Am I behind, it's March 19

March 2, Sunday, Halong Bay, Vietnam

I was very reluctant to go to Viet Nam but the ship was going there so we didn't have much choice. I know all the arguments why we should go but the "conflict" is still pretty vivid. Many of the passengers were too uncomfortable to leave the ship but we were there so we went ashore.

Are we glad we did! To make our time ashore even more enjoyable was the fact that we had no plans so everything was a surprise. Words cannot describe what we saw but I will try. If we manage to get pictures on they won't do anything justice. The more we travel into this area of the world, the more we are finding how little we know of it and how magnificent is.

The Amsterdam arrived in Halong Bay which had been described to us as a sleepy little fishing village where you might be able to find a few postcards. WRONG. We didn't spend much time in the city/town but there were several hotels (not the Ritz Carlton but a couple of stories high), some stores, vendors stalls, a big post office, traffic (mostly motor bikes) and a decent size bridge to another city/town which had many tall buildings.
We had to tender in and everything was dependent on the tides. The makeshift steps from the tender "platform" (read raft) were the first challenge. How some of the folks on the cruise manage to get around is amazing and an inspiration.

Once ashore we were quickly hit upon by people offering rides to the "caves." Holland America had 500 people on a similar excursion. People taking the HAL excursion were picked up from the ship.....by 10 or more converted fishing junks. Off- loading so many people into the boats took over two hours! And cost $49 per person. I only mention price to show you how clever (read thrifty/cheap) we are.

For $20 each plus $4 for the "caves", we were promised a 2 1/2 to 3 hour trip. With about a dozen other HAL passengers we were stuffed into tiny cabs and taken down the road about 2 miles. Once there we handed over our money, were given colorful tickets and lead to the junks. Dozens of boats were pulled up to very steep, very rough steps. Somehow we all made it down the steps and into the bow of the junk.








The junks have been converted from fishing boats as the tourist trade has proved more profitable than fishing.






This is getting back up the steps which was more difficult than going down.
The interior of the junk was fitted out with booth type tables and benches, a head, and a small galley. We were served little cups of tea and then the postcards, pearls and other souvenirs came out. We bought only postcards but people thought the prices of the other things were quite reasonable. But who knows what the quality was. I certainly can't judge pearls.

The junk also had an upper deck and with only 15 or so people on board had plenty of room to stretch out and roam around.

Halong Bay covers over 579 square miles and is dotted with more than 3,000 limestone islands. Some are covered with dense vegetation; others are bare and rocky. The movie Indochine was filmed here.

The surprise came when we arrived at the caves. Not dark, damp, wet caves but wondrous caverns. After scrambling off the junk onto another set of steep, rough steps, we climbed higher and higher on steps cut out of the rock until we reached the entrance to the cavern. I can't describe what we saw. We wound our way through passages, huge chambers and up and down rocks marveling at stalagmite and stalactites. No safety measures here (or anywhere else in Viet Nam), and certainly no handrails. It was like a cathedral carved out of the rock by nature.

If we thought getting in was tough, we had no idea what was coming to get back on the boats. After negotiating down more stone steps, we had to walk across a 12" or 15" plank to get onto a junk. One man stood on the steps and another on the boat, each holding the end of a bamboo pole. We held onto the pole and negotiated across to the boat. Then we carefully climbed onto our junk which was rafted along the first boat.

Once safely aboard we proceeded to tour more of the bay which was filled with the converted junks, tiny fishing boats, little boats held together with no more than duct tape and propelled by tiny old women with one long pole, round basket boats and whatever else would float. Entire families lived in tiny houseboats (including dogs and cats) and women plied the waters in row boats selling fresh fruits and vegetables.
We stopped at one of many "fish farms", rafts with mesh containers in the water holding fish, crabs and squid.

Once back to the shore, we carefully picked our way up the steps, were transported back to the main town area, bought stamps (post cards were 10 for a dollar but stamps about 60 cents for each card), wandered around the local market stalls and headed back to the Amsterdam for the 3 pm sailing. I guess the tides weren't right because we didn't leave until after 4:30. We sailed out through hundred of limestone islands with a new idea of what Viet Nam is all about.

