India in the summer is hot.  Not just warm; we're talking 42 degrees type of hot.  Hot enough that you drink whole liters of water without even noticing; hot enough that small blisters form on your skin and, at night, under the restless turning of the fan; hot enough that you can't sleep.
   At 4am, we wake to take the train from Delhi to Agra, home of that famous marbled beauty, The Taj Mahal. It was a long process trying to buy tickets – we went from station to offices and on to other offices until finally they were procured. In the early morning, we trekked through the Paharganj, Delhi's backpacker area.  It's seedy at the best of times, but now with the shutters down and the sleeping bodies of families strewn on cardboard in the street or on carts, it's positively eerie.
   At Agra, we teased ourselves by not going to the Taj on the first day, but by visiting minor tombs, and catching glimpses of the palace from various parts of the city. From the Red Fort, we could see where Shah Jahan, after being imprisoned by his own son, would have gazed upon his wife's tomb from afar. After paying our grossly inflated foreigner price, the Taj itself . . . disappoints.
   Certainly, we would never have missed it, but its whiteness does not dazzle, perhaps because it is now more of a grey color, a victim of local pollution and acid rain. We looked at the fake tombs of the husband and wife, knowing that their bodies sleep below us and then marveled at the majestic marble inlay.
   From Agra, we headed by train into Rajasthan, to our first stop of Jaipur, famous for its blue and white ceramics and for the terracotta pink of its old city, as well as the Amber Fort on the outskirts. Surprisingly, although Rajasthan is a desert area, the temperatures are milder here than in Delhi. People greeted us in the street with no hidden agenda and the city has its own maharaja.  Perfect! We went to his palace and wandered through the public areas.  Huge silver vessels used by a previous maharajah to transport Ganges water to England shone in the midday sun and doorways held marvellous peacock designs. 
   In the textile museum, we admired the beautiful jama – a white dress-like piece worn by Indian men and, later, saw a very smart billiards-playing outfit. Very neat.
   In the street, on the way to a temple, we passed preparations for a wedding. The groom was dressed in a white, heavily-embroidered, beaded coat and turban, - a regal presence on horseback.  There was a band and a selection of animals including elephants and camels. It was a bizarre encounter.
   On a more prosaic level, our hotel, the Arya Niwas, was amazing – it had hot water and a laundry service and a long colonial-style verandah. As the city slowly winds down, we stay up late surfing the myriad TV channels for old Bollywood movies. The no-frills canteen serves decent vegetarian food, although my travel partner craved McDonald's which, in India, serves only chicken and veggie burgers. 
   Meanwhile, shopping in the old city is still arranged to some extent along the lines of a different street for each different product, and we drift along the cloistered arcades stopping to try on the beautiful Indian bangles that come in glass and metal and make great sounds as we shake them up and down our arms. Some women from out of town wear bangles right up to their armpits. I can't resist the embroidered and beaded camel leather shoes and end up buying five pairs.
   From the pink city of Jaipur, we then head out to the blue city of Jodhpur, and our Indian adventure continued on and on into mystical awe.
 
HOW TO GET THERE:
China Southern flies three times a week from Guangzhou to Delhi.

INDIA COMES TO GUANGZHOU!
India has opened a new Consulate-General in Tianhe District. The office started issuing visas and passports on March 1st. This is the third Indian Consulate–General to open in China, after Shanghai and Hong Kong. The India Consular jurisdiction includes the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Hainan, Yunnan, Sichuan and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Welcome to the PRD!
  

Consulate General of India
1-4, 14th Floor, Skyfame Tower
8, Linhe Zhong Road
Tianhe District
Guangzhou-510610
Tel. +86-20-85501501 to 05
Fax-+86-20-85501510
E-Mail: cgo.guangzhou@mea.gov.in