John and I woke up this morning with such a huge appreciation for where we are and the moments we are sharing. We are missing all the kids--keep Jack and Jim in your prayers for some great musical networking!! They are still down in Austin and sounds like things are going really well.
Driver came back this morning (in case you haven't read the day before this one--that is his name, or well, it is the name our friend who referred him to us told us to call him. I am sure he has a regular name, but apparently everyone calls him that, so...........)
Anyway, he came back EARLY to get us and we set out for a long morning car ride to Jaipur. 4.5 hours from Agra, Jaipur is known as the pink city. Famous for exporting diamonds, gold and precious stones, it is also a busy city packed full of people. Driver must have stayed out late, because he was SO sleepy while he was driving. I kept watching him yawn and slowly close his eyes, so I kept trying to think of ways to startle him--I'd cough. Then I'd ask a random question, "Hey Driver, that mustard seed there too?" (Yes, you read that sentence correctly. We were told that because his English is very narrow, we were to cut out the majority of the sentence and just say the main words. Do that for 3 days--it gets very interesting.) My randomness would wake him up for a while, but those tricks quit working. I'd glance over at John, who was NO HELP! He was snoozing off and on too, blissfully unaware...so I had to reach to higher levels of scaring Driver to keep him awake. Tic-Tacs. Ever heard someone trying to quietly get out a Tic-Tac? You know when one of them gets clogged at the opening, and you have to shake it to get it un-stuck? Yes, well, I'd rattle that little Tic-Tac bottle and he'd wake back up. That worked for a while. I was so thankful when he finally pulled over and offered to let us get out of the car to get tea. He disappeared for a long time, and John and I just figured he'd found some nice green grass out back to snooze in. I digress......
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| Driver |
When he was awake, Driver arranged for another guide for us, and he met up with us just inside the city limits. Meet Kah-Mel:
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| John and Kah-Mel |
Kah-Mel speaks GREAT English, and French and his own native tongue. He took us to "Amber Fort." A palace really, it stands way up in the hills on the outskirts of Jaipur. Kah-Mel said there are three ways to travel up the mountain to the fort. A) You can drive. B) You can walk. Or, C) You can take an elephant. Talk about a very uncommon form of transportation! So, we picked Option C....
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| This elephant was cute, but he kept spitting water out of his trunk at us. |
It was sweet to see all the elephants. They are owned by the government and are only worked from 8am-11am and then they are taken to a sanctuary where they are fed and given rest.
Inside of the fort was pretty. Kah-Mel taught us about the Maharaja that built it, his love story between 3 wives and 12 concubines and how he cleverly outgrew that palace (and the city for that matter) and relocated all of the royal family, the palace workers and town citizens down to the city if Jaipur.
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| The Entrance to Amber Fort |
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A scene from one of the back windows. This area was built
to grow Saffron for the royal family. When the crop failed to grow,
the Maharaja had this lake dug out to help keep the budding crops
cool. The word is, although pretty, he ultimately failed at it. |
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| This is the town nestled in the foothills. |
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| John and I in one of the fancy rooms! |
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| Same fancy room. |
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This is a preserved 400+ year old toilet.
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As we left Amber Fort and headed to the next stop, we once again watched life go by. At first it is shocking to see it all in such random order--John and I were saying to each other, it is hard to take it all in. But as you drive, you just continue to see life lived among people and animals on the side of the road of every street. Some better off, most impoverished.
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| This guy was just walking down the street. |
As we drove back through those streets, Kah-Mel taught us more about the people there and what life was like for him. We came upon a palace out in the middle of the water; thus its name, "Water Palace."
It had been a pretty long day, so we asked Driver to take us to our hotel. It has been another breathtaking day.... While we are tremendously grateful to be here.....ever still, we love and miss you.
Prayerfully..........John and Becky
Anyway, he came back EARLY to get us and we set out for a long morning car ride to Jaipur. 4.5 hours from Agra, Jaipur is known as the pink city. Famous for exporting diamonds, gold and precious stones, it is also a busy city packed full of people. Driver must have stayed out late, because he was SO sleepy while he was driving. I kept watching him yawn and slowly close his eyes, so I kept trying to think of ways to startle him--I'd cough. Then I'd ask a random question, "Hey Driver, that mustard seed there too?" (Yes, you read that sentence correctly. We were told that because his English is very narrow, we were to cut out the majority of the sentence and just say the main words. Do that for 3 days--it gets very interesting.) My randomness would wake him up for a while, but those tricks quit working. I'd glance over at John, who was NO HELP! He was snoozing off and on too, blissfully unaware...so I had to reach to higher levels of scaring Driver to keep him awake. Tic-Tacs. Ever heard someone trying to quietly get out a Tic-Tac? You know when one of them gets clogged at the opening, and you have to shake it to get it un-stuck? Yes, well, I'd rattle that little Tic-Tac bottle and he'd wake back up. That worked for a while. I was so thankful when he finally pulled over and offered to let us get out of the car to get tea. He disappeared for a long time, and John and I just figured he'd found some nice green grass out back to snooze in. I digress......
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