[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 14 November 2012. Minor edits have since been made from the original post to update some links and info.]
17 March 2012, Saturday: Delhi – Agra
Morning Call: 4:30am
It was a super early start to the day, as we would be making the day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. When I plotted my route months ago, the Taj Mahal was one of my must-visit places, so this was something I had been looking forward to immensely. My original itinerary had me visiting Agra on Friday instead of Saturday, but when I found out that the Taj Mahal is closed on Fridays, I tweaked my itinerary so as to accommodate it.
For breakfast, we had pastries that we bought from the German bakery the night before, topped up by a cup of hot chai tea (Rs 30 / S$0.80) served to our room, which we arranged with the hotel beforehand. We had also made arrangements to have a tuk tuk on standby to send us to the train station. This is important because you won’t be able to find any tuk tuks or taxis plying the streets that early in the morning.
At 5:07am, we hopped onto the tuk tuk and made our way to H Nizamuddin Train Station. It was quite chilly in the morning and I had to whip out my jacket to keep warm. The ride took 17 minutes and the fare came up to be just Rs 150 (S$4), which was very reasonable considering the early hour.
The train station was very crowded even at 5:30am, as there were several trains departing in the 6 o’clock hour. Ours was the Thirukkural Express, train number 12642, departing at 6am. Our Class 2A seats cost Rs 430 (S$11.30) and would take us 188km from Delhi to Agra.
YS’ Indian colleague had booked these train tickets for us, so all we knew was that it was an air-conditioned cabin. But when we boarded the train, we found out that it was not just a normal cabin with seats, but a sleeper carriage, so we could lie down on the elongated cushy seats and rest during the 3-hour plus ride. Later, the staff even handed us pillows, blankets and sheets, so it was more than what we had expected, certainly a pleasant surprise. After experiencing the old-school, noisy trains in Sri Lanka, this one was positively comfortable and so quiet you couldn’t even hear the train chugging along the tracks, so much so that we even dozed off for a while.
We arrived at Agra Cantt station at 9:35am, 25 minutes behind schedule. From my research, I had read that there are a lot of touts ready to make a quick buck, so the best thing to do is to approach the booth located just outside the station, where you can find pre-paid taxi and auto-rickshaw services. The fixed fare from the train station to Taj Mahal is Rs 150 for a taxi, and Rs 50 for an auto-rickshaw.
As we exited the train platform, indeed, a few people swiftly approached us. We waved them away, but a particular man was quite persistent. He introduced himself as Ishaq and flashed the credentials hanging around his neck. We were still determinedly making our way to the booth outside, while he kept selling his services. In the end, he brought us to the booth outside with the published rates of the pre-paid taxis and tuk tuks. There were a few official-looking people inside the booth, and that was when I decided he was legitimately from the official government tourism agency. That’s the problem in India – you don’t know who you can trust, because everyone seems to have an ulterior motive and you have to be on your guard all the time.
Since we were going to spend a full day at Agra, Ishaq recommended hiring a car for a full day, for Rs 850 (S$22.30). While it is more expensive than hiring a taxi or tuk tuk when needed, we felt it was quite reasonable considering it was air-conditioned, at our disposal, and it would save us the hassle of flagging a taxi and haggling over the fare. So we handed over Rs 850 at the booth, and got into a small car parked nearby.
Ishaq became our guide while another guy was the designated driver. At that point, I was still a little wary, especially since he told us we could not bring our bags (including my iPad) into Taj Mahal, and had to leave them in the car. I was a bit worried that we would come out from Taj Mahal later and discover that they had disappeared with our bags, since we had already paid in full. But thankfully, nothing of the sort happened, and they were excellent throughout the day. You just have to put your trust in people sometimes. But…as a precaution, I took down the car plate number. Just in case.
After dropping us off at the Southern Gate (there is also an Eastern Gate and Western Gate), our guide Ishaq, or more accurately a chaperone, since he did not enter the Taj Mahal with us, walked us to the ticket booth area and we arranged a spot to meet up afterwards. He told us most people will spend around two hours touring the Taj Mahal, but we could take as long as we wanted, and he would be there waiting for us when we were done. I can imagine it to be quite a boring job, but he was so professional and you can see how proud he was of his country and its treasures. His positive attitude is very admirable and something Singaporeans can learn from.
We approached the ticket counter and were pleasantly surprised to see that there was no queue at the booth for Foreign Tourists, but there was a much longer queue at the booth for locals. Maybe we were early, but there truly were more local (Indian) tourists than foreign tourists. But then again, the entrance fee for foreigners is Rs 750 (S$19.65) while locals pay only Rs 20 (S$0.53), a fraction of what we pay. The Rs 750 fee is actually broken down into an Entry Fee of Rs 250 (going to the Archaeological Survey of India, A.S.I.) and a Toll Tax of Rs 500 (going to the Agra Development Authority, A.D.A.). For more information, click here.
I think it’s a great idea to provide discounted rates for locals. Singapore has recently implemented this practice at the new Gardens by the Bay for the two domed Conservatories. Admission fees to both Conservatories are S$20 for Singapore residents versus S$28 for foreigners, an S$8 or 40% difference. While not as whopping as the 3,650% discount for locals visiting Taj Mahal, it is nevertheless a good gesture.
Likewise, the queue to enter Taj Mahal was snakingly long for the locals, while XY and I breezed through our designated queues. There were separate entry points for men and women, and security checks of course. At 10am, we were through and officially began our visit of Taj Mahal.
The first thing we encountered was the beautiful red stone building known as the Tomb of a Maid of Honour. It is said to be a grave of one lady companion to Mumtaj Mahal. Like the Taj Mahal, its gateway is inscribed with verses from the Quran. Stepping through the gateway, we found ourselves in the main compound, and there it was, in the distance in all its splendid glory, was the Taj Mahal. I might have seen pictures of it many times before, but it was nothing compared to seeing it with my own eyes.
