8/1/10 Jaipur to Agra

We checked out of the hotel having had much better showers after the plumber had called and fixed the pressure. We were met by the rep from the tour company and we told him our thoughts on the tour the previous day. He said he'd pass our comments on and we would not find the same on our next visit....hhmmmm. The questionaire form he gave us only had choices of good, very good or excellent to tick, good ploy eh? We joined Girdhari in the car to drive through to Agra which was about another 5 hour drive. On the way out of Jaipur ,Girdhari said to us that he thought we were really too quick with the tour yesturday and that tourists usually get up to three hours to explore the Amber Fort...more annoying. He also added that he'd said the same to the guide but he'd just shrugged his shoulders and said it was ok !!! Anyway there wasn't much we could do but move on and look forward to the visit to the Taj Mahal the next morning. Then Girdhari announced that Agra was dirtier and had more scams than Jaipur, we looked at each other and thought how can it be worse . It was very foggy on the drive out of Jaipur and we saw lots of mad drivers without lights, driving up the wrong side of the road etc. We were scheduled to visit an abandoned city called Fatehpur Sikri, a Mughal empire capital from 1571-1585 during the reign of Akbar the Great. The city was abandoned after water shortages and has remained the same ever since. We were dropped off in the car park which was 1km from the main site so we caught the shuttle bus to the main site. There were loads of hawkers hanging round trying to drag us into their shops and Phil told one we might look later. Once at the main site there were loads of touts pretending to be official guides but we eventually managed to shake them all off. We went inside the many buildings that made up the city and there was the main palace of Jodh Bai which had persian blue roof tiles and a palace for his Christian wife Mariam. He had wives of all denominations and believed in a secular society. There was a building called the Panch Mahal, of five stories which was for the ladies of the court and another finely carved one called the Rumi Sultana. One building called Diwan-i-Khans, the public meeting hall, was closed off as there was what looked like a bollywood film being made. All very melodramatic scenes been acted out but good to catch a glimpse. There is also a huge mosque at the site which we walked to via the stables area. We got chatting to a lady who had visited India 6 times but was really upset with how much the people had changed and not for the better. She said all they were interested in was money and we have to admit that is our impression so far. In the mosque area, Jama Masjid, our shoes would be looked after for a fee, we decided to carry ours as the men were just scamming people. We walked around the mosque area being constantly approached by children selling postcards, maps, anything really, so we decided to leave as it gets very wearing when you just want to be left alone and take your time. We were going to catch the bus back to the Car park but realised we'd missed seeing the main gate to the city which is one of the biggest gateways in Asia at 54m high. Buland Darwaza meaning victory gate was completed in 1571 and it was really impressive to see. It had Hindu and Persian decorations so was really ornate. We walked back to the car park from there, which was only about a ten minute walk, but the shop owner Phil had spoken too remembered him so we went to have a look inside. He was desperately trying to sell us some carved marble for stupid amounts of money but we only bought a small carved elephant from him . Two of them tried with hard sell to get us to buy something there for much more money but we managed to escape in the end. We got into the car and headed into Agra stopping at a tourist restaurant for a quick bite to eat. We drove into Agra and both thought it seemed alot cleaner than Jaipur had been but we had only seen the roads to the hotel. We stayed in Hotel Amber, with doormen and porters for the bags which was very nice. The rep from Oddysey met us but he just wanted us to quickly sign a few forms then he left. The hotel had a pool and a jacuzzi and as we were pretty tired and cold decided to go and take a look and maybe have a soak. Unfortunately the pool was outside and the "jacuzzi" was a small whirlpool bath in need of a good scrub! What a disappointment. We went to the room, got some warm clothes and popped to reception to ask where we might buy a coat for Phil. They advised the Sadar bazaar and we were met by a tuk tuk driver outside the hotal who said he'd take us there. He actually just drove round the corner to some shops selling jumpers which were all pretty grim and not what we were looking for at all. We called into a little shop for some toiletries and had a cup of tea in there chatting to the owner. We both bought some underwear as the Indian laundries are basically the river nearby. We would put a photo of Lizzies on the blog but they are so