Monday, March 2. Danang.
No tendering in today as we were docked at a very commercial port area. Shuttle buses took us to Danang proper where we were meet by the usual tour operators. Fortunately, we were there at the same time as one of Holland America's Exploration Series speakers, Kate Ross, who gave us great advice on what to see, how to see it, and how much to pay. We ended up taking MOTORCYCLES for the day. Alan rode on the back of one and I on the other (mine was bigger and faster). We agreed on a price ($5 each) to go the Cham Museum. This was to be our trial run. I think everyone in Viet Nam owns a motorcycle, there are no traffic lights, the only rules of the road seem to be who can honk their horn the most and the loudest.
We felt reasonable safe on the bikes and it was fun to dart in and out of traffic so we negotiated for the rest of the day and took off for a 7 mile ride to Marble Mountain. It is actually an area of 5 mountains, a small village of marble sculptors and shops and temples on top of one of the mountains. The five peaks correspond to the five basic elements of Chinese philosophy. At one time the marble ridge was a Hindu sanctuary. Later, Vietnamese Buddhists built pagodas on its slopes dedicated to Buddha or Confucius. We decided to climb to the temples and pagodas-----reportedly 180 steps but actually higher as many of the steps are higher than average. Again, we rough and no handrails. One misstep and you would be laying crumbled and broken at the bottom. 
We made it up, huffing and panting and were taken in hand by a very old (at least she looked old) lady with what teeth she had stained bright red from I assume chewing some fruit or nut and a younger man. They lead us through caverns to view the laughing Buddha, the sleeping Buddha, the lucky Buddha and more. For a dollar we were given a bundle of incense which the man lit and gave to us in 3's to place in the sand in front of the Buddhas. The incense sticks were done in 3's to represent the past, present and future. After some picture taking we made our tortuous back down, spent a little time in a marble sculptors shop (bought a Christmas present but we're not telling who it is for), hopped on the backs of the "bikes" and headed out for Hoi An, a riverside town that has remained unchanged for centuries (except for the addition of shops for tourists). On the way we passed a tiny fishing village on the banks of a river, rice paddies, cattle, and tiny houses.
We wandered around the town, saw people making Chinese lanterns, were promised wonderful suits that could be made in 3 hours and concluded that most of the tourists in Hoi An were French. Back on the bikes for a 35 or so mile ride back to Danang where we boarded the shuttle back to the Amsterdam.
Oh, forgot to mention we ran over a large snake, had to stop for cattle crossing the road, and stopped at China Beach, the R&R destination for many of our troops during the conflict and later a TV series.


March 4, Tuesday, At Sea


We're now underway, heading for Phu My where we will arrive Wednesday morning. Some folks are taking tours to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vang Tau or the tunnels that saw so much horror during the Vietnam war. We'll be off to Angkor Wat.

March 5, Phu My

Once again into the Queen's Lounge to meet our Overland Excursion group and head to Saigon or as it's now called Ho Chi Min City, the first stop on our trip to the ancient ruins at Angkor.

Things went smoothly and we boarded our bus for Saigon to catch a flight to Seim Reap, Cambodia. Saigon is another large city, filled with cars, buses, bicycles, pedestrians and motorbikes. The ride to the city showed us the poverty and difficult living conditions. So far on this trip we have seen only appalling poverty or extreme wealth ---nothing in between although there must be people and homes of a "middle class."

We saw the American Embassy which of course brought back memories of the photos and late news of the last helicopters out. The building is now used for something else and the Embassy located elsewhere. The Rex Hotel, used by journalists is still there as in much animosity to Americans.

Lunch was at a very nice Chinese Restaurant where we all tried chopsticks (some more successfully than others). We were not sure what we were eating even with the menu but it was old very good. Upon leaving we were all given straw hats which many wore off and on for the entire trip. I don't know if coolie hats is politically correct but that's what we all called them because that's what we called them when we were young.

Our one hour flight from Saigon to Seim Reap Airport aboard Vietnam Airlines was uneventful. For the short flight we received a little box containing a tasty, soft, sweet roll with some kind of fruit inside, a little plastic container of water and a chocolate.

