Sri Lanka: Adam's Peak

No one knows whose idea it was. We can all agree that 5.30 am found us on top of Adam's Peak, craning our necks in the cold, just before dawn, struggling to see the sun rise through the clouds. 

We had been climbing since 2 am -- pulling ourselves up steep stairs, past little old ladies climbing barefoot, past giant teddy bears for sale (to locals, we think), climbing up and up and up until we reached Adam's Peak's needle-like top, where the climbing began in earnest, and where we felt as if we were perched precarious on the world's edge.

The world's edge happened to be a little cloudy. And a little cold. Poor Nick was especially cold.

So despite our dutiful climb up for sunrise, we have to say that the views on the way down were far more exciting than our glimpse of dawn at the top.

To top it off, there were monkeys! 

We watched for a while...

...but we couldn't stay to chat. A well-deserved breakfast was waiting. 

Food Truck Festival

Every year, Abu Dhabi has a food festival. This usually entails fancy chefs from around the world doubling their prices, and sending their underlings for a series of demos and shows. This year, a somewhat more interesting concept popped up: a food truck festival.  

Interesting, if only because Abu Dhabi only recently got its first food truck, which had been heavily featured the week before at an Emirati food festival, where our friend Julien famously ordered himself some food.

How to host a food truck festival without food trucks? Never fear. In Abu Dhabi, solutions to such piddling problems come (too) easily. Intrepid event planners brought in food trucks from around the world for a three week tour of its cities.  Trucks, staff, supplies, owners, and all.

The most exciting place we tried was a London truck selling "Bracos," i.e. British tacos, little bites with grilled halloumi, blackberry salsa, and slaw.  

It didn't touch the greatest food truck, but it did hit the spot. 

As night fell, and the festival's lights began to glow, we couldn't help but think of Lake Merritt....another beautiful spot, where food truck festivals make slightly better sense.

Red Fort & Karim's

Shah Jehan relocated to Delhi in 1638. Of course, he needed another red fort. And of course, it needed to be bigger and better than Agra's red fort.... and magically, took only nine years to build.   

Unfortunately, not much of the fort is left -- after the 1857 rebellion, the British nearly leveled the complex. Partial pieces remain. The wall outside, and the massive gate.

A well. The hall of audience, with its gorgeous archways.

The ground reminds visitors where things must've been -- that there were fountains, canals, gardens. Just outside it, Shah Jehan's daughter designed Chandi Chowk, a massive market and garden with canals that glowed in the moonlight. Things from all over the world were displayed there: dancers, exotic animals, spices, and so on. 

No remnants of canals remain. The market is still bursting with things from all over the world. As our friends say enthusiastically, "you can buy anything here."

And that includes the best buttery dal ever made, at Karim's, one of the oldest restaurants in Delhi.... 

...a restaurant with which it is impossible to find fault. 

More Japiur

Jaipur is nothing if not pink....

...and bustling.

But we did find one glowingly golden place, Jantar Mantar, a collection of sun dials and astrological inventions created by a Rajput king in the eighteenth century at the tail end of the Mughal period. 

One massive sundial, accurate to within two seconds, dominates the courtyard. Alongside it, smaller creations abound -- little dials for each astrological sign....

... an elaborate and somewhat mysterious astrological instrument that represents the whole night sky in two beautiful, complementary basins.

Stray off to a corner, and you'll find trees bouncing with monkeys trading branches.

Wander into the street, and you'll find that every last shop owner has something to say to you. "Please, come inside!" they'll urge. "This is the best place for cloth/fabric/jewels/spices."

Even the tuk tuks have love advice to offer. 

Amber Palace

Amber Palace sits on a hill just outside of Jaipur. The palace is golden, not amber, and got its name through a complicated game of telephone we haven't sufficient memory to rehearse. 

We do know that it's a short elephant ride to the Palace entrance (and that we will likely not take up riding elephants as a past-time).

Amber Palace is part-palace, part-fort.  It reminded us of Karak, in Jordan -- definitely built to withstand a marauding army, but also designed with the pleasures of life in mind.  And maybe a touch of Abu Dhabi as well -- there was a beautiful garden on a man-made island in a man-made lake for the lucky residents to enjoy.

Agra Fort

Food is not allowed at Agra Fort, for fear that monkeys will congregate. Monkeys still congregate, but they concentrate on the entrance, where food is confiscated. This monkey is about to make off with some chips -- a feat of athleticism that stopped the crowd in amazement.

The rest of the fort is pretty amazing, too.

Shah Jehan spent his last few years here, locked up after his (least favorite) son took charge. He could see the Taj Mehal in the distance....

...wander through beautiful white marble rooms....

                               

....and gaze at the blue sky, framed by the red of his wonderful fort.

We don't know how he felt about it, but for us, Agra Fort is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. 

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal was....

Gorgeously grand gates, covered in Arabic scrawl. 

A building so lovely that it seems to float, photo-shopped, on the horizon. 

Beautiful from every angle.

....and not unusually in India, crowded!