Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Our last full day in India began at 5:15 a.m., as we stumbled down to the lobby to meet Shanoo for a dramatic view of the Taj Mahal at sunrise.  The streets were quite peaceful, with a surprising number of individuals out walking before the sun was up.  They were dressed in normal street clothes, and we learned from Shanoo that they were out getting their daily exercise.  This was unexpected to me, as I knew this as more of a western activity with people in jogging outfits and sneakers with requisite ear buds dangling.  Funny how much importance we put on our "gear."  Shanoo said India has the second-highest incidence of diabetes, so people take their exercise regimen seriously.

It was still dark when the driver pulled down a side road with a few sparse groups of men peering at our intruding vehicle.  We had to get out and walk a little way to the gates of a park which turned out to be closed until sunrise.  So we continued on past questioning looks and stray dogs down to where the road dead-ended at the river's edge.  My senses were on alert like they were when walking in downtown Detroit - not afraid, just cautious.  I trusted that our guide knew what was okay.

A chill in the air accompanied the morning mist, and a vague outline of the Taj Mahal loomed in the space across the Yamuna.  The sounds of the awakening city orchestrated the show that gradually revealed itself:  a cacaphony of birds cawing, train whistles, loud bollywood-type music, and calls to prayer mingled with the growing chatter of locals starting their day and made for a wonderful soundtrack.  A young group of Indian boys joined us at the water's edge, tourists like us, with their cameras ready.  The slow realization of the landscape before us gave us time to revel in its beauty.

As the sun continued it's rise, we walked back up the road and entered the now-open Moonlight Garden, or Mehtab Bagh.  This garden was perfectly aligned with, and designed as an integral part of, the Taj Mahal complex, and as such is the perfect viewing spot across the Yamuna River.  According to Wikipedia, it is a Charbagh:

Charbagh or Chahar Bagh (Persian: چهارباغ, chahār bāgh, "Four Bāghs") is a Persian-style garden layout. The quadrilateral garden is divided by walkways or flowing water into four smaller parts.^[1] In Persian, "Chār" means 'four' and "bāgh" means 'garden'.

The garden was beautifully serene and glistening with morning dew.  Our footsteps left imprints in the dew as we walked quietly across the grassy expanse.  We caught glimpses of birds skittering about in the trees and under bushes, and the dawn's light cast a blanket of gold over it all.  Symmetry ruled as rows of small trees lined our path to the wall facing the Taj.  An Indian strolled noiselessly through the scene with a large bundle on his head.  Laid-back guards casually walked along the wall, trying to look busy, and stray dogs barely acknowledged our presence as we stepped around them.  Birds challenged our attempts to get a good look at them before flitting away.  We lingered for a long time, marveling at the minute-to-minute changes happening before our eyes.  The white marble of the Taj took on new shades of gold and pink, and as the first rays of sunshine hit, we could see the gemstones sparkle.

None of us wanted to break the spell, but we finally pulled ourselves away and headed back to the car.  After the hectic schedule of the last two days, we were ready for a more leisurely pace.  We caught the end of the breakfast buffet, where the staff presented us with survey cards to rate their service, then stood by anxiously as we filled them out.  The service was fine, but selections did not "wow" us, and we said so.  Tim graded them down more than I (he was probably more honest), and the surveys were quickly collected and read as we finished our meal.  The head guy sent the waiter back to our table to question Tim's responses, asking him to say what they should be doing better.  Talk about being put on the spot!  Tim tried to give them some suggestions, and it was a little awkward to say the least.  Then, when we got up from our table and left the dining area, another gentleman stopped us and asked Tim what was wrong with the breakfast.  He tried to assure them that the service was good, but the food choices were lacking.  I'm not sure if they were taking great offense, or if they were really interested in an American's take?  They were quite polite about it; it just seemed a little extreme.

We exchanged some Thai bahts at the front desk when we were checking out.  The woman handling the transaction looked up the exchange rates on her computer, and asked if Taiwan was the same thing.  Common mistake by westerners, but surprising coming from a neighbor.

The original tour plan was to see some more mosques and forts, but we felt like we'd seen all we wanted to see, and so simply took a relaxing drive back to Delhi after one more quick look at the city of Agra.  Watermelon sellers had their melons stacked in waist-high pyramids at busy street corners and barbers were opened for business, their shop nothing more than a chair set up on the sidewalk.  Just another regular day in Agra, it was one I hoped to remember for a long time.

Our final night in Delhi would be spent at the Radisson Blu Delhi, and pulling up to the front doors (after explosives check), we could see this was going to be the best stay of our trip.  The hotel was lovely, and an inexpensive upgrade to a business-class room afforded us some nice perks:  a really comfortable bed (finally!), big shower and bathtub, nice swimming pool, and unlimited drinks and snacks in the business lounge for happy hours.

I was anxious to get some swim time in after being "dry-docked" for four days.  A young staffer came out from a door as I approached the pool and asked if I was going swimming.  I wondered for a second if women were supposed to stay covered, even in the pool.  But he was simply warning me to be careful on the tile, which was indeed very slippery.  He lingered at poolside the entire time I was swimming - I guess he was responsible for guest safety at the pool?  I had the pool to myself, which was quite a bit cooler than our bath-water-warm pool in Thailand, but I took my time.  The tile was super-slick with wet feet, and I had to take baby steps, like walking on ice.  Read a bit at poolside, then headed up to the room.

We were the only ones taking advantage of the happy hour amenities, and the server seemed quite happy to have company.  We got his whole story about how he was in school for hospitality, and how he hoped to get a job in another country (was it Australia?)  He was the youngest of three brothers, and had no trouble chatting up these strangers (sound familiar?)  A cricket match was playing on the big screen TVs, so we got into a long conversation about this game that Indians are so passionate about; although when I asked our guide if he enjoyed cricket, he said it was a ridiculous game for lazy elites who don't do real work.  Our happy-hour "emcee" was only too happy to share his passion for the game, explaining the rules and nuances.  We thoroughly enjoyed our lesson - I wish I had a video of it to share.

The next morning was an early ride to the airport and a six-hour flight back to Bangkok, where our trusty driver waited to take us home.

Note:  Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo is a non-fictional account of life in the slums of Mumbai.  It is a National Book Award winner.