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| Sisters! at Cafe Coffee Day in Agra |
Friday night I had dinner with Sarah at my hotel after she returned from her day of conference-ing and sightseeing. She was really disappointed as the plans for her group had changed again. We had both been really looking forward to seeing the Taj Mahal together in Agra and was the main reason I had come to northern India in the first place before heading to Bangalore. Apparently several girls in her class had been upset that they had not done much shopping up to this point in India. So instead of seeing the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort on Saturday as was listed in their itinerary, they were going to go to Agra and spend the afternoon shopping then see the Taj Mahal early Sunday morning before moving on to Gurgaon. At this point my train ticket had been confirmed (I was off the waitlist) and I knew trying to change it the day before a trip would be quite a long shot. I was unable to change my ticket to Sunday as the waitlists for trains from Agra to Jaipur were quite long except for a train that left Agra at almost 11pm on Sunday night scheduled to arrive in Jaipur between 3 and 4 in the morning. And even on that train I was 5th on the waitlist. So I made the decision to still travel with her class to Agra in the morning then depending on the time we arrived, spend an hour or so shopping with Sarah before going to tour the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort...alone :(
Interesting fact about 14 January - it is the day of the annual Kite Festival which is a Hindu festival that is celebrated all over India. Jaipur is supposed to be one of the best places to view the festivities but unfortunately because this was the day we were going to Agra, we missed the festival. The Kite Festival sounded a bit like the kite flying I have read about in The Kite Runner (excellent novel - highly, highly recommended). Thousands of brightly colored kites fill the sky and people compete to get their kite to fly the highest. The strings are coated with a special mix that includes glass shards so that kite flyers can cut down their opponents’ kites. Even though we missed the actual festival, we were able to see signs of it throughout Jaipur in the days leading up to it and in the days following. The sky was still filled with many kites as people practiced for the big day. Following the festival, kites were strewn throughout the treetops as the trees always won over the kites that came in contact with them.
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| Taj Mahal |
I got to Sarah’s hotel around 645am and had breakfast with her before boarding the bus with the class to head to Agra. It was a very fast 5 hours bus ride as Sarah and I got more caught up and shared pictures from our respective trips. We rode in the back of the bus which I was grateful for because I didn’t have to see the dangerous passing game that occurs on India’s highways. However, being in the back of the bus also seems more like a crazy ride as any bumps we went over resulted in us being briefly airborne. We were given a lunch on the bus as well as a bottle of water. When we arrived in Agra, we stopped at a bazaar to do the newly planned market shopping. Neither Sarah nor I was impressed with the shopping scene at this bazaar although we were both so disappointed that we would not be seeing the Taj Mahal together that I think our judgement was altered somewhat. Not in the mood to shop, we sat down at Cafe Coffee Day (India’s version of Starbucks) and had some coffee/tea/milkshakes together. Sarah’s professors also stopped in and when they saw how sad Sarah and I both were to be unable to share the Taj experience together, they suggested that perhaps she go with me. This would have been great if we had gotten this go-ahead when we arrived. But as it was now after 1pm and my train was leaving at 630pm (and I want to arrive early since I was not sure how the train station system worked around here), we didn’t think we would have time to see the Taj and for me to get Sarah to their hotel (which we didn’t have an address for) before I had to make it to my train. In retrospect, it would have worked since my train ended up being delayed...4 hours. More on that later.
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| Taj Mahal |
Both of us teary-eyed, we hugged goodbye planning to meet up quickly in Delhi Wednesday night before I headed to Bangalore. I caught a rickshaw to take me to the Taj Mahal. A little history lesson for those of my readers that don’t know what the Taj Mahal was built for: it is a tomb that was built by Shah Jahan, a Mughal emperor of India, for his third wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631 giving birth to their 14th (yikes!) child. The tomb took many years to build and by the time it was finished, Shah Jahan had been overthrown by his son and was imprisoned in the nearby Agra Fort until his death. His son was kind enough to give his prison a view of the Taj Mahal so Shah Jahan could gaze at his wife’s memorial from afar. Shah Jahan is also buried in the Taj Mahal. This was the most expensive sight I have paid to see so far in India (750 rupess - about $12.50) but was worth every rupee. It is as stunning as everyone says it is and is so much more impressive in person than any picture can convey. It’s magnificence even made the crowds less bothersome. One thing I have learned about the Mughal rulers is that they have such an artistic eye for architectural detail. Everything is planned and meticulously executed to create these incredible structures. The walls are carved with beautiful designs (mostly floral) with precious stones inlaid within the marble carvings to provide them with color. This is why all the colors are still so magnificent after hundreds of years - they are the colors of the gems, not of paint. The Taj Mahal is elevated so that when one looks at it, the only thing in the background is the blue sky. It is simply breathtaking and no words or pictures can do it justice - you just have to see it for yourself in person.
