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Published: January 22nd 2010
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Margao
From Vasco da Gama junction in Margao to Agra About Agra
Namaskaar from Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, to be more exact from Agra - the city of India's most well-known landmark Taj Mahal. It has been a long journey to here since we chose to travel by train from the tropical Goa (Lauri is already missing the warmth of it and planning to take next flight to somewhere south... as if) to relatively cold North India... The train trip was somewhat an experience. Almost 40 hours and over 2000 kilometers in the train must be my longest train trip so far and the most exotic one as well. We left Goa and Anjuna beach wearing short shorts and t-shirts, but soon we realized that the nights will be colder the more up north we get, so therefore we arrived in Agra wearing our jackets which were meant to be worn in the Himalayas yet. So it's cold here!
Indian railways is working on the laid-back mode... The average speed is something like 50 km/h and the trains stop every now and then because of other trains' delays and maybe holy cows. But it doesn't really matter because India isn't as punctual as Europe. The concept of
time is different. We actually experienced a very unique way to travel with several long-lasting stops in the Indian countryside, eager vendors of chai and chicken biryani (I'm totally fed up with that stuff already) in the train and stations and uncountable amount of staring by locals since we were the only westerners in our wagon. But Indian locomotives I still highly recommend as a cheap way to travel in the country.
So early in the Wednesday morning we came here when it was still very foggy and afraid of getting lost in a new city we took a taxi to Taj Ganj area where all the budget accommodations are located. It's very near Taj Mahal which keeps this 2 million people city running as to it's the huge tourist attraction. Without it this relatively very small city would be even smaller. Agra is less polluted than other Indian cities because of Taj Mahal is protected by prohibiting all the factories in the area of 50 kilometers. I became very skeptic since I couldn't see a single glimpse of Taj when we arrived and the area looked very miserable slum in the morning mist. But after finding a hostel
and settling down one guy of the hostel staff came to me later and said "you are very lucky today, sir, the sun is shining!". So I headed to the rooftop of the hostel and I noticed that I wasn't fooled - the famous marble building showed up behind the clouds near our hostel. So apart from coming here early in the morning the city started looking great. I found the building very beautiful but maybe I had seen it in the pictures too much because it wasn't so staggering after all, but being the icon of India it was a must to see however. If you don't mind staring Taj Mahal twenty four seven, you can always participate in a cricket game with the boys in the street like we did a couple of times. Like ice hockey in Finland, cricket is a game of lots of enthusiasm and a topic of big conversations. So the locals are more eager than usually if a westerner is trying to look like he could play the game.
Next day we met a really nice rickshaw-wallah called Vikram with whom we took a sightseeing around the city. There was eventually more
train
In the train
than only Taj Mahal in Agra... For example in a more beautiful way decorated building called Baby Taj, the surprisingly big Agra fort and a couple of more palaces. So the city is worth visiting - a major tourist attraction though. But don't spend here more than a couple of days, we noticed that you can see everything you want in this city in a few days so book the train tickets to next city at once you arrive here. On Saturday we shall head towards Varanasi - the holiest city of Hindus. So becoming a holy man by taking a deep dip into Ganges might take place there if the river isn't particularly cold. 😉
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anonymous
non-member comment
Hei kuulostaa ja näyttää aivan upeelta! :D voitte uskoo et ollaan Yliksen kanssa teille kateellisia, Suomi on kylmä ja luotaansatyöntävä maa ku vertaa Intiaan (ja erityisesti Goaan ;D). Toi juna näyttää niiiiiiiiin tutulta, aika jännittävä kokemushan jo toi 12h Mumbaihin oli, voin vaan kuvitella miltä tuntuu 36 tuntii Agraan. :D Loistavaa reissun jatkoa pojat! :) Terveisin Anita ja Ylis