We spent the bulk of Friday trying to secure tickets to go to Agra on Saturday. All the trains at the best times were booked and we were coming up empty for both Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, I reached out to my company contact and he was able to find us a bus tour leaving at 6:30am returning at 10:30am. The timing was great for us and we’d be able to get all of our sightseeing around Delhi done on Sunday. Even though this whole process took several hours, at least we were confirmed for a ticket to Agra. That night, I went to dinner with the GM of our India operation and another work colleague from US. We had a nice dinner with good conversation and I returned to the hotel around 11:15pm to get some sleep for the big adventure to Agra the next day.
So, just like Gilligan who though he was only going out on a 3-hour tour, the journey began with our cab picking us up at 6:30am. We were to meet the tour bus at a stop in Delhi and be the last pickup before the trip to Agra. First, the bus needed to get out of Delhi and we seemed to run into traffic wherever we looked. Of course, we weren’t running late enough to skip the usual rip-off (oops, I mean stop-off) at the place along the way where the bus company gets a kickback for taking all the tourists. After losing a half hour there, we continued on, only to battle more and more traffic. Long story short, the trip from Delhi to Agra is only 125 miles (200 km), but we did not reach the Agra Fort until 1:35pm (yes, do the math…that’s a 6+ hour ride and we were last to board the bus!). Nonetheless, we made it to Agra.
They gave us just over a half hour to tour the fort and head back to our bus. Once we got there and it was time to move on, there were several people hanging outside the bus, smoking, eating sweets from street vendors, etc., which delayed our trip another 15 minutes. Then, we went to the shopping center where we had a half hour to peruse the handicrafts sanctioned by the state. We saw the exact replica of the Taj Mahal which was truly incredible in its detail. Staci and I found a street vendor close by selling aloo tikki and had a nice little feast in a bowl for 20 INR (about 40 cents). Again, we didn’t leave until 15 minutes after our projected departure time. After our shopping tour, the bus stopped for lunch – another half hour spent at a restaurant they had targeted for the tours to come. Staci and I stayed on the bus and waited to move on to the piece de resistance, the Taj Mahal. Guess what happened next? We were waiting nearly a half hour extra for these 3 young guys to come so we could leave. They never made it and didn’t answer their mobiles, so we left them. They knew we were going to the Taj next, so they could get a taxi or a rickshaw to take them across town.
Finally, we arrived at the Taj Mahal at 4:30pm. We were given an hour and a half to get through security, enter the East Gate, see the Taj and get back to the bus. It was truly ridiculous that this was the whole purpose of our trip and we were only getting 1.5 hours…rude! Anyway, we raced to the gate, entered, took tons of pics and attempted to see the inside. The line was so long that we knew we were not getting inside, so we made the most of the outside, taking lots of pictures and trying to capture the magnificence of this structure. The detail in the marble is incredible and the flower inlays are outstanding. It truly is a sight to behold and worthy of being called a Seven Wonder of the World!
We busted it back to the bus to make the departure time of 6pm. You know one thing’s for sure, Americans do know how to be on time and when the tour guide says we’re leaving at a certain time, we believe them (otherwise, we know we’ll be left behind). This time, there was one guy who was way later than the other late ones and not picking up his cell. He finally showed back up to the bus at 7pm – ONE HOUR LATE!! He claimed that he didn’t know what time to be back, even though our guide told us about five times before we left that it was 6pm. We left the three at the last stop for being nearly 30 minutes late, so why didn’t we leave him? The really frustrating thing was that Staci and I could have spent the additional hour actually seeing the inside of the Taj. Totally ridiculous!
Moving on, we headed for Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna. Once we got there, I was completely out of it. I had only slept 4 hours that morning and only 3 hours the night (day) before that. Staci and I stayed on the bus and did not get off to go see the temple. Apparently (as I hear it from Staci), the bus stopped at a second temple. Then, the Indians on board wanted to attend the 11pm service at the temple, so we waited. Finally, at 11:30pm, we were en route back to Delhi. Of course, going straight there would have been too easy. We had to stop along the way for people to get food/snacks, go to the bathroom, etc., which took another 40 minutes. Our car was supposed to pick us up at 11:30pm originally and did not end up collecting us until 2:15am (and we were the first ones off the bus!). We reached the hotel at 2:30am after a 20-hour journey. The sad part was that the main attraction was the Taj Mahal and we got so little time actually there. So, heed this piece of advice if you ever make the trip to India and want to visit the Taj, take the train! At least you can make your own schedule and spend as much time as you want where you want!
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