Finding the Footpath: India and the Maldives 2018

We are in Agra tonight and caught our first glimpses of the great Taj Mahal from the balconies of the Agra Fort. Tomorrow we will greet the sun at the Taj--this is apparently the best time to see it up close--and visit the mausoleum.

We requested 'boutique' or historical hotels and tonight is our first taste of that. Our main floor room is along a covered walkway separated from a large lawn by smooth Doric pillars. There is a smattering of tables, a few flowering shrubs but other than that it could be lawn bowls. A second section features a pool, and spa; a restaurant and quaint bar separate the two sections of hotel. There are two sets of French doors in solid wood; the outer one has a long slide bar and a large padlock that slips through a big ring and locks with a church key of sorts. From the inside each door has bolt locks up into the frame to lock the doors in place. I hope there isn't a fire; we would never get out of here!

Each of our twin beds is topped with a cream-covered sheer canopy trimmed in gold. These are two-posters: propped up by a single wooden post trimmed with lattice at each end. There are multiple pieces of dark wooden furniture, with carved legs and spindles. Large framed pictures cover most of the walls, including a life-sized cow and calf portrait that fills an entire wall. It is actually a curtain to keep out the tiny bit of light that might make it's way through a likewise tiny window.The lamps are etched glass with dangling crystals. There is a raised claw foot bathtub! I'm not sure which or whose heritage it represents, but this afternoon as we walked back from the pool, a big floppy hat barely hiding my fair complexion, I couldn't help but feel like I was playing a minor part in the India version of Out of Africa or one of those Kipling stories from the time of the British East India Company. I think there might have been fish and chips on the dinner menu.

Twin canopy beds at the Grand Imperial Hotel, Agra

But before I get to Agra, there is yesterday. All that apprehension was for nothing. We had a fabulous day, and a busy one (on no sleep). Fortunately we started with the hustle and chaos of Old Delhi and ended in the orderly and somewhat officious New Delhi. It's a city of contrasts and that might be the biggest one. Our driver inched his way down narrow streets with five or more cars crowding into the space of two lanes. We rode a rickshaw down narrow lanes wide enough for only one. We visited both Hindu and Muslim mosques, ate lunch in the high rent district and walked the mall leading to the Presidential palace. Think the Champs Elysee but in this case lined with matching Indian and Canadian flags in honour of the Prime Minister's visit last week. New Delhi is like other English cities with wide streets, boulevards and parks. The influence of the British is everywhere and in modern day India looks rather out of place. Through thickets of trees you can see the grand colonial 'bengalows' so named for the wealthy British aristocrats from Bengali who built them. At first we thought bungalows but clearly that would not be an accurate description!

We skipped dinner. I slept for 12 hours.