amg and i left jaipur by government bus and headed to agra, home of the taj mahal. the bus ride was long, tedious and hot but we arrived in the end. the rough guide (guidebook) had advised to be warying of people suggeting that we get off the bus prior to its arrival in the station as they were looking to charge increased rickshaw fares for a further distance and just as warned, a gent got on the bus and told us it was the spot to get off which was a lie. we stuck our ground and we continued onwards to the bus station and saved ourselves some rupees :-)
we were met by a lovely gentleman who gave us a map of agra and gave us a bit of advice on eating and traveling around the city. we've been warned by a number of indians along the way to be "very careful" in agra as there are many bad indians who take advantage of tourists. personally, i'd suggest that there are bad and not-so-bad indians but they all love to take advantage of tourists :-) we caught a rickshaw over to taj ganj which is just south of the taj mahal and found ourselves rooms in the shah jahan guest house.
once settled, we headed off for dinner at a recommended "safe" restaurant. it might very well have been safe but the food was less than inspiring and cold ;-( we had a beer (which came wrapped in newspaper so no one would know what we were drinking :-) and then headed home to bed as we were rising early.
we had breakfast at a cute restaurant and befriended an english guy who tagged along on our tour of the taj mahal. for 750 rupees (about $20cdn), we were supposed to get entrance to the taj, a pair of booties to wear inside and a bottle of water but they'd run out of water so adam and i went to get some while amg went inside on her own. there were many guides offering their service inside and we decided that if there was anywhere that was appropriate for a tour, it was the taj so we paid a local guy for his services. it started out as a photographic tour but eventually he got into the finer points regarding the monument.
factually, the taj mahal was constructed over a 22 yr period during which 20,000 people worked on its construction. it was built by shah jahan after the death of one of his four wives (his favourite) who fathered him 14 children in 18 years. none of his other wives or concubines gave him any children. the masoleum cost 16 million rupees to construct between 1632 and 1653 and is made of white marble with precious stones in laid. it used to have gold spires over the domes however the english took them and they've since been replaced with bronze replicas. more impressionistically (if that is a word :-), the monument is beautiful yet very difficult to describe. most people see the taj in the morning or evening as the play of light on the marble makes it shimmer and is an important decorative device. it is absolutely breathtaking to witness and i was most impressed with the sheer size and the amount of detail in the marble. there's a certain serene/peaceful feeling when you look at the building despite the multitude of people on the grounds visiting at the same time. the people seem ant-size when compared with the actual masoleum. shah jahan had planned on building himself a black marble taj for himself however his son soon put a stop to the extravagant ways of his father and he was locked up in the agra fort until his death when he was buried in the taj with the love of his life.
after the taj, we had a quick rest and then headed off to the agra fort. we took a rickshaw (which we haggled for) and then we stopped for lunch (which we haggled for) before we finally got to the fort where there was a massive queue. after much pushing and shoving, amg managed to secure us all tickets and we went inside. the fort is surrounded by a moat (as all good forts should be :-) and was red-sandstone in colour. we took some photos and ambled about before going to find our rickshaw driver. unfortunately, he left despite agreeing to stay (obviously we'd haggled well :-) and so we had to start the process all over again!!
we headed off to the train station to buy tickets, then the sadar (main) bazaar for a look-see but there wasn't much happening. finally, the rickshaw driver took us to a couple of little shops and we bought a few items. he confided in us that they make 2% of whatever is purchased. effectively, he has to go back to collect his cash after he drops us where we're headed. that said, i'm sure that the shop keepers lie about the amount paid so that they don't have to pay as much commission; it's a real dog-eat-dog world here..
we headed off for dinner to a restaurant that served beers for 65 rupees and ate to our hearts content (unfortunately the food was average at best). whilst on the rooftop, we witnessed a wedding parade. the groom sat on the top of a horse and a band and friends paraded around the city, collecting more and more people. we heading back to the hotel with a few extra beers so we could sit on the rooftop and listen to adam play guitar and sing. it was a lovely way to end the evening!
we woke early and sat on the rooftop having breakfast. it was a peaceful morning and i watched some nearby kabootars (pigeon fanciers) training their flocks of pigeons. effectively, they're trained to fly in formations around the rooftops to the whistling and gesturing of their owners. a thoroughbred pigeon can cost as much as 5000 rupees which amounts to about 6mths wages in agra! we headed off to the station and boarded the train without further ado ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment