Our Indian Car Experience

From Agra, we rented a car to Jaipur, and had some stops along the way. Our first stop was a old, deserted citadel. It had been built by a ruler of the Mughal empire, and was positioned in the middle of a barren, waterless wasteland. Ironically, as soon as the ruler died, the city was deserted because of the lack of water. Apparently the ruler of the empire had envisioned this city in the desert, and once it was completed he forced everyone to live there. Thus, when he died, everyone just left the city, which had only been occupied for seven years. One of the interesting myths surrounding the city, was that a tunnel connected it with Agra fortress. Our guide showed us the entrance to the tunnel, and had us put our hands near a hole in the stone and feel the cool air coming from underground. Of course, who knows whether or not the tunnel led to Agra fortress. The palace was amazing, however, since my memory is somewhat fuzzy (plus the fact that architecture doesn't interest me quite as much as military does) I can't remember much about it. Mainly I just remember how artistic everything was. One part of the palace that I do remember though, is a large courtyard where the emperor killed his prisoners by having wild elephants stomp them to death. Another memorable part, was a large floor for playing a Indian game. It was like a life-sized chessboard, except a hundred times larger. The king apparently used concubines from his harem as playing pieces. He would just sit on his throne and play against a official or someone else who was important, calling out to the players where to move. After we had viewed the ghost-town, we all piled into the car again, thankful that it had AC.

Part of the palace in the deserted city.

One of the buildings in the palace, Sarah, my little sister, is sitting on it's porch.

Our second stop was a ancient step-well that was built over a thousand years ago, so that the people had a source of water. It was a square shape, with staircases running down all the sides. Evening was approaching as we got back in the taxi again. It was amazing how many old strongholds we saw as we drove through Rajasthan (we had started out in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where Agra is located, but at the end of our drive we were in the state of Rajasthan, where Jaipur is located). Ancient fortresses dotted the landscape of Rajasthan, and I developed an itch to explore them. Another new thing we saw during our drive was wild peacocks. Overall our car ride was enjoyable, and it gave us a chance to see the rural side of India.

Me and my siblings in front of the step-well.