Our guide (who proved to be wonderful) meet us at the airport and after filling out forms, getting through customs and boarding the bus, we headed for our 5 star hotel, the Sofitel Royal Angkor. When I joked that it was several steps about the Motel 6s we were accustomed to someone remarked that we were at the Sofitel because we stayed at
Motel 6s and Super 8s when we were younger.



Our hotel consisted of several buildings strung together with covered walkways, a main building, dining rooms, poolside dining, a swimming pool fit for a sultan and much, much more. Our room had a balcony larger than our cabin on the Amsterdam.

An Khmer cultural dinner was served (with Tiger Beer) after which we enjoyed a show of Khmer dancers. The costumes were beautiful as were the girls.

March 6, Thursday

After a 5:00 am wakeup call and quick shower we headed for the dining room and breakfast. My usual breakfast of perhaps an English muffin after 3 cups of coffee didn't prepare me for the buffet breakfast. The first thing was saw were oysters on the half shell! Probably nice if you like them, but at 5:30 am. I think not. As we wandered around the buffet we spied boiled rice, fried rice, broiled fish, some type of soup, pickled vegetables, rice congee (that's what the sign said, I don't know what it is), fried noodles with pork or chicken or shrimp, cereals, broiled tomatoes, green salads, cabbage salad, hash browns, French toast, pancakes, bacon, breakfast sausage (they looked like what comes out of the little Vienna Sausage cans), waffles, pastries, yogurt, fried fish, various breads, orange, grape, and mango juices, fresh fruit of every description and some that can't be described. The coffee was Nescafe. Okay but if you're used to Maxwell House or Starbucks the foam may put you off.

Back on the bus. We had been told to dress in layers as mornings can be cool. This was not the case for us. At 6 am it was in the 80s and the humidity higher.

The drive in from the airport at dusk gave some hint of the poverty but not much. The following is not a judgment of the people or the country but hopefully will give some idea of just how terrible life is in Cambodia or at least in the Angkor region for most people.

Cambodia is now a country of 11 million people, 90% of them Khmer and 90% Buddhist. It is about 70,000 square miles (roughly the size of Missouri). A large percentage of the land mines has been cleared but the victims and many mines are still there.

People live in tiny shacks along the side of the very dry, dusty road with smokey fires everywhere. Everyone is barefoot and clothing is old and dusty. Our guide told us that most people were lucky to have 2 meals a day and did not expect anything more. Most people are illiterate (although we found their bargaining skills and English in that regard to be very good). There are few old people, most of them having been killed by Pol Pot.
Most parents take their children out of school in the second or third grade so the children can take care of younger siblings while the parents work. without an education the children cannot get jobs and the cycle continues. Medical care and dental care is pretty much non-existent but we did pass a large, modern Children’s Hospital run by a European doctor who was in the area before the war, then forced to leave but has returned. The hospital provides free care to all children who can get to it.

Aids is very prevalent as is dungee fever and yellow fever. Only 1 in 5 children live to be 10 years old. The average life expectancy for a man is 51 and 57 for a woman.

Of course, not everyone lives in such poverty. There are hotel workers, office workers, shopkeepers and such but our impression of Cambodia was of a very, very poor country.

Now a little explanation. No history lesson because we all know the sad history of Cambodia, once the mighty Khmer Empire. When people say they are going to Angkor Wat what they probably mean is that they are going to the city of Seim Reap, (population 80,000) the location of many temples and ruins, including Angkor Wat. Angkor mean city. Wat means temple. Thom means big. The temple complex in Seim Reap covers 60 square miles and was discovered by a Frenchman in 1861. The tourism boom began 1996 and is now the second largest industry in Cambodia with about 9,000 hotel rooms in Seim Reap alone. Construction is under way or in the planning stages for about 40 new hotels. Last year there were two million tourists. There are about 300 temples in Seim Reap.