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| Taj Mahal |
From here I went to the train station to see how it was laid out and to try and figure out where I needed to go once it was time for me to wait for the train. The train station was a busy place with people everywhere - coming, going, waiting. I saw the official chart for my train and that I was on the chart (this is good - if you are not on the chart, you get kicked off the train and have to pay a fine). I couldn’t tell what the track numbers were, but I did find the display that gave the train information. Apparently the trains aren’t always named the same thing that is on your ticket so you have to look for the train number to figure out where you need to be. Feeling okay to leave and since I didn’t want to start waiting over 2 hours before my train’s arrival, I decided to check out the Agra Fort which was adjacent to the train station although the only entrance was on the opposite end of the fort. I didn’t have much cash left as the Taj Mahal was more expensive than I had anticipated. I was going to use the ATM at the train station but there were so many people around that I didn’t feel quite comfortable doing so. I got to the Fort (about a 10-15 minute walk depending on how fast you can walk), discovered the price was more than I had cash for, and went in search of an ATM. My search brought me back to the train station where I got some more cash then walked back to the Fort entrance. This was the most walking I had done in a while and it was nice to actually move about the city on my own although the neighborhood around the Fort was semi-questionable. I am glad that I took the time to go to the Fort even though I had to rush through it. It is a very well preserved fort with a lot of green space. It is a beautiful example of the Mughal architecture incorporating both the red sandstone and the white marble with incredible carved inlay work throughout as well as impressively architectured gardens. Probably the best part of the whole Fort tour was the show I watched by the monkeys that lived around the fort. There were so many of them! I loved watching them chase each other and play games. They were quite funny to watch. The babies were super cute and watching the protective parent with their babies was very cool.
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| Agra Fort |
I made it back to the train station about 45 minutes before the train was supposed to arrive. I had no idea which track was track 1 (the one my train was supposed to come to). I saw a non-Indian family and decided to ask them where they were headed and if they knew how the trains worked. I figured at the very least, I would find some people to be clueless with. The family I introduced myself to was a family of 4 - both parents and two college-age kids. The parents and the brother were visiting the daughter/sister (whose name happens to be Elizabeth - although she goes by Liz) who had been studying for 6 months in Bangalore, has now graduated, and just recently got a job there. Great coincidence! I was so happy to have some people to chat with and to make a connection in Bangalore. The whole family was very friendly and Liz and I exchanged information. She offered to introduce me to people in Bangalore if I was interested (YES!). I was so glad I found people to wait with because the train ended up being 4 hours delayed. Apparently this is not typical - late is, but 4 hours is not. Shortly before the train came, we met another solo female traveler from Paris who was going to Jaipur to stay with a friend of hers. She was in India studying massage for a few months and was taking a break from her studies to travel around Rajasthan. The best part of traveling is the people you meet from all over. I have become much more outgoing because of my solo traveling, and although I miss having travel companions (especially for things like seeing the Taj Mahal), I have met some really great people as a result of my increased outgoing attitude.
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| Agra Fort |
We made up about an hour on the trip to Jaipur and arrived shortly after 2am (originally supposed to arrive at 11:10pm). I was immediately approached by a rickshaw driver as I exited the train and was glad to find my new friends to walk with to shake off the driver. Although I needed a ride, I am wary of drivers that are so aggressive in trying to get you to take a ride with them. Good thing I waited. Mag - the woman from Paris - was unable to get a hold of her friend even though she had been able to inform her hours before of our train’s delay. She had nowhere to go. I suggested my hotel as I had been very pleased with it and she tried calling but there were no rooms available. By this time, Liz and her family’s arranged ride from their hotel had arrived. None of us felt comfortable leaving Mag alone as we had by this point attracted quite a group of onlookers hoping to get us to ride in their vehicles and probably to take us to their hotels where they receive commission. I told Mag that I had a large bed and she would be more than welcome to spend the night at my hotel and figure out things with her friend in the morning. I could just imagine how I would have felt in her position - tired from traveling, in a new city that I didn’t know at all, with no place to go at 2:30 in the morning surrounded by strangers. She accepted my offer and we got a taxi together to my hotel. We both fell asleep quickly and got up the next morning not exactly refreshed. Mag was able to get in touch with her friend and we parted ways after having a lovely breakfast in the outside garden and sharing names and email. I now have a friend in Paris with whom I am welcome to stay with whenever I happen to return there to visit! Namaste.
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| Agra Fort |
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| Agra Fort |
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| Agra Fort |
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