Agra

Think India think Taj Mahal. 

It is on the ‘must do’ list of many.  Thousands flock there on a Golden Triangle tour. 

Visit Delhi, Agra and Jaipur and you’ve ‘done’ India.  Or so it seemed by the proportion of Europeans who never went much further.

Contrary to this Vic, who was travelling with me for a few days, was quite adamant he wasn’t going to the Taj.  Why? When it could be seen, so books will tell you, from perfectly good vantage points in rooftop restaurants.

I figured I’d flown thousands of miles, not to mention being ripped of by a driver, it had to be a close up visit.

Before that though, Agra’s Red Fort.  I’d been a bit underwhelmed by the one in Delhi, so much had been removed by successive British dignitaries, my imagination found it hard to put together how magnificent it must have been.

Agra has hung on to more buildings and once inside there’s far more detail in the red lattice work and marble arches.

The cool soft interior lines providing respite from the sandy red.  I’m sure cooling in the heat of summer too.  But as it was the coldest February in years, that was not a problem I had.

Of course it was packed with tourists, many there to see the view of the distant Taj.   Somehow this managed to sway Vic and he decided that having come so far, perhaps visiting the Taj would not be such a bad idea.

And so followed the usual bartering with tuktuk drivers.  There is, of course, a locals price, an Indian tourist price and that for the ‘white ATMs’, which is what I was informed white tourists were frequently labelled.  I soon learned to ask the next hotel, what the price would be to get to them from the station.  Generally if it was only double their quote, I’d go with it.  We’re only talking £1 up to £2. 

And there it was.  Just like the thousands of pictures circulating all over the internet. 

The new experience of the day was guide negotiations.  Waving a book and saying I could read just didn’t wash.  We’d managed to escape their clutches at the Red Fort, but sometimes persistence and ingenuity can wear even the most resilient down.  One excuse I used was, not interested in history, just want to take photographs.   The second phrase more true than the first. 

Totally caught when a guide told us he knew all the ‘best shots’.  Caved in.  Actually he was pretty good.  His elbows were far sharper than mine and there is really no place for British reserve or queuing .  Neither of which he applied or adhered to.  There were more viewing posts than the above but the building is the same on every side, and well, if you’re not actually there it’s hard to ‘feel’ how the atmosphere changed from the hash overhead light of mid day through the soft haze to the final  golden glow of evening. 

More marble and red, another fort another mosque.  Fatepur Sikri an ancient fort accessed by an almost as ancient a bus 40km from Agra.  As the Taj and Red Fort had been done in a day there was time to spare for a bit of exploring away from the hassle of Agra.

Well not quite all the hassle.  The mosque is free to visit and hence it’s easy to fall prey to stone masons, who work there.  Their’s is a very liberal interpretation of words. 

Intricate objects carved of stone and sold – by said stonemasons.  Thence followed one of the hardest sales pitches ever.  For something I really did not want!  While Vic did rather like them and capitulated quite quickly I was adamant I was not going to lug a random object round Rajasthan for the best part of five weeks. 

But hey, guess what the one on the right is sat in my living room.  Eventually I was slightly swayed into believing a whole family would starve if I didn’t buy at the fantastic knock down price.  In reality it was more likely that the poor young man would get a severe beating by a pimp like character in his life, were not all offloaded to the wealthy foreigners.

As impressive as these vast palaces and forts are, in reality it was the random meeting of people,

and animals, which made things interesting.  From dogs to goats.

Combined with my fascination for markets

and delicious food from back street cafes.