Our first visit was to the temples at Ta Prohm. Once again, it is impossible to describe what we saw. All the pictures in the world, the documentaries and the books cannot prepare one for the experience of standing in the middle of a jungle surrounded by massive stone temples. After the noise of the cities we have visited here the only sounds are birds and cameras clicking. The temples at Ta Prohm have been left largely in the natural state since being rediscovered. It is a maze of stone hallways overgrown with the roots and limbs of massive banyan tress that grow over the stone walls and arches like tentacles. Huge trees grow out of the roofs of buildings and roots grow down over buildings and walls, obscuring them while at the same time keeping them from falling down.

Like most of the temple complexes Ta Prohm was built by Jayavarman VII. He was a Buddhist and ruled from about 1181 -1218. Jayavarman VII was responsible for building highways and streets, 100 hospitals, and reservoirs. It is believed that he built TaProhm for his mother. Some also believe he was a leper as his statute is missing fingers and toes.

It was then on to Angkor Wat! Every since I was a little kid and read Richard Halliburton’s Book of Marvels (I still have my crumbling copy) I have dreamed of visiting Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal. To actually be stand in front of Angkor Wat
was worth every minute of the planning and expense.

Built between 1113 and 1150 with later additions, Angkor Wat was the grandest of all Khmer temples and a city in its own right. Unlike the other temple complexes which are orientated east, Angkor Wat faces west. The most likely explanation is that the temple was dedicated to Vishnu, who is sometimes associated with the west.
The temple complex is surrounded by a wide moat and is reached by walking over a long causeway. Once inside, you must have the agility of a mountain goat, the fearlessness of a child and the endurance of Sir Edmund Hillary. You climb up, over, around and then the same thing going down. And it is all wonderful.

One of the features of Angkor Wat is 52 foot panel that describes the creation myth and is called the Churning of the Sea of Milk. Carved into stone panels are gods, fish, snakes, dancing girls, dragons, crocodiles turtles, mountains and all manner of creatures necessary to tell the story.

Over 2,000 aspuras or divas can be found in Angkor Wat. These are carvings into the wall of female figures and no two are alike. Their headdresses, hairstyles or clothing may differ. Only one has teeth showing.

We had originally complained that 2.5 hours was to be spent going back to the hotel for lunch before heading on to Angkor Thom but after a grueling morning we were happy for the respite and cool hotel and a relaxing lunch.
Refreshed, , it was back to the bus for the afternoon of sightseeing. We entered the south gate of Angkor Thom. Surrounded by a moat, Angkor Thom has five gates, one at each of the cardinal points and one center gate. The approach to the south gate is lined by an avenue of statues. On the left are the gods and on the right, the demons. The statues are pulling on a snake or naga, a symbol widely used in the temples. Small vehicles, tuk tuks (2 person carriages powered by a man on a bicycle), bicycles, motor bikes, and pedestrians pass through the gate but that is soon to be stopped in the interests of preservation. We walked through, taking our lives in our hands against the traffic.
The four-sided gates each have four faces carved on them, some say modeled on Jayavaramen VII.
Next on our tour was Bayon famous for its bas -reliefs. One bas-relief tells the story of battle with the Chams (present Vietnam) showing warriors from both sides, the cooking camps for the armies, the celebrations after the battle and more. The details are incredible and you can even pick out a woman who burned her hand in the cooking fire. You can tell the good guys from the bad guys by the shape of their eyes and their dress.

A walk along the Elephant Terraces, a 300 m long wall with carvings of elephants hunting and being used in warfare completed our tour for the day.
A weary group headed back to the hotel for showers, dinner and an early bed time as we had wake-up calls for 4:15 to see Angkor Wat at sunrise.

March 7
We were off before dawn to see the sun rise over Angkor Wat and take photos of the temple reflected in the moat. Unfortunately, it was overcast but we made use of the time to buy a few t-shirts without being swarmed by kids. We spied one couple sitting on a blanket with a bottle of champagne waiting for the sunrise. Back to the hotel for breakfast (we had left before the dining room opened at 6 am) and check-out.

Our last stop was at the Artisan D’ Angkor. Young people from all over the country are chosen to study how to make the native crafts such as silk weaving, pottery, and wood and stone carving at the workshops. If they show talent and promise they are given jobs at the Artisan or may return to their villages, make their crafts and send them to the Artisan for sale. The products were very well made and the prices reasonable plus the program hopes to break the cycle of poverty while preserving the old traditions.

