John & Mick's BIG AdventureAgra
Day 65 & 66 – 241 kms (15572 kms total)
After a relatively short journey, we arrive in Agra and it’s own version of mayhem.
On the route in we caught a glimpse of Fatephur Sikri, a city that was abandoned many years ago. There has been livestock roaming the roads all day. Pigs, dogs, monkeys, buffalo and cows. Lots of dead things in the roads as well. Probably done by the bus drivers… the cars seem to make all attempts to avoid things.
The buses also force us off the roads at regular intervals. You leave the road or die! They just blast their horns and keep coming. In all fairness, its not just us they do it to, but anything smaller than a truck. Just complete disregard.
The road leading here also has loads of red sandstone carvers on both sides. That’s until you get near Agra and then they carve white marble – the Taj is marble…
Having found our way to the Tourist Rest House in the centre of town, we rest up before setting off for the sunset view of the Taj Mahal.
Our driver recommended a view at the back of the monument, which is supposed to be better in the evening and less crowded. So, heeding his advice, we travelled the bumpy road to the other side of the Yamuna River.
The setting was quite serene; people wandered the riverbank, dogs lay basking in the evening warmth and upstream, a group of children played cricket. With only a little hassle from the local postcard salesmen and begging children, we spent a while enjoying the view and taking the mandatory photographs.
The next morning we rose at 5:15am to view the sunrise at “The Taj”, which is supposed to be its most beautiful. Had it not been such a cloudy day, we might be able to verify this! But alas, as time is limited, so we paid our money and took our photos with the grey backdrop.
Bit of a disappointment really. Mind you I, John, don’t really see why it’s one of the worlds wonders… Just an expensive headstone and it doesn’t “do” anything. It never served any purpose of merit. The forts are FAR more awe inspiring in that you can see how hard they must have been to build and the size of the things.
Just my 2 cents worth:-))
More photo’s in the trip gallery “India”
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