Agra: 15th - 16th

So we decided to take a couple of days and be the tourists. We called Mr. Singh and we make the 4 ½ hour taxi ride from Delhi to Agra. On this drive I was able to get most of the Varanasi post typed out and learned two things. One is that there are A lot of temples in India, basically every building with a domed roof or steeple is either a mosque, or a temple. The second thing I learned is that whenever you see something too cute to believe Make Sure There Is No Owner!!!

I hope you enjoy these pics as much as I did while taking them, cause immediately after I snapped the photos two men who owned the monkeys began harassing me and banging on the taxi window. They were very intimidating and I wound up slipping 200 rupees ($5) out the window to get them to leave, and then it came to the window. I do not mean to sound hateful or disgusted, but a transvestite came to the widow and began banging on the window saying things I could not understand. Thankfully Mr. Singh came shortly and we left that place.

On the remaining time to Agra I spent the first time this trip listening to familiar music and letting my day dreams take me to a place with no monkey men or transvestites.

We stopped at a McDonalds where dad apparently had some bad Ice or something so he did not feel well the rest of the day.

We arrived in Agra around 2:30 pm and to our surprise our driver arranged for a guide to take us through the Agra red fort. Overall the man was a bit of a nuisance and gave all story and legend but little fact. Plus the fact that he left our many details, like the Jewish and Christian wife’s the emperors had, and other things. But other than that the trip to the red fort had a definite WOW factor.

From the time of Indian independence 80% of the agra red fort has been occupied by the Indian army, so we could not see much of the palaces that we saw in Delhi, but even still this place was Amazing. We passed many armed posts with turrets and machine guns on our way in. We walked by the moats (yes they kept alligators in the moat) and we walked up a ramp that opened into a courtyard where the throne of the emperor was able to see anyone entering the court and we came to the place where the Emperor would hold court.

We wandered through many passages and by a yard where on three different occasions emperors changed the yard. At one point the area was where elephant and lion fights would be held, his son turned it into a fishing pond, and his son made it a garden.

We were taken to a place where the Emperor would also make decisions on a black marble throne.

Other details of this place I can tell you later, or you can crack open a book and read for yourself. This place oozed history and once again I marveled at the fact that this great kingdom was once the mightiest in the world, but it like all others fell. The kingdoms of men are like a castle in the sand, they will eventually topple and all we have are the ruins.

We finished and made our way to our hotel, the hotel Kamal. A very nice place (by Indian standards).

The best part of the hotel was definitely the restaurant. The food was average, and the view was Spectacular. We literally eate dinner watching the sunset on the Taj Mahal. Epic stuff :D

Sitting next to us was a British couple who quit their jobs and have been roaming through India for the last two and a half months. Very interesting conversation, very refreshing to have a in depth conversation with a new friend, in English J

We got up early the next morning, and after much difficulty we managed to get through security and went into the complex of the Taj Mahal. Now the men who created this place were pure artists. We came into a wide open courtyard and made our way to a second gate that led to the Taj. Through the arch the Taj Mahal was perfectly outlined and gave us the much photographed stunning image of this 7 wonder of the world.

We walked past dry pools up to the marvel herself. I cannot describe the sheer awe of standing in front of this place. The scale is not exaggerated in the stories, this thing is Huge, and beauty in architecture like none I have seen. It’s said that the man who designed the Taj made the towers surrounding lean slightly outward to create the illusion of the towers being taller than they really are.

We put these shoe covers on our feet and made our way to the mausoleum where Taj Mahal is buried. So in case you didn’t know the Taj is a tomb that one of the Mughal Emperors built in memory of his favorite wife who died in child birth.

So we saw the tomb, then we walked through the chambers surrounding the tomb, these chambers had extravagant carvings of flowers into the white marble, and all throughout the Taj Mahal there is inlaid into the marble all sorts of semi-precious stones in beautiful patterns. Breathtaking stuff.

On either side of the Taj there are two matching mosques. In one of these mosques there was a man who came up and was very helpful in helping us take pictures and see the best angle of the Taj from the mosque. We slipped him a few rupees for his trouble and began to work our way back to the front of the complex away from the Taj.

While we were walking through a walkway of sorts the verse from psalms came to mind.

 Psalm 84:10

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Here I was in arguably the most beautiful of manmade creations, and I was dwelling on the fact that this place was sooooo wonderful, and yet but one day in the courts of the Lord our God then thousands elsewhere. I know that you likely have accepted this truth, but to see the grander of this place it hit me more than ever how great the Kingdom of God is. We are but mortals, but He is limitless. I can’t wait to dance in the courts of the Lord when he calls me home. :D

Anyways we then were picked up by our driver, I picked up some goodies for my friends back home, and we set out again on the long haul to Delhi.

On the drive back I realized that I was going to speak at a church the next day on the topic of Palm Sunday. So the whole drive I listened to all of Britt Merrick’s sermons on Palm Sunday and Easter. I tell ya, few things in my life have helped me grasp the power of Jesus sacrifice then to listen to sermons from a man who loves Jesus with every fiber of his being J I love Jesus So much, and this celebration on Easter is so wonderful, so full of joy, I can hardly contain myself as I write this. I cannot be the same after this trip, God has shaken me time and time again. And now, who knows what the future holds? Only one, and I wait for him to reveal to me the way in which I should go.

So that is about all from the trip to and from Agra. Definetly memories I’ll hold on to in the years to come.

See you next time,

Rick