Delhi And Agra

I arrived in Delhi at 2am.  The airport is "scary" at best (although everything seemed to be made out of beautiful marble) and when I finally got out into arrivals I found no one was waiting for me.  I tried to call my hotel (got ripped off - the phone guy charged my 110 rupies for what I would learn should have been a 20 rupie call).  I found a cab - for 850 rupies I got a ride to the hotel.  Turns out it should have been 250 rupees and the driver didn't know where the hotel was.  The hotel (which was highly rated) targeted travelers from Southern India and was rough for westerners.  Shortly after arriving, I was having no fun.

The next morning, I got a taxi (much more reasonable) into the tourist area and found a "government" travel agency.  They told me many of my train tickets weren't available (I looked them up ahead of time but didn't buy them on the internet - dumb).  I decided to get a driver and a car - for 1000 rupies (about $25CDN) for the day, it made life easier.  I also booked a longer range driver for the Delhi to Agra and then onto Jaipur section.  All said and done, it was about $500 CDN, but in hind sight, it really made my trip much more enjoyable (and probably safer).

The next day I got picked up at my Hotel (they weren't thrilled I was checking out two days early - I figured I was paying about 4 times what the locals paid and I got exactly the same thing) and we headed south towards Agra.

The drive down from Delhi wasn't quick.  While it was only 200km on the map (2 hours for intercity highways in Canada) it was well over 5 hours in India - roads just aren't that good and they are very busy.  I quite enjoyed the breaks and when we pulled into Akbars Mausoleum I looked forward to the opportunity to strech my legs.

You can of have to undestand this place.  It costs 750 rupees for a foreigner to get in - 20Rs for a local.  The queue was probably more than an hour long and I actually was kicked out the first time I tried because I had ear phones from my iPod in my backpack.  My guide was slick - he pushed me through the queue, skipping an hour (I didn't feel bad - that kind of "foreigner tax" deserves some special perks other than a 5Rs bottle of water) and he smoothed out secutiy.

 

From here I stay overnight in my hotel in Agra and the next morning we left for Jaipur. 

This part of my trip was a bit spontanous so I kind of took it as it came. The first stop on our trip was Fatephur Sihki - the ghost city.

Next to the temple complex is Jami Masjid - Dargah Mosque.  Compared to the palace complex, the Mosque is a hive of activity.  I was suprised - western churches in my part of the world are generally pretty empty when not being used officially.  The mosque here had market activity as well as lots of family tourist activity.

I somehow managed to pick up a "guide" who was "practicing his english" - short for building up a relationship so you feel bad and give him a tip.  He was actually quite useful - he described lots of detail and practices - it may not have been true, but it certainly sounded good.

 

The park is internal combustion engine free so you have to hire a bike or rickshaw to get around.  My driver hooked me up (something silly like 200 rupees - $5 CDN for the two hours) with a guide that was knew the names of the birds in english.

I've now been in India for two weeks, taken the train, stayed in lots of hotels, I get it.  With the transfers from Jaisamere to Ramnagar I would up having a few hours free in Delhi.  I got a cheap hotel room, showered, and then went exploring.  By this point I was starting to understand street photography a little better.

After Corbett, I had another day in Delhi before my flight out the next morning.   I arrived at the hotel (this one was nice) at 6am and they bent over backwards to accomodate me.  I got a driver for the day (from the hotel) and hit some of the things I had missed.  One was the Lotus temple. 

They won't let you take photos inside, but this space is one of the most amazing I've seen in my short life.  There was a woman singing near the center and the reverb was simply stunning.  I can imagine why this place is so romantic for people.  After that I visited Akshardham - a huge temple complex outside of Delhi.  This temple doesn't allow photography (or cameras, or anything else the could be a weapon) so while the temple was impressive (mostly for what modern money and practice builds) I have nothing to show for it.

I went back to the hotel (stopping in to buy a carpet) watched some TV and went to bed early for my 3am wake up call to go to the airport for my 7am flight.   I was amazed to see my driver from the day before (8 hour previous) there to drive me to the airport.  I was happy we got along well and I tipped him enough to make him smile.  Too bad about the fog.