I arrived in Agra from Varanasi a week ago Saturday and went directly to my hostel by rickshaw to take a good long nap since I hadn't gotten very much sleep on the train the night before. When I woke up I considered going to check out the Agra Fort since I wasn't planning to go to the Taj Mahal until the following day, but in the end I just stayed around the hostel and took it easy. That night at dinner I met two American brothers, Marty and Daniel, and another American guy, Siyan, who was traveling with a German woman, Maya, whom he had met earlier in Delhi.
Siyan and Maya had been to the Taj Mahal that day so I made plans to meet up with Daniel and Marty early on Sunday morning to catch the sunrise at the tomb. Initially I had my dorm room to myself but just before 11:00 at night, an Australian guy showed up and shared his own train tale, which sounded even more nightmarish than mine. His train was supposed to leave from Varanasi at 10:00pm on Friday night and arrive in Agra at 6:00am on Saturday morning, but it was delayed until 8:00am and didn't arrive in Agra until 10:30pm on Saturday night. I guess I didn't have it quite so bad after all.
On Sunday morning the plan was to wake up at about 6:30am to see how foggy it was and then decide whether or not to go for sunrise or wait until later. I met the guys and though there was a bit of fog, we decided since we were already up and dressed, we might as well make our way over. Once we got to the Taj Mahal, Daniel and Marty wanted to hire a guide and I grudgingly agreed though in the end he did give us some decent information. When we first walked through the gate, you couldn't even see the tomb since it was completely shrouded in a thick haze, but as we walked closer it began to gradually emerge from the fog. It was actually really cool and almost mystical, even though the sunrise itself wasn't really all that remarkable because of the weather. I have to say that the Taj Mahal really is one of those monuments that you think might be overrated, but in actuality totally does not disappoint. We ended up sticking around for another few hours after our tour ended and got some really good photos once the fog lifted and the visibility improved.
After leaving the Taj, we met back up with Siyan and Maya at the hostel and all went together to the train station where Daniel, Marty and I bought "standing room" train tickets for Jaipur so we could join Siyan on his trip there that night. We then went to the Agra Fort, a walled brick city that was first mentioned in 1080AD. It was massive with many different palaces, mosques and courtyards spread out over 94 acres. It was the spot where the son of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal for his third and favorite wife, imprisoned his father when he took over in a coup in the 1650s. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in a tower with a marble balcony that overlooked his masterpiece, the Taj Mahal.
There was still more of the complex to see, but after a few hours Daniel, Marty and I were so hungry and tired that we left to go get some food. Siyan and Maya stayed behind to look around and we met up with Siyan back at the hostel to catch our late afternoon train to Jaipur. Maya was volunteering in Delhi so she had to get her train to go back up there after the weekend. Luckily, there were no other passengers sitting in the sleeper seats where Siyan had a confirmed ticket so after we boarded the train we were able to pay a little bit extra and buy the tickets next to him.
We arrived in Jaipur, which is the capital of Rajasthan and the third city that makes up the Golden Triangle of India along with Agra and Delhi, just after 10:30 at night. On the short ride over to the hotel we could already tell that Jaipur seemed cleaner and nicer than Varanasi, Agra and Delhi. Our hotel was also really nice with a huge room that the four of us shared. After our less-than-stellar accommodations in Agra, we were all pleasantly surprised.
On Monday morning, Daniel, Marty, Siyan and I went to the Amber Fort about 11 kilometers outside of Jaipur. This opulent palace complex made of red sandstone and marble is even more impressive than both the Agra Fort and the Red Fort in Delhi. There were so many towers and winding hallways that at one point Siyan and I lost Daniel and Marty for about half an hour until we all met up outside the exit. Earlier we had all been mobbed by a group of Indian young men who wanted their photos taken with the "foreigners." It took over ten minutes before we were all able to successfully extricate ourselves. One the way back to town, we stopped to take photos of a really cool castle that sat immersed in water in the middle of a large lake and was thus completely inaccessible.
Once we got to Jaipur we had our rickshaw drivers drop us off at a restaurant that was recommended in one of our guidebooks. It was a bit pricey, but we all decided to splurge on a nice meal and ordered four thali platters (the guys got chicken and I got vegetarian.) The food was pretty good, but there was so much of it that by the end we were all pretty full. Even still, I decided that I had room for dessert so I went to the place next door to get ice cream while Daniel and Siyan went to get haircuts. I met them and Marty at the barbershop and then the four of us went to walk around a nearby bazar. After a little while my stomach started to feel funny, but I continued to wander around with everyone until most of the shops started to close.
When we tried to get a rickshaw to get to the hotel, none of the drivers were willing to give us a decent price. We started walking back to the main road and finally found someone who was willing to bargain a tiny bit. There was already a passenger in the rickshaw and since there were four of us, Daniel and Syan were relegated to the back section, which is normally reserved for luggage. The guy was driving so fast and erratically that poor Daniel and Syan were getting knocked all over the place. When the other passenger got out, they moved to the backseat, but the journey was still a long way from being over. It turns out the driver didn't actually know where our hotel was even though he kept insisting over the phone to the guy at our hostel that he knew exactly where it was. He would pull up to a place and say, "yes?" and all of us would exasperatedly shout, "no!" By the time we finally arrived I was really not feeling well and we were all so frustrated that we only gave him about half of the agreed upon fare, which was still a fair price. The driver started to yell and come after us as we walked toward our hostel, but we just kept on walking and luckily the workers at our hostel backed us up.
