Steintore
Click on a photo to enlarge it.
Steintore
Sat, 01.02.2014: Bharatpur −> Agra, foggy, 22°C
It was very foggy when we left and wasn't exactly sightseeing weather! Today was our last day of the car and driver tour. We were getting dropped off in Agra but we also needed to give Yadav enough time to drive back to Delhi. This meant we needed to do our last sightseeing stop fairly quickly.
We drove to Fatepur Sikri and Yadav took us to the car park but wasn't allowed to drive further. He said it would take us 30 minutes to walk so we got roped into taking a Tuc Tuc - we should have walked. It seemed like a scam to us. Stop the cars so that the Tuc Tucs can charge the tourists.
Anyway, we got to the Mosque and Palace and decided to split up. Kirsten went to the Mosque and I would try to walk around the Palace and take some photos without going in. The weather meant it wasn't worth paying the entry fee. I got some shots to show Kirsten what it looked like but I had more fun trying to get a shot of a beautiful blue Kingfisher that kept flying off every time I got close. I tried several times but had to give up.
Meanwhile back at the Mosque, Kirsten got tricked into paying for a guide by someone talking to her and then asking for money! We both had to try hard to ignore all the touts. We met up at the agreed time and our Tuc Tuc driver wasn't there to collect us so we started walking back. He picked us up along the way. We really shouldn't have taken one but we hadn't known it was just a short distance. That will teach us for not reading up on it the night before.
We hit a lot of traffic going into Agra and arrived at our hotel at 12-30pm. We gave Yadav his tip and thanked him for looking after us for the last four weeks. Then he asked us to write in his comment book and to write something for the head office aswell. It was a long goodbye!
Our hotel was one that we had booked ourselves and was new and clean. We still had to ask for top sheets, toilet paper, towels and extra blankets though. Once we'd got ourselves sorted out we went back to the main road and found a KFC, for chicken that was spicy and a rice bowl that was really hot!
We walked further along the road and went into a shopping mall to take a look. It was filthy dirty inside, spit in every corner and the lift was so dodgy we got off on the first floor and used the non-moving escalators instead! It was the first mall we had seen in a long time and it came as a shock just how filthy it was.
We walked back to our hotel feeling not just tired, but tired of India, tired of the filth and the spitting people. We decided not to bother going to Agra Fort and got into the shower to wash off all the grime.
Sun, 02.02.2014: Agra, foggy/sunny 19°C
We took a day off to try and catch up with our website and to get all our washing done as we hadn't had the opportunity over the last week. We also wanted to wash our big fleece jackets which wouldn't be easy.
We had asked for a heater for our room which is mainly marble and therefore gets really cold. But the heater helped to dry all our washing as the first lot we had done hadn't dried overnight in the bathroom. We had to set up another drying line by the heater so that we could use our own washing line in the bathroom to let clothes drip dry first and then we just kept swapping everything around.
We found a brand new Chinese restaurant just around the corner from the hotel. It was really clean and we were treated like Royalty! Very helpful staff. We had chicken and mushrooms with black bean sauce and a vegetable fried rice. Kirsten ordered black tea but it was too strong and she didn't drink it. We said we would pay for it but they didn't charge us and when we said we would come back tomorrow, they gave us a card with 10% discount for the next day. Now that's service!
We also managed to watch two live Bundesliga football matches on TV. Things are getting better now that we know we will be leaving soon.
Mon, 03.02.2014: Agra, sunny, 22°C
There was a lot of noise and banging in the morning, plus loudspeakers booming out the prayers from the Mosque which seemed to go on forever. We eventually got up and made ourselves some tea. I went outside and it was sunny not foggy as usual. So we decided to go to the Taj Mahal whilst the weather was good.
We walked down to the east gate which is the closest to our hotel, around 2.5 km away. There were a number of street sellers that we ignored but one of them was trying to tell us that we needed to get tickets at the office we were just walking past before going to the gate. He was actually telling us the truth but we ignored him believing it was just another con trick!
So we needed to walk to the south gate to get tickets which was only another 5 minute walk. We didn't have to queue for our tickets and were given a bottle of water and shoe covers included in the fee.
The entrance fee is $13 each and only valid for one entry. If you leave in between to get food or drink you will have to pay again. Only water is allowed inside and it's best to take as little as possible. We didn't have a rucksack and had left our watches in the hotel as someone had told us they'd had to leave their watch at the entrance! We just had enough money, passports, sunglasses and camera.
We knew there wasn't anywhere inside to get food and that we could be hours so we found a hotel restaurant for a quick lunch and then went up onto a rooftop restaurant for a quick shot of the Taj Mahal before going inside.
We had obviously chosen a good time to go because the morning people were already leaving and those who would want to stay for the sunset, hadn't arrived yet. It was nowhere near as busy as we'd expected it to be and we managed to get all the photos that we wanted.
Taj Mahal in Agra
The Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1653 by Emperor Shah Jahan for his third, and favourite, wife Mumtaz Mahal who died giving birth to his 14th child in 1631. In 1658 the Emperor was overthrown by his son and imprisoned in Agra Fort where he died 8 years later. His body was laid next to his wife in the Taj Mahal. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1982 and today, more than 3 million people visit every year.
