India, the land of contrasts

India, New Dehli and Agra

* There are only photos of the Taj Mahal, one because we weren't in Delhi for more than a few hours and two in Agra there is the Taj Mahal and a Fort (which we didn't go to as there are forts everywhere in Rajasthan). So enjoy the wondrous beauty of the Taj Mahal.

The Taj in all her glory

I mean we were told that when we first got to India it would be confronting. They weren’t lying, it really was. New Delhi is over populated and full of people doing anything to make a dollar. And who are some of the best people to make some money off of? White tourists, I wish I could say that we were the exception, but that would be a lie.

Our flight got in at 6am to New Delhi. That and a nights accomodation in Agra (where the Taj Mahal is) was all we had planned. Like always as soon as we got through customs we went and got money out of an atm at the airport. Except this time none of our cards worked. We have three travel cards and two normal cards. All of which have worked perfectly for this past year. We had specifically told NAB that we were going to India. But they cancelled our cards as soon as we tried to use them. Which is super fun when the only way you can contact nab is by phone. And we are in a new country and didn't have a SIM card yet. And it’s 6am in the morning so no phone shops were open. Thankfully we always travel with emergency money in dollaridoo (Aussie Dollar) so we were able to transfer it to get by. That was our first problem. 

Our second hiccup was when we tried to get a train to Agra. Prior to getting into India we tried to book a train online. But the train booking system is, like all things, different over here, they only allot a certain number of tickets in different time periods. I guess they have to do something to allow for the billion people who live here. We figured out how to catch the metro into town and then we needed to make our way across to the main train station to buy tickets to get to Agra. Simple right?. 

As we were walking into the train station an official looking guy demanded to see our tickets. Obviously we didn’t have any (yet). So he blockaded our way and said that we couldn’t buy a ticket at the train station because we are tourists. (Now this sounds crazy but as foreigners you do have to buy your tickets from the tourist reservation office, not where everyone else buys there tickets and sometimes the reservation office is outside of the train terminal). We were at a loss of what to do, we weren’t allowed inside but were sceptical that we couldn’t by tickets. 

To set the scene for you this is all whilst there were cars, tuk tuks, bike riders, scooters, people, food vendors, dogs all screaming past us, the smells were pungent to say the least, and we just got here after 20 hours of travelling with minimal sleep. 

After a hurried discussion with the man he said we had to buy our tickets just around the corner, we asked where and he was very unspecific but said the tuk tuk would only be 30 rupee (60 cents). My alarm bells started ringing immediately. But as he wouldn’t let us in the train station what were we to do? So we got in a tuk tuk. As soon as we got in I felt physically ill and told Luke that we were definitely being taken for a ride and it just didn’t seem right. As soon as we got to the “official booking office” it was at some random independently owned tourist place (room). It was safe to say this wasn’t an official booking office. But everyone was so friendly and explicitly lied to your face. I managed to get out of one of the workers that yes in fact you can buy a ticket at the train station. But everyone else (about 20 others) said the opposite. So we walked outside and got into another tuk tuk where we asked to be taken back to the rail station. He spoke perfect English was so friendly and said "I will take you to the real ticket office". We were sceptical but said ok. He even had an official map where he pointed out where the tourist office was. So we hopped in the tuk tuk. Spoiler alert: he did NOT take us to the official place he took us to one around the corner from it. After everyone disagreeing with us and us basically fighting with these people about it not being legit. I saw on maps me that the government tourist office was in walking distance from where we were. So we marched on over.

As soon as we got in there it was immediately apparent that this was legit. The lady who served us said that yes it was all a scam and unfortunately it happens All. The. Time. She gave us exact directions on where in the train station to buy tickets. And told us that you have to march past the guys at the front because they are con men. After regaining our confidence we walked the 2km back to the train station. We were specifically told to go through the paharaganj entrance. As we were walking through here a different man demanded to see our tickets we said no and kept walking. He proceeded to grab Luke and not let him go until he saw the tickets. I told him that I would call the police if he didn’t let go. He did and we continued to march into the train station. We eventually found where tourists bought their tickets from. It was on the most random upstairs out of the way room. So if you didn’t know exactly where to get them from it would be tricky. We eventually got our tickets to Agra! Yay! By this time it was 11.30 before we got on our train. It took us from 6-11 just to buy our tickets. 

Are we talking about the Taj Mahal yet? No, but it breaks up the text quite nicely 

The trains are divided into different classes. 2S is the lowest which means having a seat but no aircon. It being winter over here that was completely fine. We sat in a compartment with 6 people in it. The train was delayed (not uncommon over here) and after 4 hours we made it to Agra. A tuk tuk with the loveliest driver and a short ride later, we made it to our accomodation.

We stayed at Sunitas Guest House. Which was the loveliest experience ever. Sure it could’ve been a bit cleaner and yes we showered with a bucket. But the family was so insanely welcoming. They genuinely made us feel at home. And their food. Oh. My. Gosh. Chai teas, thali for dinner with all you can eat chapatis and I don’t even know what we ate for breakfast but it was delicious. We were in vegetarian heaven. It completely settled our nerves over the crappy morning we had.

Over dinner we were talking to an Aussie couple and German man that said the exact thing happened to them in Dehli. Except the other Australian couple actually bought tickets through them and then got taken to a bazaar as well (all costing way more than it should have). It was nice knowing that our morning from hell wasn't just because we were stupid, it happens to majority of people the first time they come here. 

View from our rooftop

Sunitas place was a 500m walk from the Taj Mahal and you could clearly see it from her roof top. The first day we were there we caught up on some much needed sleep and ran some errands. The errands being getting a SIM card so we could contact nab back home. To get a SIM card go through either Vodafone or Airtel. And remember to bring with you your passport, visa, passport sized photo, and your contact details of where you are staying. This whole process will take about an hour. All to buy a prepaid SIM card. Like the ones we can buy over the counter at Coles back home. After setting up our phone the nab international free number wouldn’t work. So through Nettie giving us a hand (thanks mum). We eventually got in contact with nab.

After completing our checklist we were able to spend the rest of our afternoon doing yoga, drinking chais and watching the sunset over the Taj Mahal. 

Waiting for that perfect moment for no one except me to be in the frame, nailed it (minus the man in the bottom left corner)

The following morning we went to the Taj. It opens half an hour before sunrise each day, therefore opening at a different time daily. I’m definitely glad we went early because by the time we left, there were thousands of people coming in. The Taj Mahal is absolutely beautiful. And from every angle you look it’s identical on all four sides and is absolutely stunning. Not bad for a mausoleum! 

What's that?

The skies awake, so the tourists are awake 

After eating more food, we were on our way to Agra fort train station which is (funnily enough) right next to Agra fort. Agra fort is absolutely beautiful from what we saw as we drove past but unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to go inside. We caught a train to Jaipur from here where we sat next to the most beautiful family. By the end of the trip the four year old was reading English letters from my book. I still can’t help but be impressed by these kids who are bi-lingual. 

We are keeping well and enjoying our time. Now that we are settled in.

Love always,

Claire and Luke, (Luke was sleeping on a plane nursing a stomach bug as I wrote this so he counts as a co- author too right?)

Sometimes the travelling part of travelling isn't much fun