Forcing Myself to Go See the Taj Mahal

Sunday, July 5, 2009--Delhi to Agra

I got to the station an hour before time for the train to depart. It had just been pulled up to the platform and everyone was pushing and shoving to get down the stairs to the platform and then to get into the doors of the train cars. It was as if they thought the train were leaving within a few minutes. Of course, one reason for that is that everyone had lots of luggage and wanted to get to the luggage storage space first. When I got to my compartment, there was barely space for me to put my suitcase under the seat.

My compartment ended up having two other foreigners in it. Both were quite interesting. The first arrived about 30 minutes before the other, so we had time to get to know each other and visit before the second arrived. Here's information about both:

1. The first passenger had an interesting look. He was young and handsome, but I had trouble figuring out what country he was from. It was quite a surprise when he said he was from Bhutan. I've never met anyone from there before. It's such a remote and isolated country that many people never leave it. But this young man is an engineering student and had to leave the country for his studies, since Bhutan does not have a degree in his subject area at their university. He had a great personality and we talked and talked. He eventually encouraged me to visit Bhutan. As we discussed it, he said that there is only one airline that flies there, and it has flights to Bangkok (as well as a couple of cities in India). I begin to think maybe I SHOULD go there next year. I'll be finishing my last around-the-world ticket in Bangkok, and I want to travel some in the area before heading back to Texas. I had been thinking of trying to go to Papua New Guinnea. Now I am thinking of going to Bhutan and maybe also to Papua New Guinnea.

2. The second passenger was a Canadian who has lived in the U.S. for some time and in New York for the past few years. He is a business consultant whose work has apparently dried up these days giving him a chance to do some traveling in Europe and Asia. He (Lorne) and I were both going to Agra, so we ended up spending most o the day together and part of the next day.

We had been sitting and both Lorne and I felt like walking when we got to Agra rather than fighting with the rickshaw drivers over a decent price. Of course, as we walked, one after another rickshaw driver approached us and road along beside us trying to get us to commit to a ride. It was frustrating trying to follow my map, visit, and also having to deal with these drivers. Eventually, however, we came to the place where I intended to stay. I got my room, and we both went inside to sit under the air conditioner and cool down. Lorne already had a reservation at a hotel further into town, so he departed later to go there.

When Lorne left to go to his hotel, I walked a little further to find the office that sells moonlight tickets for seeing the Taj Mahal. They are only available on nights with a full moon and the two nights before and afterwards. It just happened without my planning it that July 7 is the full moon. I found the office and bought a ticket. At the same time, I realized that Lorne, who had been interested to, wanted to go also. We hadn't gone to the office together because there was speculation that it might not be open on Sunday. But I went to check because the tickets can only be bought the day before a visit meaning that my only chance would be to buy a ticket for Monday night, since I planned to leave town on Tuesday. The office would be open only 1 1/2 hours more, so I decided to see if Lorne wanted a ticket. I remembered the name of his hotel and the street where it was, so I continued walking until I got there. He was in his room, so I explained the situation. The two of us walked back to the office so he could buy a ticket also.

By then, it was almost 17:30. He wanted to go see a small mausoleum that is known as the "Little Taj." It is considered to have fancier tilework and carved grillwork, although the building itself is not as big as the actual Taj. We hired a rickshaw driver. He took us there. It was nice. After about 30 minutes there, the driver suggested that we let him take us to the riverside to see the actual Taj Mahal at sunset. We agreed. It was a wonderful place for viewing it. We were very close. Many other tourists were there. Of course, so were the touts selling things. But we got some great photos. And I took one of Lorne sitting on top of a camel with the Taj in the background.

By then, it was getting late. The rickshaw driver dropped me off at my hotel. Then he continued to take Lorne to his.

The power was off. That's a big problem in many parts of India. And it is an especially big problem in Agra. My room at the hotel had a ceiling fan that would operate with the generator, but the air conditioner works only when the power is on. (I had been told this when I booked the room.) Since my room was on the top floor, the sun had been hitting the roof all afternoon. The room was swealtering. Until 1:30, I tossed and turned while sticking to the sheets even with the ceiling fan going. Then from 1:30 to 4:30, there was a/c. But it went off again then and did not return. Yuck!