We went directly to the airport from the Artisan’s and after customs, etc., boarded
Silk Airlines for our 3 hour flight to Singapore. We had a delicious lunch on board, turned our watches back an hour, landed in Singapore at 5 pm, boarded yet another bus, and returned to the Amsterdam, weary but content.

The ship was docked at a huge terminal called Ocean City so after a quick shower and quicker dinner we made our way into Ocean City which was more of a mall than a terminal. I had my hair cut....pretty scary with the hairdresser’s limited English and my non-existent Chinese but much less money than on the ship. And it’s fine. After unpacking and sending out the laundry we headed for bed.



Saturday, March 8 Singapore

“Carry your passport with you at all times. Do not chew gum. Do not litter“. Probably good advice anywhere but in Singapore you’d better pay attention. Most folk on the ship had two days in Singapore but not us as we had been to Cambodia. In spite of all the helpful advice from fellow travelers, we managed to repeat our experiences in Hong Kong and spent a great deal of time trying to figure out the transportation system. We had no trouble winding our way through the vast Ocean City terminal/mall, found the subway and got off at China Town. We had a wonderful time wandering around China Town which reinforced our belief that for the most part the world is one great big shopping place.

After several hot, sweaty block we found the Hop On, Hop Off bus and purchased our $12 ticket to ride all day. At a bus change at the Botanical Gardens we started chatting with people from England who were on the Costa cruise shipped docked next to the Amsterdam. It was then off to the Arab section where we had an ice tea, wandered around and hopped back on a bus to the Raffles Hotel. Of course we had to have a Singapore Sling in the Long Bar (we still can’t believe we paid that much money for a drink but I guess it’s part of a world cruise). We managed to get back to the ship a half hour before they pulled in the gangway.

The public transportation system in Singapore like Hong Kong is wonderful and very clean and reasonable. However, when you have to change trains it is a very, very long walk from one line to another.

We had dinner on the aft deck and watched the lights of Singapore recede into the night. Sitting out on the deck in March, relaxing in the warm breeze half-way around the world made us feel how truly lucky we are. Add to that how healthy we are compared to many of the people on this ship. If you have any thoughts of traveling....DO IT NOW.


Sunday, March 9 At Sea

As Singapore is one of the busiest commercial ports in the world, we saw freighters, tankers, big ships, little ship all day as we sailed the Malacca Strait toward India.
Just the names of places we’ve been and will go sound so exotic. The Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, the Malaccca Strait, Milford Sound, Bombay, Istanbul, Alexandria.
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Monday, March 10 At Sea
At last, a day with few lectures, etc., so we can straighten out papers, pack for India and try to catch up on the blog and e-mails.


Tuesday, March 11 At Sea

More forms to fill out. Each country seems to try to outdo the previous one with questionnaires and the like. India wants to know what camera, computers, etc., we are bringing in. And their value. A first for that question but we can expect to hear it again in Egypt.

At 9:17 am we’re sailing in the Bay of Bengal. For anyone brought up on Kipling's stories that has a magical ring to it. Our lat/long is 11degrees 28 minutes N, 86 degrees 22 minutes E.

March 12 Wednesday Chennai, India

India has a population of 1,095,351,995 in an area of 1,269.345 square miles. The main language is Hindi with 18 official languages and 1,000 minor ones. 83% of the population is Hindu, 12% Islamic with a small percentage of Christians and Jews.
There are over 20 million vehicles, not counting mopeds and bikes (and camels, oxen, elephants and horses).

We docked in Chennai (formerly Madras) on the east coast of India. After over an hour’s wait while they removed a crane and trucks from the pier we were able to dock and finally go ashore. The pier was a sea of black, oooooozzey, oily mud which we had to walk through to get to our car and driver. Not a great start.

