24 DAYS AND 21 NIGHTS FROM NEW YORK
Evening flight from New York's Kennedy airport to Bombay, which grew from a marshy fishing village on a peninsula to become the gateway seaport to India, a thriving industrial city, the country's commercial capital and, under the local sobriquet of "Bollywood," center of the world's most prolific movie industry -- thus adding some Indian-Southern Californian glitz to the Indian-New York style of chutzpah and hustle in this kaleidoscopic city.
Early morning arrival. Afternoon city tour: overview of Back Bay, Malabar Hill and Kamala Nehru Park, Raj Bhawan, Hanging Gardens, Towers of Silence; Marine Drive, thronged by the masses and the classes promenading nightly here and on Chowpatty Beach; the Prince of Wales Museum and nearby -- a fitting climax -- the great Gateway of India at Apollo Bunder erected to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911, its massive 85-foot-high presence counterpointed by an equestrian monument more recently erected to Shivaji, the legendary Mahratta warrior and Hindu hero-leader. You may shop at the adjacent Central Cottage Industries Emporium and other establishments here or elsewhere such as the famous Zaveri Bazaar (fabulous jewelry).
Morning excursion by motorlaunch to Elephanta island's 7th century cave temples with their rock shrines and sculptures dedicated to Lord Shiva; the colossal 3-headed Trimurti -- Shiva as Creator, Preserver and Destroyer -- radiating might and mildness, awesome power and tender benevolence in one majestic icon, is one of the world's supreme religious sculptures.
Morning flight to Aurangabad, your home base for 2 unique trips into the heart of ancient India -- the incredible caves of Ajanta and Ellora. .Afternoon excursion to Ellora, where Buddhist, Hindu and Jain shrines chiselled by hand out of sheer rock from 7th to 13th century stand side by side; the supreme example is the stupendous rock-cut temple of Kailasa 96 feet high for which 200,000 tons of rock were excavated in creating what one authoritative source calls "the noblest Hindu memorial of ancient India."
Day excursion to Ajanta's Buddhist cave chaityas (chapels) and viharas (monasteries) where subterranean statuary and world-famous murals -- miraculously preserved in the twilight world of the caverns for 2000 years -- present avivid panorama of the life and legends of the Buddha, born Prince Siddhartha, whose "great renunciation" led him on the exemplary spiritual pilgrimage so memorably depicted here, away from the endless cycle of human suffering and desire to the supreme blessedness of Nirvana.
Morning flight to Udaipur, romantic and photogenic "city of dreams" and shimmering blue lakes and green hills lying like an oasis in the deserts of Rajasthan, whose name means "Abode of Kings"; the city's Maharanas claimed highest rank among Rajput chiefs for their martial prowess and gracefully sumptuous court life as befits the descendants of Kusa, elder son of Rama of the eponymous epic The Ramayana. Visit City Palace and exquisite white marble Summer Palace, reflecting itself in mirror-like Lake Pichola (now Lake Palace Hotel) and Saheliyon Ki Bari, princely pleasure garden.
Fly in morning to Jaipur, Rajasthan's capital. Afternoon tour of this "pink city" built of rosy sandstone features the City (Maharajah's) Palace and Museum displaying the royal way of life in fascinating details plus the extraordinary futuristic-looking (actually early 18th century) Observatory, one (and largest) of 5 built along with the layout and construction of the city itself in the 1720s planned and executed by the brilliant "Renaissance Man" of Rajputana, Maharajah Jai Singh II : astronomer, mathematician, urban planner, (assisted by Vidhyadhar of Bengal) military general and statesman
Morning visit to a most celebrated building, Hawa Mahal or Palace of Winds, a five-storeyed structure of pink sandstone with tier upon tier of delicate overhanging balconies creating a unique lacy, undulating surface effect. Continue on to the isolated hilltop splendour of the 17th century Amber Palace in Mogul style from its magnificent gateway to fountain garden and sumptious interiors of mirrors, mosaics and inlaid marble. Your appropriately royal "taxi service" will be a decorated and caparisoned elephant.
