A busy day today. We boarded our buses for the Siem Riep airport and got on the plane. The first destination was Agra, India. Agra is known for one thing, the Taj Mahal. We cleared immigration and boarded buses to get to the Taj Mahal. We got to the vicinity and then had to board electric buses. The government is trying to keep air pollution as low as possible to prevent deterioration of the site.
When we got to the Taj Mahal it was raining. Fortunately I had my Gore-Tex rain jacket and were were provided with umbrellas. We were able to get some nice pictures but the rain persisted. While we didn’t get as soaked as we did at Machu Piccu, our pants and shoes got soaked. The guides insisted that this was very unusual. It is suppose to be the dry season. I suppose we have the distinction of being part of small group of people that have seen the Taj Mahal in the rain. At least at Micchu Piccu we were warned that it was the rainy season. Today’s weather was totally unexpected.
After getting back to the buses we ran into a huge traffic jam because there was some religious even that caused a mob of people to gather in the street. Somehow we inched our way through to the airport. There was no overnight in Agra. We took off for Jaipur, India.
Jaipur is an interesting city. It was a planned city by a very wealthy and intelligent maharajah. While the old city is pretty much in tact, there is a lot of new building and it is very much a part of the modern world. It is one of the largest places for cutting and polishing of precious and semi-precious stone. It is also one of the largest places for call centers. When you get on the phone to tech support there is a good chance you are talking to someone in Jaipur.
We arrived at our hotel, the Hotel Rambagh. The hotel is totally over-the-top. It is no exaggeration to say that, by comparison, it’s make a Four Seasons hotel look like a Super 8. We were greeted in a celebratory fashion by dancers. The rooms are opulent. There are antique Oriental carpets, genuine antique wood furniture, chandeliers and intricate woodwork. The mirror frame near the entry was finely tooled silver and inlaid with mother of pearl. The bathrooms are marble from floor to ceiling. The vanity was adorned with an arch of finely inlaid mirror tiles and there were finely carved alabaster pillars. The hotel was the second home of the maharajah and has been converted to a hotel. It is on extensive grounds and the landscaping is impeccable.
The obligatory photo of the Taj Mahal. However this is somewhat unique in that it is taken from an angle where only two of the 4 minarets are visible.
Our room at the Hotel Rambagh.
The interior courtyard of the Hotel Rambagh.
The vanity inside the bathroom. Note the inlaid mirror tiles in the arch and the alabaster pillars.
Note: The Hotel Rambagh is one of the chain of Taj Hotels. It was at a Taj Hotel where the terrorist incident in Mumbai occurred.