My last day of the projects here in Jaipur are now here - 3 weeks seemed like it may go forever initially but somehow suprised me this last week and I find myself trying to back track as there is so much that I didn't get to do in my time here. There are still so many tourist sights that I haven't gotten around to seeing, but with my last few days now I am not feeling too bad for not doing them as I was using my time in a more helpful way I hope.
I was lucky enough that I was able to experience two projects on this trip - 1. the theatre workshops at a public school and 2. teach English at a local slum school. Like India, both were on total opposite ends of the spectrum to compare. Without a doubt my favourite project was at the slum school - approx 40 children split into 3 groups across two rooms. They have no school desks, they sit on concrete flooring with dirty vinyl tiles and only a thin blue rug between their bottoms and the cold hard winter floor. Everyday their 3 teachers work with them to cover a detailed syllabus in order to prepare them for their upcoming district exams in the 2nd week of March, which determines if they will move up a level. Two classes are in the same room - 4 & 5 year olds then 5-7 year olds. It appears at this school it is more according to their ability rather than their age requiring them to be in a particular grade.
One thing that really I found hard (and they certainly don't complain) is that they sit there on the floor cross-legged from 8am until 1pm everyday - no desk, so when they are copying from the blackboard into their notepad they have only their bumpy school bags to lean on or some have this one A4 blackboard that I think they do math, to lean on. The older children in the 2nd room at least get to lean on these mini collapsable metal tables.
A few days into teaching at the slum school and I noticed the children had the tiniest lead pencils that they were writing with. At first I thought it was just that they couldn't afford new pencils and later I was told they start the day with a new pencil then keep sharpening it all day! I didnt beleive it until I saw it with my own eyes - I would be teaching then have a crowd of kids from the other class next to the blackboard sharpening their pencils at the "sharpener bay" as I called it. I started being the pencil nazi and checking the sharpness of their pencils before allowing them to sharpen, in a bid to save their parents pencils!
Alot of the children didn't even know their own birthdays - not that it's not celebrated in India - but I was suprised when most of the children didn't know their birthdays when I was teaching them months of the year. My older class was beautiful - so enthusiastic and excited about their Western teachers. One day we did a class on "greetings, manners and ordering" (ha ha me teaching manners!) so rather than death by black board, I decided to get them all up and pretend walking on the spot - it went something crazy like this.... OK so what do you say when you wake up in the morning? Good morning mummy, good morning daddy - then we grab our school bag and we start walking to school... we see our auntie and we say good morning auntie.... we are thirsty so let's go to the lassi wahla "good morning, I would like a banana lassi please - thank you" so we are walking again and oh we are hungry... "Good morning I would like one Kachori please (like a samosa but have like spicy risotto looking rice inside and you have mango or mint chutney with it - its popular for breakfast). So this little scenario continued for around 10-15min with the kids and I marching in class, them repeating everything I say like parrots and all of us giggling our heads off.
After we teach theatre at the public school from 9-11am each day we have our autorickshaw guy drive over to the slum which is in the city. Its surrounded by a huge concrete wall and a few main gates, Puran walks us in through the slum to the school which is a simple brick room divided into two, with a tin roof that heats up the place to a hot box even in winter by lunchtime. You can actually smell the rubbish from the slum as it obviously heats up but I got used to it and noticed the amount of flies and mosquitoes in our classrooms more than anything. I taught a few children's lymrics that I could remember from my day's in childcare and the kids loved them - especially the one about a frog and the catchy game called duck, duck, goose. One day we joined two of the groups together - the toddlers and class above them - we played duck, duck, goose and the kids loved it - the giggles were beautiful as we know that education in India is very strict and fun just does not come into it. So one tiny little girl gets up to chase her friend and her skirt is just too big for her, so she is holding it as she runs bare foot (they all take their shoes off outside the room) around the circle. So we were all having a giggle as she looked hilarious trying to run and hold onto her skirt - next thing she accidentally drops the skirt infront of everyone and is standing their starkers! The children and teaches broke into fits of laughter and we quickly ran to cover her and tried to get order back in the room, but they were too cute as one boy is lying down pounding the floor with his fist giggling and gasping for air!
