Dirty Delhi and the Sunrise Taj
After saying goodbye to the EWB group at the Delhi airport, Sam and I rickshawed into the heart of Delhi for our first independent stay night of travel. We were planning to stay in an area near the New Delhi Rail Station known for cheap quasi-run-down places filled with backpackers. The main strip stood unwavering from the reviews as we tip-toed along the muddy road and did our best to avoid making eye contact with the vulture like shop owners and hustlers. We stayed in an eloquent hotel with only the random appearance of a mouse scuttling in between our belongings.
We had already seen some of the sights in Delhi during a day-trip with the EWB team including Qutb Minar and the Ba’hai Lotus Temple. Qutb Minar is an impressively large minaret built to signal the arrival of Islam in what is present-day India, and the Mughal Empire. Today it is a bit off the tourist path, but less hustle and more interested school groups happy to practice their English and make you feel like a politician shaking hands. The Lotus Temple is an impressive modern-day structure shaped like a semi-open Lotus blossom with serene pools and gardens around the base. We ended the day trip here with a stop at the famous India Institute of Technology (IIT) and a social gathering with the Industrial Design Group, and dinner at the home of a University of Hartford alumnus who treated us with fantastic hospitality and a delicious home-cooked meal.
Sam and I narrowly escaped scams as a latent past-time while on our own, and managed to peruse the random bazaars and visit Connaught Place. Outside of being hustled, seeing the reasons why this is a contender for the most polluted city in the world, there was little else which was enticing to us here. We managed to find a rotating restaurant near Connaught Place that offered a great view of the city and decently priced food before planning our exit strategy.
I had a friend from Case Medical School, Deepak who took us under his wing and helped us plan our trip onward over several meals and hanging out with friends. Deepak is currently working at a hospital on the west edge of Delhi, and it was great to catch up on life and relay information on friends at home and afar. Our plan was to take his personally recommended driver from Delhi to Agra, and onwards to Jaipur before sending him back to Delhi while we headed farther south. Deepak knew him well, made sure he understood our plans before leaving, and was always on-call for any potential problems.
Ashok, our driver, whisked us away from Delhi and off to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. We arrived after dark, and would have to wait until the morning to see the wonder that is the Taj. Our hotel had a great rooftop view, and we decided to find a reliable internet cafe for the night and enter the Taj early in the morning before the hoards of tourists arrived from Delhi. We weren’t quite ready to return to the hotel and attempted a walk around the city. As we started walking down several darker streets we heard the monkeys all around us, and they weren’t very happy. They were hollering, hooting, running around the power lines, and some even screaming from no distinct location as the sounds echoed around us. If you stared carefully you could pick them out hiding in window sills or crevices between steps and doors defensively holding their positions. For a brief moment I felt like I was in a bad zombie movie, and we both thought it would be best to return to the confines of the hotel. I suddenly understood why the whole upper part of the hotel was effectively caged in at night, and appreciated the no monkey business aspect.
We woke up around 7 am, stumbled up to the cafe on the roof and watched as the sky turned from blue to pink and more and more details revealed themselves on the magical Taj Mahal. There is a reason this place is so famous, and it was a bit surreal to being seeing it while eating a parantha (stuffed unleavened bread) and Chai for breakfast. Satisfied the morning sky was done revealing interesting colors, we headed out to pay the ridiculous entrance fee. I haven’t mentioned this yet, but India has different entrances fees for Indians and Foreigners; at the Taj we each payed 750 rupees (~15 USD), while the Indians paid only 20 rupees. You quickly get over this souring note walking along the sides of groomed lush gardens and reflecting pools. The Taj is certainly the center of attraction, but the red mosque to the left was also a nice visit as were the views onto the Yamuna River bordering the back edge of the beautiful mausoleum.
After the must visit, we checked out of our hotel, and had Ashok shimmy us through the tourist mayhem of the city including the Agra Fort, mini Taj Mahal, and Moon Gardens. After the in-your-face souvenir shopping, the gardens were a breath of fresh air, and a completely different perspective of the Taj. We sat on the far banks of the river looking across at the Taj from the shade of a pepper tree and enjoying the goats scavenging the almost dry river bed and occasional passing camel. The relaxing end to the day was a nice start to our 5 hour drive to Jaipur and the Rajasthan state.
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:33 am
still following you man, awesome stuff, get some photos! have fun!