We talked a motorized rickshaw driver to take all six of us in his 3-wheeled vehicle to the Taj Mahal and negotiated a price of 60 Rs for the whole group for each way. He would wait for us to come out. It must have been quite a sight to see Marissa and Carolyn in front with the driver and Francesco, me and Jerry in the back with Claudia mostly on Francesco driving down the streets of Agra to the Taj Mahal in the still dark morning. There was some activity on the streets, but for the most part it was minimal.
As it turned out, we were early. We arrived at about 5:45, and it didn't open until 6:00. The stars and the moon were out. There was a small group of tourists waiting to buy tickets, but it seems like we were in the first ten to arrive that day. During our short wait, we could see someone washing himself under a water pump and a number of dogs. Tickets cost 100 Rs between 6:00 and 8:00 AM and between 4:00 and 6:00, but they only cost 10 Rs during the rest of the day. Sunrise and sunset at the Taj Mahal costs you, but it is worth it. The Taj Mahal was beautiful.
We entered a huge courtyard which led to an inner entrance to the enclosed Taj Mahal. Someone mentioned that it was best to avert your eyes until you were actually standing inside in front of it. I thought that was silly. It was getting lighter, but it was still quite dark. I took a panoramic picture hoping the 400 speed film in my disposable camera would be able to capture the delicate shading, but it didn't. However, by the end of the day, I had over a roll of film with pictures of the Taj from many different angles. It seemed that it was very difficult to take a bad picture of it.
I was amazed at how few people were there to see the Taj at dawn -- perhaps 20 or so. As the sun came up, we took a number of pictures. Locals would come up to you and offer to show you good picture spots and then ask for a tip. I ended up dishing out 3 Rs for one such picture with the Taj framed by an arch. I walked up to the Taj and around the reflecting pool there since we had quite a bit of time before the rays of the sun would get over the trees. There was a sign at one point that said taking pictures was prohibited beyond that point. Jerry allowed a guide to lead him all over for good pictures. It was best to watch a guide lead others and then go there on your own.
When it comes time to enter the Taj itself, you have two options: take your shoes off and leave them with an attendant or get wrappings for your shoes from an attendant. Either way, prepare to pay. It should only cost 1 or 2 Rs, but I was now out of anything that small and I wasn't with my small group. Even though it's not much by western standards, paying ten times above the fair price (10 Rs) to rent wraps for my shoes was annoying -- even if he did put them on my feet.
I walked around the magnificent tomb. The Yamuna River flows in back of it and you can look out at Agra from it. The view was wonderful. As I entered the tomb, I found I had picked up a guide. I didn't mind so much since it was nice to have some of the aspects pointed out. I just wish I had been able to understand him better. I gave him 10 Rs as well. When you go to get a closer view of the area above the actual tomb, they ask you for a donation. There went another 10 Rs. The actual tombs were down some blocked off stairs and you could see them just barely if you bent down low enough to the ground. The princess for whom the Taj was built is in the center, and her husband was buried next to her after he died.
Sure enough our driver was outside waiting for us when we left. Many of the shops still weren't open. Jerry bought some postcards from one of the street vendors before we boarded the rickshaw. Our driver took us back to the hotel where we had breakfast with the others. I showered and changed and met Rachel in the restaurant. The key to her room was missing. I, of course, wondered about Mark from last night. When Rachel finished her breakfast, she and I took a motorized rickshaw to a hotel where there was an Indian Airlines office. At first it turned out we went to the wrong hotel, but the right one wasn't that far away, but it was on the opposite side of our hotel.
The representative from Indian Airlines said that if my ticket for my flight to Kathmandu from Varanasi had been paid for I would have had it, but he charged me less than I had originally paid for it. He said that he was giving me all the discounts and that I was flying as a child. I paid $54 in cash and hoped my $79 would be refunded after I got back home. I was a little distressed at not being able to find my wallet and having to get the cash out of a different place.
After dropping off Rachel at the hotel, my driver took me to the Itimad-ud-daulah, otherwise known as the Baby Taj. It is a structure containing tombs on which the Taj Mahal was based. I was hoping to meet up with Lisa, Jenny, Marc and Marie there. We took a bridge over the Yamuna River which also flows near Delhi. My driver said he would wait for me. I made my way past people trying to sell me things, some poor children and probably crippled beggars to get inside. I wasn't comfortable carrying my backpack with too many important papers with me in the crowd. The ticket I bought at the Taj Mahal was supposed to be good for 4 sites, but for some reason I had to pay an additional 50 paise (1/2 of a rupee). I didn't think I had such small change on me, so I gave the attendant 10 Rs and hoped for change. He didn't have any either. He said he would give it to me when he did have change. By this point I was just not happy, and I still hadn't found my wallet. I was getting pretty stressed out.
I couldn't see the others when I got inside, so I started to circle the structure. It looked like the Taj, but much smaller. On my way there were monkeys that started to approach me. I was in such a mood that I was considering what I would do if I had a baseball bat with me. The Baby Taj was very close to the river, and I could look out over the water and see cattle hanging out on a huge sand bar.