The slum itself really is a maze of concrete boxes that are just one room on a dirt floor with corrugated iron sheet for a roof held down by old tyres and rocks. Some people have their doors open as you walk past so you can see that there is a family of 3/4 living - eating, sleeping in this room. Showers are by bucket either up on the side of the street or infront of their door - boys in their undies, women in their saari's etc. Toilets.... well when we arrived yesterday there was a little boy squating on the side of the road outside the slum fence finishing his number 2 right there - that was a little too confronting but their bathroom is anywhere outside the house.
There is one area that we walk past each day in the slum that has several men, women and children sorting through huge heshin sacks filled with rubbish - they are being paid jack all to sort through these piles - newspapers get uncrumpled and tied with string in piles, plastic bottles together (yes I always crush mine in every country so that they can refill them) I feel bad for them as I walk past, but I always make a point to say Namaste and their faces ligt up that someone from a different "caste" is recognising them and addressing them as human beings that they deserve.
I find it really hard to decide what to do to help - I know there are people in the world saying what can I do and as per my post in Bali, I truly beleive that every drop makes a huge impact. This project in the slum is breaking down a wall between slum children and the outside world. These children at a young impressionable age are able to see that they are worthy of an education or someone's time - that they can talk to Westener's - our classes are giving them the confidence and the language knowledge to be able to hopefully create job opportunities for them when they are older - not to mention the fact that we are giving them to right to dream about a job out of the slum - more of a chance than their elders perhaps had.
I was talking with our project co-ordinator about the sheer amount of homeless people I saw sleeping on the streets coming back from Agra at 1.30am on Monday morning. I have never seen anything like it - a main road in Jaipur just lined with hundreds of people sleeping on the pavement with a lone blanket pulled up other their heads - on a freezing cold morning! I asked if the government or any charity organisations run anything like a soup kitchen or St Vincent's offereing a bed and meal etc she said that the worst thing they could do in India is to give hand outs as it will just be expected - instead one group has started offering them food at approx 9 rupees a dish to encourage them to work and earn their feed. I understand this concept and why it's important, but I just really struggle to see them sleeping in the street or children not in school begging for money at the lights instead - it's just wrong that humanity got to this point and I can't see out for them. I know that education means future and in India that is one thing that they are really placing a huge emphasis on with the children and uni students at the moment - education. I guess this is their only chance and it will be really interesting to see where India is as an economy 20 - 30 years from now with this next generation that are growing in a Westernised world. I really hope things get better for India, it has such history, culture, tradition and family values that the rest of the world could really learn from.
Sorry for making this a heavy one - the kids have really touched me and I hope to see them at the end of the year if I come back again. Namaste!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Taj Mahal, Agra: 21st Feb 2010
Boarding the train from Jaipur at 6.10 am we boarded our "Chair Class" carriage which is all you really need for a train trip that is approx 4.5 hours in India. Smooth sailing at the train station as we know understand how to read the fixed timetable for daily trains that tell you what platform your train departs. C1 was our carriage, seats 69 and 70 - sounds together but again we find ourselves apart but a bit of shifty seat swapping by yours truly and there really is no problem.
As we were leaving so early we harassed our "homestay mum" the night before to give us packed sandwhiches for the train ride - another packet of chips at 7am and I might loose my mind. So after slapping on the jam at 5am - no butter just dried bread - mmmm! we wrapped our 1.5 sandwich each in alfoil. At 6.30am all I could think about was food so stalked my travel buddy until she caved and handed my share over - gone in 30 sec. and so not satisfying. Lucky though I visited the local "convenience shack" before leaving yesterday and bought a packed of salted nuts for 5 rupees!!! (ok its part of the grains section in the food pyramid) and a super size pack of "Parle G" milk and wheat biscuits - like "Nice" back home except more addictive and only 10 rupees for a super pack. Lucky Beth woke otherwise I was cleaning that pack out myself :)
So the train ride was no probs - it was nice to travel by train during the day and enjoy the countryside scenery. One thing I saw alot of and keep forgetting to mention in this blog is cow dung patties (like mini pizzas) drying in the sun - stacked in pyramids, lining footpaths and across fields. I had an inkling when I saw them in Udaipur that they must be the cow patties that I read the less wealthy Hindu Indians use to burn their decesesed with as the oil is quiet expensive. Our rickshaw driver in Agra also informed me that they use them as fuel for fires in general - cant imagin e the smell but you have to congratulate them on using their natural / available resources. I wonder how long until in the west some crazy person packages these up as "organic wood logs" for your fireplace?! (Did I invent something?)
