A luxurious way to visit the Taj Mahal
What a day yesterday was! As I wrote about before, we took the EARLY train from Delhi to Agra, and I can't remember what I wrote about this, but the train was very nice. We were given breakfast, tea, and a newspaper, which was quite surprising. The tickets were $5 a piece, which I felt was pretty reasonable!
The hotel in Agra, the Oberoi Amarvilas, was unbelievable, to say the least. We had originally booked one room, where all four of us (me, Jesse, Michael, and Justin) planned to stay. Of course, we hadn't thought the plan through very well, and it turned out that the hotel wasn't too amenable to the idea of more than 2 people staying in a double room. We ended up getting the second room, and even though we had to spend a good bit of money, it was totally worth it. We got into our room at about 10am, and I immediately took a nap, while the other guys went down to the spa for a steam. I got up after a while and took a shower, and since I haven't had a hot shower in about a month, I don't think I've ever enjoyed a shower quite as much. I spent about 30 minutes in the shower before heading down for lunch, where I had a nice club sandwich with french fries....again, it was fantastic. Afterwards, we hung out in the pool for a while, read our books in the room (which overlooked the Taj Mahal), and we finally left for the Taj Mahal at about 4:30.
The Taj Mahal...one of the seven wonders of the world. It was amazing to be there, and all of our expectations were met, if not surpassed. When we arrived, of course, we were hassled by numerous merchants and boys selling postcards, and we've basically gotten to the point where we have no problem either ignoring them or just yelling at them to leave us alone. We were a bit nicer at the beginning of the trip, but after almost 5 weeks in India it has become clear that politely declining someone's offers is completely ineffective. I feel kind of bad at times telling people to leave me alone, go away, etc., especially kids, but the reality is that there's no other option. So anyway, after telling all of them to bug off, we entered the Taj Mahal complex. The first thing that I noticed was that it was crowded, but not nearly as crowded as I had expected. There was definitely plenty of room to move around and take pictures, and no one was really pushing or shoving anyone. That was quite a relief, as I had expected much worse. The Taj Mahal itself was breathtaking. I took about 40-50 pictures, and it's definitely true what they say about the light. As the day came to a close, the Taj Mahal took on more of a red hue, and I took pictures that reflected at least 4 different shades of light at different times. We found a cool spot along the side of the monument where we sat and watched the colors change. It's pretty incredible, and it's tough to take your eyes off of it. Even as we left, I walked backwards while focusing on the Taj Mahal. It's incredible to see with your own eyes. I'll post pics later...
We left the Taj Mahal at about 7:30, right when they closed. Of course, the same merchants and hasslers were awaiting us outside, but we brushed them off (sounds so much easier when I write it....trust me, it's a huge pain in the butt). We were then taken back to our hotel, and we headed down to the spa, where, as luck would have it, two massage appointments had opened up. Since Jesse and Justin had already scheduled massages for the morning, Michael and I decided to take these, and it turned out to be fantastic, plus they were only $50 each for an hour, which strikes me as less than half what we might pay in America or Europe. Afterwards, we had a great Indian dinner at the hotel restaurant, and we went to bed soon after. I slept SOOOO well, even considering that we set our alarms for 6am to have a look at the Taj Mahal at sunrise, then headed right back to bed. Jesse got up for his massage at 9:00, and I stayed in bed until almost 10. Finally, we checked out of our luxurious palace at around 11am, although I can truly say that none of us really wanted to leave.
We got on the bus to Jaipur at 11:30 or so. The bus wasn't too bad, with functioning A/C and padded seats. I found that I was able to read my book while we were moving, so I was quite satisfied. The ride was a bit scary, though, and when we finally got off in Jaipur, I definitely felt like I had cheated death more than once. The bus ride did come with one interesting twist, though. When we had arrived in what appeared to be the outskirts of Jaipur, a man got on the bus and asked us if we were going to Jaipur. When we replied that we were, he told us that this was our stop, and we needed to get off. It appeared somehow sketchy, and we almost got off (I was halfway off the bus...thankfully my traveling companions were a bit more skeptical). As it turned out, and as confirmed by my Rough Guides guidebook, rickshaw drivers often get on the bus at the stop before the main station and try to convince tourists to get off the bus in order to get their fares. Not only that, they generally refuse to take you to your hotel in favor of taking you to a place that offers them a commission. Very shady business. They even will go as far as telling you that your hotel has burned down, and sometimes they even have a fake number that you can call that will confirm what they've told you. Luckily we didn't get off the bus, and we were taken to the main station. After about 15 minutes, we were picked up by a driver from our hotel, and we had no problems getting here.
The hotel that we're staying at in Jaipur, the Umaid Bhawan, is very nice, especially for what we're paying for it. The rooms are 1300 rupees a night, and they come complete with A/C and hot showers (I think). We're hanging out here for a while awaiting my buddy Dev Motwani, who is meeting us here and traveling with Jesse and me for the rest of the trip (Justin is going from here to Jaipur, and we'll lose Michael in Shimla). Tomorrow we will explore Jaipur, which is known as the Pink City. We'll spend tomorrow night here also, and on Wednesday we'll take a bus to Delhi, where we'll spend one night before boarding the Himalayan Queen train to Shimla on Thursday morning. Finally, we'll take a bus up to Dharamsala, where we hope to have the chance to meet the Dalai Lama. Visit again for more adventures!
