India: Spicy and colorful

Well, we've done it. We've become the obnoxious American tourist. We've tried so hard to be good travelers, but then India happened...

Sunrise at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India

First off, we only scheduled three days in India. Terrible! For such a large country with such a rich culture, we should have spent much longer there. Granted, I (Kenzi) spent a summer there in college, but that was now 17 years ago, and so much has changed. But it turns out that three days in India will equal weeks in another country in terms of excitement. 

I was concerned about getting to Nepal in time for trekking during October, which is supposed to be the best time of year weather-wise (turns out I didn't need to be quite so concerned). Bill really wanted to see the Taj Mahal, and I wasn't able to see it during my college visit, so we planned a quick 3-day trip to India to see the infamous Taj before heading on to Nepal. 

We took an overnight flight from Cairo on Oman Air, so we had a middle-of-the-night layover in Muscat, Oman which was interesting. We stuck out like sore thumbs, but in spite of getting no sleep on our flights, it was a pretty pleasant travel experience. We landed in New Delhi at about 7:00am. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that the New Delhi airport was rated the best in the world last year, and in fact, we found it to be very nice. For example, the airport is a "silence zone", which means they don't do PA announcements, which makes for a much quieter, saner airport experience. Also, we breezed through Customs, which normally requires waiting in LONG lines. Also, a pleasant surprise. We dropped off some luggage so we wouldn't have to lug everything to Agra for our brief stay, then took the Metro from the airport to the train station. Agra is several hours south of Delhi, so we'd need to take a train south. Again, the Metro was super clean and air conditioned, a pleasant surprise. And that's about where the pleasant surprises ended... 

The super clean and nicely air conditioned Metro in Delhi

We emerged from the Metro, sleep deprived, but nonetheless ready to take on India. But India immediately overpowered us, first with the heat and humidity. We came from Egypt which was no less hot, but it was a dry heat.  India felt like putting on a nice warm, wet and sweaty blanket. Then India overwhelmed us with smells. Having been there before, I found many of the smells familiar, but I vividly remember my college self being completely blown over by all the new smells. Next, India overwhelmed us with its traffic. Egypt traffic was crazy, but it's really not that bad compared to India. However, just as in Egypt, every kind of vehicle you can imagine is on the roads, and it is all super chaotic and so loud (constant honking). Not to mention, they drive on the left side of the road, a holdover from British occupation. We could see the train station and just needed to cross a few roads to get there, but it felt like playing dodgeball with traffic. Luckily, we survived. Then, India overwhelmed us with its confusing ticket process. Even though many signs were in English, it wasn't clear at all where to buy tickets, where to go, what the train options, times, prices were, etc, and the people we spoke to only added to the confusion. And before long, India overwhelmed us with its hustlers. 

Tuk-Tuks abound in India

So we started to go to the platform, via a security checkpoint, and immediately a guy who spoke good English started "helping" us by telling us that we needed to go to a nearby Government office to purchase our tickets. He even walked us out to the Tuk-Tuk parking lot and negotiated a ride for us. This didn't sit quite right with us (a little too good to be true), but we went for it anyway. (Travel is a long series of decisions, sometimes good, sometimes bad.) So after a longer drive than we were expecting, our driver dropped us off at the "Government office". It was more like a tourist agency, and the guy there spoke good English too, but tried to tell us that all the trains and buses to Agra were full, completely booked. He even went so far as to call the "bus station", and whoever was on the phone told Bill that all the buses were booked. He suggested we hire a private car for $150. This made no sense to us, so we decided to head back to the train station. But our Tuk-Tuk driver seemed to have some trouble getting back to the train station because of blocked roads. He ended up taking us to another tourist agency, where we got the same spiel about all the trains and buses being booked. So, now we were feeling very suspicious that this whole thing was a giant scam. And we just wanted to go back to the train station, but our driver insisted that he had a friend who could drive us to Agra and he insisted we go with this friend. Finally, we just got out of the Tuk-Tuk, and Bill had to yell at the driver that we were done with him. We're not normally yellers, but these people were VERY aggressive. It was all very awkward and uncomfortable. So, now we're in the middle of Delhi somewhere and need to get back to the train station (did I mention that it's 95 degrees with 100% humidity?). We considered walking but by now we were quite far from the train station, so we caught a taxi, which thankfully went ok. 

