Train Station Debacle and Taj (Part 5)

One of the things I was most looking forward to in India was riding the train from Delhi to Agra and again from Agra to Jaipur. My research told me it was cheap, relatively easy, and a great way to see the countryside. Booking the tickets was not easy and took me a few weeks, but once I had my account and figured out which tickets we wanted, I was able to reserve online.

All the guidebooks and blogs tell you to beware of certain scams in the train stations. Having read about them for some time, I felt confident that we would be able to spot them a mile away and happily avoid be taken advantage of.

How wrong I was.

Or, more accurately, I was able to spot the scam from ten miles away (it was that easy). My better half was not.

To make a long story short, as we were walking toward our track looking for a conductor to make sure we were in the right place, two "nice" gentlemen approached to let us know our train was delayed. I kept walking but Hubs got very interested in hearing about our train's "delay" for some reason, and ten minutes later we found ourselves in an "official" travel agent to book a private driver to Agra. It was seamless and I was seething the whole time since we'd left the station without talking to the international counter. Fifteen minutes later we were in a car while our driver was paying the taxes for the trip and I just kept shaking my head - oldest trick in the book, not our first rodeo, why were we in such a hurry, etc. Hubs spent the better part of the 3 hour drive to Agra analyzing what happened, and by the time we were dropped off in front of the Taj I was (mostly) over it.

To be fair, looking back it made a lot of sense to use a driver for this portion of the trip. Our train wasn't scheduled to arrive until after dark, and going by car allowed us to see the Taj both at sunset and sunrise the next morning. We also got to see two amazing places the following day that were (almost) worth the (terribly inflated) price of the private car.

And enough time has passed that the story makes me laugh now.

But on to Agra. The countryside between Delhi and Agra was filled with small towns and villages next to fields being harvested. There were rest stops with restaurants and it vaguely reminded me of driving across the Midwest to or from college.

We arrived in Agra just in time to buy the day's last tickets into the Taj Mahal. Our car package included a guide (which was really confusing at first when the driver insisted we follow a random man into the Taj while leaving all our stuff in the car and of course we would be picked up later just as soon as we were done - I silently said goodbye to both our suitcases while shoving as much as I could into my purse) which is usually not our preference, but he pointed out some interesting things along the way.

Super busy since it was a Sunday night

Walking through the gate and seeing the Taj open is magnificent

Looking back at the gate

Incredible marble work (pietra dura)

Entrance to the tombs

In order to give the illusion that the column is one uniform width the whole way down, this script is actually wider at the top

A crush to get inside

The Taj itself is incredible - the symmetry, the craftsmanship, the colors of the inlay in the marble. It reminds me a lot of the gorgeous Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque here in Abu Dhabi, albeit with about 400 more years of history.

The monument was built by Shah Jahan to honor his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth. They're both entombed here.

I found learning about the construction and attention to detail and history fascinating, but mostly I stood, looking up, in awe.

Taj at sunrise

After enduring a few stops at our guide's "recommended" art galleries, we decamped to our hotel, had a quick bite, I learned to play the sitar, and we fell into bed. We rose early the next morning to shower, run and buy tickets again, and shuffle past the cows in the road to see the sun rise over the Taj. As at the Grand Mosque and other places, the color of the building changed completely with the morning light. I'm so glad we went back a second time - it was rather empty, felt much more calm, and we were able to just sit and enjoy for some time. If you find yourself in Agra for only one night, I highly recommend visiting twice.

The Taj is getting a much needed (?) bath soon, which you might have read about. Sounds similar to my favorite mask from Lush...

We didn't get to see much of Agra - not even Agra Fort! - before we were on our way to Jaipur. I would have liked to wander around by the river to watch the sunset one night. Marked for our next visit!

Watching a student cut marble to inlay

Out for a morning walk

Sunrise

Caffeinated, fed, and pushing for Hubs to promise me a Taj, we began to make our way west.