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Published: October 25th 2010
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Taj from Our Hostel
Not a bad view for a few quid Hello from Agra!
Finally back on the road again after almost fully recovering over two weeks in Goa with mum and dad (still got a bad toe from a drunken cartwheel…)
Spent a whopping nine hours at the airport in Goa after my parents left enjoying having many security guards with machine guns ask me what i’m doing sitting outside an airport all day! Not at all scary, whimper.
Flew back up to Rajasthan and Jaipur and after an hour or so of waiting for my phone to kick into life, met Barry again. Too lazy too actually see anything the next day so we lounged and heading for a roof restaurant for the sunset, food and eventually several beers with 2 NZer’s and an Aussie. Resorting once more to the classic battle of who’s encountered the funniest scam in India so far!
Mildly hungover, we went to the station to head off to Agra (way too early in the morning) and the train kindly turned up two hours late!
So, we’re now in Agra - staying in a hostel with rooftop views of the Taj Mahal. Every bit as magnificent as everyone says; by the
way the subject title is a quote from Rudyard Kipling (I think thats the writer and not the even greater man who bakes cakes). Got up early this morning for the sunrise view of the Taj from the opposite side of the river Yamuna, dodging monkeys and goats who follow you en-route. View was spectacular (will attempt uploading some pictures one day), but slightly spoilt by the fact that the river is completely rancid and Indian people love to take bare ass steamers in the open air there for one reason or another! Spoils the romantism somewhat.
Enjoyed a mildly insane hike across a railway bridge, dodging bikes and monkeys on the way before going to Agra Fort which is interesting, but not a scratch on Jodphur or Jaisalmer. For example, you read plaques about the ‘magnificent peacock throne’, which has of course been stolen many years ago by an Iranian. Empty spaces not so impressive!
Anywho, off to the Taj Mahal in a wee bit. Going to cry as they make us pay a frankly staggering 750 rupees to go in because we’re foreign, compared to 20 if we were Indian. I would make a joke about
Rivers in India Are Not Nice
This weird voodoo doll type thing was on the bank of the Yamuna River opposite the Taj wearing an unconvincing disguise, but someone keeps looking over at me and i don’t want to be accused of racism, probably much worse than just being nosey!
Train to Varanasi tomorrow, holy city where we’ll witness dead bodies floating down the river on fire and people bathing in the same water even though it is actually septic due to approx 30 large pipes spewing into it from a little further upstream, yummy!
Kathmandu for Christmas is the plan, but many places and a combo of Indian and Nepalese transport to master to get there in time.
Hope everyone is well and good and that everyone who went to Goa is not toooooo cold!
Love Alan xx
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