Fatehpur Sikri to Khajaraho
Today we off to Agra home to the Taj Mahal but first we will visit Sikandra to see Akbar the Great's mausoleum. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, Akbar's tomb at Sikandra is a peaceful setting for a ruler who led an eventful life. Akbar came to the throne aged 13, following the death of his father Humayun. The serene resting place of the great Mughal ruler Akbar, at Sikandra, is a site that invites you to step back into history and contemplate the life and times of Akbar the Great. This building was built before the Taj Mahal but already you can see some of the influence that later shaped the Taj design. We leave Sikandra and set off on the last 4 miles to Agra. The traffic is heavy and we slowly weave our way closer to the Taj, occasionally I think I glimpse the tops of the minarets but not a sign of the building. As we enter the car park we see why, the building is surrounded by a high wall which you never see in the photographs, we must enter the main gate before it will revel its self. I have seen many pictures of the Taj but am not prepare for the experience of seeing it in real life. As I walked through the entrance I experienced many emotions, joy, fear, sadness but most of all elation. I cannot explain it or understand it, after all it is only a building but I stood just inside the entrance with tears streaming down my face. To this day I don't really know why, the building was far more beautiful than I expected and it has a very hypnotic effect.

Akbar's Mausoleum at Sikandra

The classic Taj Mahal picture

Entrance to Taj Mahal
You will have to see it for yourself to understand what I mean. The only thing that has come close to the same experience was the first time I saw Mount Everest up close, you just know that this is one of the moments in life that you will never forget. We were only supposed to spend an hour at the Taj but we couldn't leave, no one said anything we just all hung around mesmerised. It was time for the Taj to close, only for 1 hour then it reopened so you could view it in moonlight. Lots of passengers wanted to stay so we wandered off to find something to eat. First stop was "Taj Cafe" at one end of the car park, it was a bit touristy, the only thing going for it was a beautiful wall completely covered with Peacock Feathers laid out like overlapping tail fans, quite something. We eventually found a little place up a small alley only about 100 meters from the front gate. The owner was young and very keen to oblige, his restaurant was on the 1st floor and he just couldn't do enough. We all had a meal, some went off to visit the Taj again while others stayed and had a few cool drinks (Kingfisher beer). We needed to find somewhere to camp the night, problem solved we could all sleep in the restaurant, well if that's the case what's for desert. The chief suggested "Sahi Tukra" (kings pudding) he said it was sweet that was good enough for me. It turned out to be one of the best desserts I have ever eaten, basically fried bread with almond gravy. I have only had one other Sahi Tukra that was as good, and that was in Melbourne over 15 years ago. It was not on the menu but the Indian lady who owned the restaurant knew what I wanted and confessed it was her favorite, the chief brought it to the table himself.

Shahi Tukra

Ingredients

1) Fresh Milk - 1 Litre.
2) Bread Slices - 4-5 Nos.
3) Condensed Milk - 1 Tin
(Cardamom flavour-optional)
4) Sugar - 3/4 th Cup
5) Ghee - 2 Tbsp.
6) Saffron - 1 Pinch (dissolved in 1tsp hot water)
For Garnishing:
Roasted Pistachios - 8-10 pcs. (sliced thin vertically)
Badam (Almond) - 5 pcs. (sliced thin vertically)

