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Published: October 12th 2006
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Taj 1
The Taj Mahal from a safe distance. Across in the Moon Gardens over the river and a back view of the Taj. If only I'd stayed that far away! ...will it never end!
Things took a turn for the worst in Agra, when my digestive system decided that it couldn't deal with the local cuisine, however I was buoyed by the arrival in Agra of my travel companion and decided on Sunday to make the effort to visit the Taj Mahal. Do I ever wish I had stayed in bed that day...
I wasn't at my most alert that day due to the lack of food/sleep etc and my tolerance levels were low when I was denied entry to the Taj because I had a mobile phone with me.
I was told to go around the corner and deposit it in an office and return later to collect. When I got to the office, a scrummage ensued with people fighting to drop off and pick up items and somewhere in this melee or the next queue my wallet was expertly removed from me by a local thief.
I discovered the theft whilst in the Taj itself and the mystical beauty of the place wore off pretty quickly!
A visit to Taj Gang Police Station was a rare treat indeed...a very stilted conversation with an official
Taj 2
On the train from Agra to Jaipur who first asked me what the problem was, then made me write it down on some paper and then decided to change it into words that he liked better before making me write it out again in duplicate in English that made little sense. Can't wait for my insurance company to process my claim when I get back to England. A scrap of dog-eared paper in awful English with a small smudged stamp on it...wonderful!
Anyway, I was left skint and without any credit cards or any means of getting any cash. Fortunately my travelling companion, Andrea, kindly bailed me out by paying my hotel bill in Agra and lending me a few rupees until I could sort out some emergency cash in Jaipur.
Suffice to say that the nice guys that had driven me around Agra were not exactly over the moon when they realised they weren't getting paid. To be fair to Baloo, my driver, he took it quite philosophically and even carried on driving me around knowing he wouldn't be paid a single rupee for his services. He was a really nice guy and if you're ever in Agra and need a ride, look him and Shabu up at the Tourist Rest House. Just don't mention my name!
I had to get up at 5 a.m. the following morning to catch the 06.15 train from Agra to Jaipur, so carefully protecting my remaining pathetic tally of rupees, Andrea and I headed to the station, only to find that the train was delayed by an hour and a half....then two hours...then it was expected at 09.45 and it finally ambled in at 11.15 - just the five hours late!! The journey itself took a further five hours, the highlight of which was my experience using the squat toilet onboard...not an overly pleasant five minutes!
So, we arrived in Jaipur and I was assured, after many long and expensive mobile phone calls to Visa International (had no money for payphones), that I could go along to the Bank of Boroda the following day and collect my emergency cash. By this time, Andrea was getting a little tired of paying for things for a guy she barely knew and I hoped that the cash transaction would work, but was far from convinced that it would.
Down to my last 70 rupees, I arrived this morning at the back street hovel, known as the Bank of Boroda and I spent three incredibly stressful hours being told that there were many problems with the money, that faxes hadn't arrived etc. At no time in that three hours did I think they were going to pay me a penny and I don't think they would have had I not phoned Visa International twice on my mobile (another expensive couple of calls) and made the bank guy talk to them directly. I was considering which items of mine I could sell to tide me over.
Finally the authorisation came through, but even then they didn't want to pay up and I had to go wandering around Jaipur to get photocopies of my passport and visa. I really thought that it was one big scam, when they made me sign lots of paperwork and still didn't look like handing over any cash. I was about ten minutes from a nervous breakdown when they finally handed over the money.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I've changed my flight dates and am heading out of this godforsaken dump of a country in a week's time, before which time I expect to contract dengue fever and maybe be shot to complete the fun!
I've met loads of nice people over the last day or so in Jaipur and some of their horror stories from India are unreal. I've gotten off pretty lightly so far by the looks of things! I'm heading over to Pushkar tomorrow with a few English guys and girls that I met today before heading back to Jaipur for the India v England cricket match on Saturday, after which I'm headed back to Delhi to fly to Thailand and I won't be looking back!
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James
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Crikey !!
You're certainly living the highlife aren't you sunshine ! This blog is in typical Calvert form... bet the Jaipur Hilton looks enticing now ? Perhaps if you ask nicely, one the locals might be willing to go have malaria, half green parrot disease, half chips with you ? Plough on Calvert, I'm sure things will improve in the relative luxury of Thailand and its military coup - I would have thought that if you're going to get shot, this may well be the place ! Hope things improve sunbeam and that you are actually managing to find some enjoyment out there - the blog is going to be a fantastic memory. James