Getting to the Taj Mahal

What a sight - and the Taj is good too

I  should have stayed longer in Bundi - I had a fantastic room in a really nice hotel a, the hotel guy was really nice and the town was interesting and quiet and almost hassle free - however I wanted to see the Taj and I want to see Varanasi so I checked out and took a local bus to Kota which is where the trains go from and only an hour or two from Bundi. I tried to phone the guys I had met on the train from Udaipur but couldnt get a reply, so had to amuse myself  for the afternoon while waiting to get the overnight train to Agra, departing at 9pm.I went to the Chambal Gardens where boat trips on the river were listed as a possibility but the boats werent operating and in any case the river was wide and boring with massive factories and chimneys filling the sky with smoke on either side.Finding a seat in the shade wasnt easy as most were already occupied with love struck couples holding hands and leaning on each other limply,. The other activity involved these couples but also families on outings being stalked by a band of freelance photographers with a  printer and laminator  under various other trees, encouraging them to pose for their pic in front of a fountain. I read my book and observed, then took a taxi to the most expensive restaurant in town - at a massive Hotel  set in vast gardens, but the restaurant didnt open to 7.30 so I stayed in their Bar and had  beer and snacks instead. 

Sleeper Berths

The ride on the train was less eventful than the previous one because I was on a "Sleeper" this time and occupied the top bunk (of 3). All I had to do was heave my luggage up onto this lightly padded platform about 2 feet from the roof of the train, crawl up beside it and sleep until the train got to Agra at 6.30. There were three fans going flat out right beside me and kids on the upper bunk on the other side of the grille partition and the guy opposite had to shout to be heard on his mobile phone, and the chiai wallahs went up and down at intervals and after I had been fitfully sleeping for what seemd only a short time, it was dawn , much to my surpise and relief. We were clanking through the outer suburbs of Agra, a heavily polluted industrial town with a huge population of  homeless people living in horrendous squalor along the side of the rail line. I had phoned a Hotel from Kota but again, coulnt get through so just turned up hoping it would  have space but it didn’t. I was tired and hungry and worn out so accepted the next thing they suggested which was another hotel  nearby and ended up paying too much for the crappiest room of the trip so far, no windows, no AC, stink fromn the drains , mosquitoes ,no soap no toilet paper no towel – but I just wanted to lie down and sleep, and it also had a quite lovley view of the Taj. So I had a sleep and afterwards wandered round the street a bit feeling rotten, eventually deciding that I was hungry so I went and had some vegetable fried rice and another stuffed tomato. I also decided that in a weeks time, after Varanasi I was going to return to Delhi by plane not train, and also, as I had a few days up my sleeve I would go and visit my sister. In Berlin.

This morning though, I felt much better despite the crappy room and packing up early, went to the Taj. I think the problem with the Taj is overexposure - lets face it we all know exactly what it looks like, and how old it is and all that, and we've all heard time and again its one of the loveliest buildings ever created - so where is the possibility for surprise and for wonder and awe? Its a bit like a movie thats overpromoted -you can either have your expectations fulfilled or be disappointed.No Surprises.

The things that I hadnt expected were the massive crowds even at 8.15 on a Sunday morning - and the ghastly state of the air, such that the fabled Sunrise and Sunset views are completely  smothered, the sun having to be 20 or more degrees above the horizon before its rays can penetrate the thick smoky gloom that covers everything. In many photos it looks like a romantic mist in the background but its not. Apparently the resultant acid rain is damaging and eroding the marble.But it is very beautiful, majestic but simple and the gardens are lovely and cool. How ironic that Indias most famous sight is a muslim tomb.

Hotel Rooftop View