Spring 2015 - Day 60: India
Our wake up call was at 4am, which was much too early. Even worse was that we were checking out of our hotel so we had to be completely packed.
We headed right to the train station and boarded a train to Agra. We had to wait on the train platform for about 15 minutes and while we were standing there we witnessed a few interesting things. First, a dog was on the tracks and struggled to get off them before a train came, it was a tense few minutes. Second, people crossed the tracks freely and casually. Third, a lot of people took pictures with us. And I don't mean that they asked and then posed with us. I mean they stood in front of our giant group and just had someone take a picture of them with all of us standing around. It was so interesting.
In China people would take pictures with us all the time but they would ask first and then stand with us. That happened here too but they also would just film us randomly. We would be walking along and someone would just be blatantly filming us. The lack of shame was astounding. They didn't think it was rude at all to just stick a camera in our faces.
The last interesting thing that we noticed was that the train smelled like urine when it pulled up. It was really strong and we were worried that we were going to smell it on the entire ride. The train was really shabby looking and we were told to be aggressive when getting on or off or you may be blocked by people going in the opposite direction. Luckily the inside of the train did not have any interesting smells.
What it did have was a guy who serviced our car. Our group took up one entire car of the train and this poor guy just walked up and down the car asking if we wanted anything. The food sketched us all out and we were also told that we were getting breakfast when we got to Agra so very few of us ate the food. The one thing that I did take from him was a newspaper.
It was the most interesting newspaper I have ever read. In the U.S we always complain about how our news is very negative and that we never report on happy things. Well, this India newspaper was far more grim than anything I have read in the U.S. There were at least three articles about children younger than 5 being raped. And it named the rapist and went into detail about the event. We would never report something like that in the U.S. I am not saying that it doesn't happen but it certainly doesn't end up in our newspapers.
This newspaper held terrible news but it was raw and real and I felt like I was actually learning about the goings on of northern India.
I got a good nap in on the train ride but by the time we got to Agra I was still so sleepy. We took the bus straight from the train station to a hotel for breakfast. We weren't staying in this hotel over night, we just had breakfast in it because there are not many restaurants that would fit a group our size. Also, a hotel is the safest place to eat.
The meal was delicious and included muffins and fruit and made-to-order omelets. Once we were done with our meal we got back on the bus and headed for the Taj Mahal.
The excitement for the Taj was palpable. This wasn't a surprise, it's one of the seven wonders of the world an is a major destination to see and experience.
On the way to the Taj we saw tons of cows just roaming the streets. Our guide said that the cows were most likely abandoned by their families. Cows are a sacred animal because they provide so much and also for various religious reasons. Since they are sacred they can not be killed, doing so would put you in jail for 10 years, so when a cow no longer can provide milk or is no longer useful it is just set free.
Our tour guide warned us that we were not allowed to bring most things into the Taj. Basically only cameras and wallets were allowed. You couldn't even have extra camera batteries with you. No food, no liquids except water, no sharp objects, no lighters, no newspapers, no banners, tripods, nothing running on a battery except cameras, phones, and watches, no headphones, and no random trinkets. Security at the Taj is tighter than at the airport. Because of these rules we all had to empty most of our bags on to the bus so that nothing would be confiscated when we went through security. He also gave us shoe covers to wear when we actually went up onto the Taj. He also told us that the Taj is the most photographed monument in the world. Of course it is…
The bus dropped us off at the mouth of the road that lead down to the Taj. We were met by people trying to sell us things. They had magnets, postcards, necklaces, keychains, and other random things that none of us really wanted to buy. Well, we couldn't buy them at that time because we would have been able to get into the Taj with them.
Also along the road were camels pulling carts. They were everywhere and they didn't smell all that good. They also didn't have any hair, which isn't good for a camel, their fur is what keeps them cool and it was probably at least 90 degrees out. But they were still beautiful. They were just regally waiting there for something to do. Camels are cool.
We had to walk about 5 minutes down this road until we came to the outer structure of the Taj. We filed into the corrals that reminded me of the metal holds they file cows into before they are slaughtered. There was a line for women with premium tickets or general tickets and a line for men with general tickets or premium tickets.
The line went pretty quickly. We were patted down and had our bags searched and then were pushed out into a courtyard. The area was surrounded by rust colored building inlaid with white marble. You could see the very tips of the Taj on the far left side behind the largest rust colored structure. All we had to do was walk through the arch and we would be in full view of it.
We waited in this courtyard for the rest of our group to get through security. Then we headed through the archway. Everyone stopped inside the archway to take a picture of the Taj framed by the arch. It was shoulder to shoulder people, all of them taking pictures.
When we got to the other side of the arch there were even more people because there was a photo spot where the Taj would be centered. Of course, we headed for that right away. There was a makeshift line to wait for the photo spot but people were also jumping in at random. When we got to the front of the line I stood up there to have my picture taken just to hear someone yelling at me. A guy wanted to to get out of the picture he was taking of his wife. He was yelling and waving at me to move over or leave the spot.