It was really peaceful watching the countryside fly past on the train - that was of course whilst I was eavesdropping on a conversation that I could only guess what was being said as it was all in French. Two female French tourists sat across from us and my jaw nearly hit the floor when the Indian guy infront of me decided he would swoon her with his perfect French conversation??!!! His friend also could speak fluent French - I dont know why I was so shocked but I was - I was jealous at his fluency. In Agra I saw quiet a few Indian's speaking German, Chinese and Italian - makes people like me who cant fluently speak my mother tongue of Italian and Greek be just that little bit ashamed!
Once the girls were up and ready to leave the boys were madly discussing their conversation and appeared to agree to ask for their numbers to arrange a catch-up - I was trying not to laugh as it was so lame! (hey I was bored!)
My last visit to Agra was part of a package tour, so rush in and out and we stayed at an average hotel on the outskirts that had Pizza Hut next door. All I remember was that we didnt see much around the Taj except rubbish, chaos and the food at the restaurant they took us was terrible. Lesson one: Bus tours take you restaurants that really have no resemblence of that countries nation dishes. So I prepared my travel buddy that Agra is a) dirty and as many people were telling us in the last week a "hole" "dump" etc and that you get in and out asap. I also told her to expect no excitement in food or accomodation from what I expereienced and heard from other travellers.
As we exited the train station we braced ourselves for the super pushy rickshaw drivers and numerous other touts that the city is famous for. The previous night we booked our one nights stay at the Saniya Palace Hotel - they took our booking under my name and they exchanged the usual jokes that Katrina is a famous Bollywood actress here in India in the movie Namaste London - yes yes I've heard it all before. So at the train station it should have been no suprise that the sign being held said "Ms Katrina" thankfully they contained their humerous selves from writing Kaif as well - although the drive said "Hello Ms Kaif" I can only shake my head and laugh, because for the next 24 hours I will be the entertainment for the all male staff of our hotel who found great pleasure in greeting Ms Kaif!
Our hotel had arranged a "free pick-up" normally alarm bells ring but the fact that I had asked him how much a rickshaw from the train station to the hotel would cost and he kindly told me 50 rupees, I thought it might be part of their service and it's only 50 rupees hence why they chuck it in. *scam alert* So we board our rickshaw after surviving a not too tout filled train station at all. Vikram was our drivers name and he spoke slowly, clearly and so soothingly that we both became quiet sedate *alarm bell* yes yes I know so Mr Vikram should seriously run sales training seminars and I think he should also work in the HR Dept for rickshaw driver training in India. His manner was what closed the deal - Mr Vikram's sales techniques:
Step 1: Smile politely, offer your name and ask your client their's
Step 2: Speak slowly, calming and soothingly to win the trust of your client
Step 3: To really capture the trust of your client drive slowly, calming and refrain from using your horn - this will really hook them, calm then down so you can go BANG and catch them unaware!
Step 4: Pass the talkative one your little "black book" of previous happy clients who you held ransom to write recommendations of your services to other travellers from their home country. (thanks Allan from Australia for telling us "Mr Vikram is a true blue honest bloke, you can relax and he will look after you" ha ha)
Step 5: Make a presumptive close and tell your clients that you will take them to the hotel and allow them time to freshen up, check in and then you have the most delicious restaurant you can take them to before showing them the sights hassle free because as you can see "you can trust me".
Step 6: when you client asks about price calm their nerves and tell them we can talk about his later first tell me what you would like to do - make it all about them.
