India...eight days (part 1)

   India was not quite what I expected. It was surreal. Highest of highs mixed with the lowest of lows. Beauty intertwined with sheer poverty and filth. I'm not sure why, but I really felt uneasy the whole time. I walked everywhere with a heightened awareness; always on guard. I am glad I took a tour and had a local with me the vast majority of the time. My tour started in Delhi, which is divided into New Delhi, and Old Delhi. New Delhi is billed to be the more modern part; which I take with a grain of salt.

 

       With a population of 1.27 billion; yes with a "B", the word bustling scarcely describes the streets. There is a baby born in India every 2 seconds....do the math. We took a tuk tuk, or peddle bike tour of Old Delhi, wow! A little to deep into the city for me. Immersed is one thing, but this was terrifying; especially on a bike in this traffic.

                 So the highlights of Delhi were; well few but memorable. Red Fort is surrounded by 2km of walls, some as tall as 33 meters. It is huge and imposing, covering 125 acres.

       Next we heading to the Jama Masjid, the largest mosque in India. On Fridays there are tens of thousands of worshipers; luckily we didn't go on Friday. A small side note which was one of my main dislikes about India, is that you pay for everything; and everyone has their hand out. Paying to use your camera is one thing; be it ridiculous; but I drew the line at paying to use the toilet. Even at restaurants! So, I paid and here is the mosque....

         The highlight of the mosque was this mother with her daughters. They were starring at me, so I asked if I could take there picture; one of my favorites from India. Not sure why, but it says a lot of beauty amongst chaos to me.

        Next we saw the eternal flame of Gandhi. His story has always inspired me and it was nice to see he is remembered. If I could be as noble as him one day, life would be complete; sadly his was cut short here.

                “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” 

        The next morning I traveled to Jaipur, "The Pink City". I started the day with an epic hot air balloon ride. To watch the sun rise from the air is an experience I will not soon forget.

      
  Next stop which I will close this installment with was Amber Fort....no last one was Red, this one is Amber...And how to get to the top? By elephant of course. So I leave you until part 2 of India, with pictures of the fort, from land, (by) sea, and air.....Albeit excessive at times,  this fort has many creative designs with in the walls. There is a summer side and winter side. The summer side faces the water and has many windows that were draped with scented wet clothes; a primitive air conditioning system. The winter side faces the morning sun and the breeze is blocked by the mountains. There are mirrors in rooms to light them throughout. The passages and seemingly endless maze of tunnels all lead somewhere, and for a specific reason. It is defensive, yet beautiful. It is completely self sufficient for a large group. The only thing that was completely absurd is shown in the final picture. It is a small palace of sorts, built just for swimming and entertaining guests while swimming.....ok, too far. But I guess being the king has no limits.

                                   
         Another picture I am super happy with. I have figured out if I take enough, I get some amazing ones.