Agra Trip - Taj Mahal here we come...

We have just returned from our whirlwind trip to see a little monument you might have heard of here in India - the Taj Mahal. Today I have a bit of what I am calling a "Taj hangover"... it is a small price to pay, I must say!! Bear with me on the blog side of this - there is sooooo much to talk about. I will devote this blog to the trip from Bangalore to the Taj and follow up tonight with an information and photo packed blog of the Taj/Agra Fort tours as well as the link to our Picasa site, where all 400+ (no, that is not a typo) photos from the trip will be!!

So, we were up by 4am, departing our villa at 4:45am for the Bangalore Airport. The ride to the airport is 50 kilometers (30 miles), which takes just under an hour with NO traffic... but can easily take 2 hours or more - so you always need to leave very early and hope or the best.

We arrived in plenty of time for Lauren to catch up with some of the security guards who adore her. Imagine what this conversation is about...

Next, it was onto what I like to call the runway bus, which carts us across runways and to our waiting plane. Next stop... Delhi - which is a 2.5 hour flight from Bangalore - straight north. It is the US equivalent of flying from Florida to NY. Notice the backpacks... continuing my art of light travel, we were able to pack everything we needed for a 3 day trip for 6 people into 3 backpacks!The arrival in Delhi was smooth... with no bags to collect at baggage claim, we were found our waiting driver and it was off to Agra.

Lauren was asleep 5 minutes into the drive...

Agra is about 185 kilometers from Delhi (114 miles), HOWEVER - yes, that is a big however... it is a 4 - 5 hour drive!!! They don't just plop the Taj Mahal down in an easy to get to place, you know. A few pics from the Delhi to Agra journey...h

Yes... those are chickens - can you say, "fresh poultry"?

We arrived at our hotel in Agra at 3pm. Our tour guide was there waiting and said we had about 15 minutes to get checked in and changed, or we couldn't fit in the tour with the day's sunlight. No problem! 15 minutes later we were back in the car. Our hotel was just 1.5 kilometers from the Taj Mahal... and gas powered vehicles are not allowed within a 1 kilometer radius of the monument (to prevent emissions from harming the marble), so in typical India style, we jammed ourselves inside of this battery powered car for the last kilometer...

Hawkers and beggars fill the street in the last few hundred meters before the Taj Mahal entrance. It is absolute pandemonium!!!!!! While we are used to it, to some extent, living in Bangalore... this is honestly times 1000. It is surely my record for saying "no" the highest number of times in 5 minutes - and that is saying a lot since I have 3 kids!!!!

So there we were... at the Taj entrance. A camera and a bottle of water. That is all they allow you to bring in. Our guide was Faizel... and he was great... Here he is leading Taylor and Andrew to the gate...

On the way, I caught a glimpse of the the Taj, peeking over the top of the wall...Taylor's first glimpse was through the arch... here she is pointing it out to Pat...Once you enter the main archway... the view is the one we have all seen so many times...So we made it! We were at the Taj Mahal!!

The many colors and styles of India...

I have thought so many times that I should post a blog about the way people dress here in India... this blog is waaaaayyyyy overdue. Oh, where to start?? It is so diverse, that describing it is more difficult than probably any other culture in the world! If you take a snapshot of a crowded street anywhere here in Bangalore, you see people from all walks of life, each with his/her own style. It is an almost even mix of barefoot vs. shoes, saree vs. jeans with kurtas, chinos vs. dhotis (aka the "man skirt"). All moving together in perfect harmony. Many people holding to centuries old traditional garb, many people having been completely "westernized" - maybe wearing a DKNY tee and Calvin Klein Jeans!! Can you imagine walking down 5th Avenue in NYC and seeing this...and this...
and this...
all together, and thinking it was completely normal?? This is as close as I can relate the variety we see here in India.

Salwar kameez is a traditional dress worn by both women and men in South Asia. Salvars or shalvars are loose pajama-like trousers. The legs are wide at the top, and narrow at the bottom. The kameez is a long shirt or tunic. The side seams (known as the chaak) are left open below the waist-line, which gives the wearer greater freedom of movement. In Afghanistan and , Pakistan and India, the garment is worn by both sexes.

When women wear the salwar kameez, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a dupatta around the head or neck. Here's Mom in one of her new "I am going to the Taj Mahal" salwar kameez outfits... I must say, she looks like a natural!!

The kids, in theirs...

A kurta is also a traditional item of clothing. It is a loose shirt falling either just above or somewhere below the knees of the wearer, and is worn by both men and women. They were traditionally worn with loose-fitting paijama (kurta-paijama), loose- salwars, tight-fitting churidars, or wrapped-around dhotis but are now also worn with jeans. Kurtas are worn both as casual everyday wear and as formal dress. A kurta is also referred to as a panjabi.

