Yamuna View Agra

... just something you have to see to really understand its beauty. The building is perfectly symmetrical from every angle. This guy must have seriously loved his wife to build such an beautiful tomb for her. What was more entertaining, however, was watching the hords of Indian tourists come with their family to take photos. They all lined up and on at a time would pose together to take a nice photo to put on their mantels (for those who have ...

... from the ashram temple in Kerala, which gives a spread of nearly 3 weeks, by far my longest stretch of falling behind. The yoga retreat has brought me back to good form (blogging-wise, not physically -- still being a good 10 pounds heavier than I'd like)<br><br>NB3: given the low bandwidth here, it's easiest if I just link to the photos albums rather than uploading them to the blog. This is a the combination of Jen's, Millie's, and my cameras for Agra<br><br>

... interest so just the buildings and our imaginations to conjure up what they may have held. The intricate designs of the towers and rooms gave us an inkling of how sumptuously they would have been furnished. There were serene courtyards and fountains laid out in between the harem and rulers residence and a large area where the ruler held audiences and consulted with officials. Akbar was known to have an ideal of coexisting with all the religions of the time- Hindu, Muslim ...

... when i ordered food, and brought me a plate of mutton that was just about edible.<br>the manager sorted out our train tickets to delhi for a reasonable fee, and i set out to find an internet cafe, discovering a small shop with one computer in the back room, and commenced my himalayas blog. briggs stayed in the hotel room for most of the time, presumably trying to block out the noise from the nearby main road.<br>the night ended i fairly boring fashion; eventually i got bored of ...

... around would be good seem as though we are only here for a day.<br><br>First he took us past Agra's huge Fort (we didn't go in, a look from the road was enough!), then on to Chini-Ka-Rauza. This is a tomb which is around 350 years old. The outside is covered with little blue tiles but unfortunately some are falling away due to age, and the inside has very beautiful colourful paintings on the ceiling and walls.<br><br>Next we visited Itimad-Ud-Daulah ...

... br>There are a number of buildings within the Fatehpur Sikri complex. Each of the small palaces in Fatehpur Sikri has a specific purpose and generally faces a courtyard. Diwan-I-Aam (Hall of Public Audience) is an enclosed space surrounded by colonnades and has a large open area where petitioners and courtiers once stood in attendance. On the western face of this building is the pavilion where the emperor sat in honor surrounded by his courtiers. The ...

... but it is still well over 90 degrees. The fort is located on the Yamuna River, as is the Taj Majal. You can see the Taj thru the haze from the walls of the fort. The fort was built by Emperor Akbar between 156 and 1573. The enormous complex of red sandstone forms part of a crescent along the river. Around the structure there are 2 moats-one that was filled with water and crocodiles and the other which was dry and held tigers ...

... abject poverty, while a few live in mansions with servants. Even as backpackers staying in what-in Europe-were the most rudimentary hotels, we certainly consider ourselves to be living in luxury-compared to the majority of the people-much the same as the small percentage of higher classes in India. We hope that our patronage of services and goods provided by "regular" Indians do a little to help the ...

... of about three hundred rowdy men. Nervous about doing so, but realising we had little choice if we wanted to get back, we stepped over their roadblock (an upturned cart and and a load of sandbags) and entered the chaotic scene. Almost as soon as we had done so there was a great roar and everyone started to run in our direction. We were buffeted about and then, all of a sudden, the lights went out and we were surrounded by a braying mob in complete darkness. There was a lot of ...