ON TO AGRA AND THE TAJ MAHAL FOLLOWED BY ENTRANCE TO VRINDAVAN
Picture on left is from the path that leads to the back of the Taj.
Upon leaving my hotel in Jailsmer, Lois and chance told me to keep in touch with them and that if I have any trouble to email them and they would help me out with information. I am grateful for their help and hospitality.
I am taken to the train station and have to go through all the anxiety of it all over again. My ride will be just over 13 hours. I transfer in Jaipur and have a 4-hour wait followed by the stress of getting on the next train and traveling another 5 hours to Agra.
Arriving in Agra a nice young man takes me in his taxi to my hotel and wanted to take me around town and show me things. He said that he does not want to take my money and is hoping to see me again. He suggested that we go and take pictures of the Taj at sunset. I said yes to his offer but it will turn out that I will cancel in a few hours after meeting Tanya. He says he does not want to take any money from me. I figure I will pay him anyway when I come back latter this evening to go take pictures of the Taj.
Entering the hotel to check in, I am told that I do not have a reservation and that they have no rooms but that their sister hotel had a room so I am taken there and I like this hotel way better, what a stroke of luck. It is called the Sheela hotel. It is right near to the Taj and the area has stores, restaurants etc. The other hotel had nothing around it and would require transportation just to walk around. Again I feel grateful.
After checking in I go to my room (this hotel’ rooms are outside) and while I am unlocking my room, a girl passes by and we acknowledge each other. She has just checked out and it is the room, which she had that will be my room now. Tanya is from Seatle.
I decide to spend my time with Tanya instead of going with the young taxi driver, so Tanya and I get a rickshaw and go back to the first hotel where I was to meet the taxi driver at a certain time. I told him that I would not be going after all. He was very disappointed. I paid him for the fare from the train station to the hotel, which I had not paid him yet, and told him I was sorry. Tanya and I went back to the hotel. We had tea and chatted all about our adventure so far.. Tanya informs me that the admission fee to the Taj is $20.00. I had no idea it would be so expensive and decided that I would not go. It is a real rip-off for tourists, as Indians pay only a tiny fraction of that. I make a decision that I will not go to places that hold to such policies. Tanya and I had much in common and wished that we had been traveling together. However, that could not happen as she was on her way back to the states and I was just beginning. It was wonderful to meet her and we both enjoyed each other’s company. We had both been to the gate of tears, filled with utter anxiety, depression and being really alone, getting taken at every turn and having no defense. We enjoyed our evening and had a nice light meal in the hotels grassy courtyard, as we spoke to each other of our adventures. We agree it would be nice to do some traveling together but her train will soon pull away in one direction while my bus in another.
At 9:30 pm she heads to her rickshaw to go to the train station and I go to my room. I plan to get up real early to walk the back street, which goes behind the Taj to take pics at sunrise.
Settling into my room I realize there is no sheet, toilet paper, soap, towel etc. All that costs extra. I go to the office and get those necessities except for the towel, which I was carrying with me. Showers are bucket style. The Sheela Hotel in comparison to the Desert Moon in Jailsmer, leaves a lot to be desired and the cost is the same. It is great as far is location is concerned and if I went back I would stay here again.
I settle back and read for a while after swatting all the mosquitoes I could get. I see something black run up the wall. It is just a lizard, must be my roommate.
I get up early and head out for the trail, which leads to the back of the Taj. It was a nice walk and I enjoyed seeing some monkeys. Once I came to the end of the path there was a river. In order to take pictures of the Taj you must cross the river. Generally there are men with boats that for a fee will take you across. I am not too sure if it was too early or what but there was no one there. I took a few shots from my position and then walked back to town where I got a cup of coffee which ended up costing me 260 rupees, about $6.50!!!! I knew this could not be true but I am too timed to ask about it. This is not good. Every time I turn around I am being way overcharged for things. I have no control over what I am being asked to pay.
I stay in Agra only one night.
LEAVING AGRA TO VRINDAVAN
I go back to the hotel, get my bag and catch a rickshaw to the train station. La La is the name of the man that is my rickshaw driver. The ride seems long and the wind is really blowing….it is cold. We arrive at a business establishment, which is a bus charter company. I told La La that this is not what I asked for but he insists it is ‘good’ and that I need to go in. Well it was not the right place but I had decided that it would do even though it would cost more. The only problem being they did not have a bus until later that night and that would mean, where do I stay for the next 10 ½ hours! That would not do so I asked him if he would take me to the place I asked for. He said yes and back into the cold we went for another long ride. Once we were there I asked how much I owed him and he said 600 rupees!!! I was shocked! I exclaimed,”600 rupees!” and he just said, “long way, long way.” I could have taken a taxi for less than that and have avoided the cold. Instead of an hour and a half, being taken to the wrong place and all in the blowing wind, I could have ridden in a cozy taxi and been there in 10-15 minutes…oh well, what could I do? So I paid him and he then asked for a tip, for breakfast! I just said, “I paid you and that is all I am paying.” Live and learn I guess but I better start learning quicker or living is going to become bleak, for I will be broke fast.
