Everyone is on time this morning, bags out, checked and on the bus. We are busting bugs right on time. This morning we are going to complete our New Delhi Palace drive by – which is made simple because there is still no traffic.. Crazy, but true. There is still the detritus of left behind parade route accessories, but otherwise, we easily glide through the roads, past the palace, the parliamentary buildings, a lovely fountain used as a traffic circle and finally the Gate of India (not to be confused with the Gate of India in Mumbai – well, you can actually confuse it, because it is basically the same, just not the departure site of the last British soldiers after India was granted freedom).
Off to Agra we go, but first a morning visit to Akshardham on the outskirts of New Delhi.
Akshardham is a Hindu temple and cultural campus dedicated to Bhagwan Swaminarayan, an Indian spiritualist and yogi in the late 1700s/early 1800’s. The whole place was built in 5 years through millions of hours of work from over 11,000 volunteers. It is a marvel of architecture, community spirit and artistry, for sure, but it is also bears a little resemblance to The Magic Kingdom, as Ed points out and narrates – “50 years ago Walt Disney had a vision….please note that Tomorrow Land will open at 10….” - while we are winding our way through the Disney-esque steel fenced queue, just like entering Disney or waiting for any of the rides there. We finally make it to the entrance only to begin the first of our Indian segregation experiences – Ladies on the left, Men on the right.
Ladies get our purses scanned and our bodies wanded by a lady guard who apparently likes to use that wand a bit intimately, if you get my drift. We all make it through and end up following Bhanu through the courtyard and the main temple, learning about the Gods and different Hindu traditions. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed, so we just have our memories (although Maggi and I did buy books on the temple and the Elephant Plinths, so we do have photos – but I won’t infringe upon IP rights with them here – for now!) of the marble, the carving and the intricacies of this massive complex.
After exiting the golden interior (literally golden with gold statues praying and listening to a giant gold statue of Swaminarayan) of the Mandir, we walk around the exterior marveling at the elephant plinth that is over 1000 feet long and depicts elephants in situations that reflect Hindu values: with nature, man and God, reflecting peaceful coexistence. They are cleaning and renovating the holy water pool, so we don’t get to see it full of water, or see pilgrims coming to wash their feet or head in it, but we do get to see Sleeping Beauty! Yes, Maggi spots her first, and exclaims, “It IS Disney World!” The Sleeping Beauty in question is a lady sleeping on a bed surrounded by elephants on the plinth. Indeed it is Disney-esque, as we round another corner and spy the official photographer taking pictures, just like Disney only way, way cheaper!
We continue to meander through the grounds, which, even though Disney-like, are incredibly beautiful and very artistic. We head toward our meeting place through the Yogihriday Kamal which is a garden area in the shape of a huge petaled lotus. Each petal displays quotes of sages, historians and scientists inspiring faith in man and faith in God. (With an added children’s playground in a few petals, btw.) This leaves us in the food court and souvenir shop area where we dutifully make our pit stop and then wander through the shops, buying the aforementioned books (dirt cheap, not even $1 US!) and wait for Bhanu to round us all up.
As we are leaving, and leafing through the books, we see they have a Water Boat Ride too! It IS Disney World! It’s a Small World After All!
Back on the bus we begin our journey to Agra – passing by Akshardham for at least a few nice longshots from the bus.
After about an hour and a half, we stop at a roadside complex called Highway Masala for lunch. Lunch is on our own, but we are all hungry, so we (well, Bhanu) commandeers a long table for us all to sit, and we order excellent, but what turns out to be way too much, food. Ed and Richard both ordered half Tandoori Murg (chicken), I had an excellent Murgh Malai TIkka and Maggi had spinach Paneer (the name of which I can’t remember) that looked quite bright, but she said was excellent (if not far too heavy on the portion). The meat came with marinated onions, which the guys loved, but I just couldn’t stomach. Cook an onion any way, and I’ll pile it on, but raw? Not a fan – and in this region, it is served with everything as a way to help digestion and keep your stomach clean. OOh well. And of course, we also ordered Naan. Cheese Naan. And Paratha, the layered wheat version of bread which I fell in love with on this trip.
Back on the road after that lovely little stop, we watch the countryside pass us by, along with overstuffed trucks trundling on the side of the road.
About 2 hours in, the bus starts feeling like its shaking a lit bit more than normal, and doesn’t really sound right. We stop for a pit stop and realize the bus is totally leaning to the left, our suspension has obviously sprung a leak! We all get out for our “comfort” stop, but Sanjay and Suneel get right to work, climbing under the bus with their tool kits, trying to right the bus.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t work so well. As we get back on the bus, I tease everyone that they’ll have to all sit on the right side of the bus, which gets a laugh, until Sanjay comes back and tells us all to sit on the right side of the bus. It still sounds and feels weird, meanwhile Suneel is on the phone yelling at someone, and because he is on the phone he is driving really slowly, which starts the murmuring in the back of the bus. Bhanu knocks on the window and tells Suneel to get off the phone because he is “scaring the clients.” Too funny – in a sort of worrisome way!
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