This morning most of the party head to the Taj Mahal in time for sunrise. I was considering bringing my guitar for one of my worldwide monument poses, but I am glad I didn’t as the gate into the Taj Mahal compound is worse than going through airport security. Any bags are searched, and any goods deemed not appropriate for bringing in are confiscated. This leads to Dan deciding not to go in as they want to confiscate his mascot, many of our party having brought along little toys figures or fluffy things to pose for photos around the globe.
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| the opposite view (from Taj Mahal) |
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| This girls trousers were inappropriately transparent as she enters mosque |
The sunrise against the backdrop of the mausoleum is quite a spectacle, as you will probably have seen in photos. However, the sheer number of people standing in the same place trying to get the same photos can test your patience a little, and I don’t manage to get the perfect symmetrical shot that everyone wants. Also, later, when we are visiting to Red Fort, it strikes both me and Laurie that the Taj Mahal looks even more spectacular when looking at it from a distance of a mile or more.
We spend a peaceful six hours or so walking around the various mosques and lawns in the complex, enjoying a rare opportunity for peace and civilisation away from the baying crowds of hawkers and rickshaws that congregate outside its walls. The Taj Mahal also seems to be a refuge for a variety of wildlife, especially monkeys, although Laurie gets a bit too close to one even though she is naturally scared of almost everything. This one, a male, jumps at her hissing and baring its’ teeth, though just as a warning.
The Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of the Yamuna River and while walking along the back wall overlooking it, we spot a boat with what looks like three fishermen. A few of our party are also looking at it with their long focus lenses and it’s only then that I realise that the middle one of the three is Dan, who has discovered a more unique vantage point, albeit a limited one, at a much reduced price.
The tickets we have (for which non-Indians are charged £20+) confuse us a little, as they also contain tickets for other monuments, including the Red Fort. In our naivety, it takes us a while to realise that these are not other sites within the same complex, but that exist in and around Agra. That said, we still have to pay an entrance fee when we eventually go to the Red Fort, so I am still somewhat confused. Not as confused as one American visitor though, who was heard to ask if mosque to the side of the mausoleum was a guesthouse.
While looking around for these other attractions within the Taj Mahal complex, we come across a gate which we think might be an entrance to one of them, only to realise that it is actually an exit. Laurie exclaims that ‘oops, there’s a bit too much India out there’. This sounds terrible, I know, but we have been wearied by now.
We went back to the hotel after our Taj Mahal visit and decided to go to lunch before going onto the Red Fort. Coming out of the hotel, three tuk tuk drivers come running at me simultaneously shouting at me to come with them. I raise my arms in an ‘away’ motion and shout ‘bugger off!’ at them. Considering the poverty in which these people live, I can’t say I blame them for hounding western tourists to give them business, but I have lost all patience. We carry on walking, being followed by another rickshaw who won’t take no for an answer. His rickshaw is sponsored by a restaurant which I realise will be geared towards tourists who will pay tourist prices. Eventually, though, I relent and we go to the restaurant which, sure enough, is only patronised by other western tourists who have been brought here by rickshaw chauffeur. It’s clean and peaceful though, and the food is pleasant enough, and we are just glad to be off the street.
Back at the hotel, I spend the evening in my room practicing guitar with Laurie. Outside the door is the courtyard and the rest of our party think I am serenading her. She does seem to quite like my rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘I’m Your Man’ and it’s nice to get a smidgen of support as everybody else thinks my playing is bloody awful, including me at times.
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