The Beauty of the Taj Mahal!

The Taj!
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At 6a the bus rolled into the town of Agra, home of the Taj.  Groggily all the passengers begin to wake up.  I notice that we aren't at our final destination of the bus depot, but probably a stop before.  I'm hoping to walk from the bus station a block to the train station, so I can store my backpack for the day.  A man comes around and begins asking the remaining passengers where they are going - he hustles 2 other guys who are backpacking out of the bus, and asks me where I'm going.  I say I'm going to the train station to drop off my bags, in which he replies that the station doesn't open until 9a, but there is another place open where you can keep your bags.  Hm, plausible ... I'm very wary and not on my top game after an overnight bus ride - and I let myself be ushered off the bus  - ugh!  The moment I step off the bus it leaves, I see the other two backpackers in a rickshaw.  I weighed the option of trying to figure my way to the train station alone, or just join the other 2 guys - so I decided to join them.  The man from the bus took the three of us to another "tourist office" where he said we could keep the bags.  Yah right.  Luckily the 2 guys, who turned out to be from Belgium, had a guide book - so we decided to leave and take another rickshaw back to the train station.  Part of traveling is dealing with the people constantly trying to trick you and scam you.  Often times it's not much money for the traveler, in this case about 40 cents for the rickshaw rides, but fostering such underhandedness is not good either.

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The train station baggage area was open, in fact, open 24 hours.  So we stored our bags.  We were all planning on taking a rickshaw back to the Taj Mahal area, when one of the guys realized he had left his diary on the bus - needless to say he was quite upset and the two left for the bus station to look for it.

The Taj Mahal is stunning!  I was very excited when I arrived at the entrance, and the Taj doesn't disappoint.  I knew that it was built for an Emperor to commemorate the death of his beloved wife, but interestingly she died giving birth to their 14th child - wow!  Wandering around, it was nice to soak up the peaceful ambiance of the Taj.  Especially since it was so early, I was able to sit in relative quietness on a garden bench and take in the amazing view.  It really is very white, and still in amazing condition.

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After seeing the Taj, I took a bike-rickshaw to Agra fort, about 2km away.  The same emperor who built the Taj Mahal, was actually overthrown by one of his sons, and locked in Agra Fort for 8 years prior to his death.  From Agra Fort, he could look out and see the majestic view of the Taj Mahal.  After his death, he joined his wife in the Taj.

As I tried to walk around Agra Fort and take in the ambiance and the views, I kept being hassled by Indian men.  No joke, I think 30 guys came up and wanted a picture with me.  I guess it's desirable to have a photo with a white woman.  I flatly refused every time, and it was hard not to get angry when people keep hassling you every few minutes.  I knew ahead of time I wouldn't "fit in", but it would be nice to be able to walk around without someone coming up and make you feel like a complete outsider every few minutes.  Luckily, I happened to see the two Belgium guys from the morning.  I made a beeline over to them, and asked if I could join up with them for the rest of the day.  They recalled how they had gone around with a S. Korean girl who was having the same problem.  The guys were nice, both engineering majors who just finished school.  This was their 3rd out of 4 weeks in India. (And they were able to recover the diary from the bus.)

View from Agra Fort
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I headed with them to Fatehpur Sikri, an impressive red sandstone city an hour West of Agra, which was abandoned due to  inadequate water supplies.  It was very fascinating to look at the architecture, and walk around the ancient structures.  As we walked around, children kept coming up asking for chocolate or pens.  It is difficult to refuse because of emotions, but it really improves nothing to give in such a fashion.  Sometimes children can be intentionally disfigured to try and gain increased sympathy with travelers.

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After a long day of sight seeing in Agra, it was time to take the train back to the city.