Agra to Jaipur

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Train stations in India are very lively places. They are a mix of people coming and going from all over the country, people frantically trying to buy non-reservable tickets, and people who have set up shop on blankets, filling the station floor, waiting for trains to arrive. When we arrived at Varanasi train station, it was 36 degrees, with clothe soaking humidity. This was our first Indian rail experience, and we wandered aimlessly amongst the chaos trying to figure out when and where our train would be, when a station employee (real this time!) directed us to the ‘tourist room’. “Tourist room?!”, we thought. We tiptoed through the families spread out, sleeping on the station floor, and came to a door marked ‘tourist room’. Inside was a large air-conditioned room with leather couches, private bathroom, and a handful of other Western tourists. It seemed highly unfair that just because we were tourists we got to lounge comfortably on couches, while outside there was humidity and chaos, but oh well, what can you do! While feeling a little guilty, we waited comfortably until a tourist official told us our train arrived and directed us where to go.



We booked a 3AC ticket, which stands for 3^rd class air-conditioned. Although technically 3^rd class, 3AC is miles above Sleeper class (non air conditioned) and it is luxury compared to the non-reservable chair class. In 3AC, each compartment has 3 levels of bunk beds that face across from each. There is an aisle, and then there are two more bunk beds. During the day, the middle bunk is folded up and all members sit on the bottom bunk. At night, the middle bunk is unfolded, and everyone crawls into their beds, stacked 3 high. When we first sat down for our 13-hour, overnight train ride, I went to plug in my laptop. Almost immediately, I blew the fuse, rendering our entire section without power for the remainder of the trip. I don’t think our compartment mates were overly impressed, and they spoke to each other in Hindi, clearly talking about what a Western moron I was. Ooops. The train ride itself was fantastic. It was awesome getting out of the crowded city, and being able to see the beauty of rural India. We passed through small farming communities where we saw kids playing cricket in fields while their parents worked in the fields. We saw shepherds herding flocks of goats and cows in the expanse between villages. It was great to see this other side of India. We were served roti, dal fry, and rice for dinner at 9:30pm, which was quite good. Immediately after eating, bunks were let down, and it was bedtime. I was on the top bunk, which was a bit awkward as my feet hung out 1 foot into the aisle; people would bump into them throughout the night as they tried to pass. Lisa was under me on the middle bunk. All things considered, we both slept reasonably well; woken by the occasional raised conversation, or snoring, we arrived in Agra at 7:30am. A successful first India train trip!



Going to Agra to see the Taj Mahal is a bit like going to Pisa to see the leaning tower; aside from the main attraction there is not much else going on in the city itself. That being said, the Taj Mahal is considerably more impressive than a tower built on a crappy foundation, and it did not disappoint. Our hotel was located 250meters from the main gate of the Taj, and it had a fantastic rooftop patio that overlooked it stunningly. We dropped our bags in our room and headed to the main gates of the Taj while the weather was still good. Although only 250meters from our door, a procession of rickshaws and tuk-tuks waited for us outside the hotel; they followed us down the road all the way to the gates, asking to drive us, as we pointed to the Taj Mahal saying, “Guys, it’s right there…seriously, we’re good”. The Taj Mahal was breathtaking, and there is no question why it is considered to be one of the most beautiful buildings ever created. We strolled through the grounds for a few hours, soaking up the views and taking a ridiculous amount of pictures. It was a 42-degree scorcher that day, and after our clothes were thoroughly drenched, we made our way back to our hotel. That evening we decided to check out the “Hotel Oberoi”, which was located right beside our hotel, and is one of the most expensive hotels in India, with rooms costing up to 5,500 Canadian per night! Just to get to the hotel entrance you have to first go through a set of security gates, past 2 more sets of guards, where a concierge then greets you. We just wanted to sit in the fancy bar and have a beer, but before we knew it the concierge was calling the restaurant for reservations and people were escorting us to the bar. We sat down, took a look at the price of the cheapest beer, and we realized it would cost more than both of our entire meals next door; we promptly stood and took the walk of shame past the concierge, past all of the guards, back to our budget hotel next door. We had a fleeting moment of Indian royalty, but we enjoyed our budget digs just fine.



The next morning we were up at 3:45am to catch a 5 o’clock train to Jaipur. It was an enjoyable 6-hour ride that landed us in Jaipur by 11am. We arrived at hotel Pearl Palace and were blown away by the place. The rooms were big, air-conditioned, and very clean. The bathrooms were newly renovated with fancy, hot water showers; this was a very enjoyable treat for us. There was a happening open-air restaurant on the top floor that overlooked the ancient Pearl Palace (hence the name). The hotel had a tandoori oven, and the place made the best Indian food that we have eaten on our trip. Amazing food.

On our first day in Jaipur we headed into the old city on foot. Jaipur is called the ‘pink city’ because all of the buildings are painted pink (oh really? Duh!) The old walled city is a maze of busy and chaotic bazaars, split into sections, each selling different products like jewelry and silk. Streets are completely packed with people, vehicles, and camels pulling carts. We walked around for a few hours before sensory overload kicked in and we headed back to our hotel sanctuary for dinner. The next day we hired a tuk-tuk and driver for the day to take us to see a number of sights outside of the city. It costs about 10 dollars Canadian to have a driver take you around for the whole day, and wait in the parking lot for you while you tour various sights. Our first, and favourite stop, was the Amer Fort. Just 11km outside the old city, Amer Fort/Palace sits high on the hillside, overlooking the valley below. We were very impressed with grandeur and extravagance of ancient royal Indian life. Walking through the marble courtyards, looking at the various jeweled and mirrored sitting rooms, and beautiful gardens, you really get a feel for life during the time of Maharajas. 600-year-old paintings on the walls showed the parties, banquets, that once took place in the palace. It was a fantastic tour. After the Amer fort we stopped at the water palace, a beautiful palace built in the middle of the lake, where the Maharaja would escape the heat during the summer months. It wouldn’t be a “tuk-tuk tour” without our driver then taking us to a print factory, where we ushered into a room with men trying to sell us printed fabrics! We listened politely for a couple of minutes before saying we were not interested, and left. Our driver then took us to a silver factory. It was at this point that I had to call bullshit and say no more factory tours, to which he protested but agreed, and took us to our final stop at the city palace in old town Jaipur. This tour was an overpriced 300 rupees (5 Can.) each, and we were not impressed by the tour itself. The present day Maharaja stays in this palace when he is in Jaipur, so we could not see inside the building itself. Instead we were toured through courtyards on the outside, taken through 2 gift shops, and we viewed the armory. All in all, not great, but oh well!

That evening we met up with our friend with our friend Sung, who is a Chinese student touring SE Asia solo for the next couple of months. We met Sung in Varanasi and then ran into him while touring through Amer Fort and invited him to dinner at our hotel. We had a great evening drinking beer and eating great food. We will certainly miss the Pearl Palace, but we are eager for our next stop, Bundi!

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Comments

[Jaymerica]

Great shirt choice!
Loving the apparel selection for this leg of the journey, you're really starting to blend in over there! Traveling by train has to be my most favourite ways to do it, and sounds like India did not disappoint. Good job on ruining everyone's trip with no power, I actually "lol'd" at that. I think it would have been better if you went into the Hotel Oberoi dropped a deuce and then left, haha! Although they make my feet itch continuously, I love the entries. Live it up dudes!