Method:
Boil Milk. To this add sugar & Condensed Milk (Note: If cardamom flavour is not available, ground 2 cardamom & add this to milk. Please discard its shell/skin.) Add saffron. Now cook milk on a low flame for 15-20 minutes till it thickens a bit.
Now add the ingredients for garnishing, cook for 2 minutes & leave it aside to attain room temperature.
Meanwhile roast/fry the bread slices in a frypan by applying little ghee evenly on both the surfaces of the bread and cook till it turns crispy, taking care not to over brown them. Discard the sides of the bread slices. Now cut these bread slices diagonally & pour over the milk after the latter has reached its room temperature.
I just realised we are well into India and I haven't told you about "Truck Drivers Tea". All through Turkey, Iran & Afghanistan the tea is black or green with no milk. When you enter India that changes. All tea is served with milk, not to add separately it is part of the drink. You start of with milk (usually buffalo) to which is added dust tea, sugar and spice, usually cardimon. This is boiled in a saucepan few a few minutes to ensure that any brucellosis in the milk is killed. The hot mixture is then poured into a glass through a piece of muslin cloth. The tea is strong, milky & sweet . You can't get this tea in a Hotel it is the tea found at the road side stops and wherever there are lots of trucks pulled up you can be sure the tea is good. At around 10cents a glass it is great value and very filling.
We finally leave Agra about mid morning and take the road to Khajuraho. We are heading via Jajau, Mania, Dhaulpur & Morena for Gwalior where will stop to see a hill top fort. The road is quite and we make good time to Dhaulpur where we stop for lunch. A truck driver tells us that the bridge over the Chambal River is down but we can still get across but to expect a delay. Not long after leaving Dhaulpur we arrive at the river or should I say a long line of trucks waiting to cross the Chambal. From where we are you can't see what is going on so Fred & I walk up to the bridge. The bridge is some 100 feet above the river with its 3 center spans missing, washed down in a flood some 3 months earlier. There is a ferry to take vehicles across the still swollen river, well maybe ferry is a bit of an exageration. Two long narrow boats have a platform strapped to them just large enough to fit one vehicle, the whole thing is powered by two outboard motors. We stand watching the process as one by one the vehicles are loaded and taken across to the other side only to bring one from the other side back to our side. This is going to take hours, there is a second ferry but it is out of action so the operation is down to half speed.

Roadside Stalls
By now it is mid afternoon and we seem unlikely to be crossing over before dark, and the thought of trying this at night is not on my agenda. As with any hold up like this in India, someone turns it to their advantage, makeshift tea stalls and tent resturant have set up on what is left of the bridge. The bridge toll booth is selling local alcohol, a strange green looking fluid that smells & looks more like kerosene than liqure. Our passengers have wandered off, some to view the crossing others to find food and refreshment. It is decided that we will spend the night here keeping our place in the queue so we are not held up too long tomorrow. Apart from the need to keep moving the bus every 15 to 20 minutes it is a pleasent evening, the green liqure is not to bad when diluted with fanta and little boys keep bring hot tea and chappati's. By morning we are still hours from the ferry when a group of truck drivers come and tell us we can go to the head of the queue, our girls drinking tea with the truckies has paid off. I had watched the vehicles crossing for hours but as I approached the boat it suddenly seem a lot more dangerous. The plank on the ferry was only just wide enough to get both sets of wheels on, which left very little room for error.

Crossing Chambal River
The trip continued
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An overland journey to India following the India overland trail through Belgium, Germany, Austria Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, & Nepal. Visting sites of Dubrovnic, Split, Kotor, Athens, Kerimoti, Istanbul, Galipolli, Troy, Delphi, Efes, Goreme, Nemrut, Tehran, Esphan, Persepolis, Shiraz, Kerman, Bam, Quetta, Kandahar, Kabul, Bamian Valley, Kyhber Pass, Indus river, Lahore, Punjab, Amritsar, Kashmir, Delhi, Agra, Taj Mahal, Vanaris, Patna, Raj Path, Kathmandu, Himalyas. All this undertaken in a 20 year old Asian Greyhound, Swagman Tours, LS Bristol bus. This Indiaoverland company was held together by Norm Harris an expatriate Aussie living in Windsor. With drivers like Bob Ashford, Geoff Lawrence, Clive Parker, Dave Watt, Ronnie Martin, John Witchard, Ken Mcdonald, Derek Amey & couriers Fred Fisher, Jos Livingstone, Peter Swift, Kieren Smith & mechanics Gordon Hammond, Graham Libby, Pomme John & Rastas just to name a few.