It was really frustrating because the lighting was bad so Jessi was struggling to take a picture where my face wasn't dark and I wanted to help her adjust my camera and then this guy was yelling at me and as soon as he stopped yelling there were more people yelling and pushing to get at that spot. I have never been around people so aggressively trying to take a picture. Were they in a rush? Did they have other places to be? Probably not. And the Taj certainly wasn't moving, so why was everyone is such a rush to take the perfect picture? Everyone was cramped and rude and yelling. It was not enjoyable. I got so frustrated that I just told Jessi to forget it and we moved away from the spot.
I felt a sudden rush of negative emotion and wanted to cry a little. Not because I didn't get a photo, I didn't really care about that. But because all of these other people being so aggressive put a damper on this moment of seeing such an important place. I guess I have just never been to a place filled with so many people wanting the same thing at the same time. It was overwhelming and it took away from the experience.
The spot that we moved to offered just a beautiful pictures and because of the hustle and bustle I missed our guide telling us the story of the Taj. But I already knew most of it:
A emperor, Shah Jahan, had multiple wives but Mumtaz Mahal, his third wife, was his favorite. He basically worshiped the ground that she walked on and she accompanied him to many of his appearances and bore many children for him. She died giving birth her their 14th child and he decided that he wanted to build a mausoleum that was grand enough to hold her remains. He began building in 1632 and it was completed after 22 years, in 1653. It is made of white marble and is inlayed with yellow marble, jasper, jade, and black marble. The inside is inlayed with many semi precious gemstones. The materials to build it came from all over India and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport the materials.
Shah Jahan was buried in the mausoleum next to his wife after his death.
The mausoleum has held up well over the years. In the late 19th century parts of it had fallen into disrepair and it was defaced by British soldiers during the Indian rebellion of 1857. They chiseled out precious stones from its walls. A complete restoration was completed in 1908 by British viceroy Lord Curzon.
In 1942 the government put up scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by the Japanese Air Force. The scaffoldings were put up again during the India-Pakistan wars for 1965 and 1971.
More recently there have been concerns for the structural integrity of the building because of the lowering groundwater in the Yamuna river, which the tomb is right on the bank of. In 2010 cracks appeared on parts of the building and the minarets on each corner were showing sounds of tilting. In 2011 it was predicted that the tomb could collapse in the next 5 years. Our guide said that in the next few years they are going to cease allowing people to actually enter the tomb. Visitors will only be allowed in the gardens around it. I am glad that I was able to go there when I did.
We spent a lot of time taking pictures at the very front before we headed down into the garden. The gardens were beautiful, in the very center leading up to the Taj were long pools, surrounding the pools was very green grass and trees and bushes. It was all very green and we came on a perfectly clear day which all contrasted very well with the white of the Taj. It was just a beautiful sight.
We moseyed our way towards the Taj, stopping every once in a while to take more photos. We then donned our booties and went up onto the white marble of the courtyard of the Taj itself. The white marble was even more beautiful up close and it was surreal to be walking on something so famous. The line to go inside to see the tombs was ridiculously long so instead Jessi and I opted to walk around the outside. The Taj is built symmetrical so the back side of it looked exactly the same as the front. We ran into some SASers who had just come out from inside and they said there wasn't much to see, it was dark, and people just kept pushing and running by so it wasn't really worth going in there.
When we got to the far side from where we had started some people asked to take pictures with us. It wasn't uncommon and was generally fun so we said yes and stopped to take pictures with them. Then, someone else saw the picture being taken and asked to take a picture with us next. Then someone else wanted one and soon there was a line to take pictures with the two of us. People just kept switching out. We probably took at least 15 pictures with various people.
It was awesome, are really weird. I now understand why it would suck to be famous, you cant walk more than two feet without being stopped.
We had to cut the photo session short because it was coming up on the time when we needed to meet back up with our group. We had to hurry back down the gardens to the rust colored archway that we had started at.
We tried to stop at one of the pools to take one last photo and I ended up being yelled at again to get out of the way. I was really over it after that. People are just so rude. That whole experience put a weird sort of cloud over my time at the Taj. It was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but the amount of people there ruined it.
Walking back to the bus some of us bought things that were being sold on the side of the road. I bought a magnet and a booklet of postcards. All of the post cards in the booklet were of the Taj so everyone getting postcards this port are getting one of the Taj.
After I agreed to buy the magnet and the postcards I was hounded by other people selling things. Once you show you are willing to spend money they never leave you alone. We had to fight our way back onto the bus. There were three guys blocking the door of the bus trying to get someone on the bus to buy something. I had to yell at them to get out of the way so that I could get on the bus. It was madness and so overwhelming.
We had only about 10 minutes of breathing time before we were at our next location, Agra Fort.
