Day 66 - New Delhi
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday 12th October
Day 10 - Commonwealth Games
Despite the early wake-up call, I bounded out of bed and downstairs to meet my driver, who would take me to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Despite only being 200km away, the ride took about 4.5 hours! As I'd booked a 'nice' package via Qantas Holidays back in Australia, I had a smooth car ride in a new and air-conditioned sedan, eliminating the pollution and dust from my trip. The ride there was uneventful, except for one point when, whilst stopped at a toll, a man came up to the window and had his monkey (on a lead) jump up on the window! It scared the living daylights out of me (he was selling photos with the monkey to tourists - I declined the offer).
When we reached Agra at about 11:30, we picked up our guide from the travel office. The guide was slightly sleazy (in the salesman sense, not the sexual sense!) but was very well educated - he had a degree and masters in tourism and history; and lead tours all over India. Having skipped breakfast, I asked to stop off at a cafe before we started our touring (random fact of the day: there are no Starbucks (at least, not that I could see) in India because they have several of their own very strong coffee chains.)
As I went to return to the car, the police appeared, blocking the main road off from pedestrians and vehicles. The train from Delhi, carrying Commonwealth Games athletes and officials, had just arrived, and the bus carrying them all was about to drive down the road - this was very typical behaviour in Delhi, but even in Agra!?
The Taj Mahal was actually closed off for the athletes only until 2pm, so our first visit was to the Agra Fort. This building was made of red sandstone, and about 500 years old. Only 10% of the area was open to the public, as the remaining sections were in use as military barracks (I think Mark was missing out in Canberra - where was his view of the Taj Mahal?!) My guide gave me a very information talk, going beyond history to speak of religion and philosophy. At one point, he started speaking about sex and its place in Indian society - and he got very graphic about "the sex" (I won't start discussing that here ... ) I know he was trying to be informative, but probably not that appropriate to speak to a single, young, female about!
A lunch break was provided at the conclusion of the tour of the Taj, and I was deposited at a local restaurant, where I enjoyed the garlic naan bread with a passion! But I was eager to get moving and on to the Taj Mahal - the greatest symbol of love in history, and one of the seven wonders of the world. (I say that, but is it really? There seem to be so many lists, a newly created list voted by the public - who knows?)
We entered via a side gate, typically used only by locals. I'd pre-purchased my ticket at Agra Fort as a discount was provided when both tickets were purchased; and I received a 'goodie bag' as I entered (bottle of water and shoe covers). Entering through the hall, I looked up to take my first glimpe (ignoring the far away view I'd had from Agra Fort) of the Taj. And wow, what a majestic sight - definitely worth putting up with the downfalls of India!
My guide explained to me that due to the Persian architectural philosophies, everything at the Taj was designed in symmetry, right down to the gardens and the intricate carving. On the left side of the Taj is a mosque, facing Mecca (as mosques must); and of course, on the right hand side, an exact replica of the mosque was built. However, this building can't be called a mosque as it doesn't face Mecca - so it's basically a pointless building for the purpose of symmetry! Everything was absolutely perfect - if even one mistake was made, the whole 'thing' (piece of marble, column etc) would be thrown out and the work started again. Imagine working on a 2 metre, 2 tonne piece of marble, carving intricate details for 2 months, only to make a mistake on the last piece of carving!
My guide also dispelled a few myths - 1), There is no evidence that Shah Jahan (the emperor who had it built) had planned a Black Mahal on the opposite side of the river; and 2) The architects and artisans who worked on the Taj did not have their fingers/hands cut off to stop them from working on other sites (more so, their fingers would accidentally be lost in accidents with their tools). As he had visited the Taj over 5000 times, he was a pro at taking photo album (or Facebook!) worthy photos, so I've got some great snaps to show.
With some buildings and sites, once you see them you feel fulfilled - "Ok, I've been to the Agra Fort, no need to come back". With the Taj Mahal, it was a different feeling - you felt like you could look at it all day, visit every day, and never get sick of it.
I farewelled my guide with a slick handshake, slyly slipping him a tip (yay, I finally mastered it!), and was back on the road to Agra with my driver. What a long day the driver must have - he picked me up at 7am and dropped me back at 8:30pm, and he does this almost everyday. A few interesting sights on the road from Agra - bulls and cows standing in the middle of roundabouts, and even the roads (cows are sacred here); and a camel 'towing' a cart down the street. As I commented to my driver how I loved cows, every time he spotted one he would make a mooing noise to point it out to me!
I had a great dinner of crispy honey potato (basically French fries, but done in a fried honey batter with sesame seeds)and rice from a local Chinese restaurant - I was stoked to find they'd included cutlery as well! Returning to my hotel, I found a large hall had sprung up next door, and the Indians were all celebrating a local festival (which was to go on for 9 nights), and were therefore singing and dancing well into the night. The sounds echoed through the speakers on my TV, so I didn't have a great night in!