The building is beautiful although it seemed smaller than we had expected. The British had ordered it to be protected and restored in 1908 and it had undergone another massive clean-up in 2002 using a blend of soil, cereal, milk and lime which is an ancient recipe once used by women to "beautify their skin".
We put on our 'booties' and went inside to see the tombs which are empty as the real tombs are in the basement where no one is allowed to go. Then we walked around the grounds and went into the museum to get a closer look at the inlays using up to 35 precious and semi-precious stones.
We were inside for just over 2 hours but the haze and clouds were building up so Kirsten said it wouldn't be worth staying for sunset photos.
We stopped at our Chinese restaurant again and were warmly welcomed - we had Kung Pao vegetables and rice.
Tue, 04.02.2014: Agra, sunny, 24°C
I was in the middle of doing some more washing when we had a power cut. I put on the head torch to continue but then the towel rack we had attached our washing line to, came partially off the wall! So I had to hold up the washing whilst directing the head torch to the rack so Kirsten could push it back into the wall!!
I had to wash some of the stuff again as it had fallen on the floor but finally got it all done and hung out. Then I went down to reception because we could hear loud music outside and the loudspeakers again. That meant that other people had power but we didn't. I found the fuse box for them - they seem to understand the word "Breaker switch". What they can't understand is that a woman would know anything about them!! It's just not within their concept of women!
We worked on the website and I made a list of print outs we would need and checked whether we had enough money for the last few days in India. Then Kirsten went to an internet café because the internet in the hotel didn't work and hadn't worked for the entire time we had been there.
We went back to our Chinese for Wanton soup, spring roll, and chicken sizzler and went back to the hotel to pack whilst Kirsten worked on the photos.
We had finally seen the Taj Mahal so now we could leave!
Wed, 05.02.2014: Agra −> New Delhi, sunny, 24°C
We got a Tuc Tuc to the train station and our train was delayed by an hour. I used our phone to find out seat numbers for another couple - I'm getting good at this! - and our train left at 11-55am. Our seats were in different compartments so we chose the one that was a bottom bunk and stayed together for the journey.
Kirsten got out the computer to work on the website during the journey and we arrived in New Delhi at 3-15pm, 80 minutes later than scheduled. We got a taxi to our Bed and Breakfast and used our print outs to tell the driver where to go! It took an hour but there was no one there when we arrived.
The Slumber B&B is on the third floor of an apartment block and Kirsten stayed with our bags whilst I went down to see if I could find anyone. Then a man came up to me and handed me his mobile phone. He was talking in Hindu but I got the message - it was for me!! Weird! It was the owner telling me that he had waited until 1pm, expecting us at noon and had tried but failed to contact us. Anyway, he apologised profusely and said he would be there in 10 minutes! It wasn't his fault. We should have phoned up last night to confirm - we have been so used to our car and driver that we had forgotten.
It was a lovely place to stay. We had a large, clean room and more importantly, a kitchen we could use. We wandered around later to look for something to eat in a restaurant, gave up and bought some food at a small shop. We had wonderful Heinz beans on toast and cheese toasted sandwiches for our evening meal! I cannot tell you how much we enjoyed it!
Thu, 06.02.2014: New Delhi −> Yangon, Myanmar, sunny, 24°C
Our breakfast was samosas that were a bit too hot for me but we still had bread and cheese left. Our check out time was at noon but we were allowed to use the room until 7pm when we needed to leave to get to the airport.
We spent the day repacking the bags for the flight and working on the website and then went out onto the main road to get a Tuc Tuc. The driver told us he wouldn't be able to take this vehicle to the departure building as only taxis are allowed. But taxis cost three times more and we were running out of money. So we arranged for him to take us as close as he could get.
Well, this meant that we had to get out on a busy, divided, 6 lane road and walk along the pavement that was broken, had big holes in it and had just sand to walk across in places - not easy when you are loaded up and have a roller bag to pull! Then it started to rain!! Oh no - we went quicker and eventually found a car park with an abandoned trolley that we made use of.
Although our driver had dropped us off at the "No Tuc Tuc" sign, it still took us an hour to get to the International departures. Then it took another hour in the queue to get to the counter to check in. We went to MacDonalds just to get some French fries and a coke, but coke was only allowed if you ordered one of their menu meals! Then they wanted us to pay for ketchup! They were already charging us European prices as it was! Unbelievable!
It's time to say goodbye to India!
Remarks and advice about India:
There are people who would not agree with what I have written about India. This is just a diary of my own experiences that I have had whilst travelling around the country for 2.5 months. However, my advice to anyone who has never been and would like to go, is as follows:-
Take an organised tour of the highlights for about three weeks which would include the Taj Mahal, Rajasthan to see it's many temples and forts, Ranthambore, and maybe even Varanasi.
We will not be going to Varanasi because we do not wish to spend any more time in India and will not be returning. We have been warned about the city but if you choose a tour, you will have a guide and may be protected from the harassment that many tourists experience there and in the other places you visit and will be saved from organising everything. (You need a lot of patience and time for that.)
A shorter trip also means that the dirt and the filth will not become oppressive and, if you get ill, you will be back at home which is a far better place to recover.
It will still be a culture shock. How you cope with the noise level, lack of hygiene and cleanliness, the constant demands made on tourists and the number of people, all depend on what you are used to or have experienced before. We class ourselves as world travellers but we stayed too long and, in the end, it was just too much for us.
As a result, we will never go back.