Upon getting into our room, I immediately laid down on my bed, but didn't stay there long. I had to run to the bathroom where I violently threw up everything I had eaten for dinner. I went back to my bed while Marty packed up his stuff to catch a night bus to Udaipur. For the next few hours I was in and out of the bathroom every 20 minutes or so either throwing up or on the toilet. Marty had already left, but Siyan and Daniel were very sweet, asking if there was anything they could do to help. At one point, I said in a very calm voice that I would like them to take a sharp knife, slice my throat and allow all the blood to slowly drain from my body. I was completely serious. I clearly had food poisoning, but I was surprised that no one else seemed to be suffering since we had all had the same food at dinner. I was eventually able to fall asleep until 4:00am when Daniel's alarm accidentally went off. Apparently at that point he got out of bed and threw up in the bathroom himself. Then when he got up at 7:00am to head to the bus station, he got sick again. He decided to take a later bus or train and went back to bed. Later in the morning, Siyan had some GI problems, but he had already been suffering from some issues even before dinner. It sounds like Marty had some minor problems when he got off his bus too, but luckily he didn't get sick during the trip.
We were supposed to check out of our room by 11:00am, but I was able to talk the hotel workers into letting us stay for an extra hour. All that Daniel and I were able to eat was dry toast, but Siyan was well enough to eat a full breakfast. He then left to go sightseeing while Daniel and I hung around until we had to leave to go up to Delhi. Daniel had changed his bus to 5:00pm and my train was scheduled for 4:30pm. When I got to the train station, I discovered that I had accidentally deleted the ticket confirmation from my phone and I had to go all the way back to the hotel to restore the message with my seat information. Daniel was still there and I almost decided to try to take a bus with him instead, but against my better judgment I went back to the station. I made it just on time, but there was no indication as to when the train was supposed to arrive. I finally found a station manager who told me with a completely unironic smile on his face that it was going to arrive three hours late. Since I already would be arriving pretty late into Delhi, I basically said screw it and decided to take a bus. However, instead of taking me to the tourist bus station, the rickshaw driver brought me to the local bus station. I was so sick and tired that I decided just to go on the local bus, which was essentially the equivalent of a school bus in terms of comfort. Of course the bus ride that was supposed to take five hours instead took eight and at one point we were stopped in traffic that didn't move an inch for about half an hour. That's another ride that I don't think I ever need to relive.
Siyan and Maya had been to the Taj Mahal that day so I made plans to meet up with Daniel and Marty early on Sunday morning to catch the sunrise at the tomb. Initially I had my dorm room to myself but just before 11:00 at night, an Australian guy showed up and shared his own train tale, which sounded even more nightmarish than mine. His train was supposed to leave from Varanasi at 10:00pm on Friday night and arrive in Agra at 6:00am on Saturday morning, but it was delayed until 8:00am and didn't arrive in Agra until 10:30pm on Saturday night. I guess I didn't have it quite so bad after all.On Sunday morning the plan was to wake up at about 6:30am to see how foggy it was and then decide whether or not to go for sunrise or wait until later. I met the guys and though there was a bit of fog, we decided since we were already up and dressed, we might as well make our way over. Once we got to the Taj Mahal, Daniel and Marty wanted to hire a guide and I grudgingly agreed though in the end he did give us some decent information. When we first walked through the gate, you couldn't even see the tomb since it was completely shrouded in a thick haze, but as we walked closer it began to gradually emerge from the fog. It was actually really cool and almost mystical, even though the sunrise itself wasn't really all that remarkable because of the weather. I have to say that the Taj Mahal really is one of those monuments that you think might be overrated, but in actuality totally does not disappoint. We ended up sticking around for another few hours after our tour ended and got some really good photos once the fog lifted and the visibility improved.
After leaving the Taj, we met back up with Siyan and Maya at the hostel and all went together to the train station where Daniel, Marty and I bought "standing room" train tickets for Jaipur so we could join Siyan on his trip there that night. We then went to the Agra Fort, a walled brick city that was first mentioned in 1080AD. It was massive with many different palaces, mosques and courtyards spread out over 94 acres. It was the spot where the son of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal for his third and favorite wife, imprisoned his father when he took over in a coup in the 1650s. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in a tower with a marble balcony that overlooked his masterpiece, the Taj Mahal.
There was still more of the complex to see, but after a few hours Daniel, Marty and I were so hungry and tired that we left to go get some food. Siyan and Maya stayed behind to look around and we met up with Siyan back at the hostel to catch our late afternoon train to Jaipur. Maya was volunteering in Delhi so she had to get her train to go back up there after the weekend. Luckily, there were no other passengers sitting in the sleeper seats where Siyan had a confirmed ticket so after we boarded the train we were able to pay a little bit extra and buy the tickets next to him.
