Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
5.30 am. One of the great things about leaving work to do this trip was that I would no longer be setting alarms at 5.30. Yet there I was today, 5.30 stumbling around in the dark trying to get ready without waking up the rest of my dorm.
Having changed my plans from an overnight trip to Agra to just a day. Myself, and Aussie dorm mates Alex and Will headed out at 5.45 to catch a Tuk Tuk to our bus stop. One slight problem, there were no Tuk Tuks, for once the roads were quiet.
Having eventually got one, we arrived at a deserted lay over next to what resembled a motorway and was told that this is where we must wait for the bus that is coming at 6.30, not 6 like we were told.
At this point we were more than a little bit concerned...
But the bus did arrive and we headed down to Agra. Starting at some temple, the name of which I didn't catch any of the times he told us. Here we weren't allowed anything. No phones, cameras, memory cards, batteries... Men could take their wallets but women had to leave purses behind. Having left our shoes temporarily in exchange for a token we walked around, following a guide we couldn't understand and occasionally getting water poured into our hands to pour over our heads. In said temple we saw, men with guns, people dropping randomly to pray and my personal favourite, the man dressed as a woman dancing and singing very enthusiastically.
Next was the Agra Fort. Pretty cool, but again led by a guide that myself and the guys just couldn't understand. Having rejected breakfast due to it not being edible, and that's not me being fussy mum, by this point we were starving and desperate to see the Taj Mahal.
But first we must learn how marble is made, and then how to know if it's real, and how much it costs, and then we must look at material. The boys copped out and went for a cigarette and eventually the guide realised and pointed me in the direction of food.
Finally, the Taj Mahal. The reason for this day and my reason for coming to India. Exiting the bus we took Tuk Tuks down to the west gate entrance where as foreigners and 'high value' ticket holders we were segregated into what was a much much shorter line.
It's possibly the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You could so easily pass an afternoon just sitting and looking at it. Here we saw more men dressed as women, watched as Alex photo bombed peoples pictures and just sat in marvel of what an incredible piece of architecture it is.
- comments