7. Unique souvenirs Incredible shopping is the seventh reason to visit India. Ornate brassware, enamelled tableware, sandalwood sculptures, blockprinted fabrics, glittering bangles, delicate silver filigree jewellery and fragrant spices beckon from shops and bazaars. Some handicrafts are regional, such as the marble plates inlaid with jade, mother-ofpearl and semi-precious stones that we admired in Agra. As we watched an artisan creating one, he explained that he used the same tools as the builders of the Taj Mahal. Gemmerchants tempt shoppers withmounds of glittering precious and semi-precious stones. In some clothing shops, you can select a bolt of shimmering silk from a rainbow of offerings and request a made-to-order sari. Large modern stores usually have fixed prices, but in the bazaars and small shops, haggling is the rule. Our guides recommended that we start at 50% of the asked price and work up from there. As a rule, the price of an object is based not on its value, but by how much you want it. 8. Never-ending surprises We expected to see India’s main attractions during our travels, but we didn’t predict the numerous surprises that we’d encounter – the eighth reason to visit India. In Udaipur, we discovered the expansive Garden of the Maidens, dating from the 18th century. Four marble elephants spray water into a lotus pond, surrounded by pavilions, lush vegetation and other ornamental pools. We also didn’t anticipate finding a nearly 300-year-old observatory in Jaipur. After it was completed in 1734, the maharaja (an astronomer) used its 19 astronomical instruments to forecast local time, eclipses and auspicious horoscopes. The UNESCO World Heritage Site contains the world’s largest stone sundial. When we compared its time to our watches, we observed a one-minute difference. During our drive between Pushkar and Fatehpur Sikri, a herd of water buffalo temporarily obstructed our route. A short distance away, we watched in astonishment as a flock of vultures devoured a dead water buffalo. Other surprises awaited – ox carts on India’s rural roads and cows (sacred to Hindus) roaming city streets and creating udder chaos (pardon the pun) for both drivers and pedestrians. Although initially amazed by the ubiquitous three-wheeled auto rickshaws, we soon discovered that they provided a fun and inexpensive way to travel short distances. We felt as if we were riding a motorized tin can as we looked over the driver’s shoulders. Whenever a wandering cow blocked our route, he used his bulb horn to motivate it to move. Even India’s temples harboured surprises. At Khajuraho, a UNESCO World Heritage Site spread out over several square kilometres, our guide pointed out several erotic carvings – too X-rated to publish their images in this article. He explained that this primitive stone marriage manual embellishes some of the 20 temples remaining from the original 85 built between AD 885 and AD 1000. 28 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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