One day in India

We found out part way through the trip that the runway at Agra was still being repaired which meant we would not be able to land, visit the Taj Mahal and then move on to Jaipur.  We had to choose between a five hour bus ride, viewing extreme poverty the entire way, spend an hour at the Taj Mahal, then five hours back, OR spend the morning touring Jaipur and spend the afternoon at the spa at the Palace.  Somehow, we didn't think this was a tough choice.  The Taj wasn't really on our bucket list, but seeing a little of India definitely was.

Our morning began by boarding a bus to the Palace Museum and Astronomical Park, getting a great view of the city along the way.  Talk about sensory overload!  Flower markets, cows, vegetable markets, pigs, people sleeping on the street, men urinating on the street, motorcycles, taxis that reminded me of the tuk tuks in Cambodia, beautiful women in saris and men in both traditional and western dress were packed in everywhere.  The are no rules on the road.  People walk down the middle of the street and cars seem to be in a constant contest of chicken.  However, elephants can go anywhere and not fear for their lives. 

The Palace Museum had interesting artifacts but the real draw was the architecture.  The tiles were absolutely beautiful.  The current residence of the royal family is directly behind the museum and is currently headed by a 15 year old.  I would bet his life is much different than the one I saw on the street.  Our second stop was a large open air plaza filed with giant sundials, some of which are accurate to within 2 seconds.  And talk about "takes a lickin and keeps on tickin", these have been here for hundreds of years.  They also had all the signs of the zodiac represented.  Pretty amazing stuff.

Our afternoon was spent wondering the grounds of our beautiful resort.  The grounds have a very diverse array of fowl, including several beautiful peacocks roaming the grounds.  I have to say, they were a little distracting at our morning yoga session.  We even indulge in pedicures at the world class spa.  Talk about different from our Cambodian reflexology!

I have to say I'm still torn over India.  The people are polite and happy to flash their big smiles for our cameras.  There are luxury accommodations that far exceed anything at home.  However, the masses of people and lack of apparent order are a little out of my comfort zone.  Perhaps I will return someday to see the Taj Mahal and more of this huge, diverse country.