Morning departure by motorcoach eastward for Agra, stopping en route to view the once-glorious ghost city of Fatehpur Sikri, a perfectly preserved outdoor museum of mosques, mansions and palaces. Arrive late afternoon in Agra, heart of Mogul India, an industrial city today but 4 centuries ago the residential capital of a legendary succession of India's most wealthy, powerful and cultured rulers in the 16th and 17th centuries. Agra is also, of course, the site of India's most famous symbol. Tonight you may view the Taj Mahal at its most haunting and ethereal, bathed in moonlight
Reflecting the morning sun, theTaj seems to float in perfect, pearly symmetry above the waters of the River Jamuna in eternal tribute to Queen Mumtaz-i-Mahal, whose death giving birth to her 14th child drove the emotionally devastated Shah Jahan to erect over 22 years (1630-52) this double mausoleum embellished by countless quotations from the Koran on the walls plus the actual tomb inscriptions reciting the 99 names of Allah. In the afternoon you visit the fabulous Agra Fort completed by Akbar a century earlier (1564) with its 70-foot-high walls enclosing lavish palaces and audience halls, courts and gardens, the lovely Pearl Mosque and also see nearby Tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daula,. a masterpiece of inlaid marble and wonderfully carved lattice work.
Leave in morning for Delhi by way of Sikandara, where the motorcoach stops for viewing the imposing Akbar the Great mausoleum, a structure unlike any other Indian tomb: a 4-storeyed pyramid 74 feet high of red sandstone and marble. It stands as a reminder that by the close of his half-century reign (1605) the Mogul Empire stretched from Kabul and the Khyber Pass in the northwest to the mouth of the Ganges and the Bay of Bengal in the east and the rugged Deccan in the south-central subcontinenet, encompassing at its height as many as 150 million subjects.
Morning tour: famed Red Fort, enclosing Pearl Mosque, royal courts and baths and audience halls Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas, once home of the fabled, ill-fated Peacock Throne (carried off to Persia in 1739, its remnants were more recently owned by the unfortunate late Shah of Iran.) Also see Chandni Chauk bazaar, Jama Masjid (India's largest mosque), and Rajghat Memorial Shrine where the remains of the venerated "Great Soul" or Mahatma (born Mohandas K.) Gandhi were cremated 31 January 1948 after his assassination -- not 6 months after Independence was proclaimed, a dramatic climax to the decades-long "Quit India" movement to which he had dedicated his whole extraordinary life and career.
Morning sightseeing: the Islamic Qutab Minar tower and Hindu Iron Pillar plus Humayan's Persian-style tomb. Drive to New Delhi proper and its broad boulevards laid out by Lutyens (1919-36) in European Renaissance/Oriental styles: India Gate war memorial and majestic Rajpath avenue, National Museum and Parliament and immense Presidential Palace. Finally visit Connaught Place, the country's national market for crafts, fabrics and antiques. Evening flight to Hong Kong with its dazzling skyline, an appropriate backdrop as you descend upon Asia's largest port, filled with typhoon shelters packed with junks, exotic street markets and temples aromatic with incense.
Today's tour of Hong Kong island includes a tram ride up Victoria Peak for a stunning panorama of the cityscape from gleaming skyscrapers lining the harbor ("Heung Kong": "fragrant harbor") to posh new shopping malls and hotels in Kowloon's East Tsim Sha Tsui. Below you this one island's amazing variety extends from the highrise headquarters of Central, the commercial and financial district, to the narrow lanes and tiny shops of the Western district, filled with "Old Chinatown" charm. Afternoon visit to the beaches of Repulse Bay, the irresistible bargain stalls of Stanley market and Aberdeen's "floating village" of junks and sampans, among which you may later enjoy a Chinese banquet in seaborne splendor.