Step 7: Upon arriving at the hotel dont pull up out front - stop in a side alley in front of another car that blokes the passengers exit from the vehicle so that they must listen to your closing speech
Step 8: gently unfold a city map of Agra as thought it is a golden ticket or treasure map - speak gently as you show them the sights they will see
Step 9: The Investment - "normally my charges for this are 500 rupees but I will make a special discount for you both for only 400 rupee not including tip - if you feel I deserve it - tip me and leave a message in my little black book if you are happy with my services.
Step 10: Hide your excitement when these dumb tourists give in because of your so called gentle persona
Step 11: Once you collect them to start your day touring - dont worry - you have them signed up now - drive like a true Indian once again - pedal to the metal, hand on the horn Oh and make sure you get commission for taking them to the Thomas Cook currency exchange, for the film, for the chai and make sure you tell them that the sunset at the Taj is worthless lets go to the bazaar when you can buy the most precious gifts.
Ha ha Mr Vikram - we got you there - we stayed at the fort and agreed enough shenanigans we are going home - no shopping = no more commission for Mr Vikram. Granted I'm giving him a hard time he was fine and did need the rupee to send his daughters to university but yes you do get a little tired of the commission scam happening under your nose, even though we are talking only a few rupee.
So we arrived at the Saniya Palace Hotel where we checked into a Deluxe room with AC no window but hot water for 1,500 rupees for 1.5 days. The room stunk of cigarette smoke and it wasnt until I was about to have a shower that night that we realised the reason we couldnt get the AC or hot water working is that it was switched off at the main "there you go ms Katrina Kaif no problems". Our staff were definately friendly although as a female travelling along you might be a little concerned at all these young guys sleeping on the couch right outside your room door - they were harmless. It's definately not 5 star - think 2.5-3 star ie. I cleaned the toilet and wore thongs in the shower but visibly aside from the mildew stains on the wall, the room door about to fall off, the bathroom tap head ready to fly off any second and bath towels that were grey and tattered instead of white - you get what you pay for and it was generally clean, safe and the boys did their best for us to be comfortable. Up on the rooftop was what I was looking for - the perfect view of the Taj Mahal - front on. Now the ordering process at the rooftop restaurant - maybe I should change that word because you just need to picture two young guys in their casual gear in a room that's called a kitchen just whipping it together. The ordering process - you choose from the menu and write on the notepad they give you as they can't read english - only the guy on reception can so they run down to him and he tells them what to make - it's cute. Again when it came to paying for the bill I couldnt work out why it took them so long to add it up when the menu was infront of them - they cant read or add - again to reception.
One waiter Abbey - loved calling me Katrina Kaif - he would giggle himself stupid. That night we invited the other volunteers up to the rooftop for dinner as they too were in town but we had the view - OK that was until 7pm when the switched off the lights - no Taj view oops. They brought the famous Kingfisher beer after apparently their rickshaw drivers lit up when they told him they need a bottle-o - he scored a free bottle of whisky as comission! So 100 rupees each $2.50 for a longneck and they spent the night stressing about corkage - I pointed out a) this is india how expensive can it be b) this is India - I doubt they know the word corkage so stay quiet otherwise all travellers will be facing yet another "foreign fee". We decided after seeing all the meat hanging outside covered in flies today that meat was a no go zone and orderd 5 or 6 vegetarian dishes - we thought the food would be average at $2 a dish - did we score! It was the best vegetarian we have had so far - Aloo Goobi (potatoe and cauliflower curry), Dhal, Stuffed capsicum (think greek style in curry), vege korma and a few others with garlic naan - mmmmm delicious and I think wer all paid around $6 each AND no corkage :)
At the Taj we abandonded the idea of watching the sunrise as the gates only open at 6.30am which meant you missed it anyway - nice that we thought about that at 5am in the morning! grr so back to bed until 9.30am then we headed over to the West gate - the qeue was around an hour long - 2 lines - I went to buy the ticket and Beth joined the entry line. For the first time this trip I was served in 5min in the foreigner line as opposed to those poor Indian nationals in a 30 min line - ha ha. Then whilst standing in the entry line someone said there are two entry lines - one for men and one for women. Well let me tell you the great pleasure we took in parading past 800+ men who this whole trip have done my head in with the fact that they can pee anywhere and this whole country gravitates around them. Breasts finally came in useful as the ladies line was 5 min long due to the huge difference in male vs female population in India - ha ha ha THANK YOU! So after a quick security feel up by the female guard we were in - infront of the world's most beautiful natural wonder the Taj Mahal.