gawdy you would need a warning.....sexy !!! (merrett pants to those in the know!!) Liz got a couple of pairs of socks too but only realised after shed bought them that they were socks for flip flops with a big toe section on its own !! All the local women wear them though so Liz is fitting right in with the socks and spitting out loads of phlegm !!!!After those few shops Ajay the driver took us for a cup of Masala tea, local brew with ginger and hot sweet milk which was lovely. Ajay showed us his book of recommendations which was really good with lots of people saying he was honest and trustworthy. He asked us what we wanted to look at in Agra and if we wanted to buy anything specifically and Phil said hed like to see some marble. Ajay then drove us through some tiny backstreets to a small workshop where the marble was made. One man was carving some semi precious stones while another charming man explained the process to us. The marble is inlaid wioth many coloured stones to produce some really pretty and intricate designs. After the demo we were shown into a back room full of huge pieces of carved marble. There were tables, plates, trays, chess sets which were all fabulous but not for us even if we could afford it. The men were all very nice to us but when we said we weren't buying anything they changed. They took us into another room with smaller cheaper items, the ones they hoped we wouldn't need to see obviously. It is assumed if you go into a shop here that you want to buy something so they show you all the stuff then say "so which pieces do you want to buy?". Its all very hard sell as if you've deliberately wasted their time. Their prices were about ten times that in the little shop earlier in the day so we knew they were ripping us off. Nothing has a price tag here either, they decide how much you can afford and announce a really inflated price. Its pretty unpleasant but all the drivers get a bung of fuel or Rupees to take you to the shops so its difficult to avoid. We managed to escape the shop feeling a bit angry at the men inside for pressuring us like they did and asked Ajay tio take us back to the hotel. Once there Phil had a soak in the bath and Liz wrote some diary notes then fell asleep leaving Phil to play with Paamy before falling asleep too. We arranged to meet Ajay the next day after seeing the Taj Mahal as he'd not charged us for the evening.

9/1/10 Agra

We were up by seven to get breakfast before meeting Girdhari for a tour of the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. We were waiting in reception whena weaselly looking chap came over and asked us if we were the name Lewin. We said we were Smith and Llewellyn so he left us alone. We went out to Girdhari who had arrived in the car and the little chap came back opver. He was looking for us but couldn't say Phils name. He introduced himself to us as Dr sometihng or other, telling us he was a PhD and had applied for a professorship at the university. He was our guide for a morning tour of the Taj Mahal but unfortunately there was thick fog everwhere so we thought we'd get pretty poor views of it .We were driven to the East gate of the Taj and dropped off to get our tickets. There is lots of pollution in Agra so there is a 500m exclusion zone for traffic and an effort to clean up the city. We paid the 750 Rupee fee (10 for Indians) which was such alot more than the locals had to pay but that has been the case everywhere. We were handed a bottle of water each in a paper bag which would just be added to the piles of rubbish everywhere which seemed a little contradictory. as wedrove to the Taj Mahal we passed by streets similar to those in jaipur, full of litter, sewage and animals wandering about. We had to catch an electric bus to the main gate, then walk thorugh a row of shops and hawkers to the metal detectors and security. We finally made it inside and saw the outer courtyard of the Taj which is not white marble but red sandstone. It is very decorative round a central courtyard called Chowk-iJilo Khana, then you pass through a large gate to get your first view of the Taj Mahal. This next bit might be teaching you to suck eggs but we didn't know all the story so here goes...the Emporer Shah Jahan built the mausoleum for his second wife who died in childbirth with her thirteenth child in 1931 aged 39. The death and sorrow is said to have turned the emporers hair grey overnight. The Taj took 22 years to complete using 10000 craftsmen. The emporer wa splanning to nuild an identical black Taj Mahal on the opposite river bsnk but he was imprisoned by his own son in his later years so couldn't complete it. The gardens are still there though. Our first view of the Taj Mahal wasn't quite as we'd hoped because the weather was very dull and grey but it was still a really impressive sight. The building is beautiful and gleams in the sunlight apparently. We arranged t get some professional photos taken by an "official photographer" who showed us examples of photos. He tried to overcharge us for the photos but Liz had seen a price list and queried