I soon caught sight of the others leaving the structure. I was not happy that I would end up visiting it alone which meant any tipping would be my responsibility, and I was lacking small change. I had to take my shoes off again and leave them with an attendant. I thought about telling him to allow anyone who wanted them to steal them. Sure enough, inside a guide I barely understood attached himself to me. I told him I didn't have any tipping money. This got me nowhere, so I went around inside with him pointing things out. It turned out that I remembered I had saved some coins as souvenirs, and they just happened to be in the small pouch in my backpack. I gave the man 1 rupee and left. I gave the shoe man nothing. He wasn't happy about it. Neither was I. I joined the others and bought a guide book for 250 Rs. It was one that Lisa had bought in Jaipur, but the hotel shop had sold out by the time I had gone to buy it. I was surprised that when I gave the ticket attendant a 50 paise coin, he gave me my 10 Rs back.
My driver was waiting. Jenny joined me on the trip back to the hotel. She paid 20 Rs while I paid 70 Rs for all my trips. Our driver showed us a book in which he had favorable comments written from his other passengers. He offered to take me to some good shopping places, but I thanked him and joined Jenny in talking with Francesco and Claudia by the pool. I was very relieved when I found my wallet deeply hidden in my backpack.
I ate lunch in the hotel with Sue, Dick, Jerry, Jim, Carol and Jenny. I had chicken fried rice, a cola of some kind and water for about 100 Rs. We got into a discussion on the importance of calculus.
Since we were staying past checkout time, we had to move all our belongings into three rooms. I put mine in room 502. The elevator had trouble when we arrived, so I ended up taking the stairs most of the time.
At 2:00 PM we visited the Agra Fort as a group. It was beautiful and spacious, but by far the best and most memorable view was of the Taj Mahal across the Yamuna River. I saw what looked like a Japanese family there. Afterwards, we took the bus to the Taj Mahal. I sat towards the rear of the bus on the right side across from Lisa who sat in front of Paul. We arrived just before 4:00 PM when the price would multiply by ten. The line to get in in the large inner courtyard was enormous. I had to climb up some stairs and take two pictures to get the whole line caught on film. Rachel said she had never seen the line this long before. It also seemed to be mostly Indian men. I had to admit it was nice to have seen it in the morning, so I didn't have to worry about getting in in the afternoon.
Rachel passed out our tickets and we got into line. It took a while, but we got in. It seemed like women could get in faster in a different line. I took more pictures. The Taj Mahal looks different throughout the day from the way the light falls on it. You can't tell from looking at it, but the four pillars around it actually lean out from the main domed structure so that in case of an earthquake they would fall away instead of onto the tomb itself.
A photographer took a few group pictures and some individual ones. I ordered a few. The Taj was really beautiful. The site was filled with people, but it wasn't that bad. Our local guide showed us around inside the tomb after we took off our shoes. This time I didn't tip the shoe attendant rationalizing that with 10 Rs I had a lifetime shoe watching right at the Taj Mahal. With a flashlight our guide showed how a light shining on the ornate, intricate and translucent artwork in the walls spread beyond where the light struck it.
We had time to leisurely walk around, take pictures and just soak in the Taj Mahal. I noticed a bee hive hanging high on the Taj itself. I took plenty of pictures past the point where a sign said you couldn't take pictures. Rachel spent some time sitting on the lawn in front of the Taj working on a very difficult crossword puzzle. I tried my hand at it and got nowhere. Some people not in our group soaked their feet in the reflecting pool. It made for a good picture. Jerry and I tried to get in some last pictures right before sunset as we were leaving around 6:00.
I ended up having to borrow money (150 Rs) from Jergen to buy a black Taj Mahal T-shirt before we left the complex. We voted against going to the marble shop after we got past more salespeople to get on the bus. We had a good guide and a good driver, Mr. Singh. I was very thirsty and bought a 7 Up. I could see the Taj Mahal in the distance as we drove away.
We had dinner in the hotel. I sat with Paul, Jo, Jergen, Jenny and Karen. We had a great time laughing at all kinds of things. I had some beer, chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, water, naan and a Coke for 126 Rs. While we were in the restaurant, the photographer came by in the lobby with our pictures from the group visit of the Taj. I bought 3 of them for 150 Rs. Jerry had been out when the photographer came, so he didn't get his pictures then, but I believe he was able to get them later.
We had some time before we left for the train station at 9:00 PM. I sat in one of the rooms with Claudia, Francesco and Jim. Francesco showed me how the staff had ruined his running shoes when they washed them. I had to pay 39 Rs in phone charges before we left.
I was falling asleep on the bus to the train station for our overnight sleeper train to Varanasi. Rachel asked for 8 volunteers to be in carriage A1 while the majority would be in A3 which is where I ended up. When we got there, the lack of street lights (plus the one near us didn't work) made for quite an experience organizing ourselves and the porters who carried our bags to the train. Even now it amazes me just how dark it was. The stars were out and very bright. The porters carried our bags on their heads.
I got a bunk above Jerry. |
