Agra, Day 2

The night was very short. The alarm clock started ringing at 6am as we planned to visit the Taj Mahal early in the morning as it would be less crowded and we could see the sunrise. The entrance fee for the Taj Mahal was 20 Rupees for the Indians and 750 Rupees for the foreigners. It is a great injustice, in my opinion. What counts is the height of income and not where you come from. As if each foreigner is wealthy. But that's India and it is ok. Anyway, you can't change it. In order to enter the Taj Mahal area, we were shaked down. No high resolution cameras were allowed. They really take care of their Taj Mahal. As the sun rose behind us and in front of the Taj Mahal, it was not as awesome as it would have been when the sun rose up behind the Taj Mahal. We hung about, took some nice pics of the Taj Mahal and, of course, entered the Taj Mahal. But honestly speaking, there is not much to see inside. It is dark and the tomb can not be visited and it is located in the basement. The two coffins you see when you enter the Taj Mahal are not one of Maharadsha’s wife who died in 1631 while her child was born. In the early afternoon we went to Agra Fort. Before have reached there entirely we had been already asked whether we want to hire a guide. As a little discount was given to us, we decided to take one. All summed up, it was not a worthwile as his English was more or less not comprehensible. But nevertheless, Agra Fort was very interesting and we have seen so many monuments being part of Agra Fort.
We wanted to finish the day by visiting Itimad-ud-Daula, also called the Baby Taj Mahal as it looks similar to the Taj Mahal. It is called Baby Taj Mahal as it is much smaller than the real Taj Mahal. As it was constructed before the Taj Mahal, its appearance must have been copied to construct the Taj Mahal. On the way to the Baby Taj Mahal we had to cross the river Jamuna. This was an adventure itself. We saw people getting cut their hairs in the streets by simply sitting in front of a pole where a mirror was attached. And the bridge we used to cross the river was crowded with vehicles edging their ways through. Simply incredible. Once we reached the Baby Taj Mahal, we were surrounded by some kids asking for money and food. I wanted to give them my water bottle. But as they all of a sudden started fighting for the bottle. Therefore, I decided to keep the bottle. They fighted like hell, as if the would die if I didn’t give them my bottle.
When we returned to our hotel, we simply went for dinner and arranged our luggage. We planned to take the train at 5.30pm for Jaipur. We took a rickshaw in due time for the railway station and awaited the train on the platform to run in. In the train I had a nice conversation with some Indians about their culture and religion. It was quite interesting. During the journey, a little boy tidied up the floor without having been asked for it. Afterwards he asked for some money. That’s evidence, how poor India in some area still is. But it also shows how smart some people are and how they manage to survive every day, again and again. At about 10pm we reached Jaipur and took a rickshaw for the Evergreen hotel which was recommended by Lonely Planet and some other trainees who had already stayed there. It was a very simple double room but settled our claims.

Agra, Day 1

The Taj Mahal Express arrived in due time in Agra. The first thing we did, was to get a rikshaw, which was of course again related with doing some bargaining. After having arranged a good prize we drove to the main city. Karolina and I decided to stay in a hotel close to the Taj Mahal, in a area called Taj Ghat. It was pretty obvious by the first view that Agra was completely different from how I imagined it to be. Anyhow, it is the city of the Taj Mahal. It was very polluted and all summed up, a very messy city. One the way to our hotel, we were stopped by the police. I was so excited to see the Taj Mahal that I got angry because of this stop. What on hell could the driver had done to be fined by the police I asked myself. I was very startled as the driver told me the reason for the stop. It was all because of the Taj Mahal. Due to acid rain the Taj Mahal loses it beauty and pureness of the white marble. Therefore, only rickshaws those engines accord to a certain standard are allowed in the area around the Taj Mahal. When we arrived at Hotel Kamal, I could bear to see the Taj Mahal. The hotel’s roof top is to have a great view to the Taj Mahal. Hence, after having checked in, we climbed up to the roof top immediately. I still remember what I thought, when I climbed up the last steps to the roof top. As I reached the top, I was looking around, to the east, to the west, in each direction, but couldn’t find the Taj Mahal. It was like a desperate search for something you have missed for so many years, for example. The reason, why I couldn’t find it was because of a tree standing in front of the house and constraining me to see the Taj Mahal. After taking some steps forward, I finally saw it. It was awesome and breathtaking. To be honest, I can’t describe it in words. It is definitely the most beautiful building I have ever seen. And I don’t think that any building in the world is more beautiful than the Taj Mahal. After so many years of simply hearing that there is supposed to be a building called Taj Mahal which is supposed to be so beautiful, now it was me standing approximately 500 meters away from it. I mean, this building is what India famous for. And all Indians are proud of it, and they are right to be. We had a breakfast at the roof top and kept on staring on it all the time. We decided to visit the Taj Mahal the next day in the morning as it would be less crowded then.
Thus, the first day we took a bus to Fatehpur Sikri. Before the bus left Agra, a man entered the bus delivering a speech. At least, that’s what I thought at the beginning. But actually, he tried to sell some stuff. Fatehpur Sikri is a city close to Agra, those monuments have become a World heritage. Mogul Akbar ruled from here in 16th century before he moved to Lahore. We have seen monuments like the Jama Masjid or the Diwan-i-Am, the main palace. It was all very impressive, especially because the monuments were carved elaborately. We took some pics and went back to the bus stop were we waited for the departure of the bus. As it was already dusk when we reached Agra again, we simply decided to have dinner on another hotel’s roof top while again starting to stare at the Taj Mahal.

Train to Agra

On Monday morning we took the train to Agra. At 6.30am we waited on the platform of Nizamuddin Railway station for Taj Express departing at 7.15am. The railway station is of course a polluted area. I have seen rats wandering around on the railways searching for something to eat. Even a cow was roaming on the railways, not bothering about prospective incoming trains. We haven’t been alone on the platform; we have been surrounded by tourists, Indians sleeping and lots of goods including herbals, vegetables and so on. All those things were packed in sacs. At about 7am our train arrived. Usually Indian trains are delayed, but fortunately not this one.
We went to Agra by taking Taj Mahal Express. The train promised what his name has got supposed to, it was a really fast train; it only took 3 hours to Agra. On the way to Agra the surroundings of the rails have been polluted with different kinds of garbage. People even stood up to throw their garbage out of the opened doors, instead of keeping it and tiding up it correctly. But obviously, it was their way of tiding up their garbage correctly as first everybody did it like that and second, the environment seams to be simply their garbage can. Otherwise, I suppose, they wouldn’t have made such an effort to get rid of it. I noticed at once the numerous fans hanging on the ceiling. Fortunately, they were out of order as I might have blown away if they had worked all together. Anyhow, it was really sultry or hot as if we would have needed them.
A lot of business was made on the train starting with people selling coffee and Chai, the most famous and most tasty Indian tea and followed people selling papers, newspapers and crisps. Moreover, kids were roaming through the train playing the drums and the flute. But that’s not the end. I could have even got fixed my shoes or my clothes! Tailors and shoemakers were also going to Agra. I don’t know if the paid a fare or if they are tolerated by the Indian Railways so that they are able to earn some money.
The trip was going on quite well, apart from the fact that the Indian woman sitting next to me was snoring most of the time and the train was shaking slightly back and forth, left – right, left – right. If I had been a baby I would have easily fallen asleep on the way to Agra ;-)