August 2009 Trip to India

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Sunday, August 16, 2009 and Monday, August 17, 2009

Arrived in Delhi and transferred to Ashok Country Resort. Afternoon visit to Ghandi museum and cremation site. On Monday we visited Akbar's Mausoleum/Sikandra set in a park with deer, monkey and peacocks. Drove to Agra.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Tuesday we visited the Taj Mahal for a morning visit. In the afternoon we visited Agra's Red fort (only several miles from the Taj).  One interesting point is that builder of the Taj (Shah Jahan) was going to also build a black marble Taj identical to this original one.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

In the morning travelled from Agra on the way to Jaipur and stopped at Fatehpur Sikri (a beautiful fort built it 1569). Since it was low tourist season, our group practically had the place to ourselves.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

In the morning we visited the Amber Fort, where we rode elephants to the top. We saw an interesting snake charmer there. In the afternoon we went to the City Palace Museum,  and Jantar Manta observatory. We also visited the Jaipur bazaar, had a rickshaw ride, and many of us went to a tailor shop and had Indian outfits made.

Friday, August 21, 2009

We drove past the Palace of the Winds and visited a carpet/textile shop. The original tour was supposed to go to a city called Kuchaman to visit the Fort. However, there were some issues between the owners of the hotel and the government, so instead we travelled to Jodpur. On arrival we rode oxen carts to the hotel.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

A long drive to Jodpur Fort. It was very beautiful with an excellent sound system tour. There were few Westerners, but many rural Indians visiting for a pilgrimage.