Agraphobia

Our train arrived in Agra around 7:00 this morning. We had our first glimpse of the Taj Mahal as we arrived in Agra, and we felt like kids on Christmas morning, we were so excited. We headed straight to the Tourist Rest House hotel, had 4 toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches for breakfast then took advantage of the early hour and coolish weather and went to Agra Fort. This was built in 1565 by Emperor Akbar, mainly as a military base, but then he added a palace, a mosque and some other stuff. Some of it is still under military occupation. The complex is surrounded by a massive red sandstone wall and (now dried up) moat. Inside was a little city in its heyday. It was here that we had our 2nd glimpse of the Taj Mahal. We are getting to know pretty well these type of forts and palaces. They all have a palace residence, Jama Masjid (mosque), Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences), and Diwan-i-Am (Hall of Public Audiences). We enjoy saying these names incorrectly and adding a few more characters, ie Jawanna-Man Diwan-i-Am.

Leaving the fort we tried to get a regular cycle-rickshaw to the markets and then back to our hotel. The old driver had his friend there so we went in 2 seperate rickshaws. They tried to drop us off near the markets where they told us it was only food and spices sold there, so we decided to go back to the hotel. The driver wanted to make 1 stop at a marble store so he could get a commission, even if we only look. We don't like to play that game so we said no, but they persisted and in the end we just got off the bikes and walked away. We got a not-so-crooked driver to take us back to the hotel, and Nige ended up riding the bike with Kel and the driver in the seat. Back at the hotel we relaxed in our room during the hottest part of the day and emerged later to go to the Sadar Bazaar. We thought this would be a bustling street market ready to take our tourist cash but it was a more modern shopping street with a nice sidewalk and real stores. The cows were still present, and their markings. First stop was the pub. We found a rooftop bar with a beer garden, even if the garden was cement sculptures stuck on the walls. There were monkeys though. The beer was cold and cheap, so we had another and lost interest in the Bazaar. When we did make it out the Bazaar didn't have much to offer so we went back to our hotel for dinner and bed.

We had heard an read that Agra is a dump, so we were a bit scared at first. It is a dump, but not as bad as we thought. The touts and crooked rickshaw drivers are all part of India not just Agra. As we are used to this now, we actually appreciated Agra for its slightly quieter and cleaner elements. It definitely has more to offer than just the Taj. Of course our views of Agra may be skewed because we came straight from Vara-nasti.