One thing that puzzled us was Ram's statement that by leaving at 8:00 am we would miss the traffic. We were in a city of 17 million people. Missing the traffic here would be like ordering a Big Mac and not being asked 'Do you want fries with that?'
One thing about the driving is that there is always something to look at. Most businesses do not start work until 10:00 am (some 11:00 am) but there are people and cars going everywhere. It is tough driving but Ram is happy that we have missed peak hour and we have many things to see, comment on, and ponder over. Life is different.
Agra is about 204 km from Delhi so on a reasonable road you would expect we could average at least 70km/hr and be there in under 3 hours. We left at 8:00 am and at 9:30 we passed a sign that said Agra 160 km. Ummm 44 km in 90 minutes. Ram was happy that we missed the traffic and said that we were making good progress.
We kept expecting to leave the city and hit the country roads but it never happened. Ram would announce that we were leaving the Delhi city limits and entering some other municipality but nothing changed, just more people and cars and buses and trucks cooperating with each other to reach their destination.
About 12 km before we reached Agra we arrived at a place called Sikandra where we were to stop and visit Akbar's Tomb. This puzzled Gary as he had never met Akbar so why would he want to see where he was buried. IW then informed him of the cultural and historic significance of some of the places we were visiting.
Sikandra is the former capital of Lodi dynasty and was named after the Afghan ruler Sikander Lodi. It houses the tomb of Mughul Emperor Akbar. The design and construction of the tomb was started by Akbar himself and subsequently completed by his son Jehangir.
The shape of the tomb is a truncated pyramid with five storeys. The first four storeys were constructed with red sandstone and the fifth one with white marble. The white marble storey comprises a false tomb of Emperor Akbar. The real tomb of Akbar is located in a crypt right below the false tomb.
Sikandra will live in our memories forever because of what happened there. All these great places teem with peddlars and false/real tour guides and you are made aware of them and told to ignore them. Sometimes this is easy and other times almost impossible.
We managed to get past the group of people selling stuff and entered the general precincts. We managed to fob off the false tour guides. At these places we like to look in silence, just take it all in. We read about it beforehand and re-read about it after the visit.
As we casually strolled into the main building, removing our shoes beforehand and leaving them to one side of the doorway, we were engaged in conversation by a man who started to tell us about the tomb. We immediately said we would not pay for a guide. With much head nodding and waving of hands he informed us that he was not a guide but a paid employee of the tomb. It annoyed Gary greatly as wherever we went, "paid employee" followed with his commentary. Gary's tolerance levels were broken fairly quickly and he moved on to explore by himself. IW stayed with "paid employee" to be polite.
Eventually we emerged and were dissapointed when he asked for money for his services and we imformed him that we told him there would be no payment which seemed to upset him. Then his mate had our shoes (which we had placed no where near him) and requested payment because he was looking after them for us. At this stage we were both quite irate at the proceedings and demands being made. It had nothing to do with the money, but more that they paid no heed to our request to be left alone. Those of you who know us would by now know what our two reactions were. Gary just walked off and IW cried.
It appears that IW's response was the best one for this situation as the two Indian gentlemen stood at the entrance and watched us depart without saying another word. The trip into Agra was very sombre as we explained to Ram what had happened. Ram did not have much to offer as this is just the Indian way and we had to work out how we were going to deal with it.
We made it to our hotel and agreed to have an hour's break before heading off to see the Taj Mahal.
We were in no mood to face this as we had been told by many people that what we would experience at other monuments would be ten fold at the Taj. We talked about not letting these people rob us of the joy and excitement of what we were experiencing. We could not change their ways and did not need to be rude to them but to firmly state our position to view in silence.
The Taj Mahal was something we had wanted to see forever and wondered if we would be disappointed. We remembered our excitement when we first saw the Grand Canyon in USA. Having seen thousands of pictures of it, to actually stand on the edge and see it was incredible. Well Taj Mahal here we come.
Ram did his job. Cars are not allowed within 2 km of the site and there is a large carpark where pedal-powered rickshaws, autos, or battery powered buses (depending on choice), ferry tourists to the Taj entry. Ram advised that the bus would be a few rupees and the other two would drop you there and wait then deliver you back for 100 Rupees (approx $3).
As we pull up drivers invade the car. It is almost impossible to get the door open but we put our plan into action. Gary catches the eye of a young rickshaw driver and indicated to him that we will ride with him. A victory - he is now on our side, shouting at the others to move away. We exit the car and hop in the very cosy seat and off we go.
It was a good ride and conversation but we noted that it was mostly downhill and wondered how he was going to cope with the two km uphill ride home. He was definitely not Lance Armstrong on the Alpe d'Huez. He was on a 30 year old bike with no gears and a wobbling front wheel which hit the mud guard at every turn. To complete this little scenario, on our ride back he put in a sterling effort but twice had to dismount to push.
It was a herculian effort (given our combined weight), with minimal conversation except Gary's urging him on with 'It only hurts in your mind'. On arrival at the car park, he turned and smiled and we gave him 200 rupees for his effort. He laughed and shook Gary's hand.
Back to the entrance of the Taj.
No real hassles here. We bought our tickets, avoided the hawkers and tour guides and went through security into the forecourt. One amazing thing about the Taj Mahal is that it can be seen for miles as you approach but once you enter the forecourt it disappears completely. Part of the design is that this spectacular red sandstone gateway completely hides your view and once you advance through the gate the Taj just magically appears in front of you.
It truly is magnificent. It is one of the few monuments that is breathtaking and does not disappoint. We spent the next couple of hours wandering around the beautiful grounds and through the Taj with 5,000 of our close and personal friends. Because of the impact this building has it seemed irrelevant that there were so many people. We were free to wander and view and take everything in as if we were the only ones there. We think this is one of the beauties of the place. Mind you we have been told that this is "low season".
The grounds are beautifully kept with flowering trees, green lawns (not often seen in Southern India), paths and water features. It completely washed away the disappointment we felt at Sikandra and exceeded all our expectations.
"Lance" was faithfully waiting for us at the exit gate for the punishing ride up "Alpe d'Huez" and back to the carpark where Ram was waiting.
It was a great day with all the highs and lows we have come to expect in India.
Wall panel inside tomb
Grounds looking from Taj Mahal towards gateway 
Western facade of Taj Mahal
A great yarn!!! you had me in stitches whilst I was reading about your rickshaw driver. It must be a real struggle, especially for Lynn, when you are forced to see so many people in poverty just trying to beg for a living - they even have to steal your shoes to make a buck. I can totally understand why Lynn was crying. Love Belinda
ReplyDeleteNah, I was expecting to read that the man with the shoes had replaced them with two other pair and they did not fit!!! Ah well. Thanks so much for the travelogue. It is fantastic for those oldies who probably won't see these wonders of the world! Keep it up!! and enjoy every bit.
ReplyDeletelove H. & K