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My Visit to Agra and the Taj Mahal
By Brandon Hawke
On Sunday the 6th of September my American friend Adam and I went to Agra to visit India’s infamous Taj Mahal.
Our day began quite early in the morning, starting with a ride to the pick up spot (Coffee Home). Delhi Tourism arranged for a pick up from the beautiful nearby flower market. As a young Canadian, I was struck by the number of family members that had awaken to buy flowers so early in the morning.
We hit the road at 6:45 and stopped for breakfast at approximately 9 am for a complimentary breakfast that was included with the service of our bus ride. There we enjoyed eggs, toast, cheese sandwiches and of course black coffee! Then we were off on the winding roads and highways. They were not overly scenic, but the way the sun shown on the passing farm fields was magnificent. For me, the trained monkeys stood out as a highlight: jumping around playing games, entertaining passers by; not something you see every day in my home – Nova Scotia.
After the long drive, we arrived in Agra at about 11 o’clock and our first stop was Akbar the Great’s Tomb at Sikandra. A local guide joined our tour to guide us through the estate. It was very hard to interpret what the man was saying so Adam and I had our fun going along the walkway towards the tomb taking photos and admiring the deer in the field. The place wasn’t very crowded and it made for a better experience.
Inside the tomb it was very dark with a high ceiling. We were welcomed by a holy man who preformed a hymn. It was to display how the large stone room has a great echo; it amplifies the hymn to a loud roar! Very beautiful.
Next on our list was of course the Taj Mahal. Naturally, the Taj Mahal had a long and packed queue. Back home in Canada the space between one another in a line is usually about a foot. In India that’s a lot of space, and three people easily squeeze before you can even take a step. I suppose you could say I became well acquainted with my fellow tourists.
After the queue we met up as a group and our guide told us we had around an hour and a half to go off on our own and we’d meet up outside the gate. I was happy to hear he wouldn’t be joining us; I wanted to be free to move along at my own pace.
The first glimpse of the Taj Mahal through the arc in the entrance gate was the most memorable for me. The pearly white marble looked more like a painting than anything real. We walked along the path and we stopped at the main fountain and bench area which is a nice place to take a picture with the Taj Mahal in the background. As the Taj Mahal is supposedly for those in love, Adam and I joked that it was an opportunity not to be missed and pretended to be honeymooners for a bit. So in great honeymooner style we took pictures with tourists, got our pictures taken, made friendly with a few people and tried to appreciate the beauty of the Taj Mahal.
After the majesty of the Taj Mahal on our way to the bus, we were swarmed by peddlers attempting to sell us everything and anything. I personally wanted a T-shirt a boy was selling. Being in India for a month now I thought I could handle myself, but before I knew it I had 5 T-shirts in my hand and the boy was focused on prices and deals. Adam came to my defence saying “hey he only wants 1 shirt you take these back.” Adam also had proper change whereas I only had 1000’s in my wallet and so I ended up with the one I wanted. The peddler was awfully upset chasing us to our bus and yelling that we weren’t welcome in India as we drove off. You learn something everyday.
It was time for a well deserved lunch but not before an unexpected trip to a marble shop. Inside the owner of the establishment took us into the handicraft room were he gave us a speech on how the marble is produced and the painstaking work the artists put in. Then we were taken to the display room where he lectured us on determining between fake marble and genuine marble. I found the prices were a little high so I didn’t purchase anything. But a few tourists did. This was a fairly informative experience for the little side racket the tour operators had going; they, of course, get commissions.
Afterwards the bus took us for lunch. Adam and I were having a smoke before we entered the restaurant and our guide told us “come on in they allow smoking!” We walked in and before we sat down were told there’s no smoking here, we happily walked out to finish. As we walked outside two Turkish fellows on our tour flagged us over. One told us he’d been on this tour before and the restaurant is very expensive and we might as well go across the street to McDonalds. So we gladly joined them to McDonalds. There we got properly introduced having talks about our respective cultures. One was observing Ramadan while the other had been granted a travel permit to observe Ramadan when he got back – who would have thought? It was a nice time and we saved some money. Plus a little McDonalds is always nice when you’re so far from home!
Since it was fast food after all we were finished and back in front of the bus before a lot of people. While waiting we met another couple touring with us. They were very friendly people and were living in Noida – the husband working for a call centre. I was impressed by how much they knew about our culture.
The next stop was Agra fort and again we were free to roam around and go at our own pace. By this time the sun had baked us so we found a grassy area to sit down a little; tired and relaxing. I over heard someone say that the Emperor Shah Jahan was imprisoned in this fortress by his son and used to sit and look at his Taj Mahal. It was cool to think about and it was a perfect view.
That concluded our tour of Agra after the Fort we were off to Delhi. During the drive later in the evening we stopped at the same restaurant we had breakfast at for a tea. Adam and I shared a table with a young Indian couple from Mumbai. We talked about our trip all agreeing it was well worth it.
I would like to point out that our entrance fees cost us double! We paid Rs 750 for the Taj Mahal, Rs 110 for Akbar’s Tomb and Rs 250 for the Agra Fort. When entering our last stop, the Fort, we received a ticket at the gate which had 5 sights on it with a total of Rs 500. We were not pleased! So if you’re a foreigner be on the lookout for people trying to take advantage of you!
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