Touch of the Taj

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It's time to leave Beijing to explore Agra via New Delhi. The journey to get there was not at all smooth, from Indian visa inspection to luggage check-in to immigration.

It starts at Beijing airport. English is not only unspoken in the city, but it is also not spoken in the entire airport. Due to international flight visa inspection requirements, the airline company did not facilitate online check-in. I arrived nice and early without realising that this check-in won't end well. The desk sent me to a shop outside the airport where I needed to print my itineraries as they don't accept digital versions. An hour and a half later, I returned to the same desk with all documents printed out, but they claimed that I still needed to print more stuff, which were irrelevant. I lost 4 hours of my time in total going back and forth printing stuff. When you feel the drama has ended when you finally hold your boarding pass in your hands, another one appear. The queue to pass immigration costumes was longer than a Black Friday sale in the US.

I queued for over 3 hrs. No one, including myself, seemed to know how Chinese immigration work, and when it was finally my turn, the man glanced at my passport and then sent me off to a waiting room like I had committed a crime. I asked why I was waiting. His answer is "wait",... which is the question I have asked repeatedly. I am more than happy to cooperate if he could communicate his actions! Ultimately, all the queuing up and waiting around is part of their due diligence. They checked if my visa was valid. They called the hotel I declared on my arrival to ensure I stayed. Any activities reported on arrival will be verified on departure. I couldn't help but wonder if they ever checked every place, restaurant, the mall I visited...

After loads of frustration and complaints about their way of working and not knowing what was next, one of them finally let me go. I ran as fast as I could towards the gate the moment she said go and was very fortunate to get on my flight in time to Delhi via Hong Kong, which went according to schedules.

Goodbye China, hello India. I arrived at Delhi airport after midnight. I was amazed that the Indian passports & immigration controls worked much more efficiently than the Chinese. As soon as my plane landed, I felt so alive, like never before. I was free from surveillance cameras, freedom from internet restrictions, free from expressing my thoughts freely and not to mention English is pretty well-spoken in India.

The following day was about catching up on my sleep and getting ready for a day tour to visit Old and New Delhi on a pedicab before departing to Agra. The day tour around Delhi city was terrific. Old Delhi is the best part of Delhi that I love so much. It was incredibly hectic and different. Delhi street foods were buzzing everywhere, but my tummy wasn't down for it. I was fortunate enough that there are so many local restaurants to try out.

PS. Avoid Delhi Haat suits and souvenir shops. It is terrible, high costs, low quality of goods.

On the second day, I embarked on an Agra road trip at 3 am to catch the sunrise. The temperature was below 2 degrees. It was dark, cold and foggy. I sat in the car and noticed the highways were free from vehicles. There was no honking, no shouting, and no one on the roads, which did not feel like India. Extremely quiet, many street food vendors continued serving delish warm foods and hot beverages. I beat the traffic and arrived at around 5 am, but not the tourists, damm tourists! They had already queued up way before me to taste Agra Fort. Rahul, my tour guide, handed me my entrance ticket then I immediately went inside for a stroll. Gosh.. I was fixated...I can't describe how beautiful it is from the inside. It got even more interesting as Rahul explained the history behind it.

From Agra, Rahul took me to the Taj Mahal, the biggest reason for my visit. I saw the Taj from a distance, and I could already breathe the history of romance and peacefulness from the air. The Mughal architectures were exquisite. Each of the unique carvings resembled a peaceful ambience. I can stare at every masterpiece all day and possibly with a company of a bright moon, if I am that lucky. After a few hours of wandering the Taj, Rahul escorted me to a local handicraft store where they sell many stones and marble carvings just like those they used to build the Taj. After that, he took me to an authentic local restaurant before I headed back to New Delhi to embark on Kuala Lumpur the next day.

India, you’re incredible. I will come back 🇮🇳

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Comments

[Jon]

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[Ashley]

Tandoori is a fave!