India Sojourn (Day 2) - Agra

Waking up bright and early the next morning, we had to prepare and pack for our road trip to Agra. We were advised to leave the hotel before 8 am. Traffic within the city usually starts to build up after that and it would take us that much longer to reach Agra. As it is, we already had a 4 hour trip ahead of us. So after a quick but satisfying breakfast (Ok! it wasn't so quick and it was more than satisfying), we were on our way.

 

The roads outside the city gave us a nice microcosm of India. Commerce and camaraderie are very evident. There were food carts and stores by the roadside as well as people on their way to work and people milling about and passing time. These scenes would be repeated in towns we would pass by along the way.

 

 

As you can see from the photo above, travelling with your ears plugged into a personal music device is also en vogue in rural India, just like in any urban centers across the world. I know I have my music with me wherever I go. Travelling along India's interstate highways can be... well... interesting and long and an experience. Judging from what I could observe, the majority of expressways we used consists of two lanes on each side.  Trucks or tractors would often use one lane for parking in some stretches, and if you continue reading on to the other parts this adventure, you will see clearer evidence of how crazy wandering the roads of India can be. 

 

Before we left our hotel earlier, our concierge recounted that on his way home the night before, he was stopped by a police officer for passing a red light. After being asked if he saw the light being red, he said:" Oh yes, I saw the red light, it was you I didn't see". Suffice to say he wasn't given a ticket.

 

Another incident a few days later cemented in my mind that driving in India is indeed loopy. In the interstate highway, a tractor counter flowed and was heading straight for us. The driver of the tractor didn't budge and it was our driver who had to avoid him. Apparently he didn't want to drive further down the road and make a U-Turn and opted to take the faster but illegal way and went on the wrong side of the road (There is an island in the middle of the two sides). Our companion sitting on the front passenger seat was stunned and barely got the question out of his mouth asking, "Hey, was that ok?". The driver just shrugged his wide shoulders, turned his head to face him and replied non-chalantly, "This is India".

 

If you don't mind very much I've got another story I have have to get off my chest, then more pictures...

 

That mildly disturbing incident I told you about in Part 1? Well, it happened about an hour and a half into our trip. Our driver, Joga, parked the car along the side of the highway and said he would have to pay dome sort of toll fee or tax. A few seconds after he left this little boy with a really wide smile sidled up to our vehicle carrying a short cylindrical woven basket. A cobras head popped out when he uncovered the container and i knew I had to take a picture quickly (wrong move number 1). Soon an older burly male also with a beaming smile approached carrying 2 monkeys. He encouraged me to take a picture and I did (wrong move number 2). Soon after they realised that the photo-op was over and the big guys smile vanished and he demanded 500 Rupees (about US$10). Knowing that the doors were locked and the windows were shut I refused. I, for one wasn't born yesterday! In the end, to get them out of our collective hairs and because it was my fault, I offered them 50 Rupees. It was a take it or leave it kind of situation and they had little choice. I still want to kick myself in the behind everytime I think of this experience; especially after I looked at the pictures and had to delete them because they were over exposed. That's what I get for shooting in manual mode. 

 

Aaaaaaaanyway.....we finally arrived at our modest hotel at a little past 1 pm. I was charmed by all the chrysanthemums interspersed around the area.

 

 

 

 

After a quick check in, we headed to lunch in Peshawri, a hotel restaurant that was supposed to serve authentic Northern Indian food. They specialized in tandoori dishes, which is basically food cooked in a tandoor (a clay oven filled with coals). I won't normally write about meals but this was exceptional. We feasted on a platter roast chicken, lamb, mutton and prawns accompanied by basmati rice and garlic nan bread. OMG! It could have been the hunger pangs talking but I don't think so.

 

After catching our breath, it was time to get a move on. The Taj Mahal Awaits.

 

 

There are a bunch of ways to see the Taj Mahal and to each, his or her own. You are usually dropped off off-site where you buy tickets and ride on a cart that will take you to closer to the grounds where the Monument sits. Made from the best white marble, the Taj Mahal is often synonymous with India. Few people know that this memorial celebrates one of the greatest love stories ever told. It was built by Shah Jahan for his third (go figure) and favorite wife Mumtaz after she passed away while giving birth to their 14th child. Mumtaz Mahal had requested her husband to build her a "heaven on earth" and the Taj Mahal is Shah Jahans vision of that heaven.

 

 

Our guide for this leg of our journey was a very likeable and charming man. We couldn't have requested for a better or more knowledgeable man than Deepak Dan. Born and raised in Agra, Deepak knew the area and it's history very well. In fact, he recounted that as a child, he would often picnic with his family in the gardens around the Taj Mahal. He enthralled us with his wit and candor, and regaled us with his treasure trove of trivia accumulated from years of living in an historic locale. The central dome of the building was engineered and tweeked for 8 years so that sound would echo for 15 seconds in the chamber. It was said that Shah Jahan would visit daily and utter the name of his beloved and reverently listen to the sound of her name being echoed. Being a very important aspect of India's history, we took our time to walk around the grounds, appreciating what took 20,000 skilled workers 22 years to build. 

 

Here are photos of other features around the complex.

 

 

It was dusk when we made our way back to our hotel to rest and replenish. We would be on the road again for majority of the following day. We still had to see Agra Fort in the morning and the trip on to Jaipur will need a stop-over in Fatehpur-Sikri.