Monsoon hits Mumbai

Well, rain drops are definitely falling on my head. It has been raining for about a week now but yesterday lunchtime it started chucking hit down and then about seven it just went mad. I have never seen a white out caused by rain but there you had it. Amazing though it was it wasn't a great time to duck out to a restaurant, even a very good one. Soggy feet happened in about two seconds and all the taxi's now seem to have wet seats, not nice.
This morning I had planned to do all sorts but again it was slashing it down. A break in the weather appeared about 9:30 so I made a mad dash over to FabIndia (a store specialising in hand made cotton and linen bits). The doors were shut but luckily the manager turned up a few minutes later and let me in. I headed for the back stairs (all the house linens are up there) and found a small river running down them. I presumed that would be that, but know, the Indians know a thing or too about rain and they simply opened up the delivery stairs and let me in that way. Meanwhile a team got on with mops and cleared up the mess.
90 mins of hard shopping later I hopped back in a taxi and headed back to the Hilton. So far it has continued to rain on and off all afternoon, but not so heavily. Its a bit miserable being stuck in the hotel all day. I keep thinking I hear a small boy on a tricycle cycling down the hall....
This will be my last few weeks here in Mumbai and it is a shame its so difficult to get out and about. The trains are not running as normal, planes are being diverted out of the state and walking is not fun - if not at times dangerous.
I am spending my time now gathering up all the things I want to bring back with me. I am trying to think why I didn't start bringing more stuff back sooner, not sure if I will fit it all in! I guess that much of my panic buying stems from acquiring a new, bigger house back home and suddenly realising the value for money in things such as sheets and curtains, sad I know. I also have my eye on a big wooden Ganesh with I think may crack the luggage allowance. Let's hope that will squeeze onto my little rucksack as carry on. At least though I have everyone's Christmas and Birthday presents bought for this year, how organised is that?

Agra Cadabra - Part 2

After a hectic morning at the Taj Mahal and the general hecticness of the journey so far we decided to spend the rest of the day chilling out. We had a spa appointment at four so could spend a good few hours relaxing. We lay around the pool, sipping drinks and munching on rather excellent club sandwiches. The pool was great, set at the bottom of a "valley" , steps leading up either side to little pavilions. One end was overhung with the balcony above and under it the water lapped right up to the pool edge, which featured gold paintings of Ganesh and Chaise Lounges to chill on. We played around in the water for ages (maybe a little too long, I got rather pink) and put up with the racket from a bunch of South Africans who seemed to feel everyone was interested in their loud chatter and bad manners. The British, French and Germans did not look amused. All over the surface of the pool were massive bright dragonflies. Pink, blue, green, all picking off tiny insects from the surface of the pool. Fantastic.

At 4pm we headed up to the spa. The treatment room was on the 4th floor overlooking the Taj Mahal and was set up for two people. There was a massage bed for each of us and a large clawfoot bath in front of the window. We started by completing an application which assessed our Ayurvedic balance - this would determine the oils used on us. Next came a foot bath and a very fetching little pair of paper pants! Lying down on our beds we were smeared with a honey mixture and then massaged with a muslin bag filled with fine wheat. With my eyes closed it felt very odd. The wheat bag felt like a big, rough tongue licking you - kind of like a cow - but it was very nice. Water the mixture was smelt sweet and creamy and was very warm, once wrapped in a towel I quickly drifted off to a lovely sleep. After a while we were peeled out of our towels and sent for a shower (there was a large walk in shower room in the treatment room), a good rinse and then out to get our hair oiled. The came part two - the oil massage. Lying on our fronts we were given a very long, smooth massage with oils selected for our Veda's. Starting with your back and then working on long strokes from foot to hand via your back and then down again. Very gentle and relaxing, hardly any pressure. We were then flipped over and the same lovely experience was repeated and then we got a facial massage as well, before they finished off our head massage - I was nearly unconscious with relaxation, lol. Next we were dumped in to the steam room for ten minutes to sweat out the oil and then we were each given a bowl of green goo and we used this to scrub ourselves down with. Finally, as if it hadn't been enough already, we got to step into our milk and rose petal bath. Warm milk covered in fresh rose petals, we relaxed whilst sipping our herbal tea and gazing at the Taj Mahal - wow!

Agra cadabra - Part 1

The first place we stop in Agra is Fatepur Sikri. It is a ghost town on top of a hill which was the capital of the Moghul Empire until 1585. The Emperor Akbar built this stunning city, unfortunately in an area with a water shortage and shortly after he died it was abandoned. There is a large palace compound and a Jama Masjid (Mosque complex) inside which is white marble tomb. You tie a red string into the marble lattice work and walk around the tomb in a clockwise motion - then your wishes will come true - so they say. Inside the main palace complex is a Diwan-i-Khas, house of private audience (see left), it has a spectacularly carved central column (see right) which supports four stone bridges going to each corner of the room. Akbar stood in the middle and the scholars of different religions stood at each corner and debated religion with him. There is also a Palace of the Winds, behind the lattice work of which the ladies watched court life without being seen. I am not sure if Maryam, Akbars' Christian wife got up to the same tricks in the Palace of the Christian wife, a truly gilded palace. A huge stable housed 200 elephants, horses and camels - there is a tomb in the grounds for his favorite elephant. Akbar was a very wise ruler and believed in Peace for All, however he was also a bit of a lad. He appeared to have a hide and seek house, where he played with the ladies of the harem. There was also a Parchisi courtyard, set out like a giant game board but the cheeky chap used to use slave girls for game pieces. There was also a very large Hammam (Bath house) and I have a feeling he didn't just get in there with his rubber duckie...

By the time we left Fatepur (and some of the most persistent touts we had come across on the whole journey) it was getting dark and as we headed the last 40ks to Agra it turned black. The drive into Agra was a huge disappointment. It is a dirty, grotty city. Very built up, not at all the romantic image we were expecting. The hotel however was stunning. The entrance was a set of marble walkways over small ponds (right), in the centre of which, during the day, a Indian flute player sat and added a little magic to the place. Inside you step into a huge golden domed reception area where we escorted to our room from. We were on the 3rd floor and facing straight onto the Taj Mahal (why is it not floodlit?)and down below was a beautiful pool and gardens. The pool was open 24 hours so we went down to take a dip. Partly covered by a pillared gallery the pool is surrounded by steps leading up to pavilions and gardens. As we swam bats swooped down and picked insects of the surface of the water, how cool!

The next morning we were up at 5am to watch the sun rise over the Taj Mahal. It was an awesome view from our balcony - just a shame about the view into the local woods, just beyond the gardens, which was punctuated with little nudy Indian bums pooping! We breakfasted in the room and then headed out to explore the Taj further. Down at the gate they called us up a little golf cart. Now, I had read about these and thought "good grief, how lazy are western tourists" but in actual fact what it did was whiz you past all the hawkers and tatt sellers in the route down. We were dropped at the vehicle boundary and escorted by a security card to the entrance (never found out why we needed him, not exactly a problem) got our tickets and headed into the main Taj compound. The first thing you pass is the little Muslim school rooms which now lay empty. Turn right and you are at the gateway into the main gardens (see left) - looking through you can see the white marble of the Taj Mahal. You walk through and see that famous scene, with the Taj reflected in the water . On each opposing sides of the Taj is a mosque and a fake mosque (it doesn't face Mecca) and everything else follows this symmetry. We walked around the red stone mosque (my god the ground was hot kept having to jump to marble bits) and then around the back of the Taj where you can see the river and the weather station which monitors the air pollution (which is pretty bad there). Back around the front and inside the main tomb which is very busy and horrifically noisy. When do tombs stop being solemn places and start being entertainment zones? When does death become a day out? Back outside we sat in a cool, shady marble corner and watched the crowds. There was all nationalities there Indian, Japanese, German, Americans, Brits and a few other indistinguishable. We headed around the gardens and the chap who had taken some pictures of us on the way in brought over our snaps- very good ones too. We look around an architecture exhibit and then called it a day, it was just too busy. We decided to make a bet on the hawkers, I went for 12 offers of crap, Keith 15 - he won with 18 offers of hats, rickshaws and Taj Mahal key rings. The prize was making it back to the hotel.....