this trip. http://www.sheroeshangout.com
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