Rather than spend the obscene amount of money Holland America charged for a 5 day, 4 night tour we opted to go with an Indian tour company we discovered though fellow passengers we meet on a wonderful site called Cruisecritic.com. If you ever think of going on a cruise check out the site. It contains advice and comments from folks who have done cruises on all the cruise lines and to everywhere in the world. The Holland America folks went on a bus and stayed at very expensive hotels. We went in a mid-sized car and stayed at very nice hotels although not in the same class as the HAL tour. And we paid about a third of the cost HAL charged. We took a chance, and were glad we did.

After negotiating the mud, we meet our driver and guide and began our tour of Chennai and culture shock. We thought Vietnam and Hong Kong were over populated both with people and motor vehicles. Were we wrong. India has them beat. Driving in India is by horn....cars pass other cars, motor cycles, bikes, camels, horse carts, oxen, and pedestrians by two or three inches and no one bats an eye.

Chennai was founded by the East India Trading Company and is one of the largest ports in India. We started our tour with a visit to a temple. Fortunately, or unfortunately, it was a special day of celebration and the road near the temple was blocked with floats and worshippers so our car couldn’t get through. The driver told us to get out, walk down the street, around a couple of corners and we’d come to the temple. When we asked how we’d find him he said not to worry, he’d find us. Off we went, dodging statutes carried on platforms with men holding the poles, “music” from instruments we couldn’t identify, incense bearers, dogs, people, and kids selling postcards. We quickly decided we wouldn’t go into the temple as one had to remove shoes and no way were we going to walk barefoot in that area. Stalls lined the streets selling floral offerings and incense.
India is a sensory experience.....you see it, hear it, smell it and feel the crush of bodies.

The driver appeared out of nowhere (as did an Amsterdam tour) and off we went.


We visited Fort St. George, the Santhome Cathedral, named after St. Thomas who is buried there. We couldn’t figure out why we had to take off our shoes to go into a Catholic Church but we did. After St. Thomas it was on to St. Mary’s, the oldest Christian Church in India and the final resting place of many of the British who came out to India. We saw 800 year old famous Chola bronzes in the museum (we had never heard of them but were beginning to recognize the different deities), drove past several miles of beach with a decrepit fishing village on it, and saw Gandhi’s statute.

After touring Chennai, which was damaged by the Tsunami that did so much damage in Indonesia, we were driven to the airport for our flight on Kingfisher Air. We were offered a choice of a Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian meal. We opted for the Non-Vegetarian and were served KORI GASSI & DOSA, MOONG DAAL PAKODI and for dessert KESARI RASMALAI WITH RABDI. Just in case you’re not familiar with the foods of India it was Mangalorean Chicken Curry served with fluffy Rice Pancakes, gram floor dumplings with cracked spiced Lentils. The dessert was something like a pudding or flam.


We arrived after dark and started to look for our guide. We thought there would be a dozen or so people holding signs for passengers. Wrong again. There must have been a hundred or more. Finally we spied our names on our card, saying Welcome Alan and Sandra and off we went to the first of our 4 star hotels. And an ATM because we forgot the travelers checks to pay the balance of our tour. Of course we each thought the other had the checks. If we hadn’t been so tired and it hadn’t been so late, and we hadn’t been in a very foreign country the situation at the ATM would have been comical.

Our guide came into the little space with us as everything was in Hindi or Indian or whatever it was. My card wouldn’t work. The guide tried it. I tried again. And again. I was starting to think the machine would hang onto it when the guide called in a fellow waiting his turn. The card wouldn’t work for him. He tried his card. Out came rupees. In went my card again. Nothing. The guide opened the door and called in came a man and a woman waiting for their turn. Imagine 6 people in a little ATM booth. More discussion. Of course by now everyone in the booth knows my pin number which the guide kept shouting out. In went the card. In went the number. Again. Out came the rupees. As they say, “go figure.” Back to the hotel (which was okay but not wonderful), pay the guide the balance and then to bed. In a bed as hard as a rock!

A 7 am pickup and it was off for a tour of Delhi. Old Delhi cannot be imagined. OLD doesn't describe it. Like all of India that we saw, the streets are filthy, beggars are everywhere, women are beautifully dressed in colorful saris --even to sweep the streets---men seem to be sitting around everywhere drinking coffee or tea, food is cooked on the sidewalks, people are sleeping on the sidewalks or in culverts and pipes, smog or haze and dust are everywhere, dogs and cows wander around, toddlers wander around naked, kids and severely limb handicapped beg.