Monday, July 6, 2009--Agra

It's very HOT here in Agra. Just a few moments outside in the daytime, and one is dripping in sweat. And I'm a person who does not normally perspire much.

Fortunately, I planned my day well. I was up at 5:15 and left for the Taj Mahal at 5:40. I arrived there at 6:15. There were several tourists there, since going at sunrise is considered the best way to see the building. But there weren't the crowds that come later when tour groups arrive from Delhi and from the big hotels. As I had read in the guidebook, I saw part of the inlaid marble sparkling when the sunlight hit it just right. The building is as beautiful and magnificent as everyone always says it is. And for being in India and in such a poluted city as Agra, it is amazing how clean it is. By avoiding the most crowded part of the day, I was able to look at it and enjoy it without too many hassles. There were already people there wanting to be guides, though, including the sneaky ones. They are the ones who watch you start to take a photo, then they tell you it is a bit better if you stand over here. Then they walk with you and point to another spot and suggest it is good for photos, too. Then they start to tell you some facts. If you don't recognize what is happening and insist that you don't want a guide, you've hired one involuntarily by following and listening! By 6:30, the air was feeling warm. I sat on a shady side of the Taj and relaxed while looking at it and the other tourists. Then I continued exploring until 7:30.

The other big tourist site in town is the Agra Fort which is in sight of the Taj Mahal. Even though the day was warming up, I knew I needed to go there before returning to the hotel or miss it completely. Fortunately, the walk between the two was on a roadway going through a park and had shade trees along almost the entire distance. It's an interesting fort with mosques and apartments and things that are not normally associated with a fort. Also, some of the architecture is really dramatic much like that of the Taj Mahal with domes and turrets and towers. Unfortunately, there were even more people there wanting to be guides. I guess it is because it is cheaper for local people to go into the fort than it is for them to go into the Taj. It's too bad that a morning sun is not the best for taking photos at the fort. But I enjoyed seeing it and got the est photos I could.

I was back at the hotel at 9:45--hot and exhausted. I napped until noon. Then I stayed in the room reading most of the afternoon. Fortunately, the air conditioner was working off and on so that the room did not get as miserably hot as it had the night before.

Lorne had asked me to come to his new hotel. He uses hotels.com and gets one free night at a hotel of his choice for every 3 nights that he books hotels that cost at least $41. He took advantage of that to move to the Oberoi Hotel for his second night in Agra. It's a 5-star hotel that is ranked one of the top 10 in the world. There are about 15 staff members to each guest right now due to the slow season. Apparently wealthy businessmen and movie stars stay there regularly. Lorne's room had a balcony with a view of the Taj just across the gardens. First we walked around the grounds and near the pool. Then we went to his balcony and watched the sunset from there. Then we went to a bar downstairs and had a drink until time to see the Taj. The hotel provided us with a golf cart and driver to take us to the check-in post for out moonlight viewing.

Unfortunately, the moonlight viewing of the Taj Majal was a disappointment. The building is beautiful in the moonlight, and it was nice to see it that way. But there were barriers that kept us far back from it. Everyone was trying to use their cameras to take photos, but the flash would not reach nearly that far. Then everyone spent a long time trying to set their cameras with timed exposures to get a photo. That worked, but the photos looked nothing like the real view. It was better just to put the camera away (which I did after just one photo effort) and look at the building. But the hassle of the military pat-downs, the long wait, the short viewing time (30 minutes), and the limited ability to be on or near the building made it seem like a lot of effort for a little payoff--especially since it cost about $16 U.S. I would recommend going to the other side of the river after dark on a moonlight night. The rickshaw will cost maybe $2 to get there, and one will be almost as close as we were.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009--Agra to Amritsar

I was up at 4:15. I hate early mornings like that, and this is my second in a row. My train was at 6:00. When I bought my ticket Saturday, I could not get a through train from Agra to Amritsar, so I had to buy two tickets--one for an hour to a nearby city where I transfered to another train an hour later for Amritsar. I found out later that the reason all seats were booked is Full Moon Day. Most Asian countries give it as a once-a-month holiday since people normally work 6 days a week. It is a day when people pay respects to their "guru," or someone who is guiding them in life. Therefore, even the train I was traveling on was full of people.

