agra & the taj

Red letter day here at Fixed Address: we are coming at you from a NEW computer. Yes, folks, there is a decent excuse for the lack of current posts. My computer-related idiocy and inability to learn new tricks quickly. Which is very much unlike my daughter's brilliance: she learned how to clap this week! But back to me. Me! I am having fun figuring out how to use our very first mac. Phet, meanwhile, is not having fun dealing with my incessant complaining and questioning. But I'll get used to it and eventually so will he.

I am very happy about the mac because: a) now Phet will stop bugging me to let him buy a mac; b) the keyboard is lovely; c) I can now use photoshop and pagemaker once again because this machine has enough memory unlike Ji's computer; d) I can watch movies on this computer and I won't feel like I'm staring at the mini screen on the airplane; e) pictures look super awesome on this bright and wide screen; f) the new mouse has a groovy little nubbly scroll button. But I still think they should make computers in gold-coloured metal. They'd match my jewellery better then.

I have another excuse for not writing and that is that my Mummy has been in town with us for almost two weeks. Aside from the early illnesses, we have had an absolutely marvellous time with her. Each thing we planned to do turned out just right and I think we were able to achieve a perfect mix of relaxing fun at home and not-overly-ambitious-but-still-something-to-write-home-about kind of fun out and about. In the first week, Mum visited Ji's school and my school, and learned her way around Khan Market. Once Phet came back we made the trek to the Taj, and then after that we rounded off the visit with a healthy dose of shopping, and Mum got Ji to play hooky and go check out the Red Fort with her.

The trip to Agra was 100% worthwhile and enjoyable. I wasn't quite sure, to begin with, what the deal was for renting a car. Our car, while perfectly reliable, doesn't really fit three adults, a long-legged and kicky kid, and a baby in a car seat. So we had to rent a slightly larger vehicle. Our driver John went around to a few rental / taxi places nearby and found one that would rent us a car and a driver for 6500 rupees (about, say, 200 bucks Canadian). We got picked up last Sunday after lunch and hefted our big bags into the Innova mini van and got ready for the ride. It was nice to get out of Delhi, if only onto a fairly busy provincial "highway". Mostly, it was just two lanes of traffic, one coming and one going, with plenty of folks bicycling, riding motorcycles, riding carts, and walking by the side of the road. We saw lots of cows, several horse-drawn carts, and at least 20 camel-pulled wagons! After we passed through the suburbs, which were mostly kind of industrial-looking, we did get a view for almost an hour of actual fields and greenery a-growing and trees a-lining the roads.

Agra itself does not seem to have much to recommend it aside from the Taj. It is, as Mum put it, as if the residents figure they don't really need to work on making any of the normal stuff in the town look pretty since they've got one of the wonders of the world right there already. The roads were dusty, the pavement was crumbly, the buildings were raggedy, and everything seemed to be in a state of flux. That was it seemed that way until we got to our hotel, which was stupdendously fabulous. Mum treated us to a one-night stay at the Sherton Moghul and - get this! - reserved us a suite. Then, when she checked in, she got upgraded to one of the top suites in the hotel. It was totally awesome. We had two giant rooms, plus a vestibule (containing giant fresh flowers and a huuuuge complimentary fruit basket), and the best bathroom I have ever enjoyed in a hotel. The living room had a plasma screen TV, a massage chair, and two glass cookie jars filled with treats. The bedroom had a king size plus bed, another plasma screen TV, and a round window area that contained a round, foot-high bed / lounging area covered with silk pillows and bolsters. The bathroom had a shower with a double spray faucet and a gorgeous bath that Seung Yi and I tried out right away while Mum went on a tour of the grounds (on a golf cart!) with Ji and Phet went to enjoy our complimentary massage. But the best thing of all about the room was that we had a view of the Taj Mahal from our window! Aaaaaand they designed the bathroom to have a big plate glass window beside the bath so that we could see the Taj Mahal while we were in the bath!

In the evening we had free drinks - boozy ones - at the bar, and then went for weird Chinese food at hotel restaurant. At night we all slept soundly, but when I got up to feed Seung Yi, there was a massive thunder and lightning storm booming outside, and I while I watched it for fifteen minutes I got to see the Taj illuminated by lightning! Wow!

The next morning after we stuffed ourselves at the buffet breakfast we had to actually go and see the Taj. It turned out that the car rental included a tourguide for our trip, which was great. The night before we didn't need him to tour us around as we were all kind of tired out and wanted to get the most use out of our hotel room, and so Mum sent him off to buy beer and snacks. Then, in the morning he came and met us, took us to the Taj, organized our little tuk tuk for us, and gave us a very pleasant not-too-short and not-too-long tour around the grounds of the Taj. Here we are, the motley crew, dazzled by the marble and the very sunny sun:

It really is as beautiful as everyone says. And it's neat, the visitors are from all over India and from around the world. Kind of reminded me of going to Angkor Wat - everyone from everywhere, all in one place. You may notice in this pic that Seung Yi is having a bottle. She now has one a day, sometimes two if I'm at school all day. One of the good side effects from going to the hospital (aside, that is, from knowing that my cancer hadn't spread!) is that in my enforced two day absence, she learned how to like the bottle. This has made a huge difference for me, because now I can stay at school for several hours and I don't need to race home between classes, and she is happy to be with Iaimon for quite a stretch now. She doesn't appear to be any worse for wear with having to move away from her all-Mum's-milk diet:

Here's our girl, in all her chubby glory, pool-side after our tour of the Taj. She's wearing Charlotte's old tankini - thanks, Char! - although I dare say her fat folds probably fill it out just a wee bit more than those of the previous owner.

Now that I've got Photoshop up and running, I'm hoping to post an album of the Taj pictures tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. Mum has headed off to the airport with Phet and John and is hoping to catch a flight. She tried on Friday to no avail, but things were looking slightly better this evening. Me, personally, I'd be quite happy if she was stuck here for good, although it might be a little boring for her in the upcoming weeks since we're all headed to Canada. Phet and Ji leave on the 23rd and Seung Yi and I take off on the 30th. But really, we have had an absolutely marvellous visit with Mum and we are so happy she came here. There's no one like a Mum, is there?

Must get me to bed.

Oh, but before I go: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SLOANER! You're 2! How cool is that? Can't wait to see you this summer, beautiful girl!

[On The Road-18-March-2007]