When we arrived back at the train station, there was a wall of guys blocking our way, saying that we couldn't pass without a ticket. By now, we were understanding how things were working in India, so we just marched right through them and ignored them. We think they may have also been part of the big scam to get people to go to tourist offices that they called "government offices", and convince them that public transportation was completely booked so they would be forced to book an expensive taxi all the way to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. 

Anyway, we persisted and paid only $18 to ride the train to Agra. We lost about an hour of time, $1 in tuk-tuk rides, and maybe our tempers, but in the end we saved a lot of money. We were in a compartment with six other people, but our train car had some A/C, which helped a ton. The train took a couple hours, and we zonked out on the train from utter exhaustion. 

Crazy driving with all the protection of a tin can...

We were able to catch a Tuk-Tuk from the train station to our hotel in Agra fairly easily. Keep in mind that every ride in India is a loud, scary, heart-racing, eye-opening experience. Near misses abound. We walked into our clean, cool, hotel lobby and breathed a huge sigh of relief that we had finally arrived. Until...

At check in, they asked for our passports which is normal, but we could only find mine. Bill's passport was missing. After all our adventures overnight and that morning, this was the straw that broke the camel's back and one of us (me!) may have broken into tears at this point. We have lost a few not important and somewhat important things on this trip (I used to be so responsible - what happened?), but nothing as important as a passport. Not a passport! Our last 24 hours were such a blur, I was completely useless in attempting to retrace our steps. A very nice hotel lady brought me some water and tried to convince me to calm down and that everything would be ok. I was too tired to argue with her that losing a passport is not ok. 

Anyway, after getting showers and naps, Bill was able to piece together our steps and remember that the luggage storage office at the Delhi airport had asked for his passport, but not returned it. He called them and they confirmed that they had it. Whew - such a relief! 

When I was in India during college, we always had a driver or an escort, but this time, we were fending for ourselves, and it was much more difficult. However, many more people speak some English now and we had some limited cell phone data access to help us navigate a bit. 

The next morning after catching up on some sleep, we woke up super early to go directly to the Taj Mahal in an effort to beat the heat and the crowds and leave enough time to return to Delhi. We had a really nice time seeing the Taj in the early morning light. It was really lovely. Shah Jahan had it built as a mausoleum for his favorite wife in the mid-1600s, who sadly died in labor with their 14th child. It is covered in white marble, has beautiful details, and is satisfyingly symmetrical. Not to mention, there are pools nearby in which the Taj can be perfectly reflected. It is surrounded by several gardens and buildings, including a mosque, all laid out in perfect symmetry. The Shah was Muslim, which is interesting because as you may know, India is 80% Hindu. 

Sunrise at the Great Gate entrance to the Taj Mahal  

The Great Gate to the Taj Mahal

The lovely Taj Mahal, built in the 1600s

The Mosque to the West of the Taj, there was an identical building on the East side. 

Selfie with the beautiful Taj

Looking up at the Taj Mahal

Looking back at the Great Gate from the Taj Mahal

The Taj is covered with intricate details

Our Tuk-Tuk driver that day spoke good enough English and willingly stuck with us all day as we went from place to place, which was really nice. We went back to our hotel for breakfast and some A/C, then headed back out to see the Agra Fort, which is a large fort, but is more accurately a walled city. It has a long history reaching back to the 1400s, and is mostly red brick. But Shah Jahan (of Taj Mahal fame) added some white marble structures during his time. The fort was the seat of Mughal power for many centuries. Like the Taj Mahal, it is next to the Yamuna River.  

