Debs woke me up at 8 but it didn’t work. Slept until about 10.30 got up and had a coke and honey pancakes for breakfast before setting off to Agra Fort. We all decided to walk to the fort, which was about 1km which did not agree with Joey who collapsed in a heap by the roadside. We left him there as he got a rickshaw back to Hotel Pink as we proceeded to the fort. The place was amazing and you could see the Taj Mahal from there. After that we returned to the Hotel for an afternoon nap (well I did!!). After which we went to see the Taj Mahal. It was amazing in saying that it’s the most incredible piece of architecture I’ve ever seen. It’s completely made from marble and inlayed with precious gems. It took about 20,000 people 20 years to build (which is a long time if you asked me!) After watching the sun set over the Taj we all returned to the hotel for a shower, then dinner, then a much needed sleep.
Delhi to Agra
After getting up early and expecting a mini bus to pick us up, we were confronted by a man and a car who was sent by the travel agent stating that there were no mini buses on Monday due to a company policy. He expected us to get 6 people and baggage into one car for 900 rupees (well expensive). Scott and Jim had to go back to the office where they waited for an hour before they got their money back. Anyway we loaded up had breakfast at a corner shop café and then proceeded by foot to the station, where everybody tried to help us get a ticket in either their friends or families travel shop. But we managed to get a 2nd class ticket by rail to Agra. After a hot gruelling 3 hour train ride (this being the fastest) we arrived at Agra Station only to be greeted by more Tuletuk drivers, of which we paid 10 rupees to get a lift to the Hotel *ink, which was very nice. After dinner we talked to the local residents about where to go next and went to bed, in an attempt to get some sleep in order to see the Taj Mahal and fort earlier the next day.
Still in Delhi
Did not sleep much, quite hard to sleep due to strange surroundings. Anyway woke up and were going to go to Agra but no trains on Sunday. Decide to take a walk around town with Scott and Sarah (two Aussie people) and the other two English blokes that we met on the plane. It was a particularly interesting walk as every Tuletuk drivers wants to take you wherever you want to go. Tuletuk are motor bikes with passenger compartments at the back. Anyway it was amusing to start but became annoying. Entering the station at the back was a bad idea we got surrounded by beggars and other people trying to get money for one reason or another. Anyway we escaped and exited the station by the front entrance and proceeded to a travel office in order to get a bus to Agra. After paying half the fare we proceeded back to the hotel where we sat on the roof talking with our new travelling companions, after which we played cards for a while and then went to sleep.
London –> Delhi (India)
What can one say? Going to Indiaâ¦â¦â¦ thatâs nice……After a gruelling 8 hour flight landed at Delhi airport. The first thing that hits you in the face is the heat, followed by sheer panic âbloody hell.. Its hotâ? (79 degrees f) and then oh my god, where am I, what the hell am I doing going away.. to here. After collecting our baggage we were lucky enough to meet two Aussies and two English people. We decided to stick together and get a taxi to an hotel. After exiting the airport, you then faced with more heatâ¦and peopleâ¦hundreds staring at you as if to say give me money. The whole surrounding area is just full of people sleeping on the ground. Well after that shock we are then whisked away with the complete mad taxi driver who takes us to our destination, and to complete mayhem. This may take me a while to get my head round this.