We arrived in Jaipur, which is the capital of Rajasthan and the third city that makes up the Golden Triangle of India along with Agra and Delhi, just after 10:30 at night. On the short ride over to the hotel we could already tell that Jaipur seemed cleaner and nicer than Varanasi, Agra and Delhi. Our hotel was also really nice with a huge room that the four of us shared. After our less-than-stellar accommodations in Agra, we were all pleasantly surprised.
On Monday morning, Daniel, Marty, Siyan and I went to the Amber Fort about 11 kilometers outside of Jaipur. This opulent palace complex made of red sandstone and marble is even more impressive than both the Agra Fort and the Red Fort in Delhi. There were so many towers and winding hallways that at one point Siyan and I lost Daniel and Marty for about half an hour until we all met up outside the exit. Earlier we had all been mobbed by a group of Indian young men who wanted their photos taken with the "foreigners." It took over ten minutes before we were all able to successfully extricate ourselves. One the way back to town, we stopped to take photos of a really cool castle that sat immersed in water in the middle of a large lake and was thus completely inaccessible.
Once we got to Jaipur we had our rickshaw drivers drop us off at a restaurant that was recommended in one of our guidebooks. It was a bit pricey, but we all decided to splurge on a nice meal and ordered four thali platters (the guys got chicken and I got vegetarian.) The food was pretty good, but there was so much of it that by the end we were all pretty full. Even still, I decided that I had room for dessert so I went to the place next door to get ice cream while Daniel and Siyan went to get haircuts. I met them and Marty at the barbershop and then the four of us went to walk around a nearby bazar. After a little while my stomach started to feel funny, but I continued to wander around with everyone until most of the shops started to close.When we tried to get a rickshaw to get to the hotel, none of the drivers were willing to give us a decent price. We started walking back to the main road and finally found someone who was willing to bargain a tiny bit. There was already a passenger in the rickshaw and since there were four of us, Daniel and Syan were relegated to the back section, which is normally reserved for luggage. The guy was driving so fast and erratically that poor Daniel and Syan were getting knocked all over the place. When the other passenger got out, they moved to the backseat, but the journey was still a long way from being over. It turns out the driver didn't actually know where our hotel was even though he kept insisting over the phone to the guy at our hostel that he knew exactly where it was. He would pull up to a place and say, "yes?" and all of us would exasperatedly shout, "no!" By the time we finally arrived I was really not feeling well and we were all so frustrated that we only gave him about half of the agreed upon fare, which was still a fair price. The driver started to yell and come after us as we walked toward our hostel, but we just kept on walking and luckily the workers at our hostel backed us up.
Upon getting into our room, I immediately laid down on my bed, but didn't stay there long. I had to run to the bathroom where I violently threw up everything I had eaten for dinner. I went back to my bed while Marty packed up his stuff to catch a night bus to Udaipur. For the next few hours I was in and out of the bathroom every 20 minutes or so either throwing up or on the toilet. Marty had already left, but Siyan and Daniel were very sweet, asking if there was anything they could do to help. At one point, I said in a very calm voice that I would like them to take a sharp knife, slice my throat and allow all the blood to slowly drain from my body. I was completely serious. I clearly had food poisoning, but I was surprised that no one else seemed to be suffering since we had all had the same food at dinner. I was eventually able to fall asleep until 4:00am when Daniel's alarm accidentally went off. Apparently at that point he got out of bed and threw up in the bathroom himself. Then when he got up at 7:00am to head to the bus station, he got sick again. He decided to take a later bus or train and went back to bed. Later in the morning, Siyan had some GI problems, but he had already been suffering from some issues even before dinner. It sounds like Marty had some minor problems when he got off his bus too, but luckily he didn't get sick during the trip.We were supposed to check out of our room by 11:00am, but I was able to talk the hotel workers into letting us stay for an extra hour. All that Daniel and I were able to eat was dry toast, but Siyan was well enough to eat a full breakfast. He then left to go sightseeing while Daniel and I hung around until we had to leave to go up to Delhi. Daniel had changed his bus to 5:00pm and my train was scheduled for 4:30pm. When I got to the train station, I discovered that I had accidentally deleted the ticket confirmation from my phone and I had to go all the way back to the hotel to restore the message with my seat information. Daniel was still there and I almost decided to try to take a bus with him instead, but against my better judgment I went back to the station. I made it just on time, but there was no indication as to when the train was supposed to arrive. I finally found a station manager who told me with a completely unironic smile on his face that it was going to arrive three hours late. Since I already would be arriving pretty late into Delhi, I basically said screw it and decided to take a bus. However, instead of taking me to the tourist bus station, the rickshaw driver brought me to the local bus station. I was so sick and tired that I decided just to go on the local bus, which was essentially the equivalent of a school bus in terms of comfort. Of course the bus ride that was supposed to take five hours instead took eight and at one point we were stopped in traffic that didn't move an inch for about half an hour. That's another ride that I don't think I ever need to relive.
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