Entrance to the red fort

A small section of the Agra Fort

Bill standing in one of many long hallways in the Agra Fort

Scalloped archways in Agra Fort

After the Agra Fort, we did a bit of shopping. We haven't purchased any souveniers on this trip, because as backpackers, we have to carry everything. Plus, we're not big souvenir people anyway. But I was tempted by India's bright colors. One thing I love about India is all the bright colors. The women wear saris and punjabis, all with the brightest, most beautiful colors. So I decided I wanted a pair of brightly colored pants. Our Tuk-Tuk driver took us to a shop he knew. In typical fashion, I suckered in for two pairs when I really only wanted one, but at least I avoided buying all the other stuff the lady was persistently urging me to buy. We'll call that a success. 

The Agra train station 

Finally, our Tuk-Tuk driver dropped us off at the Agra train station, so we could head back to Delhi. Again, we spoke to several people but only got very confusing answers about train schedules and prices.  But we finally ended up buying very cheap unreserved tickets, and then once we were on the train, we paid the conductor so we could get seats in the nice air conditioned section. Whew! We had a long conversation (of which we understood about 50% because of the thick accent) with a medical professor from Assam, the little section of India way to the East that seems like it was tacked on as an afterthought. 

The friendly medical professor from Assam that we spoke to on the train

Once back in Delhi, we took the Metro immediately back to the airport luggage drop off place to retrieve the prodigal passport and our bag. Boy, did we feel good to have that passport back in our sweaty hands! Then, we took an Uber to our Delhi hotel. Given that there was absolutely no sign on the building for this hotel, we think it might have been operating illegally. Nonetheless, they had some A/C, and that's really all we cared about at that point. They offered to have some food delivered for us, which we gladly took them up on. So, at 10:00pm, we had a very spicy meal, that has been upsetting our tummies for days since (aka Delhi Belly). 

The late night super spicy Indian food which has led to several days of Delhi Belly

So, it was a short visit to India, but filled with enough action and adventure that it really felt like a week. We enjoyed the Taj, and the brilliant colors, and someday will come back for a much longer visit (but perhaps with a driver or guide.)

Next up: Nepal!

Livin' Large in Egypt

A couple of quick flights and we touch down in Egypt.

Hanging out with the Sphinx is pretty cool

Let me (Bill) just get this out there right away: Egypt is exceedingly safe these days. Their economy has been seriously harmed by two revolutions in the past 5 years but that is in the past. They know that security is on every tourist's mind so they have done everything they can to make it safe. While Egypt isn't perfect we felt perfectly safe everywhere we went including walking at night in the cities. We had to pass through security check points everywhere, hotels, tourist sites, airports, etc. We literally had to pass through security four times before boarding our flight out.

At the same time many of the sites were empty because the tourism industry hasn't bounced back, so everything is on sale and I'm here to try to persuade a few good Americans to take advantage. Think of this: your own personal tour guide driving you around all day for less than $40, camel rides for $5, hour long sunset Felucca (sailboat) rides on the Nile for $10, 5 star hotels for $50/night.

Awesome hotel is Luxor was empty and very reasonable, a nice break from our typical accommodations

I have a college friend, Juana, who is working in Cairo and she really comes through with all kinds of great advice on how to navigate the thicket that traveling in some countries can be. Right off the bat she sets us up with someone who will meet us at the airport, shepherd us through customs and then drive us to her fantastic flat. As advertised, there is someone with our names on a sign waiting for us (this has always been one of Kenzi's dreams - to be important enough to have someone greet you with a sign with your name when you arrive somewhere), we get through all the administrative hassles in no time and as soon as we get on the road it's clear that driving in Egypt is special.

Lane lines are mere suggestions and horn use is nearly constant. If there is a hole you plug it with your car.  We saw cars, bicycles, tuk-tuks, pedicabs, motorcycles, bicylcles, horses, donkeys and the occasional camel, most of them were headed the right direction, most of the time. Because the lane lines are just suggestions, it seems that every spare inch of the road is taken up. Needless to say we're both very happy we're not driving ourselves in Egypt. The good news is that having someone drive you around is very affordable and that's what we do for the entire time in Egypt.