At that point, the song that came into my head was “A Whole New World” (from the Disney film Aladdin), because of the line “Unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings”. It was truly a sight to behold, a thing of unmistakable beauty. Even viewing it from afar, I could feel a sense of peace and tranquillity. Despite it being a Saturday and generally more crowded than on weekdays, the compound was large enough such that the mass of people didn’t feel too overbearing. Plus the weather was beautiful, with plenty of sunshine and pale blue sky, so everything felt perfect.
XY and I spent a long time taking photos, shooting from different angles, trying to find the perfect postcard shot. It wasn’t easy jostling for space with fellow like-minded visitors, but finally, we found a great spot and got our perfect shots, one of my favourite from the trip.
As the entire building is constructed out of white marble, even the ground, visitors have to remove their shoes or put on shoe covers before setting foot onto the main building. If I thought it was beautiful from afar, the Taj Mahal was even more stunning up close. Surrounded by four 40m-tall minarets, the main building topped by its bulbous dome stood gleaming against the blue sky backdrop. The archway is inscribed with Quran verses and decorated with floral patterns made from different coloured marble. Up close, you could see the level of detail and care gone into its construction.
Below the dome is the tomb, where the main chamber houses the false sarcophagi of Shah Jahan and his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who had died after giving birth to their 14th child (!). He built the Taj Mahal as a monument of his love for her. Their actual graves are actually at a lower level, not accessible to tourists. Do note that photography is not permitted in here. But with the din coming from the throng of tourists, it can hardly be a peaceful resting place.
Exiting from the back of the tomb, we were greeted by the Yamuna River, which flows silently behind it. Standing on each side of the Taj Mahal, there are two identical red sandstone buildings. The one on the west is a mosque (masjid) while the one on the east is the answer (jawab), whose primary purpose was architectural balance. After visiting the Jawab and taking our final snapshots, we made our way back to the entrance at 12 noon and found Ishaq standing there and waiting for us, as promised.
For our next stop, he suggested making a visit to a nearby stone factory specialising in marble inlay work, where the present-day artisans would demonstrate to us how the elaborate floral decorations we saw earlier on the Taj Mahal were done, centuries ago. It was fascinating to see how much effort went into making just one small piece of marble decoration. Imagine the work involved in constructing the entire Taj Mahal! Truly a labour of love – for Shah Jahan, at least. Not so sure whether his subjects felt the same way. The marble pieces were really beautiful, but too heavy to carry around on a backpacking trip, so after about 15 minutes at the stone factory, we left empty-handed.
At 12:30pm, we drove to Anjana Restaurant for lunch. It was a nondescript place, nothing fancy about it, with no other customers around. We ordered some garlic and cheese naan, mutton curry, mashed vegetable curry and rice, and it was simply the BEST INDIAN MEAL EVER! The garlic naan was the best. The bread was warm, soft and fluffy. I don’t normally fancy eating garlic but the garlic chunks were divine. And the mutton curry was so, so good too. Yummy! The bill came up to Rs 1,130 (S$30) for the two of us. It might not be super cheap, but it was totally worth it. You can’t get this quality Indian food anywhere in Singapore.
We left the restaurant at 1:20pm and drove for ten minutes before arriving at our second highlight of the day – Agra Fort. Like the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort is also a UNESCO World Heritage site, located just 2.5km apart from each other. The admission fee is Rs 250 (S$6.55) for foreign citizens.
Like the Red Fort in Delhi, Agra Fort is surrounded by mighty red sandstone walls standing 70 feet (21.3m) in height. There is also a moat surrounding it, which has dried up long ago. The Agra Fort is older than Red Fort – it was constructed from 1565 to 1573, some 75 years before Red Fort. However, both XY and I agreed that Agra Fort is more beautiful of the two.
The buildings here seemed to be more unified in theme, though my untrained eyes seemed to spot some influences from Rome, Middle East and even China. The grounds were also better maintained and there were less people around, allowing us to take our time to appreciate the beauty of the architecture.
We spent an hour touring Agra Fort. With our two objectives achieved, we were free for the rest of the afternoon before we had to catch our 5:45pm bus back to Delhi. So Ishaq brought us to several places to look at their local industries and craftwork – a carpet factory, a scarf shop and a jewel shop.
At 5:25pm, we arrived at our last destination, Kalakriti Agra Centre, the boarding point for our bus. We bade farewell to Ishaq and our driver, thanked them for their services, and gave them a small tip. There were a few other couples there already, but everyone seemed tired after spending their day in Agra, so we didn’t talk to them much.
We initially felt the bus ticket was over-priced at Rs 1,000 (S$26.20), because our train ticket cost only Rs 430. But as soon as we boarded the bus, it became immediately clear why it cost so much. It was a big, 21-seater bus but felt more like a first class airplane cabin. The comfy seats were fully reclinable, and each seat came with a pillow and individual TV screen pre-loaded with movies (pirated, no doubt). There was a toilet at the back of the bus, and one “cabin crew” serving dinner and water on board. It was very comfortable and luxurious. Well, it can’t hurt to pamper ourselves once in a while, though this was unplanned!
We departed Agra at 5:50pm and the journey back took five hours, longer than by train (3.5 hours). The bus dropped us off at the upscale Royal Plaza Hotel in New Delhi and we caught a tuk tuk (Rs 150) back to our Vivek Hotel. By the time we got back to our room, it was 11pm. After another dusty shower, it was time to pack as we would be departing Delhi the following morning. It had been a very long but satisfying day – Taj Mahal conquered, and a superb Indian meal in the stomach. India almost done, next up, Nepal!