Agra- vation
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2005
1
8
105
Trip End
Jun 08, 2006
Agra,
India
Friday, July 1, 2005
In the evening we are invited over to visit the Canadian family who we met in rather unfortunate circumstances on the trek in the himalayas. The mother, Ruth, had a bad fall and was airlifted off the mountain by the Indian Army.
We take a taxi to the Canadian High Commission in New Dehli to meet them in their lush apartment within the grounds. We are really pleased to see that Ruth looks really very well - so well that we both didn't recognise her. We enjoy a really tasty meal (no rice!) which is rounded off by Baskin Robins Ice cream and a huge fruit salad, John and Rachel's favourites respectively
fatepur sikhri
. We compare notes on women falling off high mountain passes. Next morning we have a 6am Shababti express train to Agra. We rise about 5am and walk down to New Dehli station. All along the roadside there are men and boys sleeping on the roadside sharing the pavement with cows, dogs and piles of trash.
We get to Agra and agree with a local taxi operator a fixed price of Rs900 (11 pounds) for all our guiding and taxi needs for the next 2 days. We check in to the surprisingly plush Man Singh hotel with its marbled floors, intense air conditioning, and raj-style doormen
We head down to the Red Fort and take a look around. It's so hot and humid that it's hard to take in much that the guide is saying. This place was the power base for several generations of Mughal (muslim) royalty. Altogether a fairly forgettable experience.
We walk out of the Fort and get inundated by touts wanting to sell us everything. Agra is apparently one of the worst places in India for pushy touts so I practise various techniques for getting rid of them: the complete ignore; the polite 'no thanks'; the firm 'not interested'; the walking faster when they come near; and the gentle but firm push away
Jama Masijd Mosque
. Finally we discover the best one which is for Rachel to start coughing profusely when they are close.We eat some food in a roadside cafe - it's very tasty and freshly prepared and costs less than 1 pound for both our lunches. Our guide is pissed off because he wants to take us to an expensive westerners' restaurant where he can claim his commision.
To exact his revenge the guide takes us to a carpet workshop, A jewellery shop, and a workshop making inlaid marble goods. To be honest we're not too bothered because some of the goods that we see like the handmade carpets and rugs are stunning, as are the handcrafted inlaid marble tables.
We reciprocate the revenge by not buying anything. The stakes are now building up.
In the evening we head to the Taj Mahal. We get thoroughly security searched before entering. We think we're OK as we have no guns, knives, or mobile phones. Rachel has to do some fast talking though when one of the security guards threatens to throw her out for carrying a pack of playing cards in her backpack
streetfood in agra
.We are pleased to inform you that the Taj Mahal really is a beautiful building. Its proportions are transfixing. It becomes mesmerising as the translucent white marble transforms to golden yellow and back to milky white as the sun disappears. Much of the marble is inlaid skillfully with semi-precious stones in the form of floral patterns. Although India has poor working conditions, these have improved somewhat in the 350 yrs since the completion of the Taj Mahal; believe it or not 20,000 workers had their right hand chopped off to ensure that they could never recreate its beauty. As a symbol of their protest, it is said that they created a defect in the rainwater drainage of the building so that water drips from the roof during rain directly on to the tomb of its creator.
Next day we head 40km out of town to the deserted city of Fatepur Sikri. This amazing complex of red sandstone buildings was built before the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. They were abandoned for a variety of reasons including lack of water. We are warned about the aggressive touts and not to go into the mosque by our guide. After looking round many of the buildings we take off our shoes and head into the mosque and find it the most interesting part of the day. A very high doorway (maybe 50 ft) leads into a dimly lit cavernous interior with marble screens and intricately carved columns
Taj Mahal
. Outside there is an enormous cloistered quadrangle where it's too hot to walk barefoot on the stones.Tonight we catch a train back to Dehli and then tomorrow we are flying to Kathmandu.
We both can't believe we've only been away for 23 days, all the new experiences make it feel much longer.
We have both enjoyed our journey through a small part of India. John's over-riding feeling is that the rural villages and mountains are really the more appealing part, but this is fast disappearing as roads infect more remote regions. Rachel has found India an amazing country of culture and freedom and she wonders how our next destinations could possibly be more interesting.
Comments
Baskin Robins Ice Cream
Rachel - I can't believe that after only 23 days you have resorted to eating Baskin Robins ice cream. Where has your Unilever loyalty gone?
Seriously though, I can't believe you have packed so much into your first 23 days. Keep up the beautifully written entries and photos.
Take care, Dudley.