After an early breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the Railway Station to board the Shatabdi Express train to Gwalior. We are met on arrival and transfer to the hotel. This afternoon we visit the Gwalior Fort. The fort’s walls and buildings were constructed by different generations of rulers. The most notable are the Suraj Kund, a tank built in the 8th century AD, two 11th century temples known as Sas Bahu ka Mandir, dedicated to Vishnu; the 16th century Gujri Mahal Palace and the Hindola Gate, which houses a small archeological museum. Later visit Jai Vilas Palace and Museum, located in the city. The enormous Jai Vilas Palace, built in the 19th century, has a pair of the world’s heaviest chandeliers in the Durbar Hall and a crystal staircase. The dining table is fitted with an electric train made of silver, which carried brandy and cigars around the table after dinner, ( see if I can fit this into our dining living room).
The train ride was uneventful in that it took only a short time and not really a lot to see. Comfortable though and a real nice break from the bus. When we arrived the new bus, (pronounced “different bus” since it was not nearly as nice as the last one) will be with us for three day and we are going to have to get use to it’s little idiosyncrasies, seat backs in the permanent inclined positions, very dirty and unkept, etc.
After a nice long lunch break we visited the fort and the temples; we walked down the road to view the Jain statues and as you can see by the photos they were huge! Time for a little fun that was provided by Norm, Barb and Maggie.