Pat had his made down on Commercial Street... as you can imagine, India does not carry a big selection of "Pat sized" attire!!

Of course, the article of clothing most associated with India is the sari. A sari or saree or shari is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent and Pakistan. A sari is a strip of unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine metres in length that is draped over the body in various styles. The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff. The sari is usually worn over a petticoat (pavada/pavadai in the south, and shaya in eastern India), with a blouse known as a choli or ravika forming the upper garment. The choli has short sleeves and a low neck and is usually cropped, and as such is particularly well-suited for wear in the sultry South Asian summers. How the sari actually stays together is a mystery to me. I have had our maid Sheela show me how it all works several times, and I still have no clue! The house maids here wear them almost exclusively. Bright colors and beautiful fabrics... jasmine flowers tied neatly in their perfectly braided hair - all this to come and clean a house?!?!? Yes, it is all about the tradition.

Not only can they work in their saris... but they also ride scooters in them!! I am always amazed that the fabric does not get caught up in the wheels...
Last, but certainly not least...lets talk about what I call the "man skirt"... the dhoti. The dhoti, known as a panche here in Bangalore is a traditional garment of men's wear in India. It is a rectangular piece of unstitched cloth, usually around 7 yards long, wrapped around the waist and the legs, and knotted at the waist.
In northern India, the garment is worn with a Kurta on top, the combination known simply as "dhoti kurta", or a dhuti panjabi in the East. Here in Bangalore, we see it most often worn simply with a dress shirt! The lungi is a similar piece of cloth worn in similar manner, though only on informal occasions. The lungi is not as long and is basically a bigger version of a towel worn to fight the extremely hot weather in India.

So this is a good overview covering at least the basics of fashion in India. You really can't go wrong... trust me, you see it ALL!!!

Back to Indus International School...

So, after a gruelling day in the hot sun for Sports Day yesterday, it was back to the school again today for the second grade end of unit celebration. This is NOT like hopping in the car for a 5 minute ride to Lake Avenue, folks. At best, the trip to Indus takes 45 minutes... each way~~~!!! Trust me... I am not running forgotten homework, or library books, or swimsuits for swim class over to the school - EVER. If you forget it... you don't have it. Period! I think this has actually helped them both in the responsibility department (a little bit?).

I actually quite like the drive to the school, especially in the morning, as the roads are through tiny villages... and it is awesome to see the local people, old and young, going about their business. Check out a few photos from the ride...

Working in the fields (using oxen to pull the plough) - the tee shirt on this guy might seem out of place. It is not uncommon to see western wear on the local people. Many of the expats donate their clothes to their staff or to residents nearby.

People getting ready to head off to work. Grabbing a snack at the food stall. The backpack is extremely common in India. Since the main mode of transportation is the motorcycle, they carry the essentials in their backpacks. Nearly every public place has a bag check out front for backpacks!

Check out the size of this load of hay! The two women on the left are carrying jugs of water on their heads. Since nearly all of the ground water here is not drinkable (nice way of saying wicked polluted), every day water needs to be collected from local distribution centers, or from water trucks.
It is very common for goats and sheep to live inside the house...
Also common to see goats and sheep hanging in mutton stalls...

All kids get a free education here. They also all wear uniforms. They attend school 6 days a week... that's right - even on Saturday! I love seeing them all in formation for their morning excersise. Less than a mile from this school... down a one lane dirt road - sits Indus. Andrew's class performed for their end of unit celebration (you can see his head on the right back row)...

He also showed off his artwork...

It was another fun filled Indus School event!!

Indus International Sports Day... Will the Patnodes bring home the gold??

You know it's going to be a long, hot day when they hand out visors on your way into the stadium!! These visors are the sports day equivalent of the cone shaped hats that we hand out to guests at kids' birthday parties... you know, the ones with the thin elastic band that is held on barely by a staple on each side... the thin elastic band that suddenly becomes a deadly weapon when you try to squeeze in around your adult sized head. Come on, admit it... you have squeezed that hat on your head at least ONCE!! Anyway... the visor, like the party hats... only really look good on a 3 year old.

The kids were all enamoured by the trophy table!

Taylor and Andrew took home some serious hardware!!! 4 gold medals and a silver... and Andrew won one of the coveted cups for top 2nd grade boy athlete!

After the races, we strolled around the beautiful 40 acre Indus campus for a bit. The resident Indus geese and their 3 new goslings, loved my Mom!! Although mama goose chomped on her ankles right after I snapped this picture.
Taylor was so proud to show off the smartboard in her class.
Tomorrow we head back to Indus for the 2nd grade end of unit presentation... "From farm to table". At the end of every unit, the kids prepare a summary performance. Each student has a speaking part, which is presented to other students, teachers and parents. What a great way to get the kids comfortable speaking in from to a large group. No surprise that Taylor is a natural. Andrew has really come a long, long way. I will post a video tomorrow!!

