The Taj Mahal

After wandering around Jaipur for a few hours in the morning, we caught a 4hr train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. The ticket reservation man had sold us 2 seats, and one on the waiting list, telling us we’d be fine. We were fine, but we inconvenienced many by having to ask them to move, or to keep their beds folded as chairs until we got off. The guys opposite us were heading to Calcutta, 24hrs away on the train. One train. Erk. The man opposite me was a little strage, talking to Kate and Hye Jin while I looked out the window with my ipod on. I wasn’t really in the mood to be social. About halfway through the trip when I’d temporarily taken my earphones out to listen to Kate, he asked Kate, “Why’s she so silent, so serious? What’s wrong with her?” Ha. That just made me want to talk to him less. We finally got off the train with much debarcle about which station we were actually at, and which one we should get off at. One such example of the confusion: (me)“Is this our stop? Should we get off here?” (reply) “Yes. You wait.” Huh? We got off the train and proceeded to a prepaid booth, which we discovered did not exist. About 10 drivers started talking to us all at once, following us and telling us prices and where they would take us. All different, mind you. We finally chose one driver, with a car, to take us to the hotel for a good price. We followed him through the masses of drivers and vehicles to his car, and put our bags in the boot. Then Kate and I realised we’d lost Hye Jin. Crap. I stayed at the car and Kate walked up and down looking for her, followed by constant heckling from drivers and people telling her that her friend already left in a rickshaw. All lies. We eventually found Hye Jin, who had been led astray by a driver who told her that we had already left and he’d take her wherever she wanted. Thankfully we all knew that the one would not have left without the other. We clambered into the back of our drivers car, and he took us to a hotel we asked him to show us. Unimpressed, we said we were looking for another, but he said he’d show us as hotel with “cheap price and good people.” Again unimpressed, we asked him to take us to one last hotel to look at, but he said that he gets paid 30 rupees (75c) if we stay in that hotel. He kept trying to convince us to stay, and I’d had enough, so I said, “If you show us the other one and we don’t stay at the one you want us to, I will give you 30 rupees. Just take us to the other one.” So he did. And we stayed there. He then arranged (persuasively/coercively, take your pick) for us to meet his father who would drive us in a rickshaw around the city looking at tourist sites from 10am. We went and got some food, because by this stage it was 9pm and we hadn’t had lunch, and then went to bed.

Waking up to see the Taj Mahal could have been better if it wasn’t so fricken early. We woke up at about 4:30, alarm went off at 5:30 and we got up and headed to the ticket office to see the Taj at sunrise. Apparently the ticket booth and the gates don’t open until 7am in the summer, despite the guides and signs saying 6am. So we waited in line for about half an hour before the ticket booth opened, and then went to the gate. The lines were still quite short, but there was a delay in us getting in because the head torches that Kate and I had stowed in our bags just in case was forbidden by Taj authorities and I had to walk half a kilometre to the Locker rooms and back. Lame. But we got in just as the sun was coming over the walls and before the major rush of tourists. Got some sweet photos, just like you see in postcards, only there’re people in mine.

After the Taj we came back and had to swap hotel rooms because there was a double booking or something, and then it was time to meet our rickshaw driver, Jalal, the father of last night’s taxi driver. It’s a family affair. He took us to Agra Fort, the Baby Taj, some other places and the garden where the fabled “Black Taj” (a negative image of the Taj Mahal) is said to have been started but never completed. We fell asleep in the sun in the garden for a little bit and then just asked the driver to take us home. He wanted to take us to some workshops or bazaars or something but we just said no. I think he was happy because we’d set a price for the day and it was only 2pm and we chose to go home. We were just all too exhausted. Even now, we’re just on the beds in the room, on our computers, summoning the energy to do anything. I should go find and internet cafe to post this and send some emails: I GOT AN APARTMENT IN CAMBODIA!!

We’re all still a bit sick... I decided to take the first lot of antibiotics yesterday so we’ll see after tomorrow if I’m better. We’re all very paranoid med students and are convinced that we have Giardiasis (worms) but hopefully not. Because I’m not allowed to take my worm tablets until I’ve been sick for 3 weeks. No thanks!!  

Tomorrow we head back to Delhi on the train at 6am, and spend the 24th, 25th, 26th there before leaving Hye Jin and flying to Cambodia for the next part of the adventure. It’s Christmas!!  And even if I’m not feeling 100% I’m still gonna eat Aussie chocolate, imported Nutella and fruit salad. We’ve found a bakery that sells fruitcake and mince pies in Delhi so we’ll definitely be getting some of that! I’ll wear my sari and we’re looking for a Christmas church service nearby... the internet’s not very helpful but we’ll find something! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and I’m looking forward to seeing you in the New Year. I’ll be praying for a safe and relaxing holiday for you, filled with lots of Christmas spirit and love!

Take care xx