The hotel in Agra, the Oberoi Amarvilas, was unbelievable, to say the least. We had originally booked one room, where all four of us (me, Jesse, Michael, and Justin) planned to stay. Of course, we hadn't thought the plan through very well, and it turned out that the hotel wasn't too amenable to the idea of more than 2 people staying in a double room. We ended up getting the second room, and even though we had to spend a good bit of money, it was totally worth it. We got into our room at about 10am, and I immediately took a nap, while the other guys went down to the spa for a steam. I got up after a while and took a shower, and since I haven't had a hot shower in about a month, I don't think I've ever enjoyed a shower quite as much. I spent about 30 minutes in the shower before heading down for lunch, where I had a nice club sandwich with french fries....again, it was fantastic. Afterwards, we hung out in the pool for a while, read our books in the room (which overlooked the Taj Mahal), and we finally left for the Taj Mahal at about 4:30.
The Taj Mahal...one of the seven wonders of the world. It was amazing to be there, and all of our expectations were met, if not surpassed. When we arrived, of course, we were hassled by numerous merchants and boys selling postcards, and we've basically gotten to the point where we have no problem either ignoring them or just yelling at them to leave us alone. We were a bit nicer at the beginning of the trip, but after almost 5 weeks in India it has become clear that politely declining someone's offers is completely ineffective. I feel kind of bad at times telling people to leave me alone, go away, etc., especially kids, but the reality is that there's no other option. So anyway, after telling all of them to bug off, we entered the Taj Mahal complex. The first thing that I noticed was that it was crowded, but not nearly as crowded as I had expected. There was definitely plenty of room to move around and take pictures, and no one was really pushing or shoving anyone. That was quite a relief, as I had expected much worse. The Taj Mahal itself was breathtaking. I took about 40-50 pictures, and it's definitely true what they say about the light. As the day came to a close, the Taj Mahal took on more of a red hue, and I took pictures that reflected at least 4 different shades of light at different times. We found a cool spot along the side of the monument where we sat and watched the colors change. It's pretty incredible, and it's tough to take your eyes off of it. Even as we left, I walked backwards while focusing on the Taj Mahal. It's incredible to see with your own eyes. I'll post pics later...
We left the Taj Mahal at about 7:30, right when they closed. Of course, the same merchants and hasslers were awaiting us outside, but we brushed them off (sounds so much easier when I write it....trust me, it's a huge pain in the butt). We were then taken back to our hotel, and we headed down to the spa, where, as luck would have it, two massage appointments had opened up. Since Jesse and Justin had already scheduled massages for the morning, Michael and I decided to take these, and it turned out to be fantastic, plus they were only $50 each for an hour, which strikes me as less than half what we might pay in America or Europe. Afterwards, we had a great Indian dinner at the hotel restaurant, and we went to bed soon after. I slept SOOOO well, even considering that we set our alarms for 6am to have a look at the Taj Mahal at sunrise, then headed right back to bed. Jesse got up for his massage at 9:00, and I stayed in bed until almost 10. Finally, we checked out of our luxurious palace at around 11am, although I can truly say that none of us really wanted to leave.
We got on the bus to Jaipur at 11:30 or so. The bus wasn't too bad, with functioning A/C and padded seats. I found that I was able to read my book while we were moving, so I was quite satisfied. The ride was a bit scary, though, and when we finally got off in Jaipur, I definitely felt like I had cheated death more than once. The bus ride did come with one interesting twist, though. When we had arrived in what appeared to be the outskirts of Jaipur, a man got on the bus and asked us if we were going to Jaipur. When we replied that we were, he told us that this was our stop, and we needed to get off. It appeared somehow sketchy, and we almost got off (I was halfway off the bus...thankfully my traveling companions were a bit more skeptical). As it turned out, and as confirmed by my Rough Guides guidebook, rickshaw drivers often get on the bus at the stop before the main station and try to convince tourists to get off the bus in order to get their fares. Not only that, they generally refuse to take you to your hotel in favor of taking you to a place that offers them a commission. Very shady business. They even will go as far as telling you that your hotel has burned down, and sometimes they even have a fake number that you can call that will confirm what they've told you. Luckily we didn't get off the bus, and we were taken to the main station. After about 15 minutes, we were picked up by a driver from our hotel, and we had no problems getting here.
The hotel that we're staying at in Jaipur, the Umaid Bhawan, is very nice, especially for what we're paying for it. The rooms are 1300 rupees a night, and they come complete with A/C and hot showers (I think). We're hanging out here for a while awaiting my buddy Dev Motwani, who is meeting us here and traveling with Jesse and me for the rest of the trip (Justin is going from here to Jaipur, and we'll lose Michael in Shimla). Tomorrow we will explore Jaipur, which is known as the Pink City. We'll spend tomorrow night here also, and on Wednesday we'll take a bus to Delhi, where we'll spend one night before boarding the Himalayan Queen train to Shimla on Thursday morning. Finally, we'll take a bus up to Dharamsala, where we hope to have the chance to meet the Dalai Lama. Visit again for more adventures!
posted by david.m.marcus at 6:12 AM
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