We saw the flower market where the shop keepers, hotels and restaurants by their flowers. Then the vegetable market. A mosque that hadn’t opened yet. No explanation. We stopped on the road in front of the gates to the American Embassy. As we pointed our cameras out the car window the guards came out yelling no pictures. We drove down Embassy Row, saw buildings built by the English, went to the India Gate, the Red Fort which seemed to stretch for a mile of so but probably didn’t. Drove to the gates of the Lotus temple, I think that was the Bahia one but we’ve seen so many we’ve lost track.

After the morning tour we drove on to Agra, about 4 hours of hair raising driving so we just sat back and figured what will be, will be. We arrived in Agra about 4pm and checked into a wonderful hotel, washed our faces, used the western toilets (I never figured out the bowl in the floor), met our new guide and drove to the Taj Mahal. Just the gate to the Taj was a marvel but once inside the gate seeing the while marble Taj was an experience we will never forget. That the building has survived for so long, in perfect condition (except for the precious jewels which of course have been stolen over the years) was almost a spiritual experience.

Everyone probably knows the story of the Taj Mahal. It was built by Emperor Shah Jahan as a memorial and tomb for his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz died giving birth to their 14th child (makes me wonder about how much he loved her to have 14 children) and Jahan was so devastated by her death he mourned for two years and began the Taj Mahal. 22 years later it was finished, Jahan was in prison (by his son) and could only look at it from his prison balcony.

Don’t think prison like a cell in an Attica....Jahan’s imprisonment was more like house arrest. He had what amounts to a three or four room apartment (all in marble of course) in a palace with a large balcony and servants. But no power which I guess is what counted in those days.

The Taj Mahal is built of white marble and inlaid with semi precious stones that form flowers, leaves and patterns. Until you are up close the inlays look like they are painted. Each petal, stem and leaf is perfect. Twenty thousand workers worked on the Taj during it’s construction. It is perfect symmetry is marred only by the tomb of Shah Jahan. Since the son couldn’t bury his father in a tomb not fitting a person of his rank, and since he didn’t want to spend money building what would have been necessary, he put Dad in the Taj.

As you walk though the main gate, the Taj Mahal seems to float up before you, reflected in a long pool. There is nothing behind the Taj to detract from its beauty. One can only stand there in awe. After walking along the ornamental pool, you put on shoe covers, and climb slippery marble steps to the monument itself. Once inside the rectangular tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz can be seen.

There are other tombs within the Taj Mahal area and again everything is symmetrical.
The inlay work is incredible and covers all of the building.

Because of pollution and the damage it would do to the Taj Mahal the Indian government removed all factories from the Agra area.

Like all tours, independent or Holland America you are taken to a factory, or the guide’s “uncle’s shop. After the Taj we were taken to a “factory” supposedly owned by descendants of the people who did the inlay work on the Taj so many hundreds of years ago. We saw boys shaping the semi-precious stones on grinding wheels operated by a rope on a stick. After the explanation of the process we were taken into a large room, offered tea or coffee (we declined), and shown tables of all sizes, trays and tiles. After finally convincing the owner he said “if you don’t want anything so big (or expensive) we have smaller things“. In we went to another room with coasters, more tiles, and boxes of all sizes and shapes. Although I suspected we were being ripped off I liked the little boxes and finally we agreed on a price. Then we were let out!

Back at the hotel, a shopkeeper selling the same kind of things told Alan it is pretty much a scam. We suspect that they get a phone call saying “I’m bringing the tourists get the kids in place working.” For all the items in all the shops, they must have factories around with thousands of workers. But it’s all part of the culture and as long as you don’t get too serious it can be fun.

The hotel, Clark’s Sharaz was very nice and quite comfortable. We ate in their dining room and low and behold who was also there but two men from the Amsterdam touring on their own. Later we ran into the same two at a restaurant on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

More later. And hopefully I'll be able to put some pictures on. It didn't work this time.