A man in my compartment was from San Antonio at one time. He is an Indian who lives here now. But two years ago, he was living in San Antonio. He was very surprised to meet someone from there, and I was surprised that he had lived there. Also in my compartment was a woman with two girls. The older girl was really sweet and spoke English. But the small girl was a pill. She was restless and noisy the whole trip!

I slept some--maybe from 8:15 until 10:15. Then I napped some off and on in the afternoon. Otherwise, I read my book or watched the scenery pass by. We didn't arrive in Amritsar until 19:30.

I went to some hotels near the station that had been recommended in guidebooks. They wanted too much money and their rooms were not clean enough or bright enough for me. Eventually, I gave up looking there and walked to the Golden Temple. I had been told that they had a special accommodations area for VIPs and that I should go to their Information Office. Unfortunately, that office was closed. But a young volunteer at the temple asked what I wanted. I explained that I needed a room. He took me directly to the hotel the temple operates for special guests. It looked too fancy and, therefore, too expensive. But a room was only 300 rupees (less than $7) per night with air conditioning, private bath, and hot water. And the place was spotless! I was so happy to be there. The only negative part was that the two assistants who were working both asked me to give them money and stated the amounts they wanted--half the cost of the room for the night!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009--Amritsar

I see why Indians are happy for the arrival of the monsoons. Each day just gets hotter and hotter. It is absolutely miserable being outdoors during the daytime. Within 30 minutes of leaving air conditioning, one's clothes start sticking to the body and are soaking wet.

I went exploring for an internet cafe, but the power was off. It's been difficult finding places to be on the computer due to the power outages both here and in Agra. While out, I bought three samosas to take back to my room to eat for lunch. They came with a bag of sauce that was both sweet and hot. It was a delicious snack.

I forced myself to go back out at 15:15 and find a shared taxi to take me to the Border Ceremony that is held each afternoon at the border between India and Pakistan near here. It's a famous ceremony that is often shown on CNN or BBC when there are problems between the two countries. I got a shared taxi and was given the front passenger seat, a great honor because it meant I was not as crowded as the people in back who were squeezed together. (Of course, I probably paid much more than they did, too!)

It was interesting to see the ceremony, but I don't know if I would encourage anyone else to go to the effort. First, the ceremony does not start until 18:30. But everyone has to go early to get a seat. All the seats were essentially full by 17:00. And they are HOT seats--concrete which has had the sun shining on it all day. It was a miserable period of time that we sat there waiting for the ceremony.

I sat between two tourist couples--one from Scotland and the other from Belgium. We visited as we waited. There was a bit of entertainment as women raced with the Indian flag. Across the border, we could see a matching (though smaller) crowd gathering on the Pakistan side. They, too, were racing their flag. In fact, the whole border ceremony is a bit like a mini-war between the two sides. Each side plays its own music. Each tries to out-yell the other. During the actual official ceremoney, the men in their fancy dress uniforms try to out-step each other and menace the others with their puffed-up posture. At the same time, there is a civility to it as they open the gates and guards from each side shake hands.

I was glad to be back in town when we arrived. We had been gone for 5 hours just to see that 30-minute ceremony and to be out in the sun all that time.

Before returning to the hotel, I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I had palak paneer with rice. Both were big portions. Then I followed that with a banana lassi--a drink made from fresh yogurt.

Note: I have not replied to e-mail because of limited time on the computer. I am leaving tomorrow for Dharamsala, so it will be another couple of days before I may return to a computer. Be patient. I'm in India!