Day 10 - Commonwealth Games
Despite the early wake-up call, I bounded out of bed and downstairs to meet my driver, who would take me to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. Despite only being 200km away, the ride took about 4.5 hours! As I'd booked a 'nice' package via Qantas Holidays back in Australia, I had a smooth car ride in a new and air-conditioned sedan, eliminating the pollution and dust from my trip. The ride there was uneventful, except for one point when, whilst stopped at a toll, a man came up to the window and had his monkey (on a lead) jump up on the window! It scared the living daylights out of me (he was selling photos with the monkey to tourists - I declined the offer).
When we reached Agra at about 11:30, we picked up our guide from the travel office. The guide was slightly sleazy (in the salesman sense, not the sexual sense!) but was very well educated - he had a degree and masters in tourism and history; and lead tours all over India. Having skipped breakfast, I asked to stop off at a cafe before we started our touring (random fact of the day: there are no Starbucks (at least, not that I could see) in India because they have several of their own very strong coffee chains.)
As I went to return to the car, the police appeared, blocking the main road off from pedestrians and vehicles. The train from Delhi, carrying Commonwealth Games athletes and officials, had just arrived, and the bus carrying them all was about to drive down the road - this was very typical behaviour in Delhi, but even in Agra!?
The Taj Mahal was actually closed off for the athletes only until 2pm, so our first visit was to the Agra Fort. This building was made of red sandstone, and about 500 years old. Only 10% of the area was open to the public, as the remaining sections were in use as military barracks (I think Mark was missing out in Canberra - where was his view of the Taj Mahal?!) My guide gave me a very information talk, going beyond history to speak of religion and philosophy. At one point, he started speaking about sex and its place in Indian society - and he got very graphic about "the sex" (I won't start discussing that here ... ) I know he was trying to be informative, but probably not that appropriate to speak to a single, young, female about!
A lunch break was provided at the conclusion of the tour of the Taj, and I was deposited at a local restaurant, where I enjoyed the garlic naan bread with a passion! But I was eager to get moving and on to the Taj Mahal - the greatest symbol of love in history, and one of the seven wonders of the world. (I say that, but is it really? There seem to be so many lists, a newly created list voted by the public - who knows?)
We entered via a side gate, typically used only by locals. I'd pre-purchased my ticket at Agra Fort as a discount was provided when both tickets were purchased; and I received a 'goodie bag' as I entered (bottle of water and shoe covers). Entering through the hall, I looked up to take my first glimpe (ignoring the far away view I'd had from Agra Fort) of the Taj. And wow, what a majestic sight - definitely worth putting up with the downfalls of India!
My guide explained to me that due to the Persian architectural philosophies, everything at the Taj was designed in symmetry, right down to the gardens and the intricate carving. On the left side of the Taj is a mosque, facing Mecca (as mosques must); and of course, on the right hand side, an exact replica of the mosque was built. However, this building can't be called a mosque as it doesn't face Mecca - so it's basically a pointless building for the purpose of symmetry! Everything was absolutely perfect - if even one mistake was made, the whole 'thing' (piece of marble, column etc) would be thrown out and the work started again. Imagine working on a 2 metre, 2 tonne piece of marble, carving intricate details for 2 months, only to make a mistake on the last piece of carving!
My guide also dispelled a few myths - 1), There is no evidence that Shah Jahan (the emperor who had it built) had planned a Black Mahal on the opposite side of the river; and 2) The architects and artisans who worked on the Taj did not have their fingers/hands cut off to stop them from working on other sites (more so, their fingers would accidentally be lost in accidents with their tools). As he had visited the Taj over 5000 times, he was a pro at taking photo album (or Facebook!) worthy photos, so I've got some great snaps to show.
With some buildings and sites, once you see them you feel fulfilled - "Ok, I've been to the Agra Fort, no need to come back". With the Taj Mahal, it was a different feeling - you felt like you could look at it all day, visit every day, and never get sick of it.
I farewelled my guide with a slick handshake, slyly slipping him a tip (yay, I finally mastered it!), and was back on the road to Agra with my driver. What a long day the driver must have - he picked me up at 7am and dropped me back at 8:30pm, and he does this almost everyday. A few interesting sights on the road from Agra - bulls and cows standing in the middle of roundabouts, and even the roads (cows are sacred here); and a camel 'towing' a cart down the street. As I commented to my driver how I loved cows, every time he spotted one he would make a mooing noise to point it out to me!
I had a great dinner of crispy honey potato (basically French fries, but done in a fried honey batter with sesame seeds)and rice from a local Chinese restaurant - I was stoked to find they'd included cutlery as well! Returning to my hotel, I found a large hall had sprung up next door, and the Indians were all celebrating a local festival (which was to go on for 9 nights), and were therefore singing and dancing well into the night. The sounds echoed through the speakers on my TV, so I didn't have a great night in!
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