The good thing here is that La La got me to a place where there were buses all parked on a big square of dirt ground. He then ran around to buses talking to the drivers and told me to get on one just as it was leaving. Of course I had no idea what was going on and everything was happening so fast. He got on with me and found me the only seat that was available as the bus was jam-packed, then off he went. I sat there rather stunned and pulled out the ticket that he had purchased for me and saw that it was to Mathura. Not the bus I wanted but at least it was going to the town next to Vrindavan which was where I wanted to go. I knew that I would be able to catch an auto Rickshaw from Mathura to Vrindavan. I showed my ticket to the young man sitting next to me. Pointing to the name Mathura on the ticket he nodded his head yes. I was on the right bus. Relief. Getting my message across to him that I wanted to know if he would be getting off at Mathura he responded that he was. I was much relieved again knowing that when he got off I could just follow him off and would be in the right town.
The ride was very cold as the window was busted out just across from me. So I received a blast of cold air the whole trip. I put my shawl over my head and covered my face to provide what protection from the wind I could.
Then at a stop, the man next to me motions to me to let him out of his seat so he could get off. I scrambled getting my pack up from between my legs and struggled into the tiny isle, trying to maneuver my way through the crowd, when some people started waving at me to stay back. I could not understand what they were doing as the man next to me had said he was getting off at Mathura and I needed to get off here also. I was much confused and filled with anxiety once more as I was afraid of missing my stop and then ending up God knows where. People are waving at me to stay put and all saying different things in Hindi. Their insistence overrides my determination to follow this guy off, so I sit back down hoping that I am doing the right thing. Then a young man says in English, “Stay seat.” I answered, “ok.” Not long after the people begin waving at me and all speaking in Hindi again. I say, “Mathura?” They seem to be telling me that this is my stop although I am still not sure, but I get off. How did these people know I was going to Mathura?
Another young man that had just gotten off the bus is waiting outside for me. He lets me know that he will take me to a ‘tout tout’ that is going to Vrindavan. The walk was through the town and certainly nowhere I would have figured out how to get to on my own. He talks to the driver and then lets me know the tout tout will be going to Vrindavan. Relief once again.
It has been a struggle getting people to understand the name Vrindavan as I pronounce it. I could never get the right pronunciation of it and no one ever had a clue what I was saying. But here I was at last on my way to Vrindavan regardless of its pronunciation. But as things go, there was another scam in the making.
The driver started talking to me and of course I had no clue what was going on once again. He began driving and stopping here and there looking for someone who could speak English to tell me it would be 200 rupees. Ok, I had done the research and knew that it was way too much, but I could not do anything about it. There were people on the street trying to stop him to catch a ride to Vrindavan but he would not stop for anyone. Later looking back on this I realized he would not stop for anyone because he was going to charge a big fare and if he had picked up any Indians they would know what the fare was and then his little scheme would not work.
It was another cold ride. After getting me to the ashram where I would be staying for a couple of nights, I told him with my hands to wait, I needed to get change. At the gated entrance a man meets me that speaks English….yaaaaa! While giving me change he asks why I was charged so much…I said I did not know, so he walked out to the tout tout with me and confronted the driver. The driver said because I was his only passenger. The man knew the driver was wrong and was putting up an argument with him in my defense. But there was no turning back on what the driver said. So I paid my 200 rupees and walked back through the gates with the man. Once again..Scamed by the rickshaws. I wish I knew how to avoid this but it just seems I get hit over and over again. I am over my budget and getting nervous thinking of all the future encounters I will have to go through and there would be many, many. This is all new to me because in Jaislmer I just walked everywhere as I was unsure about how to get and use the rickshaws, how to know to ask where I wanted to go and how to find out the charge, plus just being very unsure of myself. But here it was a necessity to use them, hence entering the world of tout tout and rickshaw scams.
At any rate here I am….In Vrindavan, the Land of Radha-Krishna, the Land of Love.
Next to come: VRINDAVAN
