Will Wonders Never Cease....

Early wake up call today (btw... it's Oct 19) We got up at 5:15 am... yes... AM! Our train to Agra leaves at 6:00 am and, although the trains may or may not arrive on time, they always leave on time.

Imagine if you will... say... Bay and Queen St in downtown Toronto at 5:50 am.
It would be a ghost town compared to the streets outside our hotel at that time. I would wonder when these people sleep - except that we've seen entire families sleeping wherever they could find a space. I don't think any social system yet imagined could care for 14 million people in one city. I wonder how these people survive.

We board the train and wait for departure. Sitting on the train, I watch the scene on the platform pass by. There was a food counter with a crowd of ordinary business men getting their morning coffee and maybe even some breakfast. On the ground, at their feet was a man from the beggar caste. He had no legs and very little eyesight. The billboard above his head was advertising the latest flat screen LCD televisions. The pieces just didn't seem to fit together in my head.

The train left right on time - 6:00 am.

The light increased as the sun rose and started to reveal the ugly side of Delhi from the train window. I could see tumbled down brick buildings where people lived, fires for cooking, animals, garbage, garbage, garbage, a field full of ragged tents and men, everywhere, squatting to relieve themselves. Open fields, on the side of the train tracks, everywhere. I even saw a small child squatting on the top of a crumbling brick wall. I had been doing OK up until then but I fully admit I had a bit of a breakdown. My brain couldn't connect the circuits and I was just overwhelmed.

The further we travelled from Delhi, the more the scene changed. The shanty towns gave way to farm fields and tall towers of drying grass. The train arrived in Agra right on time and I have to say, the food on India Rail is way better than any airline food I've had lately!

When we stepped off the train we were immediately accosted by a taxi driver promising low rates. The guide books recommend that you only ride with the official prepaid taxis and this guy definitely was not. We walked to the tourist info counter while we decided our next move. The taxi driver followed us in tow, talking the entire time.

We decided it wasn't all that far and we'd walk to the Agra Fort and then see the Taj later. As we stepped outside we were overrun with taxi drivers and rickshaw drivers and bicycle rickshaws - all promising tours and the best rates and the most knowledge. We told them we wanted to walk, but they really didn't believe us (or didn't care). I don't think tourists ever walk in Agra! We pushed on and started walking. Now, added to our first taxi driver, we also had a bicycle rickshaw following us.

As I said, the fort was our first destination but, unfortunately, we didn't get the best sense of which direction to head before we left the station (perhaps all the harassing?) We thought we knew the general direction and we were also trying to lose our stalkers so we just started walking. We were so wrong.

We ended up walking for over an hour and I'd say for atleast half of it, we had our "friends" in tow. That was until we took this left turn through what seemed to be an open sandy field running next to this tall red brick wall ... looked kind of fort like.

It wasn't a fort.

It wasn't an open sandy field.

It was just some big stone wall. And the field was the toilet for a very large number of local inhabitants. There was a stream of raw sewage running by, there were people "using the facilities" and there were a large number of pigs rummaging about. We wandered through back alleys and laneways for quite some time. Yes... we were entirely lost. The place was like a maze. Everywhere we went people were coming to the doorways and looking at us (like we were crazy). Kids, being kids, all wanted to say hello... alot! We became pretty convinced that tourists basically never enter this area - they likely take transport direct to the fort and then the Taj and then leave town. The locals seemed quite shocked to see us. We never felt threatened or in any danger at all - but man was I getting hot.

At one point we passed this play structure that was overrun with kids. It seemed entirely out of place but they were having the best time - oh, and they ALL know how to say hello! I can't do the experience justice really. There was so much and it was a bit overwhelming to think that people actually live this way.

Somehow, we eventually found ourselves back on a main street and hopped onto a bicycle rickshaw to take us to the fort.

