So here is the part of the story I haven’t told you about yet; I will be traveling the golden triangle, like a good many tourists do. But, here’s the difference; I will be driving myself from Delhi to Agra, and then to Jaipur before finally driving back to Delhi again.
The car; a Silver 2014 Hyundai Sonata, fully loaded exception being manual transmission (tricky with right hand drive, but I’ve done it before) was provided by Hyundai and left for me at the hotel. Keeping in mind, I’d been witnessing the driving and traffic in Delhi the past couple of days, and I did have to sit in the driveway of the hotel for a moment to steal my nerves to head out!
Getting out of Delhi was indeed horrific. I ended up in a traffic jam in some part of town, I’m not even certain of the name, all I know as that it took me nearly three hours to move 15 kilometers (9.3 miles). This mind you was with bus tires inches from my fenders at any given time, and scooters attempting to get through anyway.
Finally escaping the city, the rest of the drive wasn’t too bad, but for learning HOW to drive in India. Rule number one: your horn is the ONLY thing that matters, the thing must operate! Rule number two: People do not EVER look in their mirrors; see rule number one. After my mirrors were hit for the 4th time, I stopped and folded them in like everyone else had done, and understood, why people don’t use their mirrors. Rule number three: when you approach a car or truck or bus or goat from behind, honk your horn to let them know you are there. Rule number four: expect anyone or anything to be on the road, and to do anything and everything. Going the wrong way for a couple of miles, expect it, goats, pigs, dogs, chickens, cows, elephants, camels, people, can and will be on the road at anytime. Rule number five: Chill, you’ll get there eventually, so long as you don’t ignore rules 1-4.
Agra, is a short 210 kilometers (130 miles) from Delhi, a distance here in the states that would take you no more than 2 hours to cover. It took 5 hours to make the same trip in India. I finally arrived around 3:00 in the afternoon, and found my hotel for the next 2 nights, the 5-star ITC Mughal Agra. An absolutely beautiful property, with stunning pools, polished marble floors, tasteful décor, it was like the last five hours had evaporated.
I was greeted by a beautiful woman, who guided me to a desk, where we sat down, and refreshments were served as she checked me in. While I didn’t get a suite this time, I did get a very nice large room, with a fantastic sunken marble tub, I had every intention of soaking in that night!
But, first since I had a few hours, I decided to go explore, and find out how to get to the Taj Mahal the next morning before daybreak. The lovely lady who checked me in, was so kind to inform me that I shouldn’t walk, or take a tuk-tuk as it wouldn’t be safe, that the hotel would arrange a car with a driver for me. I explained I’d just driven myself from Delhi and asked her, what could happen? Once she recovered from the shock that I was driving in India, she said, we don’t want our guests exposed to the local conditions so intimately. Well, since the Taj Mahal was only 1.2 miles from the hotel according to google maps, I decided I could walk it.
As I walked out the gate, the guard there gave me a look like he couldn’t figure out what I was doing. I turned right, and came to a bridge crossing over a street, that led directly to the Taj Mahal. Looking down, I saw some “stairs” that were leading from the level I was on, down to the street. Simple enough, I headed down, and noticed some stairs are missing, but managed, and then at the end, there was a board crossing a ditch, which I am quite certain was the sewer. Not trusting the board, I jumped over the ditch, and headed down the street.
I very quickly I came a across some small children on both sides of the street, and a couple of the braver ones came out to find out who I was. I smiled, and gave them the candies, I’d pocketed from the large bowl on the reception desk at the hotel, specifically for this occasion. Then they swarmed me, lol when I held up my hands to indicate it was all gone, they smiled and scampered off.
I kept walking and the street began to take on a market feel, vendors selling stuff for the upcoming Holi Festival, as well as food, deep fried breads, soup and tea. It all smelled quite good, once you got past the fact that all the heat for cooking was coming from fires fueled by cow dung patties. It works.
Farther on, and saw a police station, and walked by, they looked at me like I didn’t belong, and I just kept walking. I found the south entrance to the Taj Mahal, and noticed workers installing new stainless steel corrals (I don’t think there’s a better word) to handle the throngs of visitors every day.
I continued around the walls of the Taj Mahal, and eventually came to a river, turns out the same river that’s in Delhi running along the edge of the Red Fort. The sun was setting, and there was a boat, the scene was beautiful, despite the trash on the banks and in the water.
Seeing the Taj from this perspective of the river was pretty amazing, and at sunset, I decided to wait around for the sun to set more completely, for some photos.
I’ve run into this problem before when I want to enjoy a sunset, I forget I have to get back and now it’s dark. I did this once in the mountains around Cappadocia, Turkey and had to hike down with the light from my phone’s flash. This time it wasn’t as much the darkness, but suddenly there were a few hundred monkeys all around the road, on the east side wall of the Taj Mahal. Big monkeys and I’m not familiar enough with monkey behavior to know what they might do. For the most part they left me alone, but would run up and then suddenly around me, seeming to like to see me get nervous.
