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Published: October 16th 2008
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September 1, 2008 My stomach began to hurt at breakfast and didn’t stop for the next couple days. Dale called me the zombie because every chance I had to sit down at the Mehrahgarh Fort I did. It cost 250Rs (5$) to get in, and included an audio tour. The tour was fantastic and really informative. It was a beautiful fort with amazing views of the blue city below.
There were so many pilgrims that decided to stop off at the fort along their way. For foreigners it may be 250Rs, but for Indians only 10 or 20Rs. We ran into Ibai and Paola at the fort, and because they live and work in India, they get to pay Indian prices! Not fair!
I found a mattress at Yogi’s Guest House and slept there for a few hours and felt super dehydrated. We took the sleeper train to Agra and arrived at 6am. Even though I felt terrible in Jodhpur, I really liked the Blue City and the Fort! It was great.
September 2, 2008 When we arrived at the station we met who would turn out to be our rickshaw driver
for the day, Saleem. Got checked into the hotel and Dale sorted out our plan for the day with him since I still wasn’t feeling well. I named our hotel, Bathroom Hotel because the sink was in our room as well the walls were tiled just like the bathroom. I guess that is what you get for 250Rs!
Went to Agra Fort, and in comparison to Mehranhgarh, it was terrible. Felt like we wasted our 5 dollars. There was some nice marble work, but not really worth seeing.
Afterwards we went to a hotel to swim in the pool for a few hours and I ate half a bowl of overpriced tomato soup! It was a really hot day so it was great to be in the water.
Then Saleem asked us if we would go into a few shops so that he could get commission (1$ a shop) and Dale bought a few pashminas for himself. (joking). The Jama Mashid Mosque was also a waste of time! We went through and of course our shoes are off but there is bird shit everywhere, and we get ourselves cornered into this room and are asked to make
a donation to the mosque. (India was starting to wear a little thin at this point in the day!)
We went over the river to a small tomb, I’m not really sure what it was, and we were looking at the river when a group of teenage boys came over. They wanted to take our photo and I usually say no unless it is a woman, but this time said yes. Afterwards I turn around and I feel one of them grab my ass. They thought it was funny and I was so angry. I’m disgusted that boys in India think that this is acceptable and fun to harass foreign women.
Agra was no question the worst place I have experienced staring wise. Men were glaring at me every corner I turned. I had to ask Dale if I looked particularly slutty that day, but my long pants and scarf were not exactly revealing.
I decided that for the Baby Taj, I would stay in the rickshaw and Dale could go and check it out alone. We kept going and finished the day off at the park that looks across the river at the Taj. This is where they were building the Black Taj, around the same time that the other one was built, but it never got beyond the foundation.
September 3, 2008 It was a 5:00 start for us so that we could leave the hotel at 5:30 and walk down to the Taj. There were practically no people there and were the first ones through the gate after we paid our extravagant 20$ entrance fee. The gardens around the Taj were beautiful and well kept. We spent about an hour and a half wandering around taking photos.
Had to get to the train station for our 10:00 train. It ended up being Chair Class, which is just a bench that 3 people sit on, not exactly comfortable, but once the train cleared out a bit, I was able to lay down and get some sleep.
Because our train was late, we missed our bus. We were told that there were many busses leaving Janhsi to Khajuraho, but that wasn’t exactly true! So instead of spending the night there, we had to take a taxi with two Italians for 12$ each. It was a 3 ½ hour ride jammed into the backseat of this little car.
When we finally arrived in Khajuraho, we got checked into Hotel Zen and enjoyed the fantastic bathtub and strong shower!
Khajuraho was a nice break from a big city and the Karma Sutra Temples were definitely worth checking out, although maybe it was too far out of our way!
It turns out that I don't really have any photos from these couple days! Dale was in charge of taking photos cuz I just wasn't feeling well. There are a few but were burned onto a disc and sent back to canada in the trusty possession of Dale.
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