Looking Back on Agra...from Leh

Well it's been a long time since I've updated this blog and a ridiculous amount of water is under the bridge. I had meant to at least send a final update on India before I left for Bhutan - but the server was down in the hotel I was staying in on the last night.

I'm now in Leh in the very far north of India. It's freezing!! Which is very strange because yesterday it was 43 degrees in Delhi - my body doesn't know what to think. And worse still, all my warm clothes were filthy from trekking so am shivering to death while I wait for them to dry!

Last night in Delhi I learned a very important lesson.....I am far too old to stay in "budget" accommodation!! I flew into Delhi from Bhutan yesterday and as I was flying out again very early this morning I decided to stay in the budget airport hotel recommended by the Lonely Planet. As I said, it was 43 degrees in Delhi yesterday and this room had no air conditioning and no windows. The bed was like a rock and there was only a blanket - no top sheet. There was once a time when this wouldn't have bothered me - I mean there weren't any cockroaches so what did I have to complain about. But I think that at my age I not only need reading glasses and hair colour- I also need a comfortable place to rest my weary bones!

There's far too much to report in one blog entry without risking boring everyone to death. So I will give you the low down my trip to Agra with Jolanda (almost 3 weeks ago now) and send an entry (or two) on my amazing trip to Bhutan tomorrow.

I've had to look back on my journal to try to remember what happened and what I thought way back in Agra. It seems the really stand out thing was the drive from Delhi to Agra. Jolanda and I flew into Delhi from Udaipur and were greeted by our driver. Turned out he didn't speak one word of English - which was a momentary problem until it became apparent that another guy was going to join us as our "guide". Then began a lesson in Indian road rules, and I will share some of our learnings with you now:

Rule #1/ The lines on the road are purely for decoration.

Rule #2/ If the traffic is not to your liking on the left hand side or you are having difficulty making a right hand turn, just drive on the right hand side of the road. Honk loudly!

Rule #3/ Pass wherever you can, but be sure to do so as close to the other vehicle, animal or person as possible. Honk loudly!

Rule #4/ If a slow moving camel-cart or cow is blocking the road ahead, approach as quickly as possible and push into the traffic to move around the roadblock. Only apply breaks when absolutely necessary. Honk loudly!

Rule #5/ Whenever in doubt, honk loudly!

The actual road from Delhi to Agra is quite a good highway, but when you combine the unique Indian road rules with the weird and wonderful mix of road-users - mayhem reigns!

We were particularly amused by the fact that whenever the vehicle stopped (for a traffic light, toll or tea break) people would appear from nowhere to flog their jewels, postcards, monkeys, mini-chessboards....

It was 6 hours of complete madness. We laughed most of the way but by the time we arrived in Agra and the driver couldn't find the hotel - our sense of humour had worn off.

Agra is, to be frank, a complete hole. Terribly dirty, polluted and dilapidated. Frankly I don't think that the Taj Mahal is worth the price of having to be in Agra. We saw the Taj around sunrise (weren't quite eager enough to get up before the sun rose) and it was lovely so long as you could avoid looking at all the ridiculous tourists milling around taking pictures and gawking. But I didn't find there were any surprises....it looked like the Taj Majal. And of course, on the way into and out of the Taj Majal you have to deal with the multiple vendors all wanting you to buy one of their mini-Taj replicas - "very cheap madam", "looking is free"!

We also saw the Agra fort - which I must admit was pretty fantastic, even though I was completely forted out by that time. The next day we went to Fatepur Sikri (not sure I've spelled that right). This city was built to be the capital by the Moghul King and then abandoned 18 years later due to lack of clean water. Quite interesting - and refreshingly free of other tourists.

We then had to repeat the whole drive again as we returned to Delhi - a much more subdued ride this time. That evening Jolanda flew back to Brussels and I was on my own for the first time. My flight to Bhutan was delayed by 24 hours so I had an extra day in Delhi. I have to admit that I used the time discovering the new fangled coffee shops that are cropping up in India. Got my fill of espresso and managed to stay away from hawkers and irritating tourist hasslers.

Bhutan was fantastic....but that's for tomorrow's update.

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