This is my 2nd time at the Taj and I think it was even more serene this time aside from the 1000 or so Indian's visiting as it was a Sunday. The effort these ladies go to in their dress for the family pics that they are taking there. Roaming photographers are everywhere and for 150 rupee per photo they will follow you and order you around for that perfect shot. Whilst trying to get my own photos I kept getting stalked by Indian fathers, sons, friends, girlfriends, grandmothers, sisters, babies.... for a photo with the white woman in traditional Indian Salwar Kameez - I was supposed to blend in not stand out! It got so bad that we couldnt sit down as we kept getting interrupted for "please maam just one more photo" and at one point I had a qeue of 10 or so people so I just had to walk away and say no more!
It was a beautiful day at the Taj - between random photos, me chasing Seiks for a photo, getting klucky over all the gorgeous babies I would love to bring home with me. The Taj is definately a place I will be visiting again and as for everyone saying those terrible things about Agra - look deeper it's a beautiful city you just need to get out of your comfort zone and join the locals. Importantly try the infamous Agra sweet - they cook them at the street stalls - it looks like a samosa and granted that is what I thought I bought - then it burst as I took a bite and warm honey everywhere - it was delicious! Namaste xxx
As we were leaving so early we harassed our "homestay mum" the night before to give us packed sandwhiches for the train ride - another packet of chips at 7am and I might loose my mind. So after slapping on the jam at 5am - no butter just dried bread - mmmm! we wrapped our 1.5 sandwich each in alfoil. At 6.30am all I could think about was food so stalked my travel buddy until she caved and handed my share over - gone in 30 sec. and so not satisfying. Lucky though I visited the local "convenience shack" before leaving yesterday and bought a packed of salted nuts for 5 rupees!!! (ok its part of the grains section in the food pyramid) and a super size pack of "Parle G" milk and wheat biscuits - like "Nice" back home except more addictive and only 10 rupees for a super pack. Lucky Beth woke otherwise I was cleaning that pack out myself :)
So the train ride was no probs - it was nice to travel by train during the day and enjoy the countryside scenery. One thing I saw alot of and keep forgetting to mention in this blog is cow dung patties (like mini pizzas) drying in the sun - stacked in pyramids, lining footpaths and across fields. I had an inkling when I saw them in Udaipur that they must be the cow patties that I read the less wealthy Hindu Indians use to burn their decesesed with as the oil is quiet expensive. Our rickshaw driver in Agra also informed me that they use them as fuel for fires in general - cant imagin e the smell but you have to congratulate them on using their natural / available resources. I wonder how long until in the west some crazy person packages these up as "organic wood logs" for your fireplace?! (Did I invent something?)
It was really peaceful watching the countryside fly past on the train - that was of course whilst I was eavesdropping on a conversation that I could only guess what was being said as it was all in French. Two female French tourists sat across from us and my jaw nearly hit the floor when the Indian guy infront of me decided he would swoon her with his perfect French conversation??!!! His friend also could speak fluent French - I dont know why I was so shocked but I was - I was jealous at his fluency. In Agra I saw quiet a few Indian's speaking German, Chinese and Italian - makes people like me who cant fluently speak my mother tongue of Italian and Greek be just that little bit ashamed!
Once the girls were up and ready to leave the boys were madly discussing their conversation and appeared to agree to ask for their numbers to arrange a catch-up - I was trying not to laugh as it was so lame! (hey I was bored!)
My last visit to Agra was part of a package tour, so rush in and out and we stayed at an average hotel on the outskirts that had Pizza Hut next door. All I remember was that we didnt see much around the Taj except rubbish, chaos and the food at the restaurant they took us was terrible. Lesson one: Bus tours take you restaurants that really have no resemblence of that countries nation dishes. So I prepared my travel buddy that Agra is a) dirty and as many people were telling us in the last week a "hole" "dump" etc and that you get in and out asap. I also told her to expect no excitement in food or accomodation from what I expereienced and heard from other travellers.
