Day 6: The Second Best – no, the Best – Marigold Hotel

I am behind with my blog. This is due to the shaky nature of the wifi in India. There is apparently broadband everywhere but it doesn't seem work in the average hotel. There is fabulous cell phone coverage as is evidenced by people in what seem to be very remote locations speaking on mobile phones. So, this and the following entries are not yet complete. I shall remove this paragraph as I catch up. 

We were up at the crack of dawn this morning. In fact, it was before the crack of dawn as we had agreed to assemble at 0620 to take the bus to what is known, I think not quite appropriately, as the "backside" of the Taj Mahal. We went at this hour because, we were told, the whole thing looks spectacular from the back as the sun rises. As it happened it was a misty morning and the sun took forever to rise so I did not really get the glistening of the Taj Mahal in the sunlight. It sort of looked the same as it had yesterday. But it was still a good excursion: the weather was lovely and there were extensive ruins that (I was told but I cannot recall by whom) were the remains of a viewing platform.

The Chief Horticulturist is not to be trifled with. His prohibitions are to be taken very seriously.

Home is where the heart is. And this home for someone. And it's a damn sight better home than many we saw. 

All the trucks seems to be decorated. This is a particularly splendid example of the truckers' art. 

After seeing the backside of the Taj Mahal we drove from Agra to Jaipur. Here is a useful list for those of you who plan a visit.

The reception area of the Narain Niwas Palace Hotel known to us as the Second Best Marigold Hotel. This was my favourite hotel of the tour because you weren't quite sure whether everything would actually work which meant you were pleasantly surprised when it did work.

Here is the ceiling decoration in our room. The bed was a four poster and was about 5 feet off the ground requiring considerable athletic skill and dexterity to get in and out of it.

Jaipur: the Palace of Winds or Hawa Mahal. It is essentially a high screen wall built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivals while unseen from the outside. There is no building behind it.