Agravation
Trip Start
Aug 23, 1996
1
213
451
Trip End
Ongoing
Agra,
India
Monday, November 14, 2005
Now, the first thing you should do when arriving anywhere, is buy a ticket straight out. We tried. But we were told that the earliest train we could get was on the 18th. Fuck that. We tried loads of different stations, but basically, we were fucked, so I thought we may as well go into town, settle in and see what happens. So we grabbed a rickshaw, and in we went. Found a hotel, dumped the bags, and went to see the little monument that is know as the Taj. Then it did happen, but we will rewind a little. Since we have been on the road. we have had numerous cars, motorbikes and pushies, for a joke, ride straight at us, and then pull out at the last second. So, sometimes, you have to take a stand. A kid rode at me and Lucy, so I pushed him off of his bike. He started to say something, so I gave him a mouthful and told him not to do that again. Then the Taj. We had no intention of going in, we just wanted to see it from afar the first time. Instead, we found a hotel with a restaurant on the roof. We had lunch, with the Taj in site. It was very impressive. Once done, we went back to our hotel and explained our problem to the hotel manager. He told us to go back to the station, and try again from another town. We walked up, past the Taj fort. It was huge. But we kept going. Up at the station, we met some other tourists who had the same problem, but they bought tickets to Gwalior, and from there, there is a train to Varanasi. We followed suit, and decided to celebrate by going to the Itimad-ud-Daulah.
Itimad-ud-Daulah
Some call it the baby Taj, so we had to see it for ourselves to make sure. A nice walk along the river, over the river where the water buffalos were all swimming, around the corner, and we were there. As usual, there are tourist prices for us, so we pulled out the greenbacks, and $4.00 bucks later, we were in. It was really nice. No dome on top, but all made of marble. Little stones were in the marble, and the marble lattice was work was amazing. We left our shoes on the ground, went in and looked at the tomb. Very impressive. We walked around, grabbed our shoes, was asked for money, so we told him that as we only paid $4.00, his boss will pay for us, otherwise. fuck off. So, we left. Walked back past the Taj, was hassled out by the guides, and that was the end of day one.
Taj Mahal
The best time to see this, is opening time, so at 06:00, we were at the gate and paying. Now for the lowly sum of $16.37, this gets you in, unless you are a local. For them it is only 20 Rupees !!! In we went. Through the gate, and the first photos. It was still slightly dark, but fuck it was impressive. We walked down, took more, and as the morning light came on, it got whiter. No shoes allowed. we put on some slippers over. Asked for a tip, fuck off, especially for the money we are paying to enter. Up to the front, the inlay of the stones is amazing. We walked around the outside, there were some massive bee hives. All the way to the front and in. No pictures, so we admired it and listened to the guided tours. We put our torches up to the stones, and they were genuine semi-precious stones. We could tell, because they were shining. Whilst in there, we ran into an Irsh guy called Frog, and we decided to give him a little tour of the rest of it. He was most impressed with our knowledge, especially as it came from the LP !!! It is a real funny building. From a distance, as we were going backwards, it looked like it was a kind of a paper cut out !!! We went to the museum, but it was not open, so we convinced the guard to let us in, and we went for breakfast. After an hour, the three of us, went back. We went up to the museum, but they wanted to charge foreigners, even though, our ticket said it was free. An older Aussie couple, lost it at the ticket men, pointing out that it said free on the ticket. They would not move. So, we told them to fuck off, and we left. Looking back, so far, in India, this has easily been the most impressive building we have seen
Akbar's Tomb
We convinced a rickshaw driver to take us to Akbar's Tomb and to the Agra Fort, for a cheap trip, plus a shop, to make it cheaper !!! It was a long ride, but worth it. Akbar, built the Taj for his wife, and this was built by his son for him. We walked in, and was surrounded by monkeys and deer. Up the long path, like all the tombs, it was smaller than the Taj, and in we went. Shoes outside, and down into the tomb. Some idiot started to sing and wanted money, so I drowned him out with my own. It sent him running !!! Back up the top, money was asked for again. WHen will they learn !!! Fuck off !!! I met Lucy and Frog, and we walked around it. There were a couple of whispering walls, which locals wanted money for !!! We moved onto the back. It had not been restored, and in some way, more realistic. We left, took one last photo of the front gate, found our rickshaw driver, and made our last touristy move.
Agra Fort
We had previously walked around the outside of the walls. We paid our usual tourist rip off price. In through some massive gates, and into the buildings. We were accosted by dicks wanting to be our guides, we told them to fuck off and leave us alone. We walked through the buildings, and they were very impressive. Then we arrived at the balcony that Akbar used to sit on and look at the Taj. Once the Taj had been completed, his sons locked him in the fort, as it cost a shitload to build. At least he got to look at it until he died. The balcony was very impressive. All inlaid stones again like the Taj. All made of white marble, again like the Taj. Next up was the Nasjina Mosque. Made out of white marble again. Shoes off, and in I went. It was very impressive. Fuck off to the ladies for minding my shoes, and I went back to the terrace to watch the sun go down. Very disappointing effort, as the buildings got in the way, we went down some stairs and had a look at a huge terrace. It was huge !!! With this, the three of us walked out and left. Hassled as usual by the rickshaw, cycle rickshaws, camel drivers, guides and whatever else there is in Agra, we fought through this scum, and went back for dinner. But before we arrived, a motorbike with three people on it, rode straight at us, so I gave it a huge shove. Pity, the rider only managed to keep it up. I really wanted to see that fucker fall !!! Frog was in a little shock, but we explained what had been happening to us, so he agreed to help the next time !!!
Jame Mosque
We had this as our last day, and just when you think it is safe, we were hit with a Jame Mosque. We had not had this since Pakistan, so it was a real shock. We fought our way through the shit, and the three of us made it to a market. it was pretty good seeing the locals going about their business. Into the Mopsque. It has one minaret as one has fallen down. Maybe if they charge $10.00 to get in, it might have been fixed, but it was free, and was in pretty shit condition. Allah, obviously did not like this Mosque !!! As we were finishing up, the local caretaker, chased us for a donation, but being good non-believers, especially me with my Jew blood, we ran away !!! We went back to the hotel, and bade fairwell to Frog. We were all going to go to Varanasi, but on different lines. We grabbed our bags, and jumped into a waiting rickshaw, and went to the station.
We both really enjoyed Agra. Except for the costs of course, and the pollution everywhere. Realistically, the pricing structure here in India sucks. It is easy for an Indian beggar, to beg for 10/20 Rupees so that they can enter. If the Indian tourist board do not want the massive amount of tourists to see these sites, they should raise the price for locals.