The fort was built in 1565 and covers 75 acres. It must have been built by some prince or emperor because my notes say that it housed concubines and maidens and that, at one time, there were 1500 girls living in the fort. But I didn't write down why it was built or who built it.
There were granite bathtubs all over the fort. Apparently they bathed out in the open.
I wrote down a quote that says, "Whenever the elephant wakes up, we will take him." I think it refers to the selling of elephants and how they choose them. But then I wrote that they no longer sell elephants commercially nor are the caught and domesticated. Laws changed recently regarding the sale of elephants. At one time there were 300,000 elephants free in the wild and now there are only about 30,000.
That's all I wrote about the fort. I don't know how the elephants relate. What I do know is that when we were in the fort I was really, really hungry and dehydrated and didn't feel like listening to the guide.
The best part of the fort was that you could see the Taj Mahal out the windows on one side. It was a beautiful sight to see the Taj from far away, sitting gracefully on the side of the river.
You know that photo essay on some of the worlds best known places and the area around them? So it shows the Pyramids of Giza and then another angle where you can see the city built up around them. Then there is the Taj and then the poverty that is around it. The Taj has gotten some strange controversy because of it. People find it strange that there is this gorgeously kept up monument in the middle of this poverty stricken city. Well after visiting there I think that photo essay and the controversies are ridiculous. They only show one side of the story.
The Taj was built a really long time ago in what used to be the capital of India. After it was built the emperor decided he wanted a different capital and so moved all the political buildings to Delhi. So Agra is no longer the capital and so is not as kept up as some of the other cities are. But, the Taj is considered a valuable part of Indian history and is beloved, so of course it is taken care of.
So the people that criticize the area it is in have no idea of the history behind it.
That was a really random rant, I digressed a little. Back to the fort.
The fort was beautiful. It had really cool architecture with really intricate windows and inlayed tiles. There were gorgeous gardens with pink and red flowers. The random bathtubs were interesting in a weird way. But overall it was a really cool place to visit. The view of the Taj was definitely the highlight. Also, I saw Stephanie while we were there! She had traveled to Agra independently and had gone to the Taj for sunrise and the ended up at the fort at the same time as us!
After the fort we finally headed to lunch. For lunch we had rice and noodles and potatoes and nan. Have I told you about nan yet? It's like pita bread but better. That is the best way to describe it. It was served everywhere and with every meal and it was delicious.
The afternoon was taken up by a bus ride. We left Agra and headed to Jaipur. It was a five hour bus ride, I read Harry Potter for most of it and finished the last book at some point.
We stopped for a bathroom break at a place that also had a little store. The store was set up in a way that made it seem like it was fixed price. They had a lot of different stuff, clothes, containers, chess sets, little statues. When my dad came to India for business a while ago he brought me back a statue of an elephant and I found very similar elephants in this store. That was a weird moment for me.
I found a really cool thing that would be the perfect addition to a souvenir I bought for someone. I decided to buy it even though it was 3400 rupees. I didn't really realize how much that was. But I wanted it, it was exactly what I had been looking for, so I decided to buy it. The guy told me how much it was and when I said ok he told me he would give it to me for 3000 rupees. The immediate drop in price should have given me a clue that I should have bargained. But I still didn't realize it and paid the 3000 rupees. On my way out I converted how much that was and it's almost 50 bucks. Then other people were talking about how cheap they got stuff to be and I realized I should have bargained for it and that I could have gotten it for much cheaper.
My failure and gross overpayment really bummed me out. It just put me in a terrible mood. I hadn't planned to spend much money in India but I was also really happy with my purchase and when I think about it now I still feel a twinge of regret. I don't know why it upset me so much but it really, really did.
We didn't arrive in Jaipur until after 8pm. We were fed dinner by the hotel, which was pretty delicious. I mean, it was rice, and noodles, and potatoes, and nan but there was some chocolate cake thing for dessert that made it totally delicious.
After dinner some of the hotel employees invited us outside to where there was some colorful thing set up. But it looked like we were being led into a sketchy alleyway so we did not go out there. It ended up being a puppet show and some people from our group did sit and watch it. We saw some of it through the glass window in the lobby.
We all sat there trying to get the wifi to work. It was free but we had to log into it with our last name and room number and it wasn't working for anyone.
The IT guy came and took my phone away for a while to try and figure it out. He came back and said that it would take 15 minutes for all of us to register in the system and then it should work. So we all dispersed to our rooms.
After 15 minutes it still wasn't working so Sarah, who was my roommate again, went down to ask about it again. She came back and said that we actually needed to log in with our first name and our room number. But that still wasn't working. After waiting about 45 minutes I just gave up on it and decided to go to bed. I took another magical shower. This time the shower didn't leak all over the bathroom like the last place and there was this glass wall between the bathroom and the bedroom that could be covered by a shade.