As we exited the train station we braced ourselves for the super pushy rickshaw drivers and numerous other touts that the city is famous for. The previous night we booked our one nights stay at the Saniya Palace Hotel - they took our booking under my name and they exchanged the usual jokes that Katrina is a famous Bollywood actress here in India in the movie Namaste London - yes yes I've heard it all before. So at the train station it should have been no suprise that the sign being held said "Ms Katrina" thankfully they contained their humerous selves from writing Kaif as well - although the drive said "Hello Ms Kaif" I can only shake my head and laugh, because for the next 24 hours I will be the entertainment for the all male staff of our hotel who found great pleasure in greeting Ms Kaif!
Our hotel had arranged a "free pick-up" normally alarm bells ring but the fact that I had asked him how much a rickshaw from the train station to the hotel would cost and he kindly told me 50 rupees, I thought it might be part of their service and it's only 50 rupees hence why they chuck it in. *scam alert* So we board our rickshaw after surviving a not too tout filled train station at all. Vikram was our drivers name and he spoke slowly, clearly and so soothingly that we both became quiet sedate *alarm bell* yes yes I know so Mr Vikram should seriously run sales training seminars and I think he should also work in the HR Dept for rickshaw driver training in India. His manner was what closed the deal - Mr Vikram's sales techniques:
Step 1: Smile politely, offer your name and ask your client their's
Step 2: Speak slowly, calming and soothingly to win the trust of your client
Step 3: To really capture the trust of your client drive slowly, calming and refrain from using your horn - this will really hook them, calm then down so you can go BANG and catch them unaware!
Step 4: Pass the talkative one your little "black book" of previous happy clients who you held ransom to write recommendations of your services to other travellers from their home country. (thanks Allan from Australia for telling us "Mr Vikram is a true blue honest bloke, you can relax and he will look after you" ha ha)
Step 5: Make a presumptive close and tell your clients that you will take them to the hotel and allow them time to freshen up, check in and then you have the most delicious restaurant you can take them to before showing them the sights hassle free because as you can see "you can trust me".
Step 6: when you client asks about price calm their nerves and tell them we can talk about his later first tell me what you would like to do - make it all about them.
Step 7: Upon arriving at the hotel dont pull up out front - stop in a side alley in front of another car that blokes the passengers exit from the vehicle so that they must listen to your closing speech
Step 8: gently unfold a city map of Agra as thought it is a golden ticket or treasure map - speak gently as you show them the sights they will see
Step 9: The Investment - "normally my charges for this are 500 rupees but I will make a special discount for you both for only 400 rupee not including tip - if you feel I deserve it - tip me and leave a message in my little black book if you are happy with my services.
Step 10: Hide your excitement when these dumb tourists give in because of your so called gentle persona
Step 11: Once you collect them to start your day touring - dont worry - you have them signed up now - drive like a true Indian once again - pedal to the metal, hand on the horn Oh and make sure you get commission for taking them to the Thomas Cook currency exchange, for the film, for the chai and make sure you tell them that the sunset at the Taj is worthless lets go to the bazaar when you can buy the most precious gifts.
Ha ha Mr Vikram - we got you there - we stayed at the fort and agreed enough shenanigans we are going home - no shopping = no more commission for Mr Vikram. Granted I'm giving him a hard time he was fine and did need the rupee to send his daughters to university but yes you do get a little tired of the commission scam happening under your nose, even though we are talking only a few rupee.
