 |
| Taj Mahal Est.1632 |
As far as I see it, there're many ways to skin this cat. I've opted for sensibility & efficiency. I've been on the road for nearly nine months and I'm dreary. I'm gonna empty the tank visiting only the greatest places India has to offer; in my opinion, the Holy Cities.
Heat, hot & more heat, we traveled via night bus from Delhi to Pushkar, the holy city of the Rajasthan Desert, where all plastic refuse goes to die. Home to enormous ghats (religious bathing pools), Brahmin (the priest class), and temples (houses of worship), Pushkar, with all of it's hashish growers, colorful architecture, cheap foods, and nature trails is an interesting, ancient and abnormal place to be. Monkeys swing from the powerlines hurling feces at passers-by. Goats, sheep, dogs and boar run amok. So do limbless beggars. Camels wander the streets unattended. And the bulls are on parade. It is wildly reminiscient of bad acid flashbacks from a younger year. Yet, atop all of this, Pushkar offers insanely surreal sunsets over Pakistan, gloriously colorful sarris, spiritual mysticism and a look into the eye of the soul of Hinduism.
From Pushkar to Uttaranchal, the next stop is Rishikesh- an ancient & holy spiritual city at the base of the Himalayan mountain range on the banks of the Ganges River northwest of Nepal. The birthplace of Osho & Yoga, Rishikesh is home to countless ashrams and is quaint, quieter and cooler than the Indian lowlands. Many westerners come here seeking to gain their spiritual fix, and as a result, spirituality is for sale here with its "Om" t-shirts, yoga schools, alternative medicine books, transcendental courses and meditation retreats. The Rishikesh Hindi hold a nightly puja, sending flowers and candles down the icy cold waters of the Ganges in the direction of Varanasi (the holy city where all corpses go to die); it's an awesome sight! The hiking in the area is superb, the vibe is relaxed, and all feels peacefully mellow.
Further afield, a quick visit is paid to Amritsar, the holy city of the Pashtun region up on the Pakistan border. It is home to the Golden Temple and the nightly India-Pakistan border showdown. I thought this could be worthy of a layover. It was.
In a most valiant attempt to escape the oppressive, brutal & relentless heat, I've bee-lined for Dharamsala. It's all monks, nuns & tourists up here. The air is cleaner, the nature expands, and things get even more relaxed. Yet Dharamsala is very important to the Holy City tour as it's the base of operations for the Tibetan Government in Exile and home to the world's most famous refugee, the Dalai Lama. Upper Dharamsala, or McLeod Ganj, is the spiritual center of exiled Tibetan Buddhism while the Dalai Lama is Tibet's spiritual savior, superhero, political leader and living Buddha all rolled into one. I have to give a big-ups shout-out & 'respect yourself' to India, for with all of it's problems of poverty, overpopulation & a lack of resources, it has allowed thousands of ex-political prisoners and Tibetan refugees to seek asylum in it's hills despite China's condemnation. The hardest part about coming to Dharamsala is leaving Dharamsala. I have spent a month here and it's been comfortable.
But the show must go on and the final piece in our Holy City Tour (for what has been the northwest section of India) could be none other than the Taj Mahal. Three by hours train to the southeast of Delhi, Agra is home to one of the most remarkable manmade architectural triumphs in history. The feeling of the Taj Mahal's presence is unforgetable. Reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel or Washington D.C.'s marble grandeur, I consider the journey to have been worthwhile despite the 120 degree heat. From here, we'll return to Delhi and fly to Hong Kong. Again.
Further afield, a quick visit is paid to Amritsar, the holy city of the Pashtun region up on the Pakistan border. It is home to the Golden Temple and the nightly India-Pakistan border showdown. I thought this could be worthy of a layover. It was.
In a most valiant attempt to escape the oppressive, brutal & relentless heat, I've bee-lined for Dharamsala. It's all monks, nuns & tourists up here. The air is cleaner, the nature expands, and things get even more relaxed. Yet Dharamsala is very important to the Holy City tour as it's the base of operations for the Tibetan Government in Exile and home to the world's most famous refugee, the Dalai Lama. Upper Dharamsala, or McLeod Ganj, is the spiritual center of exiled Tibetan Buddhism while the Dalai Lama is Tibet's spiritual savior, superhero, political leader and living Buddha all rolled into one. I have to give a big-ups shout-out & 'respect yourself' to India, for with all of it's problems of poverty, overpopulation & a lack of resources, it has allowed thousands of ex-political prisoners and Tibetan refugees to seek asylum in it's hills despite China's condemnation. The hardest part about coming to Dharamsala is leaving Dharamsala. I have spent a month here and it's been comfortable.
But the show must go on and the final piece in our Holy City Tour (for what has been the northwest section of India) could be none other than the Taj Mahal. Three by hours train to the southeast of Delhi, Agra is home to one of the most remarkable manmade architectural triumphs in history. The feeling of the Taj Mahal's presence is unforgetable. Reminiscent of the Sistine Chapel or Washington D.C.'s marble grandeur, I consider the journey to have been worthwhile despite the 120 degree heat. From here, we'll return to Delhi and fly to Hong Kong. Again.
No comments:
Post a Comment