We manage to meet up with Juana and she is the hostess with the mostest. She's got a great place, a great bunch of ex-pat friends to hang out with and great food. We've been out of the country for nearly three months and it's great to be around a bunch of native English speakers who pick up on all the subtleties that many of the non-natives just don't get. Juana and her beau Cornelius treat us to all the best Cairo has to offer including some of their spectacular home cooking.

Juana and Cornelius

And a great meal they prepared, home cooking was welcomed after months on the road!

While traveling you talk with lots of people but the manner of speech many times has to be very well enunciated, plain and formal. Meanwhile listening, depending on the other speaker, can be very taxing as well. The effect of this is that often the conversation level might be limited and it can be exhausting. This doesn't mean I don't like talking with people when I travel, finding out how people live in other countries is often the most rewarding part of travel, but after a few months on the road its nice to be around a bunch of English speakers who understand the slang and "know where you're coming from."

We attend a wine quiz at a British expats' place where we're asked to taste wines and then name the vintage, vintner, and classification from a cheat sheet that is filled in with a few extras of each category. There are 13 total wines at the start and while it is good fun it doesn't get any easier as we go.

The next morning we get picked up by our tour guide Mohammed, and check out the Egypt Museum. This is home to King Tut's solid gold mask, solid gold coffin, 5 gilded boxes that contained them and oodles of other ancient Egyptian paraphernalia. These really are spectacular to see, pictures aren't allowed but you don't have to look far to see what they look like.

The museum is across to street from Tahrir Square (which is actually shaped more like a circle) and was broken into in January of 2011 during the revolution, a few items had notes that they were damaged and repaired. The museum feels both overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. Its packed with things that are really old, 5000 years in some cases, but the placards look like they are from a Selectric typewriter in 1960 and not very enlightening in many cases. There doesn't seem to be much continuity or flow between exhibits and hence having a guide is really essential. We are able to take pictures outside of the Tut exhibit.

Egypt museum carvings are pretty spectacular

Wood carving from thousands of years ago including very realistic eyes.

Papyrus scrolls from millenia ago still showing good colors

One of the many gilded containers that was around King Tut's gold coffin

Pensive statues at the Egypt museum

A look from one of the balconies at the Egypt Museum, huge collection, but organization was lacking

From there we jet off to Luxor, and we're treated to a magnificent three nights at a massive 5 star hotel right on the Nile. There is a huge pool complex, great breakfast and room with a great view, all for way less than we paid for Airbnb's in Europe.

Signing in at the nice hotel in Luxor... way nicer than we're accustomed to

Karnak Temple is absolutely immense

They put hieroglyphic carvings on every surface imaginable.

Obelisks abound in Karnak, Luxor is one of the few places they are found though. 

Khepri the Egyptian Scarab Beetle god, you must walk around counterclockwise to get your wish granted.

Temple has nice alignment and seems to go on forever

You can never have enough giant statues can you?

More giant statues

Some sphinxes for good measure in Karnak temple

And a few more statues for good measure, Karnak also

Over at the Luxor Temple, sometimes massive statues get tired and have to sit down

Luxor Temple columns made to look like closed papyrus flowers

Parental guidance advised, in Luxor Temple, Alexander the Great is depicted making an offering to the fertility god

A mosque built on top of Luxor temple, which was ground level before excavation

One last look at Luxor Temple

Luxor is also a bit tamer compared to Cairo, and the city seems very much alive at night probably because it's oppressively hot during the day. We walked around quite a bit at night, and found a giant market where there are actually locals shopping, and ate at a fantastic restaurant, and I even get a hair and beard cut. All at bargain prices.

