Taj Mahal
Trip Start
Jan 05, 2008
1
38
61
Trip End
Jun 20, 2008
Agra,
India
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sun Rise on the way
. Once Alane pointed out that they were all going to the bathroom, I couldnt believe it. There were so many so close just squatting watching the train drive by as they were doing there business. We confirmed the situation with our guides and they agreed thats what they were doing. The also mentioned that in many of the slums there are no facilities so where ever there is a place to go, well... Other than that we slept most of the way since we only had a few hours of sleep the night before. We arrived in Agra by 8:30AM face another ordeal that is India, or at least city life. Whenever you arrive at any point of disembark, being it a metro station, train or whatever, you get mauled by several drivers offering their services via ricshaws, which is an adult sized tricycle with a seat on the back, via auto ricshaws, which is a motorized tricycle, with a cover and open sides, or via horse, bull, or camel drawn carriages. It gets really annoying when you have 5 or 6 guys over you demanding that you go with them. We are lucky that our friends know how to deal with this. They would have so many drivers around them as we stood back and watched them barter for cheaper prices or just walk away, then watch the guy they just walk away from push his way pack to the front of the group to offer less. Its unreal. Bargaining is common in India and Rini is really good at it. We got some rides which cost us as low as 15 rupees, and just for you to have an idea, you buy a roll of toilet paper for 20 rupees (and U$1 = 40 rupees)
Taj Mahal
. So once we arrived in Agra, and after dealing with the drivers, we went straight to the Taj Mahal which is an impressive piece of work, but I was hoping for more. I didnt do much studying about it and I had no idea that once you get there all you see is their tombs. For those who dont know, the Taj Mahal was built by one of India's emperors for his dead wife and her body is buried in there, and so is his. And that is all you see. Even though the construction is huge and impressive from the outside and inside because the entire structure is made of marble, when it comes down to it the Taj Mahal is only a tomb. It was kind of frustrating, being that the Taj Mahal is a new Seven Wonder of the World (we have seen more inpressive things in India). The building is also constantly being renovated/cleaned because the pollution has been damaging the marbles quality. Right behind the Taj Mahal you can see a river which is really disgusting and you can also see the heavy pollution clouds covering the city.If you ever come to India to visit the Taj Mahal, be aware of this: you are only allowed to film the place from the main entrance, and even from there you have to pay to do so. After filming you have to put your camera away. You are not allowed to enter the place with any type of bags except very small purses. You are not allowed to take any food inside, not even loolipops or gums, only bottled water. You are not allowed to walk over the white marble with shoes, you either go barefeet or they put a cover on your shoes
Taj Mahal
. And the most important details: Indian citizens pay about 20 rupees and international people pay 750 rupees each, no matter where you are from. They give you two tickets: one that worths 500 rupees and supposedly covers the entrance for other attractions, and a smaller ticket worth 250 rupees which is actually the amount to go in the Taj Mahal. So after we were done at the Taj, we went to the Agra Fort, and found out that we had to pay 250 rupees each again to go in and that the 500 already paid only covered tourism tax, unbelievable no?! So we took a few pics of what we could see and just left. We met up with our guides outside since they did not enter and we went to get some lunch and then head to another tomb, which we paid 100 rupees each to go in and checked the place out. It was also a sacred place where you could not go in with your shoes, so these guys are there with the covers to put on your feet, same as the Taj Mahal but we didnt pay there, and we let them put it on our foot, to find out that they wanted money for that. So we give some money to these guys. Then as soon as we step inside the building, this guy comes to us starting telling us the story of the place. We tell him we dont want a guide, to hear: "I am not a guide, I am the religious person of here" and he will tell us the story as we wished. Then we tried again telling him that we didnt need him, but he was pushy and said again as we wish, but we never wished and he kept following as we walked in
Taj Mahal
. So we go in, and he is saying bla here and bla there and then we get to the tomb and there is another guy singing something to show us the echo the room does, and this guy puts a flower on Jarrett's hand and pull him to the tomb where there is money with the flower, so Jarrett had to put some money there too. Then on the way back, the fake guide finishes his saying and also opens his hands for money, but by this time we didnt have any more change... so we leave.. he is pissed, of course.Still walking on the same complex, this boy started following us everywhere we walked. When we stopped to speak to a couple from Wales, the boy simply stopped behind us and kept waiting there, until Jarrett said we didnt need anything... he would probably beg for more money or whatever.... Going to the exit we spotted some monkeys in the yard and tried to get close, but there was another man with monkey food and we figure that he would push us to feed the monkeys so we decided to not get close. From there we went to the train station to catch a train to go to Jaipur. Our train was supposed to arrive at 11 or so pm, but in the middle of the ride the engine broke, so we had to stop somewhere for about an hour and wait until the engine was changed. Once we arrived in Jaipur, and after fighting with the drivers, we went to a hotel and got some sleep. That was about 1 in the morning.