I got back to the hotel and told them of my walk, and they were amazed I’d done such a thing, I showed them the pictures, and they appreciated, that I captured and focused on the beauty, and not the poverty. I told them about the monkeys, and they said I was right to be cautious with them, they will attack apparently.
After a light meal, and a couple of beers, I relaxed in my tub, and recalled the day, and felt very content.
At 5:30 the next morning I headed out of the front gate, and decided, I’d walk across the street where I saw a bunch of auto rickshaws. One of the nice drivers there took me to the west entrance in about 5 minutes, I wanted to get in the queue as early as possible, so this worked out great.
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It was pretty chilly, people were there with heavy coats, and blankets, and I just had a t-shirt on, but I’m pretty warm running, so didn’t have much trouble. At the first glimmer of sunshine the gates opened, and people began to crush their way in to put their bags through x-ray machines and walk through metal detectors, understandably so.
I got my ticket, and was accosted by several people offering to be my guide, one guy seemed pretty laid back, and I asked him how much, he said 300 Rupees, and I agreed. He was very informative, and even helped me sneak a couple photos inside the Taj. He explained we want to get to the Taj right away, to get pics before the crowds come in. He also regaled me with the story of the “Black Taj” which it is told was intended to be the resting place for Shah Jahan. While modern scholars have claimed to debunk the story as a myth, there is strong historical evidence that it can’t be entirely dismissed. Iftakhar Nadime Khan writes a blog about the evidence (most notably the asymmetrical position of Jahan’s cenotaph within the funerary chamber of the Taj) this he believes, supports the notion that the Taj Mahal is but half of the monument originally intended by Shah Jahan.
Once inside, he explained a lot of what was going on at the time the Taj Mahal was built, and the beginning of the end of the Mughal power in the region. I very much appreciated his knowledge, and also, his knowing of where at what time to be to get the best shots.
Of course, there was a reason he was a bit cheaper than the other guys, he took me to his brother’s shop after leaving the Taj, where I don’t think I bought anything, but was very familiar with this customer acquisition tactic from other places around the world. You can get a very cheap tuk-tuk ride in Bangkok for example, but you’ll stop at three shops on the way, as they pay him to bring you there, and that’s why the ride is so cheap. It wasn’t a big deal, I actually enjoy it sometimes, as you learn something you might not have about rug weaving, or silk making, or whatever, they are selling.
I got back to the hotel by 9:30 am still in time for breakfast, which I enjoyed immensely, and fueled me up to go visit the Agra Fort. As I came out of the gate of the hotel this time, the rickshaw driver from this morning saw me, and zoomed over to get me, dropping me off at the Fort a quick 5 minutes later, he wanted to know how long I’d be, and I explained, I have no idea, I’ll probably just walk back it’s not that far. He smiled, and said “you’re a strange white guy man,” which I took as a compliment.
Compared to the Red Fort in Delhi, the Agra Fort is much smaller, easier to take in within a couple of hours. In fact, I found much of to be all too familiar and little wonder as they were both built by the same man.
As I left, my rickshaw driver wasn’t there, and I headed down the road for my 3.4 KM (2 miles) walk back to the hotel, I noticed something called the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center, and thought I’d check it out. Sadly, it was closed, but out front I saw something that kind of shocked me, a woman in a massive pile of dung, shaping it into patties, and laying them in the sun to dry. I didn’t take a picture, mostly because I didn’t want to take any chance she’d see me taking a picture, and also, I asked myself why?
When I approached the gate to the hotel, my rickshaw driver from across the street zoomed up, and gave me a bag of fried bread balls, coated in sugar. I figured, they can’t be too dangerous to eat, they’re fried after all…and thanked him, and was again rewarded with a warm smile.
Returning to the lobby, I found I had a bit of a fan club comprised of the hotel staff, waiting to hear about where I’d gone and what I’d seen today. I shared some pictures, told them of my rickshaw rides, and the driver, the treat he gave me, and walking back from Agra Fort. One of them I guess had called the bar, and they brought me a beer, and some appetizers. I asked if they do this for many guests, and one of them told me, there aren’t many who are will to do what I had done, and see the “real” India. I was, truly, humbled.
The next morning during my long leisurely breakfast I began steal up my resolve to drive again. Upon checking out, I thought my new friend was taking a while, but as she finished up and gave me the receipts, she walked beside me to the front lobby, where there were several of the staff had lined up, and presented me a gift, wrapped and everything. It was a beautiful marble with inlay of flowers, pen and note paper holder. I was so very touched, one of the ladies asked if she could apply a bindi (the red dot worn on the forehead by Hindus) I said sure, and she did, then she held her hands together, and bowed and said Namaste.
I wheeled my bags out to my waiting car, and loaded up, and got the Garmin fired up, and was on my way to Jaipur.