The fort had a line of tour buses outside and more hucksters trying to sell us personal guided tours and trinkets and tshirts and whatever else you can think of. The fort was quite massive and there are large sections of it that are still occupied by the military. We were tired from our long walk so we sat on a bench in the shade and relaxed for awhile.

After a bit of a rest we started a little exploration. The architecture is quite elaborate and the stonework must have taken years. It seems that the fort must be under some sort of constant repair and rejuvenation. There were workers removing some piles of rocks and stones to another area - they were women carrying large baskets on their heads while their children played in an alcove. No daycare I guess.

I walked through one stone doorway and something fell in front of me. I looked up and tucked in between the large stone carvings in the archway were bats. Yes... I said bats.
It gave me a bit of a start and yes, I definitely jumped, but no, I did not scream and run away... I took a photo instead.

After we'd had enough exploring of the fort we started to get hungry and wanted to get to the Taj for sunset. We decided to take a rickshaw this time (enough walking)! It takes alot of negotiating sometimes to get a ride. One guy had us... we were in our seats and ready to pay his price but he wanted to take us somewhere else first... a shop, and then to our destination. The shops pay the drivers for bringing them tourists. We said no, he insisted, so we got out and found another driver who agreed to take us direct. (Pretty much everything seems to be negotiable). We had the driver take us to the cyber cafe near the Taj to check our email. We were waiting for a reply from Acharya regarding meeting in Manali to go hiking in the mountains. We then stopped at a restaurant with a nice rooftop cafe where we could have some lunch and relax out of the madness in the streets below. The owner commented on my freckles. I think they get alot of Europeans but guess they don't get too many fair, freckled tourists. After lunch, it was a short walk to the Taj (we could actually see it from the rooftop patio).

At the Taj, locals pay 5 rupees and foreigners pay 750 rupees. Someone told us later that due to deterioration, they were trying to cut down on the number of tourists except that the majority of tourists were locals so tourism really hadn't decreased. Because they are trying to protect the monument, they are pretty strict on what you can take in. There were two lines, one for women, one for men, where you were searched and you also had to pass through a metal detector. No food, no cell phones, no chewing tobacco, etc, etc... The female military person who searched me was pretty lenient compared with the man who searched Brad. Brad had to check his pocket knife at the gate.

Just inside the gates is the shot that everyone sees and takes with the huge white marble Taj reflecting in the long fountains. We had a US tourist take our cliche shot in front and then started to explore the side paths. (we'll post photos when we find somewhere that can download our digital cards). We followed the paths into the gardens and just sort of wandered around. There is much more to see than just the actual building that you always see photos of. Although the Taj is really big... Brad commented that he thought it would be bigger.



We wandered around the main structure and decided to go up, inside. They put blue cloth booties over our shoes and up we went (to protect the marble). We wanted to watch the sunset so we sat on some steps at the bottom of one of the turrets and just people watched. Suddenly, I became the tourist attraction. A group of school kids came up and wanted their picture with me ... and each and every one of their cameras... then their teacher wanted a photo... then another couple of people... then an entire family! Who knew being a red head was so fascinating! I joked that I should have started charging 10 rupees per photo to make some money!

The sunset was absolutely beautiful.. and the sun setting over the mosque... wait til you see the rest of the photos!!!

We headed back to the train station to wait for our train back to Delhi. We sat in this little food plaza called Comesum. I imagine it is rather like thier fast food chain since it seems to have many locations in all the train stations. Yummy snacks and chilling out... perfection... except for the annoying mime. Was it Seinfeld or Friends where they said "all mimes should be shot"?

We wandered up and down the platform for awhile, waiting for our train, and I had my first completely instinct driven "get me the hell out of here" moment. I spotted two legless beggars moving in on us... now, I know in my brain that they won't hurt me but my brain was tired and the rest of me just wanted to get away from them. Brad caught the look on my face and we moved to the other end of the platform to wait.

Back on the train... back to Delhi... back to the hotel... whew... time for bed after one very long and tiring day!!!