it, then he agreed to the proper prioce, cheeky b*****. As the light was bad we decided to get some done as we'd only be there once. He had us posing in all the great sports with the mausoleum in the background and even had one of us kissing...bleurgh!!! We didn't bother getting too many of us as we'd have the official ones to keep. Also our guide had a disabled arm so the pics he took for us were really wonky as he couldn't hold the camera straight. We were left by the photographer to finish our tour and walked up the the rostrum where the famous Diana photo was taken. Lots of people were queueing for that one. We then went over to the Taj itself where we had to put on cotton overshoes to walk on the marble . It really was a beautifully decorated building with a replica of the Emporer and his wifes tomb sitting directly over the real one. What an expression of love to have made, Liz suggested Phil to do the same for her one day. We walked through the building to the rear side overlooking the river Yamuha and saw over to the gardens of the black Taj. We then went to see one of the two identical mosque buildings either side of the main Taj. The guide had left us to explore for a few minutes before we had agreed to meet the photographer to pick up the pictures. Unfortunately all but a few of them were really blurred which was a real shame as the compositions were really good. We didn't want to buy them despite the photographers insistance that it was down to the light not his photography !! He wouldn't sell us a few so we left it and walked back out to catch the bus back to the car. Our guide wanted to take us to see a marble shop but we put him off that idea as we'd been already. We then went to see the Agra Fort which is a massive sandstone fort still occuped by the Indin army. It was begun by Akbar in 1565 then completed by his grandson Shah Jahan who added white marble buildings. It began as a military building but was turned into a gilded prison by Shah Jahans son who kept his father locked up there. The prison quaters overlook the Taj Mahal over the river so he could still see it. Entry to the fort is through the Amar Singh gate into an inner courtyard surrounding the Hall of Public Audience where the emporer would preside over laws and criminal trials. In front of the hall is the tomb of John Colvin who was the lieutenent governorof the north west provinces who died in the fort during an uprising in 1857. 70% of the fort is closed to the public but we spent about an hour looking round the buildings we were able to see. It was very similar to both the Amber fort and Fatephur Sikri in its sandstone red construction. From the prison area we should have ahd a fantastic view of the Taj Mahal but we could barely see it in the fog...bad luck . We drove back ot the hotel and said thankyou and goodbye to Girdhari and the guide after filling out satisfaction forms again, then went to the room for a rest and to edit the hundreds of photos we had taken. After about an hour we went to meet Ajay as he knew a place behind the Taj Mahal where we would get a good view. He drove us through the streets of Agra and we saw some of the poorer living conditions there. There were the usual cows wandering about, goats and dogs all eating the piles of rotting garbage piled all over the place. Its amazing that the people don't seem to notice the huge amounts of mess and just drop their litter to add to it. We drove along on some really bad roads with lots of standing water and potholes, in desperate need of repair. Ajay fought his way through some heavy traffic and we crossed a bridge only one lane but about three vehicles cramming for space accross the lane all the way across. As the traffic was so slow we had ample time to look over the edge of the bridge to the riverbed below which was the cities laundry . Bedsheets and clothes were laid out on the dry river bed after being washed in the river. People were there still washing stuff right next to a huge herd of grazing cattle. We passed the bridge and turned off the main road through a very poor shanty area sitting on the opposite bank of the river to the Taj Mahal. The people were living in tents with very little to protect them from the cold night time temperatures. Ajay parked up and we walked a couple of minutes to the river bank opposite the Taj Mahal where we had a lovely view of its backside. We stayed there a while fending off kids selling postcards again but it was really peaceful there otherwise. From the viewpoint we could see the crematorium smoking. It was a Hindu cremation ground where the bodies are burned on funeral pyres then the remains are put into the river just upstream from the laundry.....!!! We went back to Ajay who took us to see the Intimad-ud-Daulah, "Baby Taj" which is a small white marble tomb built for Mirza Ghiyaz Beg a Persian nobleman. It resembles the bigger tomb but has less detailed carvings. We took a while looking around but the light was fading fast so we went back to Ajay. We were pretty hungry and Ajay took us to Green Garden his favourite restaurant. It