Day at leisure or you may take'The Land Between' tour of New Territories or choose among Hong Kong's 235 other green, scenic islands dotting the South China Sea: relaxing Lantau with its Buddhist and Trappist monasteries; Cheung Chau island's lively springtime Bun Festival; Lamma island for great fresh seafood feasts; and many other idyllic spots. A jetfoil dash to Macao gives you a day in the Portuguese-founded enclave featuring Old World charm of baroque churches and cobblestone streets, a leisurely lunch such as on Pousada de Sao Tiago's terrace, plus excitement of highrolling action at Macao's casinos.
Midday flight northeast to Shanghai, China's biggest port and main commercial and industrial center (making a quarter of China's exports) which was mounting a determined campaign in the 1990s to outdo and replace its southern rival as the region's prime financial center. ("Shanghai will catch up with Hong Kong" declared Vice Mayor Sha Lin in 1995, though some experts remained skeptical.). Judge the results --the dramatic new highrises, hotels and highways -- for yourself today and tomorrow.
City tour includes the Bund, the famous waterfront area and promenade for tai chi and strolling at dawn or dusk, the 5-acre Yuyuan or Happiness Garden, Museum of Art and History, famed Jade Buddha Temple and the emporiums along China's happy-shopping thoroughfare, Nanjing Road. You may also pass the fine old Jinjiang Hotel where the late President Richard Nixon stayed during his historic 1972 tripand signed the breakthrough Shanghai Communique restoring USA-PRC ties. Also stroll through the Old Town section with its food stalls and tea house.
Fly to Xian (Sian), present capital of Shaanxi (Shensi) province, previously imperial capital for a millenium, especially under Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907 AD) when the city was the enormous and splendid eastern terminus of the fabled Silk Route running to Persia and Byzantium. With its Ming walls and huge city gates, bell and drum towers and fabulous archaeological sites, Xian is a giant treasure trove of a lofty and commanding court and hierarchical civilization.
Somewhat overshadowing the many other marvels here is the 1974 discovery of 6000 terracotta soldiers officials and horses, certainly one of the most sensational finds of modern archaeology. Also outside the city are Big and Little Wild Goose Pagodas and Hua Qing Hot Springs. Finally visit Shaanxi museum's fine collection of antiquities, especially the so-called Forest of Steles (calligraphic stone tablets of Chinese classics) all housed in a Qing dynasty Confucian temple 2200 years old.
Fly to Beijing, known at least since the time of Marco Polo as the premier metropolis of a great and even then long-evolving civilization and the vital administrative center of an enormous empire. Today this "northern capital" -- the literal meaning of Beijing -- commands a powerful state apparatus of political control and impressive military might while fomenting profound changes of economic liberalization and social modernization in a society of 1.2 billion . Afternoon visit to Tian An Man square , the l00 acre public stage for some of China's most historic and riveting events: the 1911 student demonstrations, the 1949 proclamation of the People's Republic, the 1989 democracy movement with its "Goddess of Democracy" statue based on the Statue of Liberty.
Day of sightseeing, beginning with Imperial Palace, the former private preserve of emperors, mandarins and concubines known as the "Forbidden City" (and used effectively as the setting for Bertolucci's "The Last Emperor"). In the afternoon you visit the Temple of Heaven and its lofty Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, surrounded by pines and cypresses of beautiful Tian Tan park, itself a masterpiece of landscaping art. Then drive to Summer Palace near Kunming lake where once the imperial family would travel to escape the summer heat; today it's a popular resort area on weekends.
Today's visit to China's most famous site and symbol is a fitting climax to your journey: the Great Wall, which rolls in serpentine curves for nearly 4000 miles along China's inner Asian plain and where at Badaling you may stand and smile as your picture is taken, just as a succession of US Presidents since Richard Nixon have done.Then visit nearby Ming Tombs, the necropolis of 13 emperors nestled in a serene valley approached via the Sacred Way and the famed Avenue of the Animals. Tonight you enjoy the pride of the capital's cuisine: a Peking Duck banquet, as only they know how to prepare it.
Depart Beijing for the USA, arriving the same day after crossing the International Date Line.
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