So we arrived at the Saniya Palace Hotel where we checked into a Deluxe room with AC no window but hot water for 1,500 rupees for 1.5 days. The room stunk of cigarette smoke and it wasnt until I was about to have a shower that night that we realised the reason we couldnt get the AC or hot water working is that it was switched off at the main "there you go ms Katrina Kaif no problems". Our staff were definately friendly although as a female travelling along you might be a little concerned at all these young guys sleeping on the couch right outside your room door - they were harmless. It's definately not 5 star - think 2.5-3 star ie. I cleaned the toilet and wore thongs in the shower but visibly aside from the mildew stains on the wall, the room door about to fall off, the bathroom tap head ready to fly off any second and bath towels that were grey and tattered instead of white - you get what you pay for and it was generally clean, safe and the boys did their best for us to be comfortable. Up on the rooftop was what I was looking for - the perfect view of the Taj Mahal - front on. Now the ordering process at the rooftop restaurant - maybe I should change that word because you just need to picture two young guys in their casual gear in a room that's called a kitchen just whipping it together. The ordering process - you choose from the menu and write on the notepad they give you as they can't read english - only the guy on reception can so they run down to him and he tells them what to make - it's cute. Again when it came to paying for the bill I couldnt work out why it took them so long to add it up when the menu was infront of them - they cant read or add - again to reception.
One waiter Abbey - loved calling me Katrina Kaif - he would giggle himself stupid. That night we invited the other volunteers up to the rooftop for dinner as they too were in town but we had the view - OK that was until 7pm when the switched off the lights - no Taj view oops. They brought the famous Kingfisher beer after apparently their rickshaw drivers lit up when they told him they need a bottle-o - he scored a free bottle of whisky as comission! So 100 rupees each $2.50 for a longneck and they spent the night stressing about corkage - I pointed out a) this is india how expensive can it be b) this is India - I doubt they know the word corkage so stay quiet otherwise all travellers will be facing yet another "foreign fee". We decided after seeing all the meat hanging outside covered in flies today that meat was a no go zone and orderd 5 or 6 vegetarian dishes - we thought the food would be average at $2 a dish - did we score! It was the best vegetarian we have had so far - Aloo Goobi (potatoe and cauliflower curry), Dhal, Stuffed capsicum (think greek style in curry), vege korma and a few others with garlic naan - mmmmm delicious and I think wer all paid around $6 each AND no corkage :)
At the Taj we abandonded the idea of watching the sunrise as the gates only open at 6.30am which meant you missed it anyway - nice that we thought about that at 5am in the morning! grr so back to bed until 9.30am then we headed over to the West gate - the qeue was around an hour long - 2 lines - I went to buy the ticket and Beth joined the entry line. For the first time this trip I was served in 5min in the foreigner line as opposed to those poor Indian nationals in a 30 min line - ha ha. Then whilst standing in the entry line someone said there are two entry lines - one for men and one for women. Well let me tell you the great pleasure we took in parading past 800+ men who this whole trip have done my head in with the fact that they can pee anywhere and this whole country gravitates around them. Breasts finally came in useful as the ladies line was 5 min long due to the huge difference in male vs female population in India - ha ha ha THANK YOU! So after a quick security feel up by the female guard we were in - infront of the world's most beautiful natural wonder the Taj Mahal.
This is my 2nd time at the Taj and I think it was even more serene this time aside from the 1000 or so Indian's visiting as it was a Sunday. The effort these ladies go to in their dress for the family pics that they are taking there. Roaming photographers are everywhere and for 150 rupee per photo they will follow you and order you around for that perfect shot. Whilst trying to get my own photos I kept getting stalked by Indian fathers, sons, friends, girlfriends, grandmothers, sisters, babies.... for a photo with the white woman in traditional Indian Salwar Kameez - I was supposed to blend in not stand out! It got so bad that we couldnt sit down as we kept getting interrupted for "please maam just one more photo" and at one point I had a qeue of 10 or so people so I just had to walk away and say no more!
It was a beautiful day at the Taj - between random photos, me chasing Seiks for a photo, getting klucky over all the gorgeous babies I would love to bring home with me. The Taj is definately a place I will be visiting again and as for everyone saying those terrible things about Agra - look deeper it's a beautiful city you just need to get out of your comfort zone and join the locals. Importantly try the infamous Agra sweet - they cook them at the street stalls - it looks like a samosa and granted that is what I thought I bought - then it burst as I took a bite and warm honey everywhere - it was delicious! Namaste xxx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