looked like an old abandoned greasy spoon with dirty plastic chairs and loads of mossies flying round. We didn't want to appear rude and ordered some dishes and a drink. When the food arrived it was really delicious and it was a case of not judging a book by its cover. In fact Phil said the lassi he had was the best he'd had so far. After the meal we decided to go and try to get tickets to a music and dance show charting the history of the Taj Mahal which Ajay said was very good. When we got to the theatre there was only the most expensive tickets available to tourists as they were the only seats with translation. Theres definately a tourist tax here. We couldn't justify the more expensive seats so gave the show a miss. We asked Ajay to tak us to the Sadar bazaar again but he drove us to a craft shop, Liz was not impressed. Its really irritating not to be taken where you've asked to go and then be expected to buy something. Ajay would get free fuel from this shop so at least he would benefit. Phil found some pictures and marble coasters that he wanted and we got them for a good cheap price but Liz felt pushed into it despite the fact the things were nice. After that shop Ajay said he was taking us "to just one shop" which was a silver shop. As soon as we got in the door we were bombarded with the pushy sales men telling Liz she must buy a ruby ring . After about three minutes we walked out fed up of overly pushy staff. We went back to the hotel then and Phil ran a bath for iz who soaked for ages while Phil edited his photos. We watched the Pink Panther film then fell asleep.

10/1/10 Agra Happy Birthday Rachel

We had a little lie in till 9 then got up for breakfast and showers. We chacked out by 11.30 and met Ajay again to take us to see the tomb of Akbar, the Moghul leader. The weather had cleared up alot by the time we arrived at the tomb and cleared much more while we were there. The tomb was in a huge building with three others facing the tomb. There were massive green park areas with deer grazing which looked lovely in the early mist which later cleared. We walked to the tomb and Liz got shouted at by a "charming" man to take her shoes off. She didn't bother to go inside but Phil had some shoe cobers put on him so he could go insinde. A man yelled at him as well as you couldn't take photos inside. The man was sitting on top of the tomb counting the monies presumably collected illegally from unsuspecting tourists!!! While Phil was inside Liz was approached by a man trying to be friendly but he was actually a guide on to make a few rupees. He was out of luck as Liz and Phil have got wise to most of it now. He asked why Liz hadn't gone inside and she told him it was because she was shouted at and didn't want to pay a fee to the man looking after the shoes. He said that the British had started the tipping in India and the p[eople hadn't done it before then!!! Not very likely as all the British had maids etc and wouldn't go near anyone who wanted a tip. It was really peaceful at the tomb with lots of courting couples escaping the chaos on the streets outside. In the roof of one of the building were lots of big bees nests and on the floor below were the bodies of thousands of bees. As we walked back towards the exit we noticed the stone floor spattered with yellow pollen which was also all over us explaining the huge number of bees. As the weather had really cleared and the sun was out we went back to Ajays view point to see if the view was better. It was only slightly better but we could see the cremation ground better than before. We went back ot the hotel via another craft centre but we didn't buy anything there. When we got ack we were starving and went to the Pizza Hut next door where we had a really good feed and chocolate cake for pud...yummy. We sat in the hotel until the driver arrived to take us to the station to catch the night train to Vaaranasi. While we waited we caught up with the diary. We were escorted to the platform to await the train. Lots of other trains were delayed due to fog again so there were people all over the platform and waiting areas asleep under blankets. There were people weeing on the platform, rats running around and of course a cow too. There had been three rail derailments in the last few days so the rail companies were being extra safety concious and slowing the trains right down. We got aboard the train but when we reached our seats two Indian men were already lying on our beds. They said we had been moved furthwer down to some other seats. We relocated to the other seats but they were claimed too. Fortunately the guard arrived to get us some seats/beds for the night and we settled in. The carriages are split into berths of two and four and we were sharing our four berth with Alan and Kath a British couple also relocated from their original seats. We all got along really well chatting for ages about our experiences in India. Our train left bang on time an so we all settled into our seats for the journey. After a few hours chat we all climbed into the beds to try and get some sleep.