Valley of the Kings is in Luxor as well. They learned from the past kingdoms that packing a grave with $5m in gold and then marking it with a giant pyramid that can be seen from miles away is a sure fire way of getting a tomb robbed. So The New Kingdom did what they could to hid the tombs by putting them in a narrow valley out of sight, but, it's hard to hide digging a hole hundreds of feet underground and most of these tombs were robbed sometimes just a few days after they were initially sealed. King Tut was a minor king in his days but is the quintessential Egyptian King today because his tomb managed to make it to 1920 before the British made off with with a lot of treasure... at least they didn't melt it down and make rings out of it. Interestingly there is every reason to believe that all 60 or so tombs in the Valley of the Kings also contained a stash of treasure equal or greater than that found in King Tut's tomb.

You can see Tut's Tomb along with many others there, the ticket gets you into three, and if you want to check out Tut's, it's an extra ticket. Our tour guide told us not to bother, it's not very spectacular since all the treasure is back in Cairo, the others were however.

Looking up the Valley of the Kings looks like any other barren valley in Egypt... which is sort of the point.

Lots of color in the tomb paintings

More colorful paintings

We also managed to check out Hatshepsut's temple, the Habu temple and some giant statues just sitting on the side of the road. They've got it all there.

Hatshepsut's Temple (a reconstruction), evidently this is where the Pharaoh's spirit would go during the day

Giant Statues just along side the road... (can you see how small I am compared to them? 

So after a nice bit of lounging in Luxor we jet back to Cairo, we're again met by our man at the airport and we watch our driver swashbuckle with the Cairo traffic, never a dull moment.

Next we get to check out the quintessential spot in Egypt, the Pyramids of Giza. They're massive and for the most part not too crowded. We get a ride on a camel and it's spectacular.

Oh, and the Sphinx is there. He's pretty much always been there waiting for us to come by and say hi.

Another interesting tidbit, there is the "solar boat". The Ancient Egyptians thought one path to heaven was by riding sun rays... on a boat, so they buried these guys with a boat... actually five 143 ft boats, of course what else would you do? These five giant boats were buried around the pyramids. In the 1920's a guy was able to take the 4000 year old wood and reconstruct a single boat from the remains of the five giant boats. The construction is bizarre, the wooden planks are actually tied together with rope through holes in the wood. I didn't see any other fasteners.

The massive Solar Boat, one reconstructed from five found

The next day we were treated to a boat cruise on the Nile with the expats.

Cornelius taking stock of the environs

Then on our final day we checked out Saqqara, 20 miles south of Cairo, where pyramids were invented, the oldest of the old, from 27th century BCE. There are some interesting tidbits there, including a first try at a pyramid that was too steep and so it exhibits an annoying slope change near the top along with a pyramid from the middle kingdom that is in horrible shape because they literally forgot how to build pyramids. This was also the first try at making columns, they didn't know if they would stand on their own so they were all attached to a wall:

The oldest of the old columns, attached to walls because they thought they would fall. 

The "stepped" pyramid because they initially built them in steps

This is a pyramid built 1000 years later... and it's in ruins because they forgot how to build...

This is the border between the irrigated and non irrigated, left is west and is Sahara dry all the way to the Atlantic. The right side is green from the Nile. 

Back in Cairo we take a quick tour through Old Cairo where they have a very old Coptic Christian Church and an old Synagogue. The Coptic Christian Church is built on top of one of the Roman fort towers hence it is called the hanging church. There is another Christian Church - allegedly this is where Jesus's family spent some time ages ago, no pictures were allowed in that church.

Ornate interior of the "hanging Church" that dates from the Roman Era

More of the Hanging Church

Last Stop in Cairo is the Citadel with it's huge Mosque. Our tour guide was Muslim and not much of a fan, he said sure it's big and beautiful but I can show you Mosques here that are 1000 years old. This thing, it's barely 150 years old. All true statements but we went anyhow. and it was pretty cool.

Great view of Cairo from the Citadel

Huge Mosque in the Citadel

The inside of the Mosque

That about sum's up our Egypt visit.

Thanks for reading, next up India!