Carol's 1st Guest Post

Who would believe that my first trip out of the US would be to India? I think that I knew everything there was to know about life here, from this blog! The plane trip itself was phenomenal, amazing, luxurious really! And I was banned to the lower level economy section of the plane. I can't imagine what life was like for Pat, who was upstairs even more pampered!

When I entered in arrivals at Bangalore airport, I felt right at home. (ok---I was also traveling with Pat --I might be sounding like a seasoned international traveler at this point, but I'll admit I would not have done this on my own!!!) Now, on to the best part of my arrival..... Cyn at the door and the grand kids waking up and seeing me sitting in the living room sipping tea! Oh, the excitement -- like Christmas morning!!! They have grown sooooo much and they all have picked up some of the most adorable expressions in their speech!! I could go on and on about the wonderful things I have seen in the two weeks I've been here. There are "challenges" - like the first time the power went out and I was on the (marble!) stairs with Lauren in front on me. Hearing the little voice announce "don't move, Grandma, it will be ok", was comical and a little scary! For all of my "shopping buddies" - oh how I wish you were here!! The shops are amazing and I want to buy everything (thank goodness for my voice of reason Paddy - one of Cyn's neighbors). She keeps reminding me that I'll be here a long time and there are so many more places to see. I have found that India's cuisine agrees with me (with the least amount of spice, of course!), that tea in the afternoon is a wonderful treat, the people are warm and friendly and the traffic in the city is not as frightening as I thought it would be (as long as the driver is NOT me!!)

I'm sure I'll have much more to tell over the next few weeks and while I'm sure my blog will not be as frequent as Cyn's, I'll try to keep in touch!

Trip to the mall and Bedtime Stories

Yesterday (Friday), Mom and I took Lauren to Indiranagar... a 'suburb' of Bangalore, with terrific shopping and restaurants. We met a friend for lunch at the 100 Foot Road Boutique. I love this place, because it is an awesome restaurant and a great boutique. Lauren discovered she LOVES hummus (much to our despair as she hogged it all!!). She also was very popular with the staff. Our waiter gave her this pink flower and the sales girl started snapping her photo with her cell phone... so I decided to take hers too. I think it made her day!Today (Saturday), we headed out to Forum Mall. We all piled into the truck for the long journey into the city. Last Saturday the drive took us 90 minutes, so today we prepared. The DS games , the Ipods and don't look now, but Andrew is actually reading Around the World in 80 Days!!Miraculously... we made it to Forum Mall in about 40 minutes. This is one of my favorite Bangalore Malls. It is super clean (and even has nice bathrooms!)... We decided to see a movie... Bedtime Stories was playing at 12:15... by the way, the theaters here are nicer than any in the US. Tickets cost under 4 bucks each and they serve you food, from a menu during the show!!! It is actually an affordable family outing. We grabbed some cookies at the Cookie Man before the show...

Mom got her first taste of McDonald's in India on our way out!

First Carrots!

Sorry, it has been a few days since I have posted. I am just recovering from my first illness in India! What started as a cold last week got progressively worse... yesterday I actually had to go to (gasp!!!) the DOCTOR! It was quite a nice visit... At the clinic here, you see whichever doctor happens to be free, regardless of their specialty. Last time Lauren went with her foot infection, she saw an obstetrician! I got the lucky draw of the young, cute cardiologist. He spent what seems like 10 minutes, taking my blood pressure. He did not, however, even look in my aching ear. He asked me heaps of questions... many of them seemingly unrelated to my symptoms. I walked out of his office with a brown lunch bag full of medicines... all for under $5!!!!

I braced myself for the medicine. Having dispensed it many times to Taylor and Lauren here... I knew it was not the pink, fluffy, bubble gum flavored stuff we get in the US. Again, with the theme of bowling without bumpers and riding without training wheels... medicine here tastes like the motor oil it should! I was mildly encouraged by the splash of writing on one of the bottles that read, "NEW, tingle taste"! OK, FYI... "tingle" motor oil is just as gut wrenching as "non-tingle" motor oil! In any case... I am feeling much, much better after just one day of the brown bag pills and liquids.

Back to the carrots post...

We have the best fuits and veggies growing all over our yard (worthy of their own post, which I will get to soon!). Lauren loves to go out every day and pick, cut and eat whatever is ready. She has been eagerly awaiting the harvest of our first carrots - which take quite a while to grow. Lauren was so excited when Sheela told her she thought the carrots were finally ready!!

Maybe the best carrot Lauren ever ate!!

Also, in the garden, so many beautiful flowers.... whenever a yellow rose blooms, it goes straight to my Mom (they are her favorite, after all!)

Brace yourself. My Mom has asked to do her OWN blog